Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
⚡ Quick Answer: Five lure types will catch bass almost anywhere: a soft plastic worm on a Texas rig, a jig, a spinnerbait, a squarebill crankbait, and a soft plastic stickbait fished weightless. Buy each in one natural and one bright colour, learn what each feels like at different speeds, and you will out-fish someone with ten times the tackle.
Bass fishing has an enormous tackle industry attached to it, and the result is that beginners buy breadth instead of depth. The truth is less exciting and much cheaper: five lure types, learned properly, cover essentially every situation a beginner will encounter.
1. Soft plastic worm on a Texas rig
If you buy one thing, buy this. A bullet weight, a wide-gap hook, and a soft plastic worm with the hook point buried back into the body, which makes the whole rig nearly snagless. That lets you fish straight into weed beds, brush, and rock, which is where bass actually hold.
Fish it slowly. Cast, let it sink, lift the rod tip to hop it, let it fall, repeat. Most bites come on the fall, and they feel like the line simply going heavy or slack rather than a sharp knock. Reel down until the line is tight, then set hard.
2. Jig
A weighted hook with a skirt, usually fished with a soft plastic trailer. It imitates a crawfish, it comes through cover well, and it catches disproportionately large fish. It is also the lure that teaches you the most about feeling bottom composition through the rod, which is a genuinely transferable skill.
Black and blue in stained water, brown or green in clear. Drag it and hop it along the bottom, and pay attention to changes in what you feel: gravel to mud, or the sudden thud of wood, are exactly the spots to slow down. Our jig fishing guide goes deeper on the technique.
3. Spinnerbait
Blades, a wire arm, and a skirted hook. It flashes and vibrates, which makes it findable in stained water, wind, and low light without the fish needing to see fine detail. It is a searching lure: cast, wind it back at a steady pace, cover ground.
Use it to answer the question “are there fish along this bank?” quickly, then switch to a jig or worm to work the spot properly once you know.
4. Squarebill crankbait
A shallow-diving hard lure with a square lip that deflects off obstacles instead of snagging. The trick, which is counterintuitive, is to aim for contact. Bounce it off rock, ricochet it off stumps, and let the erratic deflection do the work. Steady retrieves through open water catch far less.
5. Weightless soft plastic stickbait
A simple soft plastic with no weight at all, hooked through the middle or Texas-rigged, allowed to sink slowly with a subtle side-to-side fall. It looks like nothing in your hand and it is devastating on pressured fish and in clear water. It requires patience, because the whole presentation is the fall.
Two colours each, not twelve
For every one of these, buy one natural colour and one high-visibility colour, and add a dark one for the jig. That is it. The physics of what fish can see is straightforward and we lay it out in how to choose lure colour. Spending the same money on fewer colours and more time on the water is a better trade.
The gear you need behind them
A medium-heavy spinning rod around 7 feet, a reel in the 2500 to 3000 size, and 15 to 30 pound braid with a fluorocarbon leader will fish all five of these lures. That is a genuinely complete bass setup. Reel guidance is in our spinning reel roundup, and line choice, which matters more than beginners expect, is in the fishing line guide.
Where to point them
None of this works if you fish open, featureless water. Bass live around edges: weed lines, drop-offs, points, docks, laydowns, and creek channels. Learning to spot those from the bank or a boat is worth more than any lure in this list, and it is the subject of how to read a lake. If you are still deciding between lures and bait entirely, that comparison is here, and our bait guide covers the alternative.
Recommended Gear
- GREAT FISHING BAIT – The 5 Senko is a staple in the fishing world; The original soft-plastic stickbait is the no1 choice…
- UNMATCHED QUALITY – Versatility is a key attribute of the Senko, allowing it to be fished in a multitude of ways that al…
- PERFECT FISHING LURE – The ORIGINAL soft stick bait is the bar by which all others are measured; The secret sauce to the…
- Versatile lure that catches bass whether they’re feeding or not
- Soft plastic bait presents a very subtle life-like action that even highly pressured fish can’t resist
- Unique hook slot that provides better hook-ups
- 1 Year in the Making – This Premium Fishing Lures & Tackle Box: PL’s experts spent an entire year developing this bass f…
- Loaded with the Fishing Lures Every Angler Loves – This tackle box brings the most popular, proven lure styles. No usele…
- Vivid Fishing Lures & High Quality Fishing Gear – This bass fishing kit has realistic 3D eyes, detailed scale patterns, …
- 【Catch More Bass with Realistic Action】Designed with lifelike swimming motion and detailed fish patterns, these fishing …
- 【15PCS Complete Fishing Lure Kit】Includes hard baits, soft plastic swimbaits and multi-style fishing lures to match diff…
- 【Freshwater & Saltwater Ready】Built for lakes, rivers, ponds and coastal waters. Effective for bass fishing, trout fishi…
Frequently Asked Questions
If I could only buy one bass lure, what should it be?
A soft plastic worm on a Texas rig. It is inexpensive, snag-resistant, works from spring through autumn, and catches bass in cover where they actually live. It is also slow, which forgives a lot of beginner mistakes.
What is a Texas rig?
A bullet-shaped sliding weight above the hook, with the hook point buried back into the plastic so the whole thing is effectively snagless. It lets you fish directly into weeds, wood, and rock where bass hold and where an exposed hook would foul immediately.
When should I use a spinnerbait?
Stained water, wind, low light, and any time you want to cover water fast. The blades give flash and vibration, which fish can locate without seeing detail. It is a searching lure more than a finishing one.
What does a squarebill crankbait do that others do not?
It deflects. The square lip makes it bounce off rocks and wood rather than snagging, and that erratic deflection triggers reaction strikes. Fish it deliberately into cover rather than trying to avoid contact.
How fast should I retrieve?
Slower than you think, most days, and especially in cold water. A good habit is to fish a lure at three distinctly different speeds before concluding the lure is wrong. Speed is a bigger variable than colour.
Do I need a baitcaster?
No. A medium or medium-heavy spinning setup handles all five of these lures competently. Baitcasters offer advantages with heavier lures and in cover, but they add a learning curve you do not need while you are still learning to find fish.
Written by Jake Miller · Camping & Gear
Jake grew up pitching tents before he could drive and has spent 15+ years camping, car-camping, and gear-testing his way across the country. If it can be cooked over a fire or packed into a trunk, he has an opinion on it.
