Top 5 Favorite Bass Fishing Lures
Top 5 lists are fun. Almost as fun as bass fishing. However, bass fishing can be complicated. They live is so many different places and they can be caught in such a wide range of water temps. The other problem is that there are a million bass fishing lures to choose from. Let’s just have fun with this Top 5 list. This blog will be my favorite bass fishing lures and I will tell you why on each one.
D Bomb
The D Bomb from Missile Baits has become by answer to the age-old question, “what lure would you pick if you could only throw one bait?” I do that because you can fish it so many ways, it catches a lot of fish, and it catches big ones! I have caught thousands of bass on the D Bomb. I know of 2 bass over 14 pounds caught on the D Bomb. This year in the BASS Elite on the St. John’s River, Kyle Welcher caught a 10 pounder on a Bruiser colored D Bomb.
When fishing the D Bomb, I generally Texas rig it. You can cast it and drag it to fish from a foot of water to 25 feet deep. Just put a bigger weight on it if you need to get it deeper. Also, if you need to get into super thick cover, you can put a 1 to 2 ounce weight in front of it and punch into that thick cover. The thick ribbed body displaces a lot of water and holds a big hook well. The thin flappers on the back move naturally with the slightest twitch of the bait. It is a must have bait for all bass fisherman.
Chatterbait
The chatterbait is one of the best lures for triggering a reaction strike in shallower water, period. My favorite chatterbait is the Z-Man Jack Hammer. I have caught numbers and size in water from 6” of visability to crystal clear. There is something about that blade vibrating back and forth in front of that skirted jig head that drives bass crazy. It is another must have.
Quiver
You have to have a straight worm in the top 3 of your bass fishing lures. The Missile Baits Quiver comes in 2 sizes. The 6.5 is the one to pick for a little bigger presentations of Tokyo Rig, Power Drop Shot, offshore structure, and the Neko Rig. The smaller Quiver 4.5 is the one that can be used for a finesse drop shot, smaller Neko Rig, Ned Rig, Texas Rig, and chatterbait trailer. Both size Quivers can be used as a wacky worm too. This is one of my favorite pond set ups. The Quiver worms have a thin spade shaped tail that really just quivers when worked slow.
Mini Flip Jig
The Mini Flip Jig is a smaller, compact jig for flipping or casting and it pairs great with the #1 lure, the D Bomb. I love to take matching colors of the Mini Flip and D Bomb, cut about the top 1/3 of the D Bomb off, and slide it on this jig. I catch bass under docks, in laydowns, in brush piles, on roadbeds, and in more places with this combination.
Shallow Crankbait
Early in my career, I made almost every check in bass tournaments with a shallow crankbait in my hand. Growing up fishing Virginia and North Carolina lakes, the shallow crankbait fits well with the stained water lakes with hard bottoms of that area. I almost won an FLW tournament in 2003 on Lake Murray using an assortment of shallow crankbaits. This love of shallow crankbaits led me to the opportunity to design the SPRO Little John, which has grown to a full line of crankbaits. The bottom line is when you run into water that has any type of stain to it (visibility less than 2’), a shallow crankbait should be a player in catching bass.
Anglers personalities often dictate their favorite lures. As a professional bass angler for 2 decades, I have seen a ton of different lakes and rivers. These 5 types of lures can compete on any body of water that I have ever been to. Of course, there are others that would be nice to have but these 5 are the ones you need to learn how to use first.