Underrated baits

[J. M. Richardson]

We all know about the hyped up baits/techniques that everyone talks about. These tend to be mostly whatever the pros are currently using.

My question is this. What are some of the most underrated baits out there?

Some of my favorites that aren't well advertised or known:

Roboworms

Original Culprit worms

Heddon Crawler (a classic I may be throwing at a tourny later this year).

What are some of your guys'?

[packman]

A all chartruse spinner bait, most of my friends absolutely hate this thing but i love it and have caught lots of big bass on it, not to mention i can remember when my dad won his first tournament with this bait!

[MichBassMan]

Mepps Spinners

[shootermcbob]

I think it is called a jonny rattler and is made by luhr-jensen. it is kinda like a heddon torpedo, but is bigger. the blade makes a higher pitched sound than the torpedo. Best of all I got it for a dollar on a markdown table. I throw it and a jitterbug early and late, and usually catch at least one fish on each.

[PondHunter]

A regular black jighead w/ yellow eye with either a smoke/fleck or pumpkinseed 3"grub. This simple lure has caught a ton of fish for me when almost nothing else would work. 1/8th oz is the size I use the most.

[bigtimfish]

Devils horse, Luhr Jensen woodchopper,Square A, Norman fat boy,Creme scoundrel,Big Bite Baits Kriet kreature and Fighting Frog (both in tilapia color)

[Hooligan]

Mepps #4, 1/4 oz Jighead with black 3" Grub.

(Agree, too, with the Culprit Worm.  6.5" Crawdad color is killer anywhere I've ever fished.)

[iceintheveins]

Centipede and French Fry baits, as are inline spinners and casting spoons.

[Blue Streak]

Four inch Berkley Power Worm

[Paul Roberts]

The ones I haven't learned the ins and outs of yet.

[backwater4]

Ditto on the 4" Berkley, only I like the straight tail finesse, which are getting harder to come by. (Red Shad)

Also Culprit used to have a 4" finesse worm. These were awsome. Chocolate Mint was the color, but that is now discontinued also.

[Blade-Runner]

Too many think that topwaters are only for shallow water, low light, or warm water.

[tbird]

Most underated.... probably a 3" grub on a jighead

    T

[basspimple]

7" black powerworm. its what i leaned to fish with growing up. i have em, i just havnt broke them out and used em in years.

[Hot Rod]

Gee, if I went and let the cat out of the bag they wouldn't be underated anymore now would they? :-X

[JKarbo214]

I'm going to go old school and two lures that have lost a lot of popularity with all the new baits that have been released the last few years.  The Hula Popper and Jitterbug are two of the original topwater baits that still produce for me very often.

[crank]

+1 on the Jitterbug.

The $1.50 Strike King Bitsy Bug.

Deep, shallow, bright, overcast, heavy cover, open water, bounce it, swim it, dead stick it, tipped w/ a craw or not, big fish, small fish, SMB, LMB, spots...doesn't matter.

Sometimes I wonder what all my other lures are for.

[SausageFingers23]

Original Culprit worms

I love these.  Especially in red shad. I re-discovered them last season.  They killed for me.  I like to fish them weightless.

[bear7625]

Johnson Silver Spoon fished with a trailer. It used to be you never seen a tackle box without one! Still deadly in the weeds.

[1inStripes]

Rooster tail and a Rebel crawdad.

[CRFisher]

Helin Flatfish. 

[Crestliner2008]

1)  3" curly tail grub, on a 1/8 oz. ball jig.

2)  6" Slug-Go, rigged weightless.

3)  Mepps In-Line squirrel tailed spinners.

[bassman31783]

Dardevle spoons

Wobblehead with a Creme Scoundrel Worm trailer

Jig & curl tail grub

Mepps inline spinner

Stanley Ribbit Frog (high floater) fished on a C-Rig 

[FishnBen]

There's so many baits that could go on this list for me...but I'll add one no one has said yet: any sort of topwater Popper.

It might seem dumb and many people wouldn't think of a topwater on this list because everyone knows about them and loves using them...but I have probably caught more bass in my lifetime on poppers than anything else. I feel like they're almost a "finesse" topwater presentation. I don't like the small ones, and don't like the huge one's. Just a popper from about 2-3 inches with a nice thick profile and some flash and I'm set. There's just so many ways you can retrieve them and so many places you can catch fish with them. I couldn't even tell you my favorite conditions for them because as long as the water isn't absolutely frigid, I catch fish on them in warm weather, cool weather, cloudy days, sunny days, night, middle of the day, morning, spring, summer, fall, in the rain, in 20 FOW, in 6 inches of water, around weeds, around trees, around riprap, over points....I legitimately catch fish in all of these conditions, and have caught fish that were smaller than the lure, all the way up to 6 pounds (which is big around here)...yet I even forget sometimes how versitale they are and get caught up fishing a T-rig or jig or something else that they "should" be biting on.

[gobig]

I'm going to go old school and two lures that have lost a lot of popularity with all the new baits that have been released the last few years.  The Hula Popper and Jitterbug are two of the original topwater baits that still produce for me very often.

Took the words out of my mouth.