7 Weirdest Baits That Can Actually Catch Bass

In the bass world, if you look at any list of best lures, you’re usually going to see a lot of overlap. If not in the exact make and model of lures, then at least in the general design of the lure. 

There’s a reason for that, and some lures perform consistently or have a niche use that makes them worthy of being well-known.

However, there are also good reasons to branch out from those staples and try unique options you may have never considered.

To help you with that, we’re going to go over some of the reasons this is a good idea, and then we’re going to cover the weirdest bass baits that you likely haven’t even heard about to help you get started.

Let’s dive in!

Why Try Weird Bass Baits? 

If the staples everyone knows and loves work so well, why would you want to try some weird thing you’ve never heard of instead of tossing your favorite crankbait out there? Well, there are a couple of reasons. 

First, a big part of fishing is constantly improving your repertoire. It’s a lifelong journey where there’s always something new to learn, and the more things you do bother to learn, the more you’re prepared for new situations that pop up.

We’ve all had days when that go-to lure just isn’t working, and most anglers end up packing up the truck to go home because of that. Having more to work with, you can cycle through options and put a stop to that. 

Secondly, bass might not be the most intelligent species, but they tend to figure it out when a whole bank full of weekend warriors are all casting the same lure, and they keep getting dragged out of the water when they bite that shiny, high-action crankbait.

The pressure gets to be too much, and they stop biting for a while. When that’s happening, tossing something that you otherwise wouldn’t think about could be your ticket to landing a big bass while everyone else is wasting time catching nothing. 

These aren’t lures that you’re likely to use all the time, but when the situation calls for it, the weird bass baits we talk about throughout this guide can easily mean the difference between getting skunked and breaking a personal record. 

Our Top Weird Bass Baits

The following bass baits range from weird, yet innovative, options you can find on the market to some of the strangest items-turned-lure that you would probably chuckle at if you saw another angler using them. 

In any case, each one has a reason why it stands out, and they’ve caught plenty of big bass. 

1: Scats and TRD

If you read that header and thought it sounded like middle-school potty humor, you’re unfortunately correct.

There is a new sub-category of lures that are often called “turds”, and two prominent brand names for them are TRD and Scat. TRD comes straight from Z-Man, and Scat is a lure out of Japan. 

Why do these lures have such a silly name? Well, they do look kind of like a hunk of fecal matter. That’s not the premise behind them, though. It’s just a silly marketing ploy that gets some giggles and happens to describe the overall look. 

If you take a Senko stick bait, swell it up about 5x the thickness while keeping the length, and add a few knobs and ridges here and there, you get one of these. 

They’re thicker, heavier, more substantial-looking baits that take the traditional stick bait’s action and tone it down to the bare minimum. While this sounds insane and they look weird, the results have proven to be fantastic. 

You can slay bass all day long by slapping these things on Ned rigs or wacky rigs, and thanks to the extra bulk, they’re even great for throwing weightless without having to change up your rod.

While these are weird, they work, and you should add a couple of bags to your tackle box. Tackle Warehouse even sells finesse options of the TRD, which is a bit slimmer and more traditional, at a pretty low price.

2: Creme Lures Spoiler Swimbait 2”

If we handed you a jerkbait no more than an inch long and told you to go bass fishing with it, you’d probably look at us like we were crazy, and you’d have good reason to.

Modern trends, and even most traditional rhetoric, tell you that bigger is better. Well, that’s not always the case, and we love these little guys. 

Technically made for panfishing, these little jerkbaits are perfect for cold midwestern mornings throughout the fall.

Specifically, that sweet spot just as the sun comes up over the water and starts warming it. Not long after that, you’ll start getting bites pretty much anywhere the sun is touching or right along the edges of the shadow as the sun crosses the lake. 

What sets these apart, beyond their small size, is their action. You give it a couple of twitches, and it will dart underwater for a couple of feet. On the pause, it will wobble back up to the top slowly and float like a minnow that just gave up with the cold. 

Oftentimes, it’s a couple of seconds after the lure starts floating that you see the water open up and suck the bait in before those big jaws slam shut. 

The only downside to these is that they’re not going to work on the setups most bass anglers use. Even a medium rod, without excessive tuning, isn’t going to get such a little bait out there. They work best with an ultralight rod and light line. 

However, if you’re willing to try out some ultralight fishing, you’ll experience some of the most explosive and intense bass fights you’ve ever had. With less powerful gear, the fight is insane. 

Of course, Creme is just a brand. You can find these itsy bitsy jerkbaits and even cranks that are similarly sized from other brands, and you’re more than welcome to try them all out.

3: Spoon

Have you ever wondered why those little shards of metal polished up, outfitted with a hook, and slapped on store shelves are called spoons despite not looking like a spoon?

Well, that’s because those are an evolution of a very old fishing tactic from times when anglers typically weren’t sport fishermen and the lure market wasn’t nearly as big as it is today.

This is the bowl part of your average tablespoon with the handle removed, and there are two holes drilled through it. One at both ends. Using split rings and swivels, you attach a treble hook at one end and tie your line on the other.

For a bit of extra flash, you can polish it up, get fancy with beads on a wire leader before you tie it on, etc.

This isn’t something a lot of modern anglers do, and by all modern standards, it’s pretty weird. You don’t see anyone tying silverware onto their line these days. 

However, it caught plenty of fish when it was popular, and if you’re ever in a bind, it works just like the fancy “spoons” sold on tackle shelves today.

4: Berkley Powerbait Floating Mousetails

Trout anglers know all about these, but as a bass fisherman, they probably sound a bit off the wall. Berkley’s Powerbait line of lures has a couple of options that are on this list, and the first one is their famous Floating Mousetail lure. 

These are exactly what they sound like. They’re designed to look like little mousetails, and they float on the top of the water. They’re irresistible to trout on ultralight equipment, but you can do a few things with them and nab bass when nothing else is working.

Typically, you want to use these weightless on a lighter setup. You cast them out, they float on the water, and they move with the current. This lets them wiggle around a lot like a natural mouse tail. It’s subtle, but it’s enticing.

Just like the little jerkbaits we mentioned, these tend to get sucked down into a seemingly bottomless pit before you see the jaws shut and the fight is on.

Except, with these little mousetails, you have a little more versatility. While they’re designed to float on the top and be tossed out weightless, you can easily add a few sinkers to get a good casting distance on medium equipment, and you can work your mousetail just like you would a small worm.

To add to the package, the Powerbait line features a powerful scent formula that’s integrated into the lures. We’ve had great success with it on the fish it’s meant for, and of course, we’ve caught plenty of bass on them.

We recommend using these in situations where finesse fishing pays off and the water is heavily pressured or cold.

5: Berkley Powerbait Bearded Crazy Legs Chigger Craw

The full name of this one is certainly a lot to type out, but the bearded chigger craw is one of the weirdest creature baits you’re going to find, and it packs the Berkley quality a lot of trout and crappie anglers love into a proper bass-sized lure.

For the most part, this is a standard, well-made creature bait, and it has most of the features you’ve come to expect from the general lure type. However, Berkley put a little twist on that classic design by turning the rear legs into a type of long, frilled skirt.

If the bass are near the bottom, and you toss this out on a football jig or Carolina rig, you are practically guaranteed to catch something. Like all of Berkley’s soft plastics, this is also a very cost-effective option. You can get 5 of them for just about $4, and they do last a long time before the bass tears them up too much.

6: Storm Live and Wildeye Lures

Storm Live and Wildeye lures are two lines of lure products, but they’re practically the same thing. They’re cost-effective, lifelike swimbaits.

What makes that so weird? You might ask. Well, beyond being cost-effective when most other lifelike swimbaits cost quite a bit, they also include an integrated and balanced weight system inside the soft body.

This is a big forward-heavy weight that’s shaped to keep the lure swimming upright, but when you stop reeling, it dips facedown like a fish pecking at the bottom or descending rapidly. 

This creates a lifelike action, and since the weight is in the lure, you don’t have to worry about Texas rigging it or adding anything else that might ruin the presentation with finicky fish.

The hooks are also high-quality and more than capable of holding up to big bass. So, you don’t have to worry about them bending or snapping and ruining the moment. 

The color injections in the soft plastic body are done beautifully to perfectly match the coloring of the actual fish each type mimics, and the eye technology used produces plenty of flash for extra attraction. 

For anywhere from $4 to $10 for a multi-pack, depending on the exact lure you buy, these are a steal compared to spending $20 to $40 on a single comparable lure. 

Not to mention, some of them are genuinely weird. Some bluegill baits are only about two inches long, and while that seems tiny, they do work. 

7: Lunkerhunt Prop Turtle

The Lunkerhunt Prop Turtle isn’t all that odd in terms of its actual use. It’s extremely similar to the topwater frogs you’re probably used to using. Except, it’s shaped and colored like a small turtle, and in the water, it looks like it’s paddling around with its hind legs. 

You don’t often see baby turtle lures, and you see anglers using them a lot less frequently.

The trick to using these is to pull them out in spots that have large turtle populations, toss them onto structures and logs, and then hop them into the water after a few moments to retrieve them.

This looks just like a baby turtle taking one of its first swims, and bass will tear it up.

Try Something New and Catch Big Bass

The BassForecast team is always trying to learn new things, and these are just some of the lures we’ve been impressed by over the years.

As the water warms up and the peak season starts again, make sure you get out of your comfort zone, put up the crankbait for a while, and try one of these unusual bass baits.

If you’re looking to land your next big catch, download our fishing app and get real-time insights to maximize your success on the water!