best lures for bass

[christian kimber]

been thinking of doing some spinning for bass in summer (who hasnt!) what do people think are the best killer lures out there.

 

Personally i have never done great spinning but my best lures are dexter wedges and small mepps spinners with a brown minnow shallow diver close to second.

 

What is the best all time bass lure?! like to hear.

[FishingGuernsey]

Storm jointed thnderstick in blue chrome is my all time fav and deadly. Don't catch many on anythng else.

[Ken Davison South Wales]

From what we see and hear different lures do better in some areas than others.

 

I took a leaf out of snatchers book and tied some bass lures which I can fish at distance with a bubble float or use on the fly rod. To date because of this stunning summer we are having I only manage one trip with the spinning rod and it was a bit early in the season so I blanked but during this week I will have a couple of evening sessions. They worked extremely well on the boat for pollock and mackerel.

[Snatcher]

Just got back from a week over in our caravan on Luce Bay. Got my first bass of 2007(and returned)

 

 

Will do a write up when I get time

[steve pitts]

What is the best all time bass lure?! like to hear.

 

Hi Christian

 

That's a bit like asking 'what's the best all time bass bait' everyone will have a different answer, probably based on their own experiences.

 

In terms of lures though - there are several that I reckon could claim the title, based on a number of catagories.

 

For metal lures the silver ABU toby has got be a favourite, with the dexter wedge coming in a close second.

 

For plastic lures - the Redgill has probably caught more bass than anything else, but Storm shads are coming up hot on the heals of the old Redgill.

 

Sinking plugs - the Rapala Sliver is a killer and is one of the commercial rod and liners favourites, so it has certainly nailed a lot of bass over the years

 

Diving (floating) plugs - 3ft plus - Rapala again: The jointed 13 centemetre J13 in blue and silver or black and silver.

 

Shallow diving (3ft or less) This is probably the category with the most contenders including Rapala J11 and J9, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, Jointed Bomber, Storm Jointed Thunderstick and more recently lures from Maria, like the Chase or Angel Kiss. If I had to pick just one for the title of the lure that has caught the most bass it would be the J11 because it has been around for so long and is an absolute classic.

 

Surface lures/ poppers/sliders - the Storm Saltwater Chug Bug was one of the first and is still a top bass catcher, so others, like the Lucky Craft Sammy, Yo-Zuri Mag Popper, Rapala Skitter Pop have a lot of catching up to do.

 

There are several articles on the BASS website about getting into bassing with lures which you might find helpful and this includes tips on how to use some of those Ive mentioned -

 

http://ukbass.com/downloads/beginnersguide.pdf

 

http://ukbass.com/downloads/pluggingaway.pdf

 

http://ukbass.com/downloads/onceyoupop.pdf

 

http://ukbass.com/downloads/chugbug.pdf

 

Cheers

Steve

[Norm B]

been thinking of doing some spinning for bass in summer (who hasnt!) what do people think are the best killer lures out there.

 

Personally i have never done great spinning but my best lures are dexter wedges and small mepps spinners with a brown minnow shallow diver close to second.

 

What is the best all time bass lure?! like to hear.

In my humble opinion there is no such thing as an all round best lure for bass, or any fish.

It all depends on what they are feeding on, water clarity and temperature, time of day, venue etc. There are some that are more consistant than others over a period of time but they will be outfished at certain times by the "lure of the moment". Trials and more trials for each and every time of day, venue etc will be of great benefit and to your great frustration you'll find that some days you'll catch on anything, including a milk bottle top and other days they won't touch even the most expensive hand crafted lures but will take a cheap mackeral spinner. That's fishing.

[christian kimber]

Thanks for all your advice and i figured this would be all down to personal preference! but what is the best lure to use in low vis situations? i thought like a rattler or double jointed plug to impart some sound and a flashy lure lure for high vis days.

 

I use a lot of minnows, divers and surface poppers but i wont lie when i say my confidence using surface lures is low due to the fact i have never had a take on them!

 

but just as a rule so i have a good selection for summer what would people take on a session say 5 good lures?

[Phil Arnott]

I read the post by Steve Pitts before looking to see who had written it. I was thinking what an excellent reply and then when I saw who had written it and was not surprised. Steve’s post is as good as you are going to get.

 

I would only add one point regarding lures. Some lures fish deeper than others at normal retrieve speeds. I have had some bass fishing deeper water with thin heavy lures like the Krill. Broader lures like Tobys, Dexter wedges and Kosters (which I quite like) because of their broader shape fish higher up in the water. If these broader lures are fished deeper by slowing the retrieve the action alters with less twisting and flashing.

 

I recently hooked (but unfortunately didn’t land) a bass on a jelly worm/leadhead; so I think you could safely say bass will take just about every type of lure at some time or other.

[christian kimber]

Steve links are excellent thanks everyone for advice

 

cheers

[steve pitts]

what is the best lure to use in low vis situations? i thought like a rattler or double jointed plug to impart some sound and a flashy lure lure for high vis days.

 

In low vis conditions (murky water rather than darkness) when bass will be hunting by smell and by picking up vibrations though the lateral line, then a plug with a vigorous action - Jointed, like you suggest Christian, is probably better than one that sways from side to side rythmically.

 

An internal rattle may help, but I'm not convinced that half the lures with rattles actually rattle when being retrieved slowly, which would be the best retrieve rate in low vis conditions.

 

A lure that will wiggle it's arse off with a slow retrieve would be better than one with no wiggle with a rattle (effective or not), so give me a Rapala J11 every time.

 

Surface lures do seem to work better in clearer water conditions, but don't discount them all together if the water is coloured. The surface disruption can bring fish from quite some distance to investigate, but they might take a little longer to find it.