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20 Dec

Best Bass Fishing Lures - Ultimate Guide To Bass Fishing Lures

Antonie Meeker
Bass Fishing Tips

Fishing has always been a complex activity, with many factors determining the number of bass you catch. Fish movement patterns, types of weather, barometric pressure specific baits, and lures all impact the success you will have as a fisherman.

Historically speaking, many anglers didn’t have enough knowledge of what affects fishing. Today there is much more information on the factors which affect fishing and how much they do.

Lures are, if not the key, then certainly a significant factor in fishing. Bass catchers, in particular, have been wondering which the best bass fishing lures are, and this article will answer the question with much information and professional advice.

To understand the best bass fishing lures, let’s first find out why fishing lures are crucial to successful fishing.

Why Are Fishing Lures Important In Fishing?

A lure is an imitation of an animal, living or dead, that fish might consider a food source, an annoyance, or a threat and strike it. Fishing lures are essential partly because obtaining the right bait might be expensive but mostly because lures can be more enjoyable. The making can be somewhat creative and give the fishing experience a refreshing note and proper preparation for the fishing day.

One of the main reasons fishing lures are essential is because using bait can injure or kill fish by hooking deeply inside their bodies. You will avoid this and be able to release larger healthy fish to ensure the future of the fishery for yourself and others.

Some folks use live baits, and some prefer lures. In some areas of the US, live bait is not allowed for some fish because they are so effective, and also kill a lot of fish. For conservation reasons, only lures are allowed, so sometimes, they might be the only option if you want to catch fish.

There are times when using lures is more practical than using bait. When fishing for big fish, such as bass, keeping live bait secured to the hook may be challenging. You’ll keep losing bait. Lures, on the other hand, you can repeatedly throw into the water, avoiding such problems.

Fishing rod with spinning reel casted into body of water

If you are going to catch fish, you must cast something onto the water. You certainly won’t catch bass fish by sitting at the riverbank, staring into space. Fish are attracted to what they see at the surface of the water, obviously thinking it might be prey. Without lures, there would be no fishing.

So, now that we have fully grasped the seemingly obvious question ‘why are lures important,’ let’s see what the best fishing lures are when fishing for bass.

Which Are The Best Bass Fishing Lures?

The so-called stickbaits have only recently become tremendously popular among bass anglers. Why? They are meant for long throws. Long throws are essential in bass fishing since covering a larger area of the water attracts more bass. Their heavyweight also makes them immensely throwable, even in a stiff wind. Long casts that stick baits have the advantage of covering a great deal of water with each retrieve. Stickbaits are usually colorful and have an enticing “injured baitfish” action compensating for their basic shape and beneficially affecting the bite.

Curl Tail Grub or curl tail jig is a rounded, soft, plastic body lure with a thin curved wiggly tail. It’s not fancy but is very versatile, and big game fish, like bass, are easily caught by it. You can use it in several different manners: casting it out and retrieving it through the middle, bouncing it along the bottom, drop shotting it, Carolina rigging it are just some of the ways. This versatility makes Curl Tail Grub an excellent lure for beginners. It makes fishing easy anywhere and under any weather conditions.

Curl Tail Grub or curl tail jig fishing bait blue green and neon yellow

Spinnerbait is a perfect choice if you are fishing for bass over hardcover like sunken timber and boulders. It will bounce and bump over hard surfaces and lure bass, which have found a shelter around big objects in the water. However, since Spinnerbait will catch weeds while strolling through the water, choose colors like white and green with a silver blade to get started. Make sure to gradually retrieve it through the reeds or bump so as not to lose fish by tearing it when moving over the edges of water objects or getting it hung up.

See also: Where To Fish For Bass In Texas? TX Bass Fishing Guide

The unique square shape of Square Bill Crankbait makes it bang off hardcover and thus attract bass like little else. Bass easily spot it, and deflecting away from cover is what often triggers nearby fish to bite. You can make the most of Square Bill Crankbait in shallow water; however, it can reach the deep, unapproachable spots with a bit of adjusting. What is the best way to use Square Bill Crankbait? When bass move shallow in the spring and fall, a squarebill fished near the structure is a great option.

Skirted Bass Jig is highly versatile and popular among bass anglers. This lure presents best by mastering the pitching and flipping tactics with your bait caster, so it’s not suitable for beginners. Its versatility is evident in many techniques which can be applied when using this lure. You can make it hop like a crawfish startled by a predator or let it down a slope. If there is a hardcover, you can crawl it slowly over it. Plant it deep under docks. It can reach matted vegetation, swim through the underwater grass and reach both shallow and deep areas. There are no limits when it comes to Skirted Bass Jig.

If you are going for deep bass hiding places, your choice of lure is Lipless Crankbait. Not only is it speedy, traveling around 1 Ft. per second, but it is also able to reach very accurate places. It makes rattling movements and sounds in the deep waters and lures bass like little else. The rattling feature is essential since the bass are prone to dispersing over wide spaces in deep water searching for food. Lipless Crankbait gathers them where you want them to be.

Lipless crankbait neon yellow

Now that you know which fishing lures are best for catching bass, let us help you learn how to choose the lure you need.

How To Pick The Best Bass Fishing Lure

Picking the best bass fishing lure is a science since plenty of factors, such as weather, watercolor, fish moving patterns, feeding times, and many more, affect the catch and the pick of the perfectly adjusted lure. In this chapter, we have listed just some of the techniques for picking the best bass fishing lures to help you catch more bass.

tackle organizer with various fake fishing lures and baits

Color

It would be good to match the lure color to the watercolor. Strangely enough, the color of the lure should be similar to the watercolor. Have this in mind when picking out colors and patterns. Also, If you look at fish in nature, you’ll see that most have contrast. Driven by this logic, bass search for prey with contrasting colors, so try getting contrasting colors to lure for the most success.

Vibrations

Choose lures that make vibrations whenever you’re in discolored or muddy water. Those vibrations help fish approach your lure long before they can even see it. Lures with rattles, like Lipless Crankbait, are a great bet when fishing in water with two feet or less visibility. However, it would help if you didn’t always opt for rattling lures when fishing in deep waters. When the water is clear, fish rely on eyesight, and for some reason, rattles sometimes seem to repel them.

Windy Conditions

Choose heavy lures when fishing for bass in windy conditions since light lures will not let you control their movement and will probably stay at the surface, floating far away from the deep hiding bass. Heavy lures allow you to keep better tension on the line, which otherwise tends to twist into a big bow. It will be easier to strike for the bottom and get hold of bigger bass.

Cold Weather

In cold weather, fish are trying to conserve energy and prey on bigger fish to have a meal with more calories to keep them warm and full for more extended periods. This fish behavior is why you’ll want to use bigger lures in cold weather.

Summer Time

Summertime bass fishing is incredibly popular. Long periods of fish inactivity are interrupted by brief periods of active movement. When fishing for bass in summer, you will want to have a long cast. The longer the cast, the longer the plug will remain deep, where the bass search for colder spots. Use transparent baitfish hues in clear water. In the deep, open water inhabited by summertime bass, the so-called Drop-Shot lure receives plenty of movement from wave action and currents, so anglers fishing for bass in the summertime can catch most fish with this particular lure.

Now that you know how to pick the best lure for your particular purpose and the time you fish for bass, you might be surprised to see that you can make a bass fishing lure at the comfort of your home without paying a dime!

Make The Best Fishing Bass Lure By Yourself

There are a few ways to make a decent bass fishing lure yourself, and we’ve picked the two most practical and easy for you.

Spoons

So many spoons in the house, so why not use them to make more food, and then again use them to eat that very food? In this case – bass. So, you can take a spoon of any size and cut the handle off. Then, smooth the edges and drill a small hole at both ends. Connect a leader at the narrow end and a hook at the other. You can paint this lure in any color you like, but red is a popular choice for spoons because fish are used to going after injured and bleeding fish.

Silver spoon on table with a red black dotted painted spoon end turned into a fishing lure with hook attached

Cork

You can use a cork from a wine bottle, a bottle cap, and some hooks and make a lure that is perfect for pulling bass from the weeds. Connect treble hooks and a connection for your line to a wine cork, and you will have a top-notch water lure that will get you many hungry bass. By adding a bottle cap at the front, you increase the splashing of the lure, creating an irresistible temptation.

Since many factors determine how many bass you will catch, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to get advice on using various lures at specific types of the year, differing weather conditions, fish movement patterns, and eating times? The good news is – there is!

Is there an app that will help me find the best bass fishing lures?

Yes! Although there is no one golden rule and there are many variables in fishing, as you might have noticed by now, using BassForecast fishing forecast app increases your odds of catching more and more giant bass by 68% to 305% percent. How does it work?

BassForecast Fishing Forecast and Bass Patterning App

The ultimate bass patterning tool tracks real-time weather and applies bass industry research & proven seasonal patterns to surface adapted forecast conditions, ratings, and tips. Our app provides you with a ten-day forecast, so you never miss a great day for fishing. There’s advice on best bass fishing lures in particular conditions.

BassForecast informs you about the past fish movements, so you can track the bass movement trends and know where the fish will be with unmistakable accuracy. Moreover, the app provides advice and data on the most effective baits, fishing lures, key lake locations, and optimal presentation based on seasonal feeding patterns for your selected location.

Fishing doesn’t get more straightforward and more effective than this!

How best to fish each type of bait, including optimal rod type, reel, and line, are just some of the many attractions of the app that will transform your fishing experience into the most successful and pleasurable activity.

There was never a better time to catch bass!

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