Best overall baits? For any fish down south

[aiden garrett]

Hello, I'm not new to fishing but I was just wondering what do you think are the best baits for any species? Thank you

[mrpao]

If you're talking live bait- then worms or minnows. Everything eats worms and minnows.

If your talking artificials - then easiest is probably 1/16 oz crappie jig.  Plastic or marabou both work well. 

I have pretty much caught everything on a crappie jig.

[Further North]

Too broad a question...there's simple too many species...

[MediumMouthBass]

Country wide for fresh water (since some states transplanted species)

Panfish: Bluegill, Crappie, Perch 1/64, 1/32, 1/16 jig heads paired with soft plastic minnows, grubs or other live insects/live minnows.

Trout: Hook and split shot or any of the above mentioned jig sizes, paired with minnows, worms, grubs, or Powerbait eggs/mice tails.

Bass: (Smallmouth) Ned rigs, wacky rigs, tube jigs, drop shot, jerkbaits, crankbaits, topwaters.

Bass: (Largemouth) All of the above will work, along with Chatterbaits, Texas rigs, frogs, jigs.

Pickerel: Almost everything that moves they will try to bite.

Pike: Bigger pickerel pretty much, use your bass lures but be sure to tie on a steel leader or tieable wire. If you want to target them mainly try bigger lures like swimbaits.

Musky: not too sure since ive never fished for them.

Walleye: Jerkbaits, deep diving jerkbaits, deep diving crankbaits, 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2oz jigs with a minnow or nightcrawler (or soft plastic), paddle tail swimbaits.

Catfish: Kool aid soaked hot dogs, dough bait, live bait like bluegills where legal to do so.

Snakehead: Frogs are the main ones, but anything for bass will work too.

 

If your not sure whats in a body of water a 1/16 oz jig with a nightcrawler will work for every species. Including bass/walleye, but more so panfish and trout. A ned rig, wacky rig, Texas rig, jerkbait, crank, chatterbait, spinnerbait, topwater baits/frogs will cover almost all bases for most species. And are considered the standard for the whole Country.

[Choporoz]

[VolFan]

I love an inline spinner or a 2 inch curl tail grub on a 1/16th or 1/8 oz jig head, white is never the wrong color, I also like motor oil or green pumpkin. 

[aiden garrett]

Thank y'all for all y'all's answers 

[Alex from GA]

Red worms.

[Swamp Girl]

Mepps are underrated. The only two days I caught more than 250 bass per day, I caught 95% of them with a Mepps. You can troll and cast them and fish them everywhere but on the surface and in the thickest weeds. 

[Alex from GA]

My introduction to the Mepps spinner was in the early 60s when I was stationed in MT and fished for trout.  Probably over 1/2 of the trout I caught were caught on them.  Haven't used them for bass just panfish in the past 60 years.