What Lure For Largemouth Bass

Texas Rig

The weedless rig gets a soft plastic into vegetation and timber where bass actually sit, and the single hook suits their bony jaw.

A fast tip moves line quickly when you pull, so the buried point clears the plastic. The power low in the rod turns a fish before it buries in cover.

• Creature bait

  Weight

  5/16-1 1/4 oz

  Size

  3.5-5"

  Hook

  single

  Water

  stained and muddy

  Depth

  1-15 ft

  Creature bait is a 5/16-1 1/4 oz lure fished on single hooks (one hook point on one shaft), which suits largemouth bass in stained and muddy water. It works between 1 and 15 feet. Strong in matted grass and dirty water, where the profile and the water it moves give a fish something to home in on. Swing it underhand into the thickest part of the cover and let it push through on a tight line. Give it two or three short hops, then pull out and move to the next target.

  A poor choice in clear water on pressured fish, where the bulk reads as unnatural next to a thin worm.

• Texas-rigged soft plastic worm

  Weight

  3/16-3/4 oz

  Size

  6-10"

  Hook

  single

  Water

  clear, stained and muddy

  Depth

  1-20 ft

  Texas-rigged soft plastic worm is a 3/16-3/4 oz lure fished on single hooks, which suits largemouth bass in any water clarity. It works between 1 and 20 feet. Best when fish are sitting against one definite thing — a grass edge, a fallen tree, a dock post — and are not chasing anything moving quickly. Cast past the cover and let it fall on a controlled slack line. Drag and hop it back with the rod, not the reel, pausing whenever it comes over something.

  Poor for covering unfamiliar water, because the pace means an hour can pass before you learn the fish were not there at all.

Jighead and Soft Plastic

When bass are holding off cover or the water is cold, a jighead on lighter line gets bites that a heavier rig does not.

A fast tip reads the faint knock of a bite through slack line, and the exposed single hook needs a quick, short set and not a long sweep.

• Paddle-tail swimbait on a jighead

  Weight

  1/4-3/4 oz

  Size

  3-5"

  Hook

  jighead

  Water

  clear and stained

  Depth

  1-15 ft

  Paddle-tail swimbait on a jighead is a 1/4-3/4 oz lure fished on jighead hooks (a hook with its weight molded on at the eye), which suits largemouth bass in clear and stained water. It works between 1 and 15 feet. Reliable when fish are feeding on baitfish along a defined edge, and the head weight can be set to hold the bait at their depth. Cast past the target, let it sink to the depth you want, then wind slowly and steadily, adding an occasional pause to let it drop back down.

  Weak in heavy vegetation, where the exposed jighead point collects grass on nearly every cast.

Crankbait Fishing

Covers water fast and finds fish along a bank, or where the bottom falls away, when you do not yet know where they are holding.

A moderate rod flexes deeply through the cast for a bait with wind resistance. More importantly, it keeps small treble hooks pinned when a fish shakes at the boat.

• Medium-diving crankbait

  Weight

  1/2-7/8 oz

  Size

  2.5-3.5"

  Hook

  treble

  Water

  clear and stained

  Depth

  6-14 ft

  Medium-diving crankbait is a 1/2-7/8 oz lure fished on treble hooks (three hook points sharing one shaft), which suits largemouth bass in clear and stained water. It works between 6 and 14 feet. Effective along defined depth changes where fish sit out away from the bank and a shallow bait never reaches them. Make a long cast and reel fast enough to get it down quickly. Then hold a steady pace so it bumps the bottom or the top of the cover it is meant to reach.

  Not the tool in under four feet of water, where it fouls on the bottom before it ever swims properly.

• Squarebill crankbait

  Weight

  3/8-3/4 oz

  Size

  2-3"

  Hook

  treble

  Water

  stained and muddy

  Depth

  1-6 ft

  Squarebill crankbait is a 3/8-3/4 oz lure fished on treble hooks, which suits largemouth bass in stained and muddy water. It works between 1 and 6 feet. At its best along shallow banks with hard cover in stained water, where deflection off a target does most of the work. Cast tight to hard cover and reel steadily, keeping the bait in contact with wood or rock, and do not slow down when it deflects.

  Wrong over open flats or clean bottom, where nothing makes it change direction and it becomes a bait swimming in a straight line.

• Lipless crankbait

  Weight

  1/4-3/4 oz

  Size

  2-3"

  Hook

  treble

  Water

  stained and muddy

  Depth

  1-12 ft

  Lipless crankbait is a 1/4-3/4 oz lure fished on treble hooks, which suits largemouth bass in stained and muddy water. It works between 1 and 12 feet. Best over submerged grass flats and open water when fish are active and you need to find them quickly instead of working one spot. Let it sink, counting the seconds, until it is at the depth you want, then wind steadily. When it fills up with grass, snap the rod to rip it free. Pulling it out slowly does not work.

  Poor in heavy timber or around dock posts, where exposed trebles turn every deflection into a snag.

Walking a Topwater Plug

Low light over shallow flats brings bass up, and a surface strike tells you where the school is even when you miss it.

Enough tip speed to work the bait in rhythm, but not so stiff that a treble tears free when a fish rolls on the plug instead of eating it cleanly.

• Walking topwater plug

  Weight

  1/2-7/8 oz

  Size

  4-5.5"

  Hook

  treble

  Water

  clear and stained

  Depth

  0-1 ft

  Walking topwater plug is a 1/2-7/8 oz lure fished on treble hooks, which suits largemouth bass in clear and stained water. It works between 0 and 1 feet. Best in low light over shallow water with fish feeding up, and it stays useful all day when there is enough surface chop to hide the boat. Point the rod tip down and give short downward taps in a steady rhythm, taking up slack between taps so the plug swings instead of pulling straight.

  Not worth tying on in heavy wind or a strong current, where the plug cannot hold a rhythm and fish cannot track it.

• Popper

  Weight

  1/4-5/8 oz

  Size

  2.5-4"

  Hook

  treble

  Water

  clear and stained

  Depth

  0-1 ft

  Popper is a 1/4-5/8 oz lure fished on treble hooks, which suits largemouth bass in clear and stained water. It works between 0 and 1 feet. Good over an isolated target such as a dock, a stump or a single oyster clump, where holding the bait in one place matters more than covering water. Cast past the target, let the rings settle, then pull sharply once and wait — most strikes come during the pause, not the pop.

  Inefficient for searching a large flat, where a walking bait moves more water per cast and covers ground faster.

Where This Decision Goes Next

• Largemouth Bass

  Everything else about gear for largemouth bass, in overview.

• What rod for largemouth bass

  The rod answer for largemouth bass in full, ranked, with the reason for each.

• Narrow these largemouth bass baits to your water

  Five questions, four of them skippable. Name the water and the rod you own, and this list shortens to the baits that rod can actually cast — which is a shorter list than the one above, and the one worth packing.