We've had threads.....

[whitwolf]

I've been around a while and have seen many threads in the tackle section about "If you could choose one lure" or "what's your favorite lure" and while I have seen many replies that make sense and some that leave me wondering there's not been many replies as to the real reason why. 

That said, think about that for a minute, what makes you pick that "one" bait? Is It a confidence thing? Is It because that's all you throw? Is It because In that particular situation you have had enough positive feedback to know that's the right bait? 

This Is not so much about choosing "one" bait as much as why It's a favorite? I guess the point of this Is why are there favorites and the reasoning behind that choice. 

As an example: As crazy as It would be to choose one bait to fish with for a day mine would have to be a Zoom 4" dead ringer(Watermelon or Black) on a Siebert Outdoors Zenith Shakeyhead. The reason being Is I know It will catch fish. It can be used In rocks, brush, deep, shallow, and for the waters I fish It's a very versatile bait. I also have a ton of confidence It that set-up. Sound off fellow fisherman!

[Cgolf]

For me it is a Bandit 100 for a crank. Reasoning is that it is a monster shallow water river Smallie Crankbait. It comes through rocks pretty well and has caught Smallie for me in the main seasons that I fish hard, if they are there,they will hit it. I have also taken this bait to the lake and had largemouth jump in on the fun too. While it isn't the most versatile bait in the world, as the old saying goes there are always at least some fish shallow.

For soft baits I have 2 that get carried in one box. First is the 3-5" single tail grub, preferably a Kalins. I have caught almost everything on these including my PB Musky. A super versatile lure, can be fished on its own or as a trailer on say a swim jig. Can be fished at pretty much any depth and any retrieve that you can dream up.

I like the tube for all the same reasons. I carry a Plano 4700 guide series double decker box with a good color selection of each to every lake I fish. I am glad that a lot of people get snagged by all the new baits out there, because the classics flat out catch fish.

[Catt]

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a bass can not REMEMBER!

That is, a bass will continue to strike a worm even after repeated catches, whereas a bass will "turn off" to other lures. Although we all know bass will prefer a different lure at different times (i.e. pattern) you can always go back to the worm to catch them.

I pick the #1 lure but must add numerous platics fit the bill!

[A-Jay]

  The bottom line for me is, I want to catch fish and I'll use whatever technique or presentation I have to to do it.  But when the discussion moves to "favorite baits" I have that too.   It all starts with long bomb cast and then plenty of Chunking & Winding.  I don't know what it is about it.  I can't explain why it's my favorite - it just is. 

 And so there are a ton of baits that can fit the bill here, from all kinds of crank baits, spinner & buzz baits, even jerkbaits & topwater.   The fact that I get to cover water, launch the cast, work the bait and then react to the strike with a quick, stiff hooks set, really gets my juices flowing.  I'm even enjoying just typing about it here . . . .

Of Course it doesn't hurt that 9 out of 10 of my Largest Bass have all come doing just that.

A-Jay

[snake95]

2 hours ago, whitwolf said:

I guess the point of this Is why are there favorites and the reasoning behind that choice.

I'm a relative newcomer, and I already have a few favorites.   Above all I like the firetiger Rapala Crankin' Rap squarebill they seem to be discontinuing. 

The reasoning:

1) I don't normally have much time on the water, so I like to chuck and wind, and cover water.  

2) Its fairly versatile, despite being a crankbait:  I've lobbed close to cover with a wake/stop/wake retrieve in the heat of summer, and burned it till it vibrated like a rattlebait in muddy 50's winter waters. 

3) In my particular situation, it works well in Georgia ponds and have caught on it 12 months of the year, when the ponds are muddy, stained, or clear.

Bottom line: a confluence of preferred fishing style and success in a range of conditions, for the waters I fish most often.

Reality is I have lots of favorites that are very close seconds, all for different reasons:

Pop-R because it works in the right conditions and I'd rather catch 1 on topwater to 2 any other way.

Yum mighty bugs and Keitech paddletails: because I'm catching on them these days, and can be rigged to get through cover.

The close seconds list goes on and on.

 

 

 

[S. Sass]

I have several "favorites" as well.  I have almost become addicted to tossing/flipping/pitching a craw (usually a Paca Craw) T rigged with a skirt, Just really getting into lipped crankbaits this year and really like the shallow divers Mann's 1 Minus has been a go to this year.  Also the small jointed hard swimbaits have been a new one as well.  

As a single one bait only choice I would have to get the Mann's Jelly worm, but a 3/8 oz single colorado blade white spinnerbait is a very close second. 

Pretty much I enjoy catching fish and these do that for me is my reasoning. 

[Cgolf]

30 minutes ago, Catt said:

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a bass can not REMEMBER!

That is, a bass will continue to strike a worm even after repeated catches, whereas a bass will "turn off" to other lures. Although we all know bass will prefer a different lure at different times (i.e. pattern) you can always go back to the worm to catch them.

I pick the #1 lure but must add numerous platics fit the bill!

The Yum Crawbug has to fit this too, that thing is pretty darn close to the real thing and I have caught a ton of smallies on them. Also have caught the same fish on the bait too. Guessing like the worm, it just looks real and the fish can't help themselves. 

[WRB]

My favorite isn't a good numbers lure and it doesn't catch bass every outing.

If I want to catch bass my go to lure is the lowly worm slip shot, drop shot orT-rigged, can't remember not catching at least 1 bass on a worm.

I like fishing top water lures of all types because strikes are exciting, still not my favorite

Swimbaits have the potential every cast to catch a big bass, but too old to cast them all day.

My favorite all time lure for bass is so unpopular I am more than likely the only angler on any given day or night using it.......1/2 oz multiple color bucktail hair jig with pork rind trailer. I always have one tied on and fish it year around. Reason, I have caught hundreds of DD bass on this lure including 5 PB's between 17 lbs to 19 lbs.

Tom

 

[Catt]

I can narrow it down even farther!

I've caught bass from 52 different lakes from west Texas to Florida, from the Gulf of Mexico to Ohio. I've won numerous tournaments & dozens of double digit bass on it.

My #1 lure of choice was a 7 1/2" cinnamon pepper neon junebug laminated ringworm!

For short camouflage  

[riverbasser]

Mine is the jig, I'm sure it's a confidence thing and it's the only lure that makes me slow down. It almost always produces for me and can be used in water from 6 inches to 80 foot. I can also mimic more than one prey just by the way I fish it. 

If I'm bass fishing, 90% of the time it's with a jig

[Hogsticker]

In all seriousness, if you told me I had to spend a day on the water and only employ one technique, give me a variety of paddle tails, jig heads, wide gap hooks, and some bullet weights. So many ways to fish a paddle tail. I want something universal I can fish at any depth and speed. I can pull/drag it along a sandy bottom, swim it along rip rap and let it fall between rocks, burn it on top, fish it over lilly pads or through grass, stroke it off the bottom - the list goes on and on. It's one of the few baits I can appease the dictated mood of most any game fish. Plus it's not painfully boring. Just yesterday I was catching walleye pulling one up after it settled to the bottom. Long hard pulls and letting it flutter back down. Like yo yoing a lipless crank. They'd grab it both on the way up or down. I also catch smallmouth in chunk rock. A good pair of polarized sunglasses, just swim the bait right over the top of the rocks and pick your spots to let it decend down into or between the rocks where those smallies are hiding and ambushing. With that tail flutter it's game on. The tail is magic on the right bait. If the fish want something slow and aren't real active I can swim it or even jig it really slow. If they are active I can swim it fast, kill it, play stop and go, crank the reel to the tune of a song - that tail! Weedless, exposed hook, weighted or not, I'm not sure there is a wrong way to fish a paddle tail. I can even skip it under docks and over hangs. Don't limit yourself to any one way to fish one. This is easily the most universal bait on the market imo that can catch fish any time of year, any conditions. It's up to you the angler to figure out the rest. 

[the reel ess]

For me it's the soft plastic craw in any color as long as it's black/blue flake. If I couldn't find black, which is the case lately, I'd dye brown ones or go to a black/blue jig & chunk.

Lately I won't go fishing without a T-rigged Chigger Craw and a Hula Grub tied on.

[Senko lover]

The jig has become the lure that I look to most of the time; it gets enough bites that it doesn't take the dedication to throw that, say, a huge swimbait would, but it also catches big bass. It fits almost every situation and weather condition. 

[dsqui]

if i could only pick one thing to fish for bass it would be a slip bobber and bass shiner but it has to be on my 9ft ML panfish rod.  sorry guys i went there (live bait) but i had to because if im only fishing one bait for bass for the rest of my life its gonna be something that makes it really fun and that long rod makes even 10 inchers seem huge

[Raul]

I HATE SOFT PLASTICS ! still, I can do some really serious butt whupping with a 5 inch curly tail grub pretty much anywhere where bass can be found in this planet and it's not my "favorite".

[I.rar]

My #1 bait would be the zoom Super fluke Jr in baby bass. Weightless if conditions allow but  Texas or Carolina, split or drop shot, jig head or shaky head all work. I've caught most of my big fish on this bait from East North Carolina to Miami, FL. 

Followed by Lake fork baby shads on a 1/16 ball jig. This has also caught me many big peas, cichlids and largemouth.  

[jtipton91]

I know this thread asks for one lure but I have two I can not live without. Either of these.

1. Yum money minnow or clone. (5") Reason being because I can fish it on a keel weighted hook as a swimbait, burn it as a topwater variety, throw it on an underspin or fish it like a Texas rig. 

2. T-rig worm. Majority of bigger bass I catch are on this. I like an 8-10" ribbon tail. 

[ClackerBuzz]

On 5/29/2016 at 11:32 PM, WRB said:

My favorite all time lure for bass is so unpopular I am more than likely the only angler on any given day or night using it.......1/2 oz multiple color bucktail hair jig with pork rind trailer. I always have one tied on and fish it year around. Reason, I have caught hundreds of DD bass on this lure including 5 PB's between 17 lbs to 19 lbs.

Tom

 

I for one would love to see you post about this Tom.  Keitech swimbaits are huge right now even though they fall apart like butter.  marketing amazing me b/c you can catch bass all day long on the same hair jig/pork combo.

On 5/29/2016 at 0:34 AM, Catt said:

My #1 lure of choice was a 7 1/2" cinnamon pepper neon junebug laminated ringworm!

For short camouflage  

I'm red/green colorblind so the chances of me finding this worm are slim to none.  you got a brand/model?  My 3 go to colors are black, green pumpkin and white but I certainly respect ur skills enough to throw a 4th into my rotation.

[Catt]

1 minute ago, ClackerBuzz said:

I'm red/green colorblind so the chances of me finding this worm are slim to none.  you got a brand/model?  My 3 go to colors are black, green pumpkin and white but I certainly respect ur skills enough to throw a 4th into my rotation.

Can't give you a name brand since I forgot!

I buy em by the hundreds from Ann's Tackle Jasper Texas. She orders them from some where in Mississippi.

[trick worms]

Texas rigged trick worm and ole monster