What lures do you intend to use more in 2025?

[Lottabass]

The lakes I fish are weedy, dirty water, soft bottom lakes.  I used to be a flipper, pitcher, and puncher and caught a lot of fish that way.  That was when I could stand up and fish.  Can't stand anymore, so I bought a 10' rod, a reel with a flippin switch, and braid.  This will be my "dippin" rig.  Hopefully I can present a bait like I used to but do it sitting down.

I still intend to wear out squarebills and frogs too!

[Texas Flood]

Buzzbait

Dropshot

Neko

Spinnerbait

[DinkDonkey30]

56 minutes ago, RRocket said:

This makes sense from reading I've done.

 

When fish are actively chasing baitfish, they prefer the maximum return for their calories burned during the hunt. Why expend the same energy for a tiny meal?  So the biggest baitfish they can handle is often preferred. 

 

 

That was my thought process for trying it. I can’t say how it works in relation to ice fishing. I don’t ice fish. I do start as  soon as the water thaws though and it seems to work weather the water is 35 degrees or 70+ in the summer. I’ve also noticed an odd relationship between big reaction baits and pan fish. I don’t catch panfish on small or standard reaction baits but they absolutely attack large reaction baits. I’ve had multiple bluegill and perch smack the 6th sense dogma walking top water, big cranks and jerk baits. However in the same lakes and spots I don’t get them on the regular sizes. I know panfishing with moving baits is popular but you wouldn’t think they would go after these large baits.

[gim]

Elite Evo Tungsten version.

 

I was able to snag one at the very end of last season, and use it for 2 outings in October.  Extremely effective lure.  It showed me enough to buy another one and use it in 2025 more.

 

 

[TOXIC]

I’ve been really invested in the Ned bait.  I’ve always been a finesse guy and heavily into Senkos(duh), dropshots, etc.  I have caught some personal bests on Ned’s and have a contact for custom Ned heads.  With Yamamoto’s new bait offerings, there’s a lot of new Ned baits.  I am going to spend the year weeding through all of them and hopefully finding some new favorites.  

[softwateronly]

3 hours ago, DinkDonkey30 said:

 

You must be pretty close to me. I live in Elkhart Co Indiana.

Less than 10 miles from the Elkhart border. Real close. 
 

scott

[DinkDonkey30]

We’ve probably seen each other then. I fish the river a lot out of the Maggie’s launch and 6span but I go all over. Usually I go towards Syracuse or Plymouth on the weekends and Michigan during the week. I haul a silver 98 triton with a red 79 Chevy K10 with really dark window tint.

[AvoidingYardWork]

Every year I say I'm going to work towards competency with bottom contact baits (jigs, neds, etc)...and every year the frog bite takes over then I lose focus and its back to spinner/chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and rat baits.

 

I started messing with poop baits and Deps bull flats with some promising success, I intend to circle back on those as well.

[Munkin]

Hopefully all of them! Last year was the worst for bass fishing I have had in 20 years.

 

Allen

[MN Fisher]

^ I'm with Allen - since I never even got Bass Trek wet last year, it was all shore fishing which sucked for bass. I plan on using everything I can from my stash this next year to make up for it.

[PourMyOwn]

Bomber 6A, the original ones. I have a pile that I'm repainting and upgrading the hardware on, there's just something about them that works when the 3XD doesn't. 

[casts_by_fly]

My intention is bigger and smaller.  Last year I dipped my toes into the swimbait and ned arenas.  Both were fun and both were productive for me at different times.  So I'm going to thow both more this year and am expanding my inventory of each.  Last year the 6" magdraft was the top end but this year I'm exploring into 8" magdrafts and some hardbaits.  On the ned side, I've got a good selection of TRDs and a couple other baits.  The 3" and 4" senko were a good shout as well (or at least a 5" senko that wore down to those lengths...) so I've added a couple colors of those to round out the bunch.  

[FishTank]

I'm wanting to do more offshore fishing (no FFS but using side and down imaging). I'm going to throw some 20+ft diving cranks, big football jigs, heavier drop shot, and maybe some heavier Texas Rigged plastic.

 

Specifically, I'm trying the Megabass Deep Six and OSP Blitz Magnum EX DR. Drop shot,  I'm going to do a 3/8oz weight with something like the 6th Sense Whale.  I'm also trying a split drop shot rig. I saw this in a Japanese angler's video.  It looked cool. I ordered the split barrel swivels so we will see how it goes.

 

Oh and dice, lots of fuzzy dice. 

[Gera]

I guess crankbaits, I have not caught a fish on one in a few years (not considering topwater, poppers are a staple on my summer fishing) 

[bowhunter63]

Crankbaits 

[CDMTJager]

On 1/12/2025 at 5:37 PM, little giant said:

Chatterbaits. I've never caught a fish using it. Tried different weights, colors, with and without trailers. Thinkin I might have put more time into them. I catch bass aplenty  on swim jigs, go figure!

I am honestly shocked at your lack of success using chatterbaits as they are among my most successful baits Starting as soon as the water gets over 40* and all year long but most effective from March till my lakes weed-up to much to use them. This is coming from a shore fisherman. I can not imagine how many more fish I would catch on chatterbaits if I could fish from a boat or kayak.

 

I have enjoyed great not just good but great success catching fish with chatterbaits in IN, IL, and OH and catching multi species as I have caught bass, northern pike fresh water drum (sheepshead) and on a trip to Ohio caught channel catfish on 1/2oz chart/wht bladed jig including what I was certain was going to be my PB bass turned out to be an almost 9lb channel cat.

 

I would respectfully suggest watching some of Matt Stefan's videos on how to rig and retrieve  chatterbaits as his tips definitely helped increase my success fishing with chatterbaits. I'm sure there are other videos on how best to fish chatterbaits by successful pro bass fisherman that could prove helpful. I will tell you price of a bladed jig has in MY experience no bearing on their fish catching abilities as over the last 5 years of fishing chatterbaits my <$10 chatterbaits undoubtedly caught more bass than my $13-$15 chatterbaits.

 

[Swamp Girl]

14 minutes ago, CDMTJager said:

I am honestly shocked at your lack of success using chatterbaits as they are among my most successful baits

 

Be doubly shocked. I've only caught one bass using them, but I've promised @AlabamaSpothunter that I'll be using them more in 2025.

[CDMTJager]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:19 PM, papajoe222 said:

Not any particular lure, but a category. Texas rigged soft plastics. I fish a lot of soft plastics as trailers for different jig, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc., but other than worms, I very rarely fish them by themselves. Beavers, Creature Baits, Swimbaits, and Toads will see more action this year.

May I suggest you include 5"-5.25" flukes like the Zoom Super Fluke White Ice, shad/ghost shad and Watermelon red flake pearl annihilated the bass all year for me last year. Lakes closest to my home by late May early June become choked with weeds and lily pad patches and a 5" fluke rigged weedless using 4/0 Owner or Gamak screw-lock hooks worked awesome for me as all non weedless lures become weed harvesters 8/10 casts. 

[casts_by_fly]

44 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Be doubly shocked. I've only caught one bass using them, but I've promised @AlabamaSpothunter that I'll be using them more in 2025.

 

I think they should be dynamite for you early season.  Once the grass is up they get tougher to fish unless you're only fishing the edges, but in the early season when the grass is only starting to green up and grow they are a thing.  Around here, I think a lot of people throw them and the fish turn off quickly.  The past two years haven't been great for them here in that regard (the year before though that was the bait).  You don't have the same angler pressure issues.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

I think they should be dynamite for you early season.  Once the grass is up they get tougher to fish unless you're only fishing the edges, but in the early season when the grass is only starting to green up and grow they are a thing.  Around here, I think a lot of people throw them and the fish turn off quickly.  The past two years haven't been great for them here in that regard (the year before though that was the bait).  You don't have the same angler pressure issues.

 

I'll be sure to throw them early. Last spring, I was throwing an underspin into the emerging weeds. I'll try a bladed jig in the same place this spring.

[BassinBrett]

I am going to use big swim bait and glide baits more this year.

[primetime]

smaller BFS sized lures. Been getting into ultralight fishing again and keep forgetting that often times smaller baits can catch bigger fish. 

 

Picked up some cool looking 40mm  topwater walkers, 1" popper and 38mm sinking jerkbaits. Looking forward to throwing smaller baits on lighter tackle this year. 

[MonsterZero]

Where I used to live, fishing subsurface was next to impossible. The weeds in many pine barrens ponds and lakes are so thick and and heavy that it is frogs or nothing for much of the year. But where I live now, the water is far more open. So I am going to learn to use crankbaits and jerkbaits more often, as well as soft plastics.

[The Rooster]

Spinnerbaits!

[Mike L]

Not changing anything 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike