Love me some 5-Things! Here's 5 ideas on the house... 5 cold front setups for days when conditions are constantly changing. 5 things you didn't know about boat positioning and presentation. 5 favorite ways to target suspending fish (high percentage go-to locations). 5 favorite "Hail-Mary" baits for when you're having a tough time. 5 forage species you may not know about.
Thanks Matt. It's 4:00am and I haven't had my coffee yet. I still fish co-angler in bigger local tournaments (my boats 23yo) so I think like a kayak angler at times. Trick worm, green pumpkin/chartreuse tail (101 uses). 5" baby bass Senko. Rage bug, blue craw. Rage craw, blue craw. Super fluke, baby bass. Honorable mention tube jig/7" power worm.
Excellent point, CO's can only carry so much. Need to work on what I can put in a backpack when i start fishing as a co in 2024 when I start fishing the bfl.
6” zoom lizard in green pumpkin 5” senko in root beer or green pumpkin 6” robo worm MM, Morning Dawn, Aaron’s magic Brush Hog green pumpkin red flake Sweet beaver in hematoma Honorable mention strike king ocho in green pumpkin or morning Dawn. I had a .45 caliber plug cut out of my face a few years ago. Healed up nicely,hardly see the scar. Same cancer as you. That being said I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007/08 so it was not a big deal to me. I hope you’re doing well. I like the videos with Hank and Duke brings back good memories from my childhood. Thanks for the content.
My 5 would definitely include a Super Fluke Jr. can fish it on top when fish are breaking, or as a chatterbait trailer, or a power shot. White first choice, then any thing bluegill-y. Agree with your other choices. Oh wait…. If on a river you can’t leave home without some tubes! Great vid!
I'm an old Uncle Josh pork guy, when they stopped making them for a while, I tried many different plastic trailers. Some worked, some didn't. My #1 go to plastic trailer is a Big Bite Bait Yomama in black & blue, or the neon black in 3 inch size. They have worked very good for me & produced some quality fish.
One technique that is overlooked is fishing a pitboss on a weightless ewg hook. If you reel fast enough you can burn it on the topwater like a finese buzz bait.
As a competing kayak angler myself, I pack FULL enough 360’s to fit inside a crate, a small KVD worm bag, and a small 4-360 type tackle back for swimbaits and accessories like line, spare spools, leader material, rod repair kits, etc. My crate holds 8, 360’s, and I pack them with my absolute favorite, most confidence-filled arsenal, leaving one 360 just for terminal and tungsten. I just started using a crate this year, it’s the best way to get to what you need quick. I use snaps on hardbaits, so I limit line tying to abrasion/damage reties. Lure + water = fish. Alot of guys spend more time tying than fishing.
🍺I have more than a life time supply of soft baits☺️and that totally makes no sense.🤷♂️ With that said I figured Matt Stefan would choose. 1)PIT BOSS.. Texas,Flip 2) Deal….swim jig, spinnerbait. 3)Wind up worm….Grass, C-rig 4) Max scent flat worm…. Smallmouth 5) Max scent General… weightless, wacky. For me🤔 1) Yamamoto 5” Thin senko… Green pumpkin 2)Yamamoto Fat baby craw….Pumpkin black flake. 3)Yamamoto hula grub….Black & Blue flake. 4)ZMan Trick shotz…. TW Bluegill 5) Keitech 3.3 fat impact… Smallmouth magic. Fun topic🤠
As a kayak fisherman in AZ, I always think about this problem. In our AZ desert lakes, my top 5 plastic baits are... 1. Morning Dawn Roboworm w Charteruse tip 2. Watermelon Candy 4" Zoom Brush Hog 3. Morning Dawn color 5" yum dinger (color was tough here...) 4. 4" Berkley Power worm in Camo 5. 5" shad colored Fluke (Almost any brand...)
My Top 5 Plastics 1. Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Fat Worm 2. Jackall Rhythm Wave- 2.8, 3.8 & 4.8 3. Jackall Archelon 4. OSP DoLive Beaver 5. Reaction Innovations Man Bear Pig (You should try a Zman TRD as a jig trailer sometime, works great when there not biting) Thanks Matt! Love the Sasquatch on the door!
Great suggestions Matt. I would list the Yamamoto green pumpkin senko as my number 1 in either a 7” weightless Texas rigged setup, the 6” wacky rigged or the 5” for smaller bass. Number 2 would be the Yamamoto D Shad in smoke or olive green which I fish Neko rigged but could also be fished Texas rigged or put on a drop shot or light jig head (it’s a killer bait in Florida). Number 3 would be the Zman Ned rig or the Zman crawz (in green pumpkin) which could be need rigged or used as a trailer. I also like the new Yamamoto Ned worm. Number 4 would be the keitech fat swing impact on a jig head, under spin, or A rig or the easy shiner fished on a drop shot (bluegill or pro blue). My 5th bait would be the storm wild eye swim bait in baby bass fished alone or on an A rig.
Matt, those are all great picks and all are very versatile. I would opt for: #1 a full size Zinkerz in Blue Craw instead of a TRD and a General. That way you can make it any size you wish and they are much softer and float better than a TRD once you de-salt them. #2 Berkley Kingtail Worm in Green Pumpkin...I can cut the tail off and make a French Fry or a drop shot bait plus it is Maxscent. #3 Zoom Super Fluke in electric shad...come on you have to have a Fluke. #4 Big Bite Baits Craw Tube in color Confusion. This gives me a good flipping bait and I can snip the craws off to make a tube too. #5 has to be a swimbait so a Keitech Fat 3.3 in electric shad. Maybe the list should be top 25
green/gold tube, gp red senko, 4 "canada craw hula stix, 4" white yamamoto swim senko, 4" watermelon seed super speed craw. Great video to get me thinking and it sure is hard to just pick 5
floating elastic baits have a place in my box pouring my plastics gives me a lot of options with adjusting fall rates by adding salt of glass shot to strengthen the plastic good selection to cover many different situations .spring can’t get here to soon 😅😅
All of your picks will work for me. Styles and colors. I used to be a plastics fan but I would rather power fish with moving baits and cover water. I fish with a friend who fishes nothing but plastics. Some days he whips my butt.
Yamamoto Kreature bait in black with blue skirt. I use it weightless, c rig or as a topwater. Fluke in pearl shad 6" worm. C rig, big drop shot, floating worm technique 2.5 inch minnow bait like gulp, can be used in so many ways. Rainbow trout senko .
I could easily do a top 5 plastics but top 5 colours is so hard!!! Berkley Powerbait Grub, Keitech Fat Swing Impact, Zman TRD, Zoom Super Fluke and Zoom Trick Worm. Black, white, bubblegum pink, chartreuse and pearl white.
A hard one, (1)power worm with a tail purple with red or blue fleck, one them (2) hula grubs with a split tail black and blue or green HMM, (3) Senko Green or Black and Blue would alternate it with the number two choice. (4) A more translucent power worm with a curly tail. (5) Swim baits are new to me so give me one of those whiteish silverish one. Or a purplish silverish translucent one. ha ha. This is why I talk half of one thing and add it with another so I have both with me. And my hooks have hooks on both sides of the package. I can pack up a tackle box very well and one rule is that it's easy to get to. Like the plastic gum boxes for spinner baits. Yep!
Hey Mathew *How deep of water before colors dont matter ? If that makes sense! I belive they say plumb color can be seen best in very deep water ? What's your thoughts TY !
I never fish anywhere with out a Keitech 4” easy shinner in electric shad color. I always have a ned rig ready as well with a TRD in green pumpkin gobby with that purple flake to it. Of course a stick worm, usually use Yum Dingers in 5” because they’re inexpensive and durable in a black/blue flake. Don’t know why, but in my local lakes that seems to be the color most of the year except prespawn, then i use some sort of green with a red or gold flake
@@MattStefanFishing good deal man! Really looking forward to them! Several of the lakes close to me are pretty clear most of the time, heavily pressured, and a lot of spotted bass. I’m thinking from the sound of this technique, I need it lol
Glad to see you asked about Matt’s hover rig. I was looking at all the comment’s because I am waiting for them as well and didn’t wanna be that guy that doubled up on that question 😂
I pack light on the tackle and really appreciate and benefit from the versatility videos. Eventually I have to get lighter on my way too many rod/reel/line combos.
I too am currently in a Yak and Space is definitely at a premium. It all depends what techniques and time of year for me. I try to keep to the basics on color.
Something to think about if you just buy watermelon seed it is the most versatile color because it dyes the best. Meaning buy different colors of dye and dye your watermelon seed with color fits your application best that day.
Hey Matt, on tackle warehouse the only purple max scent general I see is the Cinnamon Purple Flake. I don’t think that is the same color you were talking about correct? It looks similar to the Junebug color.
Great video can you maybe take us through your bait wall on a video sometime I'd like to see what you have stocked up over there....thanks...great content also this is probably my favorite channel
Great video. My five would be .... zman goat (Trailer, Texas, drop shot, NED, swim bait) zman hula stickz (trailer, NED, drop shot, Texas), keitech easy shiner (drop shot, trailer, swim bait), SK rage craw, missile bait dbomb.
My go-to flipping bait is the black and blue Pit Boss. But almost as equally good is the Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon orange flake), 6" Brush Hog in green pumpkin, and the watermelon red flake Trick Worm . Follow that with the Z-man Giant TRD in PBJ. Really enjoy watching your videos, so keep them coming!
Matt Great video as always. could you please clarify the General color; was it cinnamon purple? TW does not list one named only Purple....possibly outbof stock?
Wow, what an awesome top five!!! Im not being a homer but I would take these five as my go to also and do it with confidence, The Pitboss and Flatworm are two of my very favorites so how could we go wrong… great list!!!
I guess I'm an oddball in the fact that I fish gin clear water, practically tap water, and the first color I tie on 9 times out of ten is junebug. Miles and I went back and forth on this a while back. I don't want my bait to blend in. I don't want the bass to have to work for my bait. I want to make it easy for them. And it seems to work a lot of the time. The only time I switch to a "natural" color, is if junebug or black/blue flake didn't get a bite.
Matt, I enjoy your channel. I seem to like a lot of your ideas about fishing. Maybe because I'm from WI, too. I especially enjoyed your choice of stick baits mentioned in this video. My go-to bait is a soft stick bait almost the same color as the one you mentioned on your video. My second go-to bait is the Z-Man Pop Frogz. I love its buoyancy and durability. I am new to swim-baits and I am wondering what you thoughts are on the Z-Man swim-baits, and how they compare to the Keitech. I know they would last longer but can they catch even half as many fish?
In the Columbia Basin (Columbia, Yakima, Snake Rivers) I couldn't live without a pearl fluke. Mainly as a dropshot rig, but also fished as a jerk bait. Smallmouth love them.
Great video Matt!!!! On the TRD I have good luck with the PB&J, on the stick baits I like either the Yum Dinger(Green Pumpkin) or SK Zero Z-Too(Dirt or purple). I guessed you're favorite pitching lure & I like it as well. Stay Safe & God Bless!!
the 5's for me: OSP Dolive Beaver 3.5 in scapanon/plum blue flake, OSP Dolive Stick 4.5 in water melon pepper, Deps Sakamata Shad 5 in #146 color, Keitech Easy shiner 3 in bluegill flash, and Geecrack Imoripper 95 (3.8) in plum blue flake
My favorite bait colors are green pumpkin blue, junebug, watermelon orange flake, googan baits Natural, and sprayed grass. Five favorite baits would be a 5 inch grass pig, zman fattyz, bandito bug, Baby brush hog, powerbait maxscent chigger craw. If only all my favorite baits had my favorite colors. Zoom has pretty much every color I like except googan natural. Honorable mention for me is a yum woolybug and probably Yums bream color.
Great information, as always! I’m interested to see what rod builds you have coming up. Caught the rod building bug last year (thanks to you), so I am building quite a few over the winter!
a lot of scientest say chartreuse appears to fish as white...whcih may give it a natural appearrance. I like to tip my baits in chartruese when fishing around bluegill as it can resemble pumpkinseed tails.
Related to kayak fishing, I’d love to see how you would look at a lake before a tournament knowing you’re essentially locked into one area. How do you decide where the best area would be.
great selections Matt! For 5 plastics, I think I’m right there with you. I may have thrown a fluke instead of a pitboss if I was on Lanier, otherwise I agree 💯
I fish mostly Lake Fork with a local club all year round. Even a weedless Ned rig hangs up too easily with all the wood, and as co-angler, I never use one. Would the Zman TRD be on the list if Ned technique is impractical? Tackle Warehouse doesn't list the "Purple" General as an option, and the package in your video was unreadable. June Bug is an option at TW, but just doesn't look like the color you were holding in the video. Would you check the General package and let us know? For those of us who can afford/carry more than 5, but not a million, would be great to see a seasonal breakdown of best baits. That is, always have these 10 baits with you for winter, these for spring, these for summer, and these for fall. Love your videos, keep up the great work!
This is a great video! I'm a kayak angler myself and always interested in what other would take out with them out on the water ...my bait's would be a trick worm in june bug,3in pitboss in the big texan color,Z man finesse TRD craw in green pumpkin and a strike king rage swimmer in electric shad color... do you get out on the a fish?
I'm old school and have a lot of patience but I'd say a culprit red shad worm on a very light weight that's pegged 20ish inches up. And the patience to dead stick it. Literally the best set up ever. I won't even bring it with me most trips so I can use my other lures. And i have plenty. But that culprit is money always.(best spring through fall)
I agree for the most part however get rid of the TRD and replace it with a zoom fluke (id go with albino for a color). You could cut down the Berkley general and use it as a ned rig. A fluke you can fish t-rigged and fish it several different ways( let it sink, twitch it, burn it like top water). You can also fish it as a trailer on a bladed jig (if you haven't tried it you'll thank me later) and you can drop shot it. just my 2 cents :)
I was thinking the same thing on cutting down the General to a TRD size for neds. And for a specific lake I fish a lot, a fluke style lure is simply a must in a minnow natural color. My opinion is slanted by my favorite lake. However, what I'm now left wondering is how the flatworm would work rigged and used as a fluke in this same lake. If I can fluke it, I have now created room for another soft plastic.
1- Berkley 7” Power Worm in Junebug 2-Berkley Creature Hawg in Blk/Blu 3- Zoom Super Fluke in Albino 4- Zoom Baby Brush Hog in Green Pumpkin 5- Kaitech Paddle Tail Minnow 3.8 in Ghost Shad
I just recently bought couple packs of different colors maxscent flat worms 4". I haven't fished them yet but everyone talks like their great. Zman has a similar shaped bait I have I've done very well with. It doesn't have the scent though. I've done very well with small & magnum hit worms. I think I will always have them in my kayak for sure!
I would do top 5 lures then the top 5 colors so people can match them to their water. My top 5 lures 1. Trick Worm 2. Super Fluke 3. Stickbait 4. Swimbait 5. 5” Lizard (I can’t leave it off my list. It’s caught too many big bass and can do in the place of creature baits a lot of times.) Top 5 colors 1. Green pumpkin 2. Watermelon seed 3. Black 4. Generic baitfishy color for the swimbait. They all seem to work about the same for me. 5. Pearl white for the flukes but I wish someone would make a pearl white floating worm. Some red and chartreuse dye can add versatility to the green pumpkin and watermelon seed.
Definitely senko style worms, I really like the max scent cinnamon purple & green pumpkin of course, small & large swimbaits & I would b content for soft plastics
5" senko gr pumpkin gold flake, kietech swimbait, purple brown trd Ned, little ika in rootbeer, 6" roboworm in oxblood. So my lake has come up well over 20' and still rising 6" per day into areas that haven't seen water in ten years, brush, trails, roadbeds. So many options and ?s . How soon will they move up in there? Oxygen levels?
Hey Matt , I have sooo many Bags of soft plastics but never seem to use even a quarter of them . Do you really use all those you have in that room Plus I'd image you many more in the boat ?
Oh, I'm so glad they didn't ask me! Time of year, type of lake or pond, bottom comp or vegetation. My brain may have exploded. The plastics were good but all the possibilities on hooks, weights, jig's would have had me. I probably would have sank the kayak.
An unsolicited comment you may like; Give the topics one micro-brews time to answer. Or more if you must :) Another fun and valuable topic. I'd think you could break this down to rivers, lakes, etc.... Dang it, unsolicited. I'd go with giant TRD over TRD. Can cut down to Ned size. Flipping trailer, C-rig. Options. Big fan of the Power baits, tough call. Be well sir.
Would love to learn more about boat position when fishing different types of structure… I’ve learned tons about where bass are likely to set up in recent months on UA-cam, but I’m not clear on how best to position the boat/kayak and attack those areas.
There is a surprising lack of basic science research on what bass can see but lure companies are surprisingly proficient at using colors to catch fishermen like me using colors to set the hook and reel me in. Yesterday I bought plastic worms in Margarita Mutilator color because it looked good to me even though I know better. Biologists from the University of Illinois and Cornell University recently published a research study titled "Seeing red: color vision in the largemouth bass" in Current Zoology in March of 2019. The study does have limitations in that they only used juvenile largemouth bass (both northern and Florida strains) so these results may not apply to smallmouth bass and spotted bass. Bottom line is that bass only have two cones (red and green) and one rod (shades of grey) so they can see red and green and shades of grey/black. Humans are trichromatic in regard to their cones, so we see colors differently than bass. The second point is that bass were not able to distinguish between white and chartreuse; however, they should be slightly different shades of the same color. Chartreuse should appear white to bass. The third important point is that largemouth bass were not able to distinguish between blue and black so you can probably throw all of the black, blue, and blue/black baits in the same box. The issue is much more complicated, as we all know, as there are many variables including ripples/waves (makes colors darker), sunlight (noon sun has different spectrum than morning and evening sun), particulates in the water, and water depth (red is the first color to disappear). As Matt alluded to, does a green worm with red flake make a difference? Maybe as bass can see both colors but there is no published research on this. Does layering a worm with different colors make a difference (think Roboworms)? Does a translucent worm catch more fish under certain circumstances? Does a green pumpkin worm with a chartreuse tail catch more fish than just a green pumpkin worm under some conditions? These areas need more basic science research. Finally, Matt based on his experience has actually picked colors that make some biological sense. Purple/oxblood (should be at least partially picked up by red cones), green pumpkin/watermelon (should be picked up by green cones), blue/black (should be picked up by one end of the rods scale, and white (should be picked up by the other end of the rod scale). Great video. I guess I will still try Margarita Mutilator!
Good selection Matt. I’m going with the Roboworm Ned (3” and 4”), Roboworm Fat Straight Tail worm in the 7”, 6” Yamamoto Senko and the Keitech swim baits. The Roboworm straight tail is good on a drop shot or Shakey Head, the Senko can be used as a jig trailer. I’m leaving out the craw style baits for flipping so that has to be an honorable mention (Yamamoto Double Tail Grub).
1. Zman palmetto bug black/blue 2. Zman ned finesse the deal 3. Strike King rage bug black/blue 4. Frog booyah pad crasher green/white 5. Berkeley pit boss 4 inch black/blue.
1) Z Man Slim Swim Z in Pearl Blue Glimmer 2) Zoom Z Craw Jr in Yabby Craw 3) Zoom Super Fluke in Green Pumpkin 4) Z Man TRD Green Pumpkin 5) Strike King 4 inch Ocho Blue Craw Swirl
Hey Matt: I chose ZMAN Trick ShotZ for dropshotting. Especially when it comes to nose-hooking durability and horizontal suspension, they're a worthy competitor to the Berkley Maxscent Flatworm. My paddletail swimbait of choice is the Jackall Rhythmwave, again for durability over the ultra-popular Keitech.
Love me some 5-Things! Here's 5 ideas on the house...
5 cold front setups for days when conditions are constantly changing.
5 things you didn't know about boat positioning and presentation.
5 favorite ways to target suspending fish (high percentage go-to locations).
5 favorite "Hail-Mary" baits for when you're having a tough time.
5 forage species you may not know about.
great suggestions! thanks!
Really good suggestions man
Thanks Matt. It's 4:00am and I haven't had my coffee yet. I still fish co-angler in bigger local tournaments (my boats 23yo) so I think like a kayak angler at times.
Trick worm, green pumpkin/chartreuse tail (101 uses). 5" baby bass Senko. Rage bug, blue craw. Rage craw, blue craw. Super fluke, baby bass. Honorable mention tube jig/7" power worm.
good choices
Excellent point, CO's can only carry so much. Need to work on what I can put in a backpack when i start fishing as a co in 2024 when I start fishing the bfl.
6” zoom lizard in green pumpkin
5” senko in root beer or green pumpkin
6” robo worm MM, Morning Dawn, Aaron’s magic
Brush Hog green pumpkin red flake
Sweet beaver in hematoma
Honorable mention strike king ocho in green pumpkin or morning Dawn.
I had a .45 caliber plug cut out of my face a few years ago. Healed up nicely,hardly see the scar. Same cancer as you. That being said I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007/08 so it was not a big deal to me. I hope you’re doing well. I like the videos with Hank and Duke brings back good memories from my childhood. Thanks for the content.
thanks for sharing!
My 5 would definitely include a Super Fluke Jr. can fish it on top when fish are breaking, or as a chatterbait trailer, or a power shot. White first choice, then any thing bluegill-y. Agree with your other choices. Oh wait…. If on a river you can’t leave home without some tubes! Great vid!
i like them!
a pearl white fluke and a grn pumpkin stick bait. those two will work on many presentations.
Cinnamon/purple shhhhhh!!!!!!
i like cinnamon purple!
Excellent details very clear
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for your efforts on this one. I also fish from a kayak and am limited and it was nice to see baits to try in my limited space.
thanks for watching!
Good choices...my single favorite is a Zman Hulu stick in green pumpkin...works all season long here in WI.
Good choice!
I'm an old Uncle Josh pork guy, when they stopped making them for a while, I tried many different plastic trailers. Some worked, some didn't. My #1 go to plastic trailer is a Big Bite Bait Yomama in black & blue, or the neon black in 3 inch size. They have worked very good for me & produced some quality fish.
nice!
One technique that is overlooked is fishing a pitboss on a weightless ewg hook. If you reel fast enough you can burn it on the topwater like a finese buzz bait.
very good tip! and it does work great!
As a competing kayak angler myself, I pack FULL enough 360’s to fit inside a crate, a small KVD worm bag, and a small 4-360 type tackle back for swimbaits and accessories like line, spare spools, leader material, rod repair kits, etc. My crate holds 8, 360’s, and I pack them with my absolute favorite, most confidence-filled arsenal, leaving one 360 just for terminal and tungsten. I just started using a crate this year, it’s the best way to get to what you need quick. I use snaps on hardbaits, so I limit line tying to abrasion/damage reties. Lure + water = fish. Alot of guys spend more time tying than fishing.
thanks for sharing!
🍺I have more than a life time supply of soft baits☺️and that totally makes no sense.🤷♂️ With that said I figured Matt Stefan would choose.
1)PIT BOSS.. Texas,Flip
2) Deal….swim jig, spinnerbait.
3)Wind up worm….Grass, C-rig
4) Max scent flat worm…. Smallmouth
5) Max scent General… weightless, wacky.
For me🤔
1) Yamamoto 5” Thin senko… Green pumpkin
2)Yamamoto Fat baby craw….Pumpkin black flake.
3)Yamamoto hula grub….Black & Blue flake.
4)ZMan Trick shotz…. TW Bluegill
5) Keitech 3.3 fat impact… Smallmouth magic.
Fun topic🤠
Mix both of ours and we pretty much have my list haha!
Being a tackle junky, I loved the video you did a while back about discontinued lures. Love to see another one. Thanks!
More to come!
Totally agree with your last lure
thanks!
As a kayak fisherman in AZ, I always think about this problem. In our AZ desert lakes, my top 5 plastic baits are...
1. Morning Dawn Roboworm w Charteruse tip
2. Watermelon Candy 4" Zoom Brush Hog
3. Morning Dawn color 5" yum dinger (color was tough here...)
4. 4" Berkley Power worm in Camo
5. 5" shad colored Fluke (Almost any brand...)
good picks!
My Top 5 Plastics
1. Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Fat Worm
2. Jackall Rhythm Wave- 2.8, 3.8 & 4.8
3. Jackall Archelon
4. OSP DoLive Beaver
5. Reaction Innovations Man Bear Pig
(You should try a Zman TRD as a jig trailer sometime, works great when there not biting) Thanks Matt! Love the Sasquatch on the door!
thanks for sharing!
I’ve got three: the Horney Toad, Zman Paddlerz, and a good dark colour stick bait like the Senko…
Thanks for sharing
Great suggestions Matt. I would list the Yamamoto green pumpkin senko as my number 1 in either a 7” weightless Texas rigged setup, the 6” wacky rigged or the 5” for smaller bass. Number 2 would be the Yamamoto D Shad in smoke or olive green which I fish Neko rigged but could also be fished Texas rigged or put on a drop shot or light jig head (it’s a killer bait in Florida). Number 3 would be the Zman Ned rig or the Zman crawz (in green pumpkin) which could be need rigged or used as a trailer. I also like the new Yamamoto Ned worm. Number 4 would be the keitech fat swing impact on a jig head, under spin, or A rig or the easy shiner fished on a drop shot (bluegill or pro blue). My 5th bait would be the storm wild eye swim bait in baby bass fished alone or on an A rig.
all great choices! thanks for sharing!
Matt, those are all great picks and all are very versatile. I would opt for:
#1 a full size Zinkerz in Blue Craw instead of a TRD and a General. That way you can make it any size you wish and they are much softer and float better than a TRD once you de-salt them.
#2 Berkley Kingtail Worm in Green Pumpkin...I can cut the tail off and make a French Fry or a drop shot bait plus it is Maxscent.
#3 Zoom Super Fluke in electric shad...come on you have to have a Fluke.
#4 Big Bite Baits Craw Tube in color Confusion. This gives me a good flipping bait and I can snip the craws off to make a tube too.
#5 has to be a swimbait so a Keitech Fat 3.3 in electric shad.
Maybe the list should be top 25
ive got to try that craw tube more. a lot fo people really like them. thanks for sharing!
Man, what great info! Thank you!
you bet!
Green Pumpkin Tube ... Rapala slow sink Jerk Bait .. Outkast Feider 3/8 oz jig ...Omaga Custom Tackle Buzz bait and Spinner Bait ... ..... good stuff bud ..
all good picks!
green/gold tube, gp red senko, 4 "canada craw hula stix, 4" white yamamoto swim senko, 4" watermelon seed super speed craw. Great video to get me thinking and it sure is hard to just pick 5
all good picks!
floating elastic baits have a place in my box pouring my plastics gives me a lot of options with adjusting fall rates by adding salt of glass shot to strengthen the plastic good selection to cover many different situations .spring can’t get here to soon 😅😅
come on spring!!!!
All of your picks will work for me. Styles and colors. I used to be a plastics fan but I would rather power fish with moving baits and cover water. I fish with a friend who fishes nothing but plastics. Some days he whips my butt.
thanks for watching
Yamamoto Kreature bait in black with blue skirt. I use it weightless, c rig or as a topwater.
Fluke in pearl shad
6" worm. C rig, big drop shot, floating worm technique
2.5 inch minnow bait like gulp, can be used in so many ways.
Rainbow trout senko
.
good choices!
I could easily do a top 5 plastics but top 5 colours is so hard!!!
Berkley Powerbait Grub, Keitech Fat Swing Impact, Zman TRD, Zoom Super Fluke and Zoom Trick Worm.
Black, white, bubblegum pink, chartreuse and pearl white.
it took me a while to pick these
A hard one, (1)power worm with a tail purple with red or blue fleck, one them (2) hula grubs with a split tail black and blue or green HMM, (3) Senko Green or Black and Blue would alternate it with the number two choice. (4) A more translucent power worm with a curly tail. (5) Swim baits are new to me so give me one of those whiteish silverish one. Or a purplish silverish translucent one. ha ha. This is why I talk half of one thing and add it with another so I have both with me. And my hooks have hooks on both sides of the package. I can pack up a tackle box very well and one rule is that it's easy to get to. Like the plastic gum boxes for spinner baits. Yep!
thanks for sharing!
Can always trim down that general and use it on your Ned gives you another color and a little different action
good point
Nice choices!One that I have found many uses for lately would be the bandito bug from Googan
Good choice!
Hey Mathew *How deep of water before colors dont matter ? If that makes sense! I belive they say plumb color can be seen best in very deep water ? What's your thoughts TY !
i think its more based on water clarity
Love your video's. Please do one on your approach to pre fishing a tournament.
Noted!
I never fish anywhere with out a Keitech 4” easy shinner in electric shad color. I always have a ned rig ready as well with a TRD in green pumpkin gobby with that purple flake to it. Of course a stick worm, usually use Yum Dingers in 5” because they’re inexpensive and durable in a black/blue flake. Don’t know why, but in my local lakes that seems to be the color most of the year except prespawn, then i use some sort of green with a red or gold flake
great bait!
I definitely want some of those hover rig hooks as soon as they are available! I haven’t tried it yet but I really want to!
a few more weeks. just wrapping up a couple things!
@@MattStefanFishing good deal man! Really looking forward to them! Several of the lakes close to me are pretty clear most of the time, heavily pressured, and a lot of spotted bass. I’m thinking from the sound of this technique, I need it lol
Glad to see you asked about Matt’s hover rig. I was looking at all the comment’s because I am waiting for them as well and didn’t wanna be that guy that doubled up on that question 😂
I pack light on the tackle and really appreciate and benefit from the versatility videos. Eventually I have to get lighter on my way too many rod/reel/line combos.
thanks!
I too am currently in a Yak and Space is definitely at a premium. It all depends what techniques and time of year for me. I try to keep to the basics on color.
Well said!
Thanks Matt, great information
My pleasure!
Something to think about if you just buy watermelon seed it is the most versatile color because it dyes the best. Meaning buy different colors of dye and dye your watermelon seed with color fits your application best that day.
just dont spill the die on your clothes or boat carpet...thats no good
No. It’s not. I have mine dipped and ready to go before I go out but I do carry dye’s on the boat just in case.
Great one, I would have 1 black and blue. Maybe stick the bait...Thanks Matt
sounds good!
Hey Matt, on tackle warehouse the only purple max scent general I see is the Cinnamon Purple Flake. I don’t think that is the same color you were talking about correct? It looks similar to the Junebug color.
the purple is backordered so they took it down. Keep looking and it will be back up at some point
Thanks Matt
What's the best baits to use on ponds? I really need help catching bass in NC!
good video suggestion! my go to would be a weightless wacky rig
Great video can you maybe take us through your bait wall on a video sometime I'd like to see what you have stocked up over there....thanks...great content also this is probably my favorite channel
Great Idea! I did one a long time ago but a lot of baits rotate on the wall. Thanks for the support!
Great video. My five would be .... zman goat (Trailer, Texas, drop shot, NED, swim bait) zman hula stickz (trailer, NED, drop shot, Texas), keitech easy shiner (drop shot, trailer, swim bait), SK rage craw, missile bait dbomb.
good baits!
My go-to flipping bait is the black and blue Pit Boss. But almost as equally good is the Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon orange flake), 6" Brush Hog in green pumpkin, and the watermelon red flake Trick Worm . Follow that with the Z-man Giant TRD in PBJ. Really enjoy watching your videos, so keep them coming!
thanks for sharing!
Is the maxscent general color the Cinnamon purple flake? I am not seeing a plain purple?
no TW is sold out of purple so they took the color down off the website unfortunatly. Hopefully they will get some soon. Its a tough color to find
Matt
Great video as always.
could you please clarify the General color; was it cinnamon purple? TW does not list one named only Purple....possibly outbof stock?
the color is purple and it must out of stock since they dont have it listed.
Wow, what an awesome top five!!! Im not being a homer but I would take these five as my go to also and do it with confidence, The Pitboss and Flatworm are two of my very favorites so how could we go wrong… great list!!!
Nice!
You shared a great selection of baits that should work anywhere 👏
Thanks 👍
I guess I'm an oddball in the fact that I fish gin clear water, practically tap water, and the first color I tie on 9 times out of ten is junebug. Miles and I went back and forth on this a while back. I don't want my bait to blend in. I don't want the bass to have to work for my bait. I want to make it easy for them. And it seems to work a lot of the time. The only time I switch to a "natural" color, is if junebug or black/blue flake didn't get a bite.
stand out can make a big difference a lot of times!
That TRD is an EXCELLENT finesse/micro finesse jig trailer if they're keyed on bait fish profile
agred!
Put boss over all the better "craw" options? And for me I gotta have a lizard & Rage Tail Menace grub or Zoom Z-Craw
I love the Pit boss!
Matt, I enjoy your channel. I seem to like a lot of your ideas about fishing. Maybe because I'm from WI, too. I especially enjoyed your choice of stick baits mentioned in this video. My go-to bait is a soft stick bait almost the same color as the one you mentioned on your video. My second go-to bait is the Z-Man Pop Frogz. I love its buoyancy and durability.
I am new to swim-baits and I am wondering what you thoughts are on the Z-Man swim-baits, and how they compare to the Keitech. I know they would last longer but can they catch even half as many fish?
thanks for sharing!
In the Columbia Basin (Columbia, Yakima, Snake Rivers) I couldn't live without a pearl fluke. Mainly as a dropshot rig, but also fished as a jerk bait. Smallmouth love them.
its a great bait everywhere!
Great video Matt!!!! On the TRD I have good luck with the PB&J, on the stick baits I like either the Yum Dinger(Green Pumpkin) or SK Zero Z-Too(Dirt or purple). I guessed you're favorite pitching lure & I like it as well. Stay Safe & God Bless!!
Thanks! You too!
What color was that purple General worm? Looks like Grimace maybe. Thanks Matt!!
its the purple color
@@MattStefanFishing gotcha, you’re right Purple is impossible to find, Cinnamon Purple is the new color. Thanks for the help!!
the 5's for me:
OSP Dolive Beaver 3.5 in scapanon/plum blue flake, OSP Dolive Stick 4.5 in water melon pepper, Deps Sakamata Shad 5 in #146 color, Keitech Easy shiner 3 in bluegill flash, and Geecrack Imoripper 95 (3.8) in plum blue flake
good choices!
Great list of go to baits and colors! Is the purple General labeled "Cinnamon Purple Flake"?
no its purple. it must be out of stock because they took it off the TW website which they do when a color is out of stock a lot of the times
A little off topic. I remember you making a video about spinning rod accuracy but I can't remember which one.
i cant recall off the top of my head haha i guess ive made to many videos at this point. sorry im not helping
My favorite bait colors are green pumpkin blue, junebug, watermelon orange flake, googan baits Natural, and sprayed grass. Five favorite baits would be a 5 inch grass pig, zman fattyz, bandito bug, Baby brush hog, powerbait maxscent chigger craw. If only all my favorite baits had my favorite colors. Zoom has pretty much every color I like except googan natural. Honorable mention for me is a yum woolybug and probably Yums bream color.
all proven colors and baits. thanks for sharing!
Great information, as always! I’m interested to see what rod builds you have coming up. Caught the rod building bug last year (thanks to you), so I am building quite a few over the winter!
Very cool!
Could you discuss when chartreuse is best? To me it doesn't seem like a natural color so I'm not sure what it mimics
a lot of scientest say chartreuse appears to fish as white...whcih may give it a natural appearrance. I like to tip my baits in chartruese when fishing around bluegill as it can resemble pumpkinseed tails.
Related to kayak fishing, I’d love to see how you would look at a lake before a tournament knowing you’re essentially locked into one area. How do you decide where the best area would be.
Great suggestion!
great selections Matt! For 5 plastics, I think I’m right there with you. I may have thrown a fluke instead of a pitboss if I was on Lanier, otherwise I agree 💯
thanks!
I fish mostly Lake Fork with a local club all year round. Even a weedless Ned rig hangs up too easily with all the wood, and as co-angler, I never use one. Would the Zman TRD be on the list if Ned technique is impractical? Tackle Warehouse doesn't list the "Purple" General as an option, and the package in your video was unreadable. June Bug is an option at TW, but just doesn't look like the color you were holding in the video. Would you check the General package and let us know? For those of us who can afford/carry more than 5, but not a million, would be great to see a seasonal breakdown of best baits. That is, always have these 10 baits with you for winter, these for spring, these for summer, and these for fall. Love your videos, keep up the great work!
purple genreal is sold out and taken down from the TW website until they get more in
Do you ever throw a zoom trick worm? What is your equivalent of that bait?
I use a zoom trickworm a lot. Its one of my favorite shaky head baits and I love it as a floating worm
This is a great video! I'm a kayak angler myself and always interested in what other would take out with them out on the water ...my bait's would be a trick worm in june bug,3in pitboss in the big texan color,Z man finesse TRD craw in green pumpkin and a strike king rage swimmer in electric shad color... do you get out on the a fish?
Glad you enjoyed!
How do u hook the TRD as a dropshot bait? Wacky, thru the nose or threaded on....just curious.
both
I’d like to request a video on big swimbaits, such as 8” magdraft, big glides, etc. and their ideal use. Thanks!
Noted!
I'm old school and have a lot of patience but I'd say a culprit red shad worm on a very light weight that's pegged 20ish inches up. And the patience to dead stick it. Literally the best set up ever. I won't even bring it with me most trips so I can use my other lures. And i have plenty. But that culprit is money always.(best spring through fall)
thats a good worm!
I agree for the most part however get rid of the TRD and replace it with a zoom fluke (id go with albino for a color). You could cut down the Berkley general and use it as a ned rig. A fluke you can fish t-rigged and fish it several different ways( let it sink, twitch it, burn it like top water). You can also fish it as a trailer on a bladed jig (if you haven't tried it you'll thank me later) and you can drop shot it. just my 2 cents :)
thanks for sharing!
I was thinking the same thing on cutting down the General to a TRD size for neds. And for a specific lake I fish a lot, a fluke style lure is simply a must in a minnow natural color. My opinion is slanted by my favorite lake. However, what I'm now left wondering is how the flatworm would work rigged and used as a fluke in this same lake. If I can fluke it, I have now created room for another soft plastic.
1- Berkley 7” Power Worm in Junebug
2-Berkley Creature Hawg in Blk/Blu
3- Zoom Super Fluke in Albino
4- Zoom Baby Brush Hog in Green Pumpkin
5- Kaitech Paddle Tail Minnow 3.8 in Ghost Shad
awesome!
I just recently bought couple packs of different colors maxscent flat worms 4". I haven't fished them yet but everyone talks like their great. Zman has a similar shaped bait I have I've done very well with. It doesn't have the scent though. I've done very well with small & magnum hit worms. I think I will always have them in my kayak for sure!
they are good ones!
I would do top 5 lures then the top 5 colors so people can match them to their water.
My top 5 lures
1. Trick Worm
2. Super Fluke
3. Stickbait
4. Swimbait
5. 5” Lizard (I can’t leave it off my list. It’s caught too many big bass and can do in the place of creature baits a lot of times.)
Top 5 colors
1. Green pumpkin
2. Watermelon seed
3. Black
4. Generic baitfishy color for the swimbait. They all seem to work about the same for me.
5. Pearl white for the flukes but I wish someone would make a pearl white floating worm.
Some red and chartreuse dye can add versatility to the green pumpkin and watermelon seed.
good idea!
Definitely senko style worms, I really like the max scent cinnamon purple & green pumpkin of course, small & large swimbaits & I would b content for soft plastics
i like that one too!
5" senko gr pumpkin gold flake, kietech swimbait, purple brown trd Ned, little ika in rootbeer, 6" roboworm in oxblood. So my lake has come up well over 20' and still rising 6" per day into areas that haven't seen water in ten years, brush, trails, roadbeds. So many options and ?s . How soon will they move up in there? Oxygen levels?
fast if the water is warmer than main lake...like hours rather than days
Thanks Matt, that means their already there, but the lake is closed due to debris and ramp issues, can't wait, excited 😀
Anyway you could do a video on how best to fish a river for smallmouth for a person without fancy electronics?
ill put it on my video suggestion list.
I’m new to your channel.. I’m enjoying what I’m seeing now..
Welcome!!
Is the general color called "Cinnamon Purple Flake" ? I cant find any other purple color.
nope iots called purple but must be backordered at the moment
Do not forget the sleeper gill or dark sleeper or structure gill. In the alternative, the BB gun you have in the background.
sounds good!
Hey Matt ,
I have sooo many
Bags of soft plastics but never seem to use even a quarter of them . Do you really use all those you have in that room
Plus I'd image you many more in the boat ?
these are actually spares to ones in my boat.
Is that Jack Link in the background?
HELL NO!
Green pumpkin powerbait lug worm a must
nice!
Oh, I'm so glad they didn't ask me! Time of year, type of lake or pond, bottom comp or vegetation. My brain may have exploded. The plastics were good but all the possibilities on hooks, weights, jig's would have had me. I probably would have sank the kayak.
haha! i hear yeah!
Zman zinker in dirt
Pit boss in GP
Cutter worm in bluecraw
Hazedong in GP shad
4.25 flatworm in brown back
hard to argue with those picks!
I'd like a kayak rod / reel arsenal on the same premise of if you were limited on space and budget to say four setups.
interesting topic! i like it!
You know I am going to ask you again in March about your hovershot rig/hook.
haha! its scheduled to come out in a couple of weeks. Just wrapping up some legal stuff!
The ones that I always bring with me is the fat ika , It saves me in lots of days
there are a bunch of hardcore users of the fat ika!
An unsolicited comment you may like; Give the topics one micro-brews time to answer. Or more if you must :) Another fun and valuable topic. I'd think you could break this down to rivers, lakes, etc.... Dang it, unsolicited. I'd go with giant TRD over TRD. Can cut down to Ned size. Flipping trailer, C-rig. Options. Big fan of the Power baits, tough call. Be well sir.
i like it! thanks!
I'd take those 5 watermelon red works well here.👍👍👍👍👍
watermelon red is a good color!
super bug in missle baits dbomb , black , green pumpkin , black blue , redshad , white ,
good ones!
@@MattStefanFishing i forgot watermelon red and crawdad or moccosin
Would love to learn more about boat position when fishing different types of structure… I’ve learned tons about where bass are likely to set up in recent months on UA-cam, but I’m not clear on how best to position the boat/kayak and attack those areas.
good video suggestion!
There is a surprising lack of basic science research on what bass can see but lure companies are surprisingly proficient at using colors to catch fishermen like me using colors to set the hook and reel me in. Yesterday I bought plastic worms in Margarita Mutilator color because it looked good to me even though I know better. Biologists from the University of Illinois and Cornell University recently published a research study titled "Seeing red: color vision in the largemouth bass" in Current Zoology in March of 2019. The study does have limitations in that they only used juvenile largemouth bass (both northern and Florida strains) so these results may not apply to smallmouth bass and spotted bass. Bottom line is that bass only have two cones (red and green) and one rod (shades of grey) so they can see red and green and shades of grey/black. Humans are trichromatic in regard to their cones, so we see colors differently than bass. The second point is that bass were not able to distinguish between white and chartreuse; however, they should be slightly different shades of the same color. Chartreuse should appear white to bass. The third important point is that largemouth bass were not able to distinguish between blue and black so you can probably throw all of the black, blue, and blue/black baits in the same box. The issue is much more complicated, as we all know, as there are many variables including ripples/waves (makes colors darker), sunlight (noon sun has different spectrum than morning and evening sun), particulates in the water, and water depth (red is the first color to disappear). As Matt alluded to, does a green worm with red flake make a difference? Maybe as bass can see both colors but there is no published research on this. Does layering a worm with different colors make a difference (think Roboworms)? Does a translucent worm catch more fish under certain circumstances? Does a green pumpkin worm with a chartreuse tail catch more fish than just a green pumpkin worm under some conditions? These areas need more basic science research. Finally, Matt based on his experience has actually picked colors that make some biological sense. Purple/oxblood (should be at least partially picked up by red cones), green pumpkin/watermelon (should be picked up by green cones), blue/black (should be picked up by one end of the rods scale, and white (should be picked up by the other end of the rod scale). Great video. I guess I will still try Margarita Mutilator!
thanks for sharing!
My guesses for matt’s picks
5” General
Flat worm
4” Pit boss
3.3 Power swimmer/keitech
4” the deal
close!
Good selection Matt. I’m going with the Roboworm Ned (3” and 4”), Roboworm Fat Straight Tail worm in the 7”, 6” Yamamoto Senko and the Keitech swim baits. The Roboworm straight tail is good on a drop shot or Shakey Head, the Senko can be used as a jig trailer. I’m leaving out the craw style baits for flipping so that has to be an honorable mention (Yamamoto Double Tail Grub).
great baits!
Gimme your top 5 Top Waters!! 😊
good idea!
1. Zman palmetto bug black/blue
2. Zman ned finesse the deal
3. Strike King rage bug black/blue
4. Frog booyah pad crasher green/white
5. Berkeley pit boss 4 inch black/blue.
good picks!
I. Like your choice
Thanks
1) Z Man Slim Swim Z in Pearl Blue Glimmer 2) Zoom Z Craw Jr in Yabby Craw
3) Zoom Super Fluke in Green Pumpkin 4) Z Man TRD Green Pumpkin 5) Strike King 4 inch Ocho Blue Craw Swirl
Thanks for sharing!!
I wanna see someone but a rage swimmer on a underspin with a zman skirt on it or something like that nobody has tried it
sounds neat!
Just wondering how often your viewers use a swimbait on a Carolina Rig and if there are specific times of year or places they would use it?
Thanks!
iknow people are doing and honestly probably not enough!
Hey Matt: I chose ZMAN Trick ShotZ for dropshotting. Especially when it comes to nose-hooking durability and horizontal suspension, they're a worthy competitor to the Berkley Maxscent Flatworm. My paddletail swimbait of choice is the Jackall Rhythmwave, again for durability over the ultra-popular Keitech.
good picks!