Productive Baits 2024 Edition

[DogBone_384]

My most productive baits were jerkbaits and crankbaits.  I have a Lure 11.5 w/Overdrive and troll either until I get bit.  

 

I spent more time throwing jigs this year.  My biggest catches came on jigs, one of those 'duh' moments.  

[A-Jay]

7 hours ago, Buzzbaiter said:

What’s your methodology for the Giant Dog X? I’m trying to focus on bigger smallmouth this year, and I’m pretty comfortable with walking baits. I figured I should try stick what I know and refine it to catch larger fish.

As I said, The Dog X is a small bait relatively speaking; especially for a walking bait.

And it has it's place in calm, quiet, super flat conditions.

However, my bait of choice for plus sized Brown bass on topwater is the SK Sexy Dawg and has been for a while. It fishes well is stuff the Dog X will not (a little wind & some wave action)

More recently The Hard Knock version has been very good as well. 

Late summer and early fall screams topwater here and a full sized bait draws the attention of the fish I'm looking for. 

https://youtu.be/sOBk7MV01o8?feature=shared&t=103

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

I was pretty boring this year. Started like I usually do, catching them on cranks and Ned rigs (which I never seemed to put down all year). The staples like the 6th Sense Flat 75 and Frittside were productive as always, but I added a couple new confidence baits in the Spro Speed Demon and Berkley Money Badger.

March was my first experience with the Rapala Freeloader, and it did enough to have me 1/4" short of walking across the Bassmaster Classic stage.

Ned kept producing through spring, getting a win in the first tournament of the year, qualifying me for the championship at the end of the year. This time it was my weedless Ned next to laydowns that produced a flurry in the last 2 hours of the day to cull all 5 of my fish, going from the high 60" range, to the high 80's.

 

Summer was really good for the bladed jigs. My Ivy (chartreuse and white with blood spots), was a steady producer early, including what was my biggest fish of the year for a majority of the year. Then Code Blue was hot when the weather was hot, including a couple weeknight tournament wins.

 

I feel like I've caught so many fish on a Ned rig since late summer until now. My kids absolutely crushed the smallmouth all summer on them, so did my wife.

Then our championship, I closed out the season the same way I started, winning with a Ned rig. It was a 2 day tournament, and 9 of my 10 fish were on a Ned rig, either White Lightning or Hot Snakes color.

 

I had a few good days on a homemade jig, caught some really nice fish on it.

 

Lately, a jerkbait has been really good, either a 6th Sense Provoke, or Stunna 112.

 

Then of course, Ned has remained steady and produced my biggest fish of the year in a heavy snow a few weeks ago.

 

[FishTax]

I'm hoping to catch something good in the next week, so will update when the year is over  

But as a teaser, Seibert swim jig in 3/8 with a shad looking deal and a twin tail zoom trailer in white was my #1. Occasionally I'd swap the trailer to a pintail type thing from BPS in silver. The pond fish couldn't get enough of that deal this year. 

[A-Jay]

Good Luck ~

A-Jay

[Bankbeater]

Weightless plastic worms fished shallow or deep. I just had to let them sink down on their own.

 

3" or 4" Jerkbaits. Sometimes fished with action, but most of the time I just brought the bait back with a straight retrieve.

 

Bottom contact jig and craw combo pitched into vegetation or brush. 

 

[wdp]

My biggest producer was a discontinued lure, the Zoom foam/floating swimming frog. I started the year with an 8.15 in March in Southern Georgia. Kept one tied on rest of season until November. And quickly bought just about every pack I could find online before they’re gone for good. Think I got 20+ packs of them now. 🤣 They are killer around shallow grass & pads and wood. I love that they float so I can pause & let em soak for 5-10 seconds around the really good looking pieces of cover. 
 

2nd place was the Z man SMH worm on an 1/8 shakey football head. Something about that floating & undulating worm just catches em. 

[Junk Fisherman]

Hey A-Jay.

How often do you throw a bladed jig versus a spinnerbait for smallmouth?  What dictates when you throw one versus the other?  I gotta be honest- I rarely ever throw a chatterbait for smallies (only spinnerbaits) and am probably missing out.  Thanks for any advice. 

[A-Jay]

Early season, I'm taking pre-spawn, (water temps in the 40's) same places & times I'd throw a jerkbait, I also throw a Vibrating jig.  I fish it low and slow - like a regular jig or even a blade bait.  So these very little if any constant retrieve - ALL stop and go.

I fish the bait with short rod pulls, let it glide back to the bottom on a tight line, pick up the slack with the reel and repeat all the way back to the boat. 95 % of the bites come on the glide or the pause.  The cooler the water, the short (distance) the pulls. Many a 6 lb brown bass have choked this deal.  Admittedly it's usually around a little emergent weed / soft cover areas.  It's a slow way to fish but the pay off is most decent.  

As the water warms and gets past post spawn I'll fish the vibrating vjig in a more traditional manner.

As the season gets around to August, I'll fish a Spinnerbait and a Vibrating jig in the same places but in different fashions.  Large grass flats in 4 - 10 ft are where I find the plus size fish and that runs right into late Sept.

Spinnerbaits I'll burn just under the surface and vibrating jigs I'll fish just fast enough to keep some what constant or at least occasional contact with the soft cover (weeds).

 

https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared&t=1014

 

https://youtu.be/sITpRNLz_04?feature=shared&t=197

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/page/4/#findComment-2443715

 

IMO, a Vibrating jig is NOT a replacement for a spinnerbait, especially the way I fish them and when... But it is a very viable option.

A-Jay

 

 

[WaskaCrank12]

Lures that caught the most fish:

 

1. OSP Blitz Max DR (#1 - American Sunfish, #2 - Cress Gill)

2. Netbaits Paca Chunk Sr. on a Core Tackle Hover Rig (#1 - Green Pumpkin, #2 - Sun Gill)

3. Keitech FAT Impact 3.8 on a Dirty Jigs underspin (#1 - Morning Dawn, #2 - Electric Shad)

 

Largest fish (including 2 PB's) were on:

 

1. Netbaits Paca Chunk Sr. on a Core Tackle Hover Rig (19 plus in. largemouth)

2. Megabass Griffon MR (GG Bass) multiple 18.5 small mouth

3. OSP Blitz EX DR (Sunny Gill) caught a 30 inch plus Carp/Drum/Buffalo ? fish

 

I had, what I believe was a 20 inch plus bass (would have for sure been a PB), at the boat, lifted up, an inch or less from being in the net, when the back treble o-ring failed on the OSP Blitz Max DR - UGH !!!!! (pictured below) -- I will for sure be putting new hardware on those lures this winter 

[Junk Fisherman]

On 12/22/2024 at 6:47 PM, A-Jay said:

Early season, I'm taking pre-spawn, (water temps in the 40's) same places & times I'd throw a jerkbait, I also throw a Vibrating jig.  I fish it low and slow - like a regular jig or even a blade bait.  So these very little if any constant retrieve - ALL stop and go.

I fish the bait with short rod pulls, let it glide back to the bottom on a tight line, pick up the slack with the reel and repeat all the way back to the boat. 95 % of the bites come on the glide or the pause.  The cooler the water, the short (distance) the pulls. Many a 6 lb brown bass have choked this deal.  Admittedly it's usually around a little emergent weed / soft cover areas.  It's a slow way to fish but the pay off is most decent.  

As the water warms and gets past post spawn I'll fish the vibrating vjig in a more traditional manner.

As the season gets around to August, I'll fish a Spinnerbait and a Vibrating jig in the same places but in different fashions.  Large grass flats in 4 - 10 ft are where I find the plus size fish and that runs right into late Sept.

Spinnerbaits I'll burn just under the surface and vibrating jigs I'll fish just fast enough to keep some what constant or at least occasional contact with the soft cover (weeds).

 

https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared&t=1014

 

https://youtu.be/sITpRNLz_04?feature=shared&t=197

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/page/4/#findComment-2443715

 

IMO, a Vibrating jig is NOT a replacement for a spinnerbait, especially the way I fish them and when... But it is a very viable option.

A-Jay

 

 

Great stuff A-Jay.  Thanks.  I'll have to add this to my arsenal.  

 

[J Francho]

Spinnerbait

Popmax

Sammy

Rage Craw

Jig

[bowhunter63]

Zoom fluke and a Rage Bug T rigged and a Wacky Worm. My main go to in 2024 

[RichF]

Best largie baits are (and will always be) a 3/4 & 1/2 jig (rage craw, chigger craw, or big salty chunk), 1/2 jackhammer, and  spro bronzeye 65. Fished 2 tourneys in 2024 and won both with those baits (except one lonely biggun on a drop shot robo worm). 
 

Since I only fish smallies in the early spring or late fall now, my most productive baits were a 1/2 blade bait in gold and a 3.3 Keitech fat on a 3/16 oz head.

[Dan N]

Tokyo rig with bandito bug, or rage bug.

Strike king KVD swim jigs, and Bitsy Flip jigs with various trailers.

and by far my best 2 cranks were Rapala OG slim 6 , and Tiny.

[whitwolf]

I didn't get to fish as much because I can't fish by myself anymore. 

 

That said, 4 baits were my biggest produces t his year. 

 

1. Deep Creek Lures Wise Whacker creature bait in the color Purple Haze. 

 

2. Deep Creek Lures Bully 1.5 DD in Shimmer Shad.

 

3. Deep Creek Lures Goby in Green Pumpkin Pro.

 

4. Deep Creek Lures 8" eel in Black/Pearl.

 

The crankbait was really good from April through October. 

 

The creature bait caught the majority of the fish. I helped field test this bait so it got a lot of use.

 

The Goby was used on and underspin, shakey head, and a swimbait head. It's a cool little bait. 

 

The eel caught some durn nice Smallmouth....at night! Every single Smallmouth i caught night fishing was on this bait. 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

FYI ~

In all future correspondence here and until further notice

I will be referring to the bait pictured below as The Wiggle Wagon.

That is all . . . . 

A-Jay

[crypt]

# 1 bait Gambler Burner Worm.  2nd place goes to Zoom SS U tail 6"  both T rigged ....they accounted for 90% of my catches of the year. To say I use worms a lot is an understatement.

[Fishlegs]

I'm always amazed at the various methods that people use to chase the same fish.

 

TX rig will always be my #1 since it's my #1 confidence bait. I had good success with brush hogs, & the Rage Menace this year. I wanted to try colors other than GP, watermelon, & Junebug this year. The two that stood out were both golden hues. Honey Candy for the menace, and rootbeer pepper green for the brush hog. I plan to continue using those.

 

Lipless crankbaits are #2 for me. A new color that I had success with was, wait for it...gold. Specifically, a gold shad SK RES tungsten 2 tap. Another lure I plan to use more often.

 

The "best of the rest" for me are spinnerbaits, underspins, swim jigs, drop shot, and ned rigs.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

The past year has been rough with health issues.  Time on the water was very limited, but the appreciation for it was and is limitless. 

Duo Nitro lipless in Hypnotic 

Molix Muscle Ant Willow in boogaloo dace

Both baits performed better than I had expected.

[LrgmouthShad]

For the second year, Coda Apex jigs in 3/8 and 1/2oz were effective bass-getters. Some offerings from Terry Oldham and Siebert Outdoors were also effective. For trailers, the Yamamoto Flappin Hog and Rage Lobster made some big waves in 2024. Standard rage craws, zoom z craws, and zoom z hogs remained effective. 
 

Rapala DT series and BX Brat series kept the crankbait season alive. 
 

The Megabass PopMax is easily the best topwater I have tried. It is great in the late summer and early fall. 

The Megabass 110 Jr +1 donated one six pounder

 

The zoom ol monster was a summertime staple on a 1/2oz Texas rig. It also terrorized bass after dark. 
 

The Stanley VibraWedge in a color I believe they call ghost shad was integral to me catching several spinnerbait fish in clear water back in March.

 

[FishTax]

Ok the year finally ended so I can post. The Siebert swim jig and mini swim jig in 3/8 with various skirts but all some shad looking whitish with accents was definitely my #1 producer and became a great confidence bait for me this year. I'm not sure what second place would be as it was all over the place based on season, but probably a shaky head with a junebug trick worm as that is always in my top 3 along with other jig varieties (brush, football, finesse, black and blue, green pumpkin, etc). 

I also had good luck with a rage swimmer on an open hook vmc head in I think 1/8 oz but it may have been 3/16. This one in gizzard shad looking colors specifically. 

[Cdn Angler]

AJ interesting that the profile of most your baits is so similar. Makes sense if you are targeting mainly SMB. I'm going to buy your a-rig setup as I suck with my current one. 

 

My winners for this year, measured by numbers/big fish:

- 6th Sense Speed Wake - I am sold on this bait. You can fish it effectively at any speed and it gets bit year round. I caught two 4 lb bass on this bait in late June. 

- On Point Lures 4x4 - Spinnerbait with 4 blades, almost like a mini a-rig. This works amazingly well on active fish at the top of the water column, but you can fish anywhere in the water column. Good for SMB, LMB, Pike. Seems to excel in the fall. Got my biggest pike of the year on it. 

- Hybrid Hunter Jr. It is rare that a shallow crankbait is the deal around here, but I had one day when I thought it made sense and I caught probably 20 fish on the HH, including one of my biggest LMB (5ish). 

- River2Sea Lane Changer - Topwater Prop Bait. This thing killed it in the summer for SMB in clearwater situations. I was pleasantly surprised. 

- 2.5 Yamatunuki - White. I fished this on a tiny ned head in deeper water (for me so like 10-15 feet) and it caught a ton of fish and big fish. It seemed to do better than a ned rig in terms of quality of fish. 

- Zoom speed worm and local Chatterbait/Mini Max. 

 

Losers

- Whopper Plopper. Just doesn't work like it used to around here. 

- Big worms/bigger creature baits. Maybe the conditions weren't right, but I feel like I did far poorer this year. 

[RRocket]

4 hours ago, Cdn Angler said:

 

- Hybrid Hunter Jr. It is rare that a shallow crankbait is the deal around here, but I had one day when I thought it made sense and I caught probably 20 fish on the HH, including one of my biggest LMB (5ish). 

 

Normal version or shallow version? 

[Cdn Angler]

1 hour ago, RRocket said:

Normal version or shallow version? 

Normal. It only goes down to about 3-4 feet I'd say.