Creature Baits 101: What Are They and Why Bass Can’t Resist Them

There are countless soft plastics on the market, and they all promise to catch you the biggest fish you’ve ever seen, but one stands out as a consistent catcher in most conditions. The creature bait. 

However, while you’ve probably heard about these a lot or even tried a few for yourself, you likely don’t know everything about them. They are a bit weird, and the way they function is a little more complex than your average trick worm or grub. 

Today, we’re going to go over what they are, how creature baits catch bass, and what our favorites are to help you start making the most out of them.

Let’s get started!

What is a Creature Bait? 

A creature bait is a soft plastic lure. However, instead of a worm or a grub, it looks like an aquatic creature with legs, fins, and appendages 

That definition covers a variety of lures. You could use it to imitate baitfish, lizards, hellgrammites, or even crawfish.  While that’s accurate, that’s not typically what anglers are talking about when they bring up creature baits. 

Instead, they’re usually talking about soft plastic lures that take inspiration from several of those animals and blend them into one weird mess.

It might have front claws like a craw with a hellgrammite body and a split lizard’s tail, or any other odd blend of parts that looks somewhat realistic without actually mimicking anything specific. 

This sounds odd since you’re usually trying to emulate a specific animal when you’re fishing with lures, but it works wonders. 

Why Does a Creature Bait Work? 

A creature bait really shouldn’t work that well if you look at what most lures do. 

Typically, a lure tries to replicate the profile and movement of a real creature. You wouldn’t glue a crawfish trailer to the head of a swimbait and expect it to catch anything. So, why do creature baits work?

Well, it all comes down to the action. They’re kind of like an all-in-one design. 

When a creature bait is made with purpose behind every part, it can emulate multiple creatures at once without being so off-the-wall that it tips the bass off. 

Those centipede and curly-like legs cause vibration, crawfish claws and antenna wobble around, and tails or skirts create different types of actions while adding to the profile of the lure. 

This makes creature baits very flexible compared to something like a swimbait that can really only be used to mimic a fish. 

You can jig a creature bait on the bottom to mimic a craw, swim it like a baitfish, lizard or hellgrammite, or you can even deadstick it to look like something that died in the water. 

You're not limited in your approach, and each style is going to work thanks to that ambiguous design that’s still purposeful. 

This is partly why creature baits are so popular, too. They allow you to use one lure to do several different strategies instead of switching things out for slightly different profiles. 

When Do You Use Creature Baits? 

Because creature baits are so versatile, there isn’t a time when you absolutely shouldn’t use them.

They’re good in all water clarities, you can fish them at any depth, and there is a wide variety of options available to match your color choice to the hatch or water conditions.

There are two situations when we’d recommend steering clear of creature baits.

First, if another bait is going to be a surefire thing and easier to present, just go for it. 

There’s no reason to rig up a creature bait in a condition where a crankbait is going to slay the lake. While you might be excited to use it, or it feels a bit more skill-based, you’re on the lake to catch bass. Use what is going to do that most efficiently. 

The other time is when finesse is the best idea. Creature baits aren’t super bulky, and you can use them with more finesse than you can something like a crankbait, but sometimes, it’s just best to throw your tiny finesse worms, or even set up an ultralight rig and get into the really small stuff. A creature bait can’t replace those. 

How to Use a Creature Bait

Creature baits are extremely versatile, and because of that, there are many different ways you can rig them while still catching bass reliably. 

We’ll cover 3 of our favorite techniques to get you started. 

1: Texas Rig

Would it be a versatile soft plastic if it didn’t work wonders with the Texas rig setup? This is one of the easiest ways to use a creature bait, and since you’ve likely used it with worms, craws, flukes, and everything else, you already know how to do it. 

If you haven’t used a Texas rig yet, we’ll go over it to make sure you can get in on the action and learn this must-know technique. It’ll go a lot further than just creature baits. 

You take a bullet weight, an EWG worm hook that’s sized properly for the exact creature bait you’re using, and of course, the creature bait. 

Slip the bullet weight onto the line with the tip aiming up the line toward your rod’s tip. Then, tie on the hook with the strongest knot you know. We like the Palomar knot, but a variety of knots are perfectly fine. 

Some anglers like to insert a glass bead between the sinker and the hook to impart a clicking noise to attract fish.  

Then, take the “head” portion of the lure, thread it onto the hook’s barb about ¼ of an inch, and push the barb out the top. You can then slide the head of the lure up the shank and twist it to lay flat once it reaches the eye of the hook. Lay the bait out straight to see where you need to punch through the body to keep it lying flat, push the barb through, and you’re done. 

You end up with a free-sliding bullet weight that will quickly drag the lure to the bottom, and you can hop it around. However, since the hook’s barb will lie tightly against the lure’s body, or even nest itself lightly into the surface of the lure, you won’t snag on weeds. 

Now, just hop it around on the bottom like you would a craw or a worm.

Try hops of different heights and speeds, reel up the slack, and don’t forget to add pauses. 

2: Weightless

This is probably the easiest rig to set up, but the hardest to use properly. A weightless setup is just the hook and lure. There are even different variations that you can try just by switching up the hook. 

We’ll give you two. 

First, try using the same EWG hook you’d use for the Texas rig, and rig it exactly as you would a Texas rig. 

To present it, cast it out on a lighter rod setup than usual, thanks to the lack of a casting weight, and take things slower. It’s going to take a lot longer for it to sink, and because it’s such a subtle presentation, you’re a lot more likely to get bites on the drop.

You can tell if this happened because the line will start moving around without you twitching or reeling. You have to get a feel for it to understand. 

If you don’t get a bite on the drop, gentle and subtle pops are the way to go. Pull it up slowly in the column, and let it drift back down again. 

This lets all those dangly bits vibrate softly and consistently, and the bass goes crazy for it. It looks like a wounded animal to them. 

This is a good presentation to try when faster options just aren’t working. Those hot days when the bass are lazy, cold winter weather, and very high-pressure settings are all optimal for this technique.

The main drawback is that it’s almost always difficult to cast weightless setups without changing your rod, line, and reel to something that’s lighter weight. A lot of the time, we tend to underestimate just how much of an impact having just a little weight on the line has on our cast. 

The second variation of this that we mentioned is extremely simple, and most of the information is the same. Just take a traditional baitkeeper hook like you used when you were bobber fishing as a kid, and thread the creature bait up headfirst onto the shank. 

The benefit of this is that your hookups are easier thanks to the fully exposed hook. The drawback is that you also get snagged a lot more easily. 

Also, if you’re concerned with causing more damage to the bass thanks to the extra barbs on a baitkeeper hook, there’s an easy fix. Take your fishing pliers or multi-tool and snip those barbs right off. They're mainly there to hold worms on, anyway.

3: Swim Jig

For our last technique, we have another super simple option. Take a swim jig, the type that doesn’t have a skirt, and thread your lure onto it. If you’re worried about getting snagged, buy jigheads with weed guards installed, or buy some weed guards and install them yourself. It’s fairly easy to do. 

This is for when you want to swim your creature bait through the water column and keep it a bit straighter than you could with a Texas rig. You can technically straight-retrieve a Texas rig for a similar effect, but the downward fall action on the pause is going to be different. 

Our Favorite Creature Baits

Now that you know a bit more about creature baits and how to use them, we can’t let you go without going over a few of our favorites. There are a lot of them on the market, and plenty of them work wonders on the lake, but these are three that we trust when we want to catch some bass without a lot of hassle.

1: Big Bite Baits FAFO

Big Bites Baits is one of those brands that stands out, but you don’t see it as much when the big influencers and pros start talking about baits. It’s a real shame, because they put out some high-quality products. 

One of those is the FAFO. In case you were wondering, that means Flip Around and Find Out, and while it’s a creative spin on a fun acronym, it describes it perfectly. The FAFO is perfect for flipping in and out of cover while maintaining the benefits of a creature bait.

It features a fat beaver-shaped body, two claws, and a few short legs. So, it separates itself a bit from the wilder creature baits on the market for a profile that more closely resembles a craw.

While the action is a bit more subtle with fewer and shorter legs on a chunky body, we find that it creates a good mix of soft vibrations, wacky claw movements, and an irresistible chunk of fleshiness that the bass love. 

An 8-pack is also less than $6. So, it’s a great deal that’s going to last you a while. We recommend picking up a variety of colors.

2: BBB Creature Bait

Another good one from Big Bites Baits is their basic creature bait. This is the classic design that most people think of as a creature bait. It can mimic a lizard, an insect, or a craw depending on how you fish it, and it’s exceptionally high quality, as well. 

This is one we recommend you toss into your tackle box to get started. The classic body style can’t be beat for its versatility, and it’s great to learn with. The BBB variety is pretty cheap, but you can also try other brands with the same body shape. 

3: Mike McClelland Battle Bug

This last one looks like a skinny craw with exaggerated claws and a few wispy bits, and it’s the signature bait of Mike McClelland. You can get it in a 7-pack for just a few bucks, and it’s one of our favorites for fishing near the bottom. 

Take Your New Creature Baits Out on the Lake and Get Started

The creature bait is popular for a reason. It’s versatile, and it works. Grab our recommendations, find a spot near you with the BassForecast app, and go see what all the hype is about!