What are your 3-5 go to lures for water temps under 50*

[CDMTJager]

Got a good stretch of early warm weather by me as in up in the high 40s and not getting below 32-30* at night so expecting my local lakes shorelines to be ice free in no more than a week 10 days max. Never fished for bass right after ice out and really have no idea or experience on what lures to try when water temps are low 40's to high 40's so if those who are use to fishing colder water temps no warmer then 50* could suggest what have been their 3 to 5 most successful lures I greatly appreciate it.

 

Lakes I will be fishing most have more soft bottom than hard.

[Jar11591]

1. Spinnerbait 

2. Jig

3. Lipless

4. Jerkbait 

5. Spinnerbait 

[scaleface]

jig, crank, jerk

[GRiver]

In really cold water only a skirted jig with a tiny paca craw, is the only thing worked for me. Both green pumpkin, and worked slow with a med sized hop every now and then.

[Jig Man]

Ned rig

[RRocket]

56 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Ned rig

This.

 

Anything you can just sit and soak.

 

I do like spinnerbait and bladed jig in the spring. Just not for the first thaw. Fish are still moving slow here during that time.

 

[softwateronly]

Finesse underspin, blade bait, and ned have worked best for me right during ice out.

 

scott

[casts_by_fly]

lipless, slow rolled spinnerbait (< 2' visibility), slow rolled paddle tail (>2' visibility), ned rig

[FishTank]

A-rig, blade bait, crankbait, bfs trout baits, small swimbait (2.75in Swammer), senko, jerkbaits and a dragging football jig. 

[DaubsNU1]

I'm going to follow this thread closely...I stink at early spring bass fishing.

[RRocket]

Just now, DaubsNU1 said:

I'm going to follow this thread closely...I stink at early spring bass fishing.

I don't think it's you.

 

I have a difficult time finding them in very early spring

[Scott F]

For smallmouth, a suspending jerkbait was by far the most successful bait for cold water. For largemouth, a senko in shallow, dark bottom bays was our lure of choice. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Depends on where I’m fishing! 
Deeper place- Im more finesse. I fish bottom.  I use tubes, hair jigs, jigs, blades, Ned rigs 

 

Shallow- Im more reaction strike, my shallow places are weedy so it’s hard to use bottom finesse baits. I use jerkbaits, soft swimbaits, glides, jigs, lipless, even wake baits, t rigs, chatters. 
 

shallow places will get em more active in the cold especially on a warming trend. I live in MA. One of my best days I had all year in 2024 was on my first trip of the year. Sometime in January it was a big warm front temps went from cold to 50s, heavy wind and rain.  After the storm they moved up really shallow. It was a shallow weedy pond, they pushed up deep into shallow trees and were crushing jigs like it was prespawn!  I’ve had crazy winter bites in shallow ponds in the cold on warm  ups.  
 

if it’s cold and been cold so no warm ups but open water that’s when I go to deep places. The deeper ponds are more stable than shallow ponds.  
 

shallow ponds- warm quicker, more affected by weather 

deeper ponds- longer to warm. More stable. 
 

some of my biggest bass have been caught in early spring 

[Pat Brown]

Frog (bronzeye 65 pop 60 scum frog launch xs trophy popper Snag Proof Bobby's perfect etc (go brown or black or white or yellow, cut the tails very short work it very slow - mainly fishing this in super shallow water I know there's fish in for sure - can also be used to cover water slowly), Jig(swim jig or finesse jig usually around 1/4-1/2 oz - swim it, burn it, hop it drag it, dead stick it - it's my all around favorite bait for this time of year with no idea what's going on at all - great for covering water OR working an area I know holds fish slowly), Lipless (red eye shad or rat l trap 1/4-1/2 oz - steady retrieve or yo yo - my favorite muddy water bait of all time when it's cold - just fish it when it's dirty and fish it as shallow as you can), Weightless worm ( senko, trick worm, mag speed worm etc - cast and let it sit - occasionally move a tiny bit - mainly for areas I know there's fish), Jerkbait (90-120 mm size - i like ones that slowly float or suspend in the spring - I work this thing FAST - this is for when the water ISN'T muddy but it IS windy 😀)

[OkobojiEagle]

smallmouth... (40* can be far different than 49*)

 

40*... deep bill suspending jerkbait and a finesse hair/hare jig

45*... (add to above) lipless crankbait and tube bait

49*... (add to above) shallow suspending jerkbait, small finesse swim bait and caffeine shad.

 

[Bluebasser86]

Ned

Suspending Jerkbait

Lipless

Flatside Crank

Pick your poison-spinnerbait, bladed jig, or A-rig depending on the situation. Spinnerbait for shallow, dirty water with wood. Bladed jig for shallow water with grass or rocks. A-rig for deeper water with fair to good clarity. 

[primetime]

This year I have gotten into ultralight fishing and notice you can catch just about anything in any depth on a small grub or swimbait, small finesse worm, ned rig etc. 

 

I really like throwing split shot rigs with a bait with a gliding action and not a ton of action like a zoom critter craw, or a slider worm. 

 

If that doesn't work, it's cold, don't feel guilty buying some shiners.....Some days it's just more fun. 

[CDMTJager]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One heck of a response to my request for help. Thankfully I have 90% of what was suggested. I will try a few different lures per outing till I find something that works.

Great bunch of anglers here.

[Munkin]

Finesse jig

Hair jig

2.5-3.25" Tube

 

Allen

[Mr. Aquarium]

I got out today. While I didn’t get any big fish I fished a shallow pond I knew it would warm up. They got active right at sunset. I got them on a shakey head with a yum sure shot and a lucky craft live pointer. Most of the fish were tight to shore 

[JediAmoeba]

Glidebait

Jerkbait

Float n fly

Ned Rig

A-Rig

[DitchPanda]

Suspending jerk bait

Ned rig

Ball head finesse jig with twin tail grub

Small bladed jig with low action trailer

[txchaser]

This last two winters (and a bassU class) taught me that there are fish that will absolutely smash fast stuff when it's cold. Not all of them.. but what used to be an outside grass edge with a rattletrap really is a thing. 

bladed jig fished a little bit faster than a blade bait, kind of like a swinghead can work too.  

Warming trend probably helps here, as does a sunny day. 

 

In fairness it doesn't really ever freeze over here though. 

[CDMTJager]

Question about a Ned rig. Never fished a Ned rig. I do have a all the Ned Rig tackle and soft plastics just haven't tried a Ned Rig yet mostly because my lakes have very little to no weed free hard bottom left accessible from shore by early may, in short the lakes I do 90% of my fishing average depth from shore is under 10" and weed up very quickly after May1st.

 

Am I correct in thinking a Ned Rig is meant to be fished in a mostly weed free hard bottom, and not a very good choice for moderate to heavy weeds?

I am reasonably confident my most fished lakes bottoms will be relatively weed free from ice out till early to late May depending on temps.

[Reel]

25 minutes ago, CDMTJager said:

 

 

Am I correct in thinking a Ned Rig is meant to be fished in a mostly weed free hard bottom, and not a very good choice for moderate to heavy weeds?

I am reasonably confident my most fished lakes bottoms will be relatively weed free from ice out till early to late May depending on temps.

Try a Tiny Child Rig - Works well in weeds