What Baits Should I Use?

[Daddyodo]

Need some help. I do not have a boat so I am relegated to fishing from shore. Are there baits that I should stay away from or baits that I should go with? I use a lot of soft plastics and some inline spinners. I have stayed away from crankbaits and spinnerbaits and feel like I might be missing out. Any thoughts?

[MCS]

I fish from shore. I use the original rapala, and shallow cranks like square bills in the spring with success when I lived in VA. Now in FL I use them less mostly due to tall grass. When I say shallow I makesure 4' is the max depth. Soft swim baits work good too like berkeley ripple shad or something similar over top the structure cuz they hang up less on structure with the single hook up top.

[Hattrick7]

I think you should definitely get some crankbaits. Whatever your budget is there's a crankbait or swimbait out there. I think without these it's like playing golf with 1/2 your clubs. You can get the job done but when you need your 7 iron and the closest thing is the 5 you don't have as many options.

I just started out with getting one here and one there and just slowly building. One thing to look for is how far the bait dives vs the lake you fish often. I've found that some may look the same in size but they dive to deeper depths in which your lake might not be necessary.

As for the more expensive ones (for me at least $10+), I haven't tried those yet and I'm curious if they really are worth the extra money.

[Sam]

Daddyodo, good question.

I suggest throwing everything you have or can get.

Just because you are fishing from the bank does not mean you cannot use any specific bait.

What you need to do is to experiment with various baits from topwaters to bottom presentations.

Water clarity, temperature and oxygen levels, wind, cloudy or blue bird skies plus any structure,rocks, grass, weeds and overhangs are very important when selecting a bait.

You need various baits to handle all situations so go for your spinnerbaits, crankbaits, Chatterbaits, Rat-L-Traps, jigs and pigs, MOJO rigs, drop shots, shaky head, Texas and Carolina rigs and Senkos.

Throw it all! See what they like in what conditions and the time of day and where they are staging.

Half the fun is finding where they are and the pattern for the day.

[Marty]

Agree with Sam. For many years the vast majority of my fishing has been from the shore and I've used virtually every type of lure there is. Sure, I'm a little careful with crankbaits if I'm fishing snag-infested water, but basically, if it catches fish from boats it catches fish from shore.

Most of my waters are weedy lakes and ponds and mostly I'd fish topwaters, shallow crankbaits and soft plastics. Spinnerbaits ought to be on that list too, but I'm not crazy about fishing with them so I don't use them that often.

[bkohlman]

One of my favorites is the good ole buzzbait, but just like others have said - use what catches fish and what you have confidence in throwing.

[Bair]

I agree with Sam, throw everything you can get your hands on. Dropshotting doesn't make a whole lot of sense fishing from shore because you are fishing a vertical rig horizontally but you should have some types of crank-baits and spinner-baits. A shallow running square crank in a couple different colors like red craw and sexy shad pretty much cover the spectrum. As for spinner-baits, I am still new to them myself but a white spinner-bait with two big silver willow blades has been crushing them in my area.

[Bluebasser86]

Get you some cheaper shallow running cranks like Bandit 100's so if you lose one it doesn't hurt as much. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are great tools from the bank because you can cover a lot of water and keep the bait in the strike zone for a long time.

[Sam]

Gbair, would you beleive that we catch some beautiful 5+ pound ladies on a drop shot rig at my double secret pond?

You can throw the drop shot like a Texas rig with the understanding that the bait will float around 6 inches frm the bottom on an angle. But that does not stop the bass from hitting the bait.

On my last outing to the double secret pond I was throwing a drop shot for the fun of it and as the bait was about 10 feet from me on the retrieve I saw the flash as the bass came up fast, turned on his side, and took the bait. A little two pounder.

The fun of fishing is finding the pattern and what they want. Of course, nothing beats setting the hook and holding on for dear life as you fight that big one.

[wademaster1]

get used to all types of lures; plastics; cranks; spinnerbaits; swimbaits; topwater; some work better than others in different situations and at different times; good luck

[ClackerBuzz]

you are in for a treat. when fall hits (and spring for that matter) bomb a spinnerbait /chatterbait/swimjig as far as you can 45 degrees off shore, slow steady reel/vibration with occasional twitch. they will be active/roaming/gorging for winter. stay focused all the way back. its awesome when they follow it 50ft and smash it 3 ft from shore.

[new2BC4bass]

I fish from shore a lot. My favorite lure (from shore or a boat) is a spinnerbait. Seems to get me the most fish. White is good, but don't limit yourself to just one color. I was getting good results this spring in Florida with a Chartruese/Yellow with gold blades. I often use a Black/Blue as well. Made a believer out of my brother-in-law this year, but then the bite on them quit and we went back to our go-to bait...10" worms...usually in Junebug.

But as many have said, fish whatever you would like to try. Another thing...have you noticed that almost all fishermen throw for the center of the lake when fishing from shore, but when they get in a boat the first thing they do is head for the shoreline?

[Daddyodo]

Thanks guy's! I tend to think that because I am fishing from shore I am relegated to soft plastics. I have got a couple of Buzz baits and Spinner baits that are going to get a work out when I am healthy enough to get back out there.