If you want to catch more largemouth bass, learning how to select the ideal fishing lures will make a significant impact in your next fishing expedition. Selecting an effective lure may make all the difference!
There are four basic types of bass fishing lures – jigs, crankbaits, plastic worms and spinnerbaits. Each offers their own set of strengths and weaknesses; to maximize success when fishing for bass you must understand these different lures’ specific attributes.
Introduction————————-
Bass fishing lures come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, making it essential to choose the right one for the situation. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore different types of lures, seasonal tips, pro angler insights, color selection, lure modifications, and top brands to help you level up your angling game.
Lure Types
- Crankbaits: These lures mimic the swimming action of baitfish, making them ideal for covering large areas. They come in various diving depths and shapes, such as lipless and square-billed crankbaits.
- Spinnerbaits: Featuring a spinning blade, these lures create vibration and flash to attract bass. Their weedless design makes them perfect for fishing around vegetation and cover.
- Topwater Lures: These lures create surface disturbance, provoking aggressive strikes from bass. Popular styles include poppers, buzzbaits, and walking baits.
- Soft Plastics: These versatile lures can be rigged in many ways, like Texas or Carolina rigging. Examples include worms, creature baits, and swimbaits.
- Jigs: Ideal for fishing in heavy cover, jigs imitate crawfish and can be paired with soft plastic trailers for added action.
Seasonal Tips
- Spring: As bass move to shallower waters for spawning, use spinnerbaits, jigs, and soft plastics with natural colors.
- Summer: Target deeper waters with crankbaits, worms, and jigs in brighter colors to attract bass seeking cooler temperatures.
- Fall: Focus on shad patterns with lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwater lures as bass actively feed before winter.
- Winter: Slow down your presentation using finesse tactics with jigs and soft plastics in darker colors.
Pro Angler Insights
- KVD’s Square-Bill: Kevin VanDam, a professional bass angler, recommends using a square-bill crankbait around shallow cover to trigger reaction strikes.
- Skipping Techniques: Pro angler Gary Klein suggests skipping soft plastics or jigs under docks and overhanging trees for hard-to-reach bass.
Lure Color Selection
Water clarity, sunlight, and forage influence bass fishing lures color choices. Use natural colors in clear water, bright colors in murky water, and experiment with metallic or fluorescent hues during low-light conditions.
Lure Modifications
- Trailers: Add soft plastic trailers to jigs and spinnerbaits for extra action and profile.
- Hooks: Upgrade hooks for better penetration, sharpness, and durability.
- Weights: Adjust lure weights to control casting distance, diving depth, or sink rate.
Case Studies on Bass Fishing Lures
- Big Bass on Topwater: Angler John Smith landed a 10-pound largemouth using a topwater frog around lily pads during an early morning outing.
Top Lure Brands
- Strike King: Renowned for their quality crankbaits and spinnerbaits, including the popular KVD series.
- Yamamoto: Creator of the legendary Senko, a soft plastic worm that has become a staple among bass anglers.
- Rapala: A trusted brand for lifelike minnow-style baits, such as the Original Floating and Shad Rap.
Conservation
Practice catch-and-release and proper handling techniques to preserve bass populations for future generations.
Jigs for Bass Fishing Lures
Jigs are among the most versatile bass fishing lures, working well in water conditions of various clarity levels and depths. Additionally, they’re one of the most effective techniques that enable anglers to capture more fish than almost any other lure.
There are numerous styles of jigs designed specifically to target bass species at specific depths or depth ranges. They come in all sorts of designs to accommodate this, as well as being used for any species that might swim past.
Grass Jigs: These fishing lures are specially designed to navigate grassy environments and feature a pointed head with a recessed hook and strong weed guard. Lighter in weight than other jigs, grass jigs need to skim across the surface without dragging. You could add additional attraction by attaching an item such as crawfish bait for more attraction.
Swim Jigs: These jigs are specifically designed to resemble swimming prey. With their smaller profile and adaptable design, these lures can be fitted with soft plastic trailer baits such as paddle tails or small grubs – or with lead or tungsten jigheads with built-in weedguards for even greater effectiveness.
Football Jigs: These jigs feature heads shaped similarly to that of a football or rugby ball, enabling them to travel easily along hard-bottom and rocky areas without getting caught between crevices or being caught between crevices. Crawfish Trailers can often be added as part of this package in order to simulate natural conditions more realistically.
How to use them: These versatile jigs can be pitched, skidded and flipped for effective fishing on mid-depth structure such as banks, flats and points with steep gradients. Their best results come when fished on light jigheads (e.g. 1/8 to 2 oz weight) equipped with hook and weed guard.
They can be pulled along mid-depth structure using short tugs or the lift-drop technique, and also used for schooling fish in deeper water.
Leaded or tungsten heads can be found on soft plastic baits such as shads or bluegills for maximum effectiveness.
Crankbaits for Bass Fishing Lures
Crankbaits are one of the most effective types of bass fishing lures. They’re great for targeting largemouth bass in spring and summer months. Plus, their use in different environments makes them convenient and user-friendly!
Before choosing your crankbait, select one that matches the species of fish you intend to pursue. Crankbaits typically fall into four categories: squarebill/shallow diving (less than 8 feet of depth), medium diving (8-12 feet depth) or deep (12’+). Lipless baits also exist.
Round bill crankbaits are among the most widely-used models of fishing bait. Diving to a specific depth based on its size, these lures often come equipped with metal chips at the nose to help it sink deeper.
Crankbaits stand out from other bass fishing lures by featuring rattles to attract bass fish and interact with its environment. These sounds help attract the bass by giving off the impression of movement through water and interactivity with surroundings.
Crankbaits with rattles can also be effective ways of catching bass when fishing in murky or murky water conditions. Pick one with bright colors, as these will attract predatory fish. Just ensure that it doesn’t appear unrealistic. And this is another reason these are one of the best bass fishing lures to consider.
When selecting a crankbait, be mindful of its weight and action. A heavier crankbait will provide greater stability on the water surface while swimming faster.
Be mindful of what type of hooks are attached to your crankbait; larger hooks will provide greater penetration through cover and capture more fish.
Crankbaits come in various sizes to match whatever bass species you’re targeting, making it easier than ever before to find one that’ll do just what you need it to. When targeting smallmouth bass, go with lures with smaller weight. This gives more control over its action and ensures that it jigs directly at them!
Plastics For Bass Fishing Lures
Soft plastics are an indispensable component of any bass fishing arsenal. Easy to use, these baits mimic fish, crawfish, bugs and amphibians found in nature – creating the ultimate mimicry experience!
Also, they’re extremely effective when fished under specific circumstances, such as clear water when other baits have failed or when fishing conditions are harsh. When used appropriately, they can trigger bites when other baits haven’t, or catch bass when feeding has stopped or conditions become difficult.
When using plastic lures as bass fishing bait, the primary concern should be safety for the fish to consume. Some materials used can be harmful if consumed by fish and it takes considerable time for biodegradation to occur.
Soft plastic lures provide a safe and cost-effective way to test out various lure types without breaking the bank.
Soft plastic baits for bass fishing often include worms and craws, which can be fished either Texas rigged or on a jighead for maximum effectiveness. Some methods of use may prove more successful than others when it comes to catching bass; all work well when used effectively to catch fish.
Bass fishing with creature-style soft plastic baits has long been a successful strategy, as these baits look similar to lizards, worms or crawfish and provide action that draws bass in.
There are also swimbaits constructed of soft plastic that are great at drawing fish into striking distance even under low visibility conditions, while others even come equipped with scent to further increase chances of strike.
Soft plastic baits as bass fishing lures include finesse worms, grubs, craws and jerkbaits as some of the most widely-used examples. Their thin profile allows fish to pick them up without exerting as much effort while simultaneously drawing in those fish that may otherwise shy away. Plus they’re simple and straightforward rigging procedures make these an excellent option for beginner anglers!
Spinnerbaits Bass Fishing Lures
Spinnerbaits are versatile bass fishing lures that can be utilized in various situations. Spinnerbaits as bass fishing lures can be particularly helpful when fish are actively searching shallow waters or hunting baitfish; additionally they make for an effective means of searching out active bass in certain locations.
These lures produce lots of turbulence, noise, and flashing reflections which trigger a fish’s lateral line system – an array of sensory receptors designed to detect vibrations transmitted through water – as a warning signal or potential prey location indicator. Bass can use their lateral line system to sense danger from faraway locations that might warn them off danger or signal intruders or potential prey presence.
Spinnerbaits as a top choice for bass fishing lures should be cast into clear water when bass are actively searching shallow or cover for food, to give them enough time to inspect and react to your lure in bright, sunny conditions. This gives the best chances for success.
On cloudy or overcast days, it’s wise to slow your retrieve and jerk your lure sporadically instead of running it quickly in order to allow bass closer inspection and more strikes.
Spinnerbaits can also be effective by deflecting them off cover such as stumps, dock piling and rocks/limbs – this causes its blades to spin around more freely and often leads to bites from bass.
Spinnerbait fishing in water over two feet deep requires targeting close cover so the blades glint under sunlight and catch bass’ attention, while bass usually are more drawn in by lures that sink deeper.
Under windy conditions, when casting spinnerbaits it is best to cast them parallel to the wind. This technique is particularly beneficial in points or creeks where winds may be blowing against your lure.
Choose a head size smaller than the bait’s weight to ensure a more gradual drop back to the bottom with more flutter as it falls. This makes it easier for bass to strike your bait since they won’t see its movement in the water as quickly compared to heavier baits.
Further Reading
Check out these related articles on our website for more information on bass fishing techniques and gear:
- How to Choose the Right Bass Fishing Rod
- Top Bass Fishing Reels for Every Angler
- Mastering Different Bass Fishing Techniques
- Essential Gear for Bass Fishing Success
Conclusion
Choosing the right bass fishing lures can make all the difference in your angling success. With this comprehensive guide, you now have the knowledge to select the best lures for various situations, optimize their performance, and benefit from expert tips. Remember to consider the time of year, water conditions, and local forage when making your lure choices. Tight lines and happy fishing!
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