Baits used for your top 5.

[Quarry Man]

Here is the top five that myself, or a buddy I was with caught:

 

1. 5" Black YUM Dinger - 8.5 lbs

 

2. 3.8" Bluegill Flash Keitech Swing Impact Fat - 7 lbs

 

3. 1/4 oz Strike King Swim Jig - 6 lbs

 

4. Wacky Rig - 6 lbs

 

5. Ned rig - 7.5 lbs

[RyneB]

1. 8 inch Junebug Lizard

2. 8 inch Junebug Lizard

3. Gambler BB Cricket (bowens silver)

4. Gambler Why Not with punch skirt. 

5. 10 inch Rage thumper on a C Rig.

[nascar2428]

Senko                                                                                                     

[d-camarena]

Biggest ive caught was on a river2sea spittin wa. Then i lost it on the next cast into a tree. About 2 years ago. I still see the frog hanging everytime i go back

[Johnbt]

For the 5 largest 9- or 10-pounders, a 3/8ths chartreuse spinnerbait with 3" or 4" chartreuse trailer, usually with sparkles. I fish them on top, on the bottom, in laydowns, in submerged timber, fast, slow, everywhere, especially in the thick pads. I've lost some too or bent them up too much to straighten.

 

In the over-8 range I've had the most luck with 10" black worms and floating crankbaits, some with rattles, mostly gray with chartreuse stripes or marks.

 

John

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Fishin magician skid stick
Ms slammer
a jig
zoon fluke
texas rig

[2tall79]

1, 2....Hawg Boss Super Toad II crankbait

3, 4, 5.....Rebel Broken Back Minnow

[BassNJake]

1. Poes 4400 cedar crankbait 7-1

2. Poes 4400 cedar crankbait 6-15

3. Poes 4400 cedar crankbait 6-11

4. Poes 4400 cedar crankbait 6-5

5. Rapala DT7 5-11

 

All caught the same day for an almost 33lb 5 fish limit. 

 

I broke the Poes crankbait bouncing it off some rip rap later that year.

Never was able to find one that felt the same.

The DT7's were awesome for me in colder weather with it's tighter wobble.

 

[LonnieP]

1 Texas rig 7 inch berkley power worm tequila sunrise

2 Texas rig 7 inch berkley power worm red shad

3 Ratl-trap  crawfish colored 

4 Ratl-trap Liv-n chrome

5 Ratl-trap Liv-n chrome

[Dirtyeggroll]

12 hours ago, d-camarena said:

Biggest ive caught was on a river2sea spittin wa. Then i lost it on the next cast into a tree. About 2 years ago. I still see the frog hanging everytime i go back

Go for a swim?

 

1. Live minnow (from the bank)

2. Black/blue Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig with a Blue Bug Rage Bug trailer (way up under a dock)

3. Black/blue Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig with a Blue Bug Rage Bug trailer (way up under a dock)

4. Green Pumpkin 1/2 oz Karu Football Head chatterbait (near a dock in open water)

5. Green Pumpkin Yum Bad Mamma on a swing head (way up under a dock)

[Onyur6]

Rebel Topwater popper

4.8" Deadstick swimbait

Rebel topwater popper

superspook JR 

5" senko pumpkin seed w/ black flake 

[Turkey sandwich]

Man, this is hard to remember.

 

T-rigged 7.5" Power Worm in Christmas Cider (I miss this color.  A lot.)

Bass Assassin soft plastic jerk bait

Jig and craw (more big fish than anything else... probably by far)

Super Spook

have been the best big fish baits, for me.  An honorable mention?  Fat Free Shad.  

[Texas_Rig]

1. Zoom Ol Monster 

2. Zoom Ol Monster 

3. Texas rig Rage Bug

4. Texas rig Horny Toad(great flipping bait when blue gill spawn)

5. Stan Sloan 5/8 oz spinnerbait

[SDoolittle]

1. Yum Sweet Cheeks swimbait

2. 3/8 oz Strike King jig with a Chigger Chunk trailer

3. One of those cheap $1.00 spinnerbaits from Wal-Mart

4. Same as #3

5. Live shiner

 

I caught my biggest smallmouth on a Damiki Finesse Miki on a shaky head. 

 

[jtharris3]

1. Frog - typically the Pad Crasher or KVD.

2. Swim Jig - I really like the one's from Greenfish Tackle.

3. Super Fluke - White Ice or Pearl

4. Spinner bait - Typically Terminator T1 or War Eagle. Although the Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbait Crazy Colorado Willow in Baby Bluegill was a real good one for me this year!

5. KVD 1.5 Squarebill - Various colors

Honorable mention - Berkley 7" Power Worm.

[scaleface]

On 1/18/2018 at 12:38 PM, BassNJake said:

 

I broke the Poes crankbait bouncing it off some rip rap later that year.

Can you describe it . I have a couple of oddities .

[Fishinthefish]

Bagley balsa spintail 4.5 inch.

Spinnerbait

Trigged senko

Trigged senko

Bagley balsa lipless crankbait.

[BassNJake]

24 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Can you describe it . I have a couple of oddities .

It was this color but it was the 4400.

It has a larger lip and the edges are beveled or shaved looking.

 

I have a couple others but they dont seems to dive as straight or as deep.

I tried to bend the line tie on a couple but that didnt seem to get it right.

 

The one good one I had had a specific feel as it was digging the bottom.

 

 

[bigbill]

1. BPS / XPS topnocker color #25 chartruese

2. Bomber FAT 05 redapplecraw

3. Manns Classic spinnerbait in white, (blue glimmer skirt) double Indiana gold blades with a mister twister 4” split double tail trailer with a trailer hook.

4. senko red or amber red wacky rigged with a weedless hook and 1/8oz weight and 24” leader.

5. Rebel BIGCLAW crawfish crankbait in chartreuse. 

[SJex]

1. Watermelon Black Flake Yamamoto Fat Ika

2. White Zoom Super Fluke

3. Spot Remover War Eagle 1/2 oz. Double Willow Spinnerbait

4. Zman 1/15 oz. Ned Rigged Mudbug TubeZ

5. Watermelon/Red Flake Zoom 5" Shakey Head Worm with a 3/16oz dropshot