The Top Bass Fishing Lures

Soft Plastics
Soft plastics are known to be very effective largemouth bass lures. They come in an astounding variety of shapes, sizes and colors. There are soft plastics that imitate worms, bugs, baitfish, crayfish, waterdogs, and frogs to name a few. There are also tubebaits and new "freak baits" that don't imitate anything in particular, but they have wings, legs, feelers and other appendages that make them look alive and give them unusual action.

Soft plastics can be rigged on an unweighted hook, directly on a jighead, finesse rigged, Carolina rigged, Texas rigged, drop-shotted or wacky rigged. For a finesse rig, one or more small split shot are attached to the line, usually at least a foot or two ahead of the hook, and the soft plastics used are usually small and have little or no action on their own.

Topwater bass lures draw dramatic strikes, especially in the warmer months. This includes poppers and dog-walking baits like Zara Spooks and the Spit 'N' Image. Try working these baits fast, because they are generally intended for active bass. However, a slower retrieve also often works. Some pros like to work Zara Spooks and similar baits very slowly, pausing for long periods, then giving a slight twitch like a dying baitfish. There are other topwater lures designed for use in heavy weeds or lily pads, which are usually shaped like frogs or mice.

Crankbaits have become very specialized bass fishing lures. They are available in sizes from about an inch to 15-inches. Many are rated to dive to specific depths. Some float, some sink and some suspend.

Some crankbaits have special lips and wings to help prevent snagging in timber. There are also lipless crankbaits that have more realistic baitfish profiles. Crankbaits get their action from a simple crank of the reel handle. As the reel pulls them in, they wobble back and forth.

However, stop-and-start retrieves and varying the speed can also be keys to getting a bite. For the best action, the line should be tied right to the crankbaits eye or split ring, not attached using a swivel or snap. Sometimes crankbaits need to be tuned by carefully bending the eye toward one side or the other until they run straight.

Jerkbaits are long and slender. They are usually fished using a jerk-reel-jerk-reel retrieve. Jerkbaits usually have a small lip that causes them to twitch and/or make short dives. The original jerkbaits were made of wood and floated. Now they are also available in suspending models. Floating models can often be used quite effectively as surface bass lures instead of a Zara Spook or popper. Soft-plastic jerkbaits achieve a similar action to hard-plastic jerk baits, even though they don't usually have lips.

Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits
Spinnerbaits are one of the most popular bass fishing lures to use. They have a jig-like head with a skirt or soft plastic body and an arm that reaches up and then back with one or more spinner blades. There are Colorado blades (shaped like rounded eggs), Indiana blades (shaped like long eggs), and Willow leaf blades (shaped like a willow leaf or a very narrow football).

By using different sizes and shapes of blades, a spinnerbait can be tuned to run very shallow or very deep. Many anglers only use spinnerbaits in shallow to mid-depth water, but more and more anglers are learning to "slow roll" spinnerbaits so they bump along the bottom.

There are also in-line spinnerbaits like Mepps or Roostertails, which have a spinner blade attached to the front of a weighted body. They have a hook (often skirted with rubber or feathers) at the back end. Traditionally considered a trout lure, larger models of in-line spinnerbaits are gaining popularity with bass anglers.

These bass fishing lures are primarily fished within a few feet below the surface. This is when bass are chasing baitfish near the surface and success can be had with either a steady retrieve or an occasional pause.

Buzzbaits are a lot like spinnerbaits, but they have enormous, almost prop-like blades that make a lot of splashing and noise at the water's surface. The noise often aggravates bass into striking. Buzzbaits are usually retrieved steadily right at the surface.

Jigs and Spoons
Jigs are hooks with a built-in weight. Soft plastic or pork trailers can be added. Some jigs come with skirts made of rubber, silicone, animal hair or feathers.

These bass fishing lures come in many shapes and sizes. Round jigheads run straight. Wedged or cone-shaped jigheads dart erratically. Vertically compressed jigheads (taller than they are wide) fall fast to run deep or be cranked at extremely fast speeds. Horizontally compressed jigheads (wider than they are tall) fall slowly and/or wobble. And football jigs (built like a sideways football) are good for dragging along the bottom without snagging in rocks.

There are more different configurations possible with jigs than any other lure and certainly too many to list here. The real advantage with a jig is they are usually much cheaper than other lures, so anglers don't worry as much about losing one in a hard-to-reach spot in thick cover. Many jig fishermen paint their own jigheads and add their own skirts, bucktail, marabou or other feathers, soft plastic trailers or pork trailers.

In winter periods, many anglers like to downsize their baits and work them slowly because the fish are less active. Vertical Jigs or jigging spoons can be used in the winter or whenever bass are inactive. They imitate the frantic vertical zips of feeding shad. Spoons are swum or deep-jigged in many of the same situations as jigs, and trailers are sometimes added to them (so they are included in this category). Vertical jigs and jigging spoons are also useful anytime bass are schooling deep or relating to deep structure.

Live Bait
Bass will eat almost anything, including small bass. Their large, vacuum-like mouths were designed to allow them to slurp up prey from small insects to 12-inch rainbow trout. Many states allow the use of shad, mud-suckers, minnows, crawdads, waterdogs, frogs, worms, and insects like grasshoppers for fishing. These baits can be rigged and presented in almost any manner imaginable. Make sure you check the local regulations on their live-bait policies

The most popular way to rig crawdads and waterdogs is with a sliding weight above a swivel, with a leader attached to the hook. A crawdad would then be hooked through the tail and worked slowly but continuously along the bottom so it can't wedge itself into a hiding spot, but looks natural. A water dog would normally be hooked through the lower jaw and out near the nostrils. Live worms are often also rigged with a weight, swivel and leader, though many are hooked and presented like a soft-plastic worm.

As you can see, there are many types of bass fishing lures on the market. Each has its own specific purpose and advantages depending on your situation. Make sure you have an array of bass lures the next time you hit the water. Your success might depend on it.

Thanks for reading.

Good fishing.

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