Exploring the Latest Trends in Bass Lures

Bass lures have come a long way since sport fishing first entered the spotlight.

If you look at the earliest vintage bass lures from the 30s and 40s, and even into the 50s and 60s when bass fishing first started to resemble what it is today, you probably won’t even recognize them due to the different materials, build quality, and design trends of the time. 

However, while your trips down the tackle aisle over the last decade might seem to be similar each time with a few new products added, the evolution of bass lures is still ongoing, and it won’t stop any time soon. 

Every day, anglers are finding new go-to lures, coming up with new rigs, and changing things up to keep things fresh, and companies are making sure to stay ahead of that and innovate the market. 

Today, we’re going to explore the new bass lures on the market and bass lure trends anglers are starting to pick up on. 

Let’s get started!

Bass Lure Trends Anglers Need to Try Now

Before we start digging into actual products we think you should try, we’re going to go over some of the trends that have taken hold of the bass fishing community and whether they’re worth trying out. 

1: Downsizing

This is a big one. Throughout the twenty-teens, there was a bit of an infatuation with massive glide baits and swimbaits, 10-inch worms, and other big lures. The idea was that a bigger lure was how you caught a bigger fish.

You even got to see this in the professional circuit with anglers such as Manabu Kurita from Japan using them exclusively. You also saw this pattern with influencers who seemed to always toss big baits on big rods and pull in massive bass on every cast. 

While still popular, the new trend in catching giant bass is using smaller realistic-looking baits on lighter line and spinning gear employing precise presentations including “shaking” small jig type baits with plastic trailers to mimic the oscillations of a swimming baitfish. 

A lot of anglers have dialed down the size of their lures, and you’ll see that with quite a few of our recommendations later. 

From micro crankbaits to soft-plastic swimbaits that are shorter than your traditional Senko, smaller lures are finding their way into tackle boxes all over the place. 

This can also be due to the innovation taking place in the gear world. A few years ago, the standard was you needed a more finesse-based spinning rod to toss small to medium-weight baits effectively, and baitcasters needed heavier lures to work well.

Baitcasting setups are the most popular among serious anglers. So, that impacted bass lure trends. 

Now, the market is seeing an uptick in “finesse” baitcasting reels that can work exceptionally well with even the lightest lures. So, options are opening up, and anglers are trying new things. 

2: A Focus on Vibration

This is something you’ll see throughout our recommended lures section. Vibration has been a focus of lure makers for a long time, but it’s becoming a defining feature on many of the latest lure options, and anglers are loving it. 

We’re not just talking about adding rattles into crankbaits or making ultra-soft plastics that shake more erratically, either. 

The details of the soft plastics have gotten much more elaborate to include fine ridges and ribs that allow for unmatched vibrations and more sophisticated actions in the water. We can largely attribute this to the advancement of manufacturing and the work put into making lures that both attract anglers and fish.

Things can be made more complicated and tend to end up in tackle boxes fast. 

3: Focusing Anatomy on Action Instead of Looks

For the longest time, you’d see a lot of hyper-realistic lures on the market. The thought process behind them was that, since they looked real, they’d trigger more bites. Well, while realism can be helpful, a lot of the latest lures are whacky-looking. To our human eyes, they look nothing like the prey they’re emulating. 

There’s just a bigger focus on creating a high-quality action and producing the underwater profile of bait fish rather than straight-up emulating it.

The Best New Bass Lures for Your Tackle Box

Finally, we’re going to dive into our favorite new bass lures that are trending among anglers as we speak. You should notice that they tend to fall into the trends we talked about above in various ways, and they’re a big departure from the top lures of years gone by. 

1: Keitech Impact Swing Swimbait

This is one of the top lures out right now, and there’s a good reason for it. The Keitech Impact Swimbait is a soft-plastic swimbait that is impregnated with a highly effective squid scent that drives bass nuts. 

It features a super-soft body to ensure its traditional kicktail can smack around in the water with ease, but it starts to differ a bit when you look at the body. It’s more of a tube or worm body than most traditional swimbaits.

This keeps it streamlined, gives it a slender profile that can mimic a baitfish or a worm, and it’s fairly easy to rig. On top of that, the body is ribbed with a series of fine, deep-running ribs that vibrate and fluctuate when it’s pulled through the water. 

Another great benefit of the Keitech is that you can get it in fairly large packs, allowing you to take one out at a time without exposing the others to the air. This helps the plastic and the impregnated scent stay in good condition for a long time if you store it in a cool area not exposed to direct sunlight.  

However, one drawback to the Impact Swing is that it is extremely soft and won’t take as much of a beating as some sturdier and thicker, soft-plastic lures. If you’re trying to catch trophy-sized bass, you certainly understand that you’re going to need to invest money into good lures regularly, though. 

2: EuroTackle Micro Finesse Hellgrammite

As we said, downsizing is extremely popular right now, and in some water conditions, it’s even essential if you want to catch any fish at all. Specifically, when the bite is slow and bass is turning away from those big, suspicious staples of the fishing community.  

This EuroTackle Micro Finesse Hellgrammite is one of those downsized lures that are becoming extremely popular now that Bait Finesse Systems have started hitting the market.

At less than two inches in length with many thin legs, this little guy is great for dropping slowly through the water column, grabbing the attention of bass, and bouncing it around rocks. It’s also infused with S-pheromone to help attract fish more effectively. 

These are great baits, and this isn’t the only time you’ll see EuroTackle on this list, but there is one thing you need to consider if you pick it up. You will likely end up with multiple species hitting your line. 

These smaller finesse baits can fire up bass when the bite is slow, and they let you test out just how sensitive a BFS is, but they’re small enough for bluegill and other small fish to tear them up, too. If you only want bass, you might want to consider using this as a last resort. 

3: EuroTackle B-Vibe 

The EuroTackle B-Vibe is another finesse lure that is going to help out on harder days when the bass is either over-pressured or simply not going after bigger baits, but it is more substantial than the Hellgrammite we mentioned. 

This is a 3” swimbait that is close in design to the Keitech we mentioned earlier, but it’s smaller, and it uses the S-Pheromone scent that EuroTackle developed. 

Again, as a smaller bait, this might get bites from fish that you’re not targeting. However, with good lure placement and presentation, largemouth with rip this one up cast after cast. 

4: Z-Man Gremlin

Moving away from the tiny baits for high-pressure situations, we have a real monster to recommend. Z-Man, a respected lure brand among bass anglers specifically, has released the Z-Man Gremlin. 

This is a large creature bait with a more “craw-like” anatomy, but it does a few things differently than other craws. 

First, despite having a relatively small size at just 4.5 inches in length, it creates a bulky high-action profile in the water. This is due to its thick and sturdy body combined with long, thin ribbons that represent the claws and antennas of crawfish. 

As you hop the Gremlin across the bottom, those ribbons fluctuate all over the place and make it look a lot bigger than it is. Adding to the vibration and action of the lure is a ribbed design on the stout body.

However, since it’s a bit more fast-acting and it’s not exactly a “craw”, you’re not as limited with it. The Gremlin will work great with a football jig being hopped along the bottom like any other craw, but you can get creative.

You can drop-shot it, Texas rig it, use it as a trailer on a swim jig, or toss it weightless and let those ribbons go to work as it slowly falls. 

Since it’s a heftier lure, you also don’t need to get into the BFS trend to work it effectively. With any of the weighted rigs, you can easily use your standard baitcaster, and weightless presentations are fine on the right spinning equipment. 

5: Crush City Customs NED BLT

If you’ve used Rapala baits in your lifetime, you’ve likely been impressed. There’s a reason it’s a staple in the industry and will likely continue to outlive a bunch of other brands. 

Well, Crush City is a new addition to the Rapala brand, and it’s a line of soft plastics. There are a bunch of Crush City options, but we want to focus on the NED BLT. At the time of this writing, it’s getting late into 2024, and it’s time to start taking a more subtle approach to fishing. The NED rig is perfect for that. 

The NED BLT is designed specifically to be set up on a NED rig and bopped around nose first. 

It features premium plastic that’s soft but durable, and thanks to Rapala’s advanced injection molding capabilities, it’s not just a bit of plastic jammed into a mold. The special molding process allows for flakes, colors, salt, and scents to be injected into precise parts of the bait instead of just infused throughout it.

This creates more detailed lures that are designed perfectly for the style they’re meant to be fished in, and it’s not something you see a lot right now. 

The best way to fish this is with a quarter-ounce NED weight. Let it fall, and then bop it around slowly. The bait takes care of most of the presentation for you, and it’s perfect as we head into the slower season. 

Of course, Crush City also has a ton of other molds to choose from, and you’d be smart to pick a few bags up in different styles. A lot of other anglers already are. 

6: Wicked Lures Bass Killers

You can’t beat the simplicity of a good old inline spinner. They can catch everything from trout to largemouth, depending on the size and color you pick, and they’re easy to use while still being consistent. 

These are a great option right now because they maintain that consistency while innovating a bit. They don’t just feature glowing threads for high visibility. They also feature a wide-gap single hook instead of the traditional treble hook. 

The bass fishing scene is mostly catch-and-release now, and that’s due to a focus on preservation. The use of a single hook lowers the chance of foul hooking the bass, and it’s easier to remove the hook without causing undue damage or taking forever. So, these should be added to your tackle box as a catch-and-release angler. 

Catch Your Personal Best with Bass Forecast

These are just a few of the best new bass lures, and new ones are being made every day. However, they’re popular around the country, and they’re proven to catch fish. You can find most of them at Tackle Warehouse, too.

If you want to boost your chances of success further, consider downloading the BassForecast fishing app. 

The app provides expert advice and optimal fishing times to make your outing even more rewarding.