Has any lure wowed you and retained its lofty position?

[king fisher]

Spinnerbait.  Bought my first one summer of 1976.  It was a Fleck Weed Wader.  I fished that Weed Water every time I went bass fishing for many years.  I now own dozens of spinnerbaits and still fish them every time out.

     Rattle Trap.  First time I tried one in 1978 I caught so many fish compared to my friend, that he begged  me to loan him mine.  We spent the rest of the day taking turns fishing that trap.  In all the years of fishing for many species of fish, that was the biggest difference I have ever seen a lure make.  Catching bass every cast was fun.  Watching my friend beg,  priceless.  I always have a Trap tied on.  

[BrianMDTX]

57 minutes ago, livemusic said:

Those of you who said Senko, especially, fished weightless, do you think it is superior to a plastic worm and, if so, why? Does Senko float off the bottom or have some 'special' characteristic?

 

And if you vote for Senko, have you ever tried a Super Fluke? The fluke has this darting action and the slow sink. I have not used Senko much. So little, I can't recall what's special about it but I know they must catch a bunch because some people sure like them.

Superior is a subjective term. I mean that sincerely. Can I say a 5” Senko is superior to a standard plastic worm, for all conditions, for all bass small, medium and large, in all types of water and bottom conditions? I don’t think I can say that. 

 

What I will say is that whether fished wacky or weightless Texas rigged, it is a rare day it does not produce. It may not light the world on fire, and it may not catch the biggest hawg in the pond, lake or reservoir, but it does get bitten pretty much every trip. I cannot say that about too many other baits. 

[Biglittle8]

I would have to say a Zoom trick worm Red with a black core rigged texas style. Honorable mention would be 1/2 oz Ratl-Trap Diamond Dust color.

[DitchPanda]

Plastic worm and spinner bait...more recently a swim jig.

[TriStateBassin106]

C H A T T E R B A I T 

[Bubba 460]

3 hours ago, livemusic said:

Those of you who said Senko, especially, fished weightless, do you think it is superior to a plastic worm and, if so, why? Does Senko float off the bottom or have some 'special' characteristic?

 

And if you vote for Senko, have you ever tried a Super Fluke? The fluke has this darting action and the slow sink. I have not used Senko much. So little, I can't recall what's special about it but I know they must catch a bunch because some people sure like them.

As far as wacky style a Yamamoto Senko is probably the best 5" senko as far as subtle action on it's own. It has an enticing wiggle as it falls that is better in varying degrees to other competitors. The fall rate (unweighted) is perfect for shallow water and pulsates nicely on the pull and release. However there are trade-off for these slight enhancement. #1~ They cost more. #2~ They are very soft and tear easily. #3~ Short life expectancy compared to other senkos that are a little tougher than the Yamamoto. #4 ~ they are greasy and pulled out of an O-ring easily by smaller fish ~ I wipe them off before use.

 

All of them will catch fish. Some sink very slowly, others a little faster. A small bullet head split-shot just ahead of the hook works for a little faster fall rate for deeper water. Easily skipped under docks or overhanging vegetation, it's a hard bait for a bass to turn down. If you want the best and willing to to keep up with the cost I'd give the Yamamoto the thumbs up. But the others will catch fish just as well if you work it right ~ presentation is the key. "Motor oil" and "Morning Dawn" are two of my go to colors but silver flake thrown into a school of bait-fish bass are feeding on will do nicely.   

[avid]

I was the guy with the suitcase tackle box filled with lures etc   I loved to fish different lures all the time 

and then the Senko was invented  

[Ben77]

I have to agree with everyone else here a weightless senko is like magic it works everywhere you go! It's unbelievable after all these years how it still produces!

[Alpster]

Culprit 7.5" black shad ribbon tail worm. I've caught more bass on it than all other baits combined.

 

[Deplorable Fisherman]

Berkley Skeet Reese's Pit Boss. It just seems to catch them when nothing else works. 

 

That and a Creme Tube Worm. The price per pack is painful...so I use them sparingly when the bite is tough. But it just gets the bite when it's a slow day on the water.

[Fishingmickey]

All time, Berkley pumpkinseed power worm 7" bit down to 6" , T-rigged with a 3/16 oz weight on a 3/0 straight shank Gamakatsu worm hook.  1/2 oz chartreuse spinnerbait gold double bladed willow leaf. 

FM

[billmac]

5 hours ago, livemusic said:

By Meeny Spin, do you mean the Meeny with a spinner blade? That would be similar to what I said about a Beetle Spin.

Yes, basically a beetle spin with a curly tail.  I've always been a sucker for curly tail plastics.  

4 hours ago, king fisher said:

Fleck Weed Wader

This thread is like a trip down memory lane.  I think this was probably my first spinnerbait.

[Bankbeater]

One of the first generation Cordell Big O crankbaits.  That thing seemed to catch fish any time, and in any condition.  I have the larger version, which is no longer made, in my profile pic.

[Columbia Craw]

Normans Deep Little N

[whitwolf]

Rebel Ringworms and Rebel deep wee r.

[bowhunter63]

Rebel crawdad crank bait. For a long time now 

[Ghostshad]

Baby BrushHog in Water melon candy.

[N Florida Mike]

70s : Manns Jelly worms

80s -90s : Culprit worms

2000s - present : Zoom super flukes

2010- present : Senkos

 

 

 

[lynxcat]

Ned rig

Chatterbait

[Phelptwan]

The whopper plopper.  Still can't believe how many fish I catch on them, and how many times a miss is almost an immediate strike when I throw it back to the same spot.

[NYWayfarer]

The big 4 for me are:

 

Senko

Whopper Plopper

Rage Tail Baby Craw

Z-Man finesse TRD

 

 

[Deephaven]

If I have to pick one it is a hollow bodied frog.

 

Otherwise, lofty to me would be what I have a dedicated rod for: Frog, Jerkbait, Spook, Squarebill, Skipping Jig, TRig, Rattletrap, Spinnerbait, Smallish swimbait, Chatterbait, Tube, Ned, Fluke, Wacky Senko, Deep crank, Med crank

 

I throw other stuff sometimes and have a couple rods to rotate for it, but that encompasses the lofty baits.  I listed baits instead of brands as while I have some favorites in each category that can change based on water conditions and time of year.

[Cgolf]

For me I have a few.

 

The old school tube and 5" Kalins grub flat out catch fish anywhere I have been. If I could only fish two styles of soft plastics for the rest of my life these would be it. Brand doesn't matter for the tube, but the grub must be Kalins.

 

Bandit 100 has caught bass for me for years and I expect them to continue to do so for a long time.

 

Yum Craw bug is hands down the best plastic I have fished for river smallies over the years, simple and cheap makes it a win win bait.

 

Rage Menace I initially thought everyone on here said good things about them because they were a site sponsor, but this thing lived up to the hype. I don't use it as much now, but it is still very much in the rotation.

 

Slider spider heads I have used these for 20+ years and in that time I haven't used a worm sinker or split shot at all. These have done everything I needed.

[MGF]

There have been many that have worked really well for me but I keep changing things up. It seems like everything goes a bit cold after a while. Some examples...

 

A wacky rigged stick and a NED rig would be two examples. I still catch fish on them but nothing like the action I was getting a few years back.

 

So many people watch youtube and read these forums that the water is absolutely saturated with every bait that gets popular. I really think that it takes something a little different after a while.

[livemusic]

5 hours ago, Phelptwan said:

The whopper plopper.  Still can't believe how many fish I catch on them, and how many times a miss is almost an immediate strike when I throw it back to the same spot.

 

What time of year do you fish WP? I bought two colors but haven't used them much. BTW, those baits sure are expensive!