Top Classic Baits

[KP Duty]

I notice the winner didn't need a search bait at all, lol.

 

https://www.bassmaster.com/bassmaster-classic/slideshow/top-lures-of-the-2025-classic/

[Munkin]

The guy who placed 3rd using pink.

 

Allen. 

[Glenn]

Here are all the baits: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-BMCRELEASE.html

[Choporoz]

 

6 hours ago, KP Duty said:

I notice the winner didn't need a search bait at all, lol.

 

https://www.bassmaster.com/bassmaster-classic/slideshow/top-lures-of-the-2025-classic/

And John Cox's baits were moving.

Interesting.

 

Two things that stood out for me:

1. Tubes.  Hundreds of miles from nearest brown bass.  I know they can work, but I thought they'd pretty well disappeared from LMB tournaments. 

2.  Kiyoya showing baits.  LOL.  Any chance that one of those was actually his most successful bait last week?

[C.Tucks]

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts recently where Elites are guests and they all say that at least 50% of the ‘top baits’ aren’t actually what they caught them on

[TnRiver46]

Imagine that, a worm is the winning bait 😂 

 

i, for one, am not shocked 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I didn't know Garmin made fishing lures 😁

[KP Duty]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Imagine that, a worm is the winning bait 😂 

 

i, for one, am not shocked 

I know, right?  I guess if you know where a bass is, jiggling a neko worm in his face is a great idea.

[KP Duty]

1 hour ago, C.Tucks said:

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts recently where Elites are guests and they all say that at least q50% of the ‘top baits’ aren’t actually what they caught them on

I've always thought they add in a sponsor bait or 2, but the top 5 or so have a camera on them constantly and you can usually see what they are throwing.  Fothergill had the right technique, but I'm not sure how important that particular worm was.  

[JHoss]

Listened to the interview with Fothergill on BTL earlier. I was most impressed by how he hunted these fish. If you haven't heard it, he said he would locate a fish in a tree and often spend 20 minutes figuring out where to set up so he could present his bait to the fish and still have a good way to get them out of that cover. He also said he would use the jerkbait to lure fish out of the middle of those trees where he could effectively target them with a neko.

 

9 hours ago, KP Duty said:

I notice the winner didn't need a search bait at all, lol.

Don't really need one when you're as good with FFS as he is. He talked about how being able to differentiate bass from all the trash fish was so key for him.

 

2 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Fothergill had the right technique, but I'm not sure how important that particular worm was.  

He actually said that it was just the first one he tried in practice and it worked so he didn't change it. 

[king fisher]

It's not the bait it is the fisherman.  I could throw every one of those baits in an aquarium and still get skunked.  Even if you fish with dynamite, you have to know where to throw it.

[KP Duty]

9 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Listened to the interview with Fothergill on BTL earlier. I was most impressed by how he hunted these fish. If you haven't heard it, he said he would locate a fish in a tree and often spend 20 minutes figuring out where to set up so he could present his bait to the fish and still have a good way to get them out of that cover. He also said he would use the jerkbait to lure fish out of the middle of those trees where he could effectively target them with a neko.

 

Don't really need one when you're as good with FFS as he is. He talked about how being able to differentiate bass from all the trash fish was so key for him.

 

He actually said that it was just the first one he tried in practice and it worked so he didn't change it. 

Wonder why Fothergill didn't mention the jerkbait?   Anywho...yeah, my 'lol' regarding his lack of a search bait was because I knew he was scoping.

[TnRiver46]

39 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

I know, right?  I guess if you know where a bass is, jiggling a neko worm in his face is a great idea.

That’s always my strategy, minus the neko part. And the bass are in the water so I stay floating 

[JHoss]

26 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Wonder why Fothergill didn't mention the jerkbait?   Anywho...yeah, my 'lol' regarding his lack of a search bait was because I knew he was scoping.

He said he weighed 3-4 fish on a jerk and 1 on a jig. So I guess he just focused on the bait that did the bulk of the damage for him. 

[Texas Flood]

Ive been fishing a tube more and more lately so it was cool to see Shryock tossin one.

[Hogs_n_Logs]

2 hours ago, KP Duty said:

I've always thought they add in a sponsor bait or 2, but the top 5 or so have a camera on them constantly and you can usually see what they are throwing.  Fothergill had the right technique, but I'm not sure how important that particular worm was.  

 

Yea this nails it,  if you have a photography boat on you in particular those dudes take super high rez images and theres no hiding it. A tell tale sign for these Top lures articles is obviously stuff like when a dude shows a jerkbait from their sponsor that is pristine, some cranks dont show much hook rash but every jerkbait will after even 10mins of casting.  Surprisingly, at least one of Fothergills jerkbait catches looked like it was actually on the Strike King KVD whatever jerkbait based on an on the water photo. 

 

2 hours ago, JHoss said:

Listened to the interview with Fothergill on BTL earlier. I was most impressed by how he hunted these fish.

 

This interview was great and really shows that FFS requires skill, and why even when everyone has it people outcatch one another. There seems to be heavy overlap between the most vehement FFS haters and those who don't really think about fishing analytically beyond choosing a lure and hoping something bites. 

 

6 hours ago, Choporoz said:

2.  Kiyoya showing baits.  LOL.  Any chance that one of those was actually his most successful bait last week?

 

Does Kyoya have a rep as a secretive bait guy? Most on the water footage i see of him lines up right with what he says he used, both here and from when he was in Japan. 

[Choporoz]

3 hours ago, Hogs_n_Logs said:

 Does Kyoya have a rep as a secretive bait guy? Most on the water footage i see of him lines up right with what he says he used, both here and from when he was in Japan. 

No clue.  TBH, I haven't watched any the last couple years.  He used to have a reputation for being very secretive. Sounds like that has changed. 

[bowhunter63]

Cool seeing a spinnerbait was a player

[JHoss]

21 hours ago, Hogs_n_Logs said:

Does Kyoya have a rep as a secretive bait guy? Most on the water footage i see of him lines up right with what he says he used, both here and from when he was in Japan. 

Yes, he does. I've heard other Elites say that if they knew what he was throwing, they'd buy the exact same things. Jake Lattendrese, cameraman for BASS (and Japanese American), has said that hiding baits and being secretive is very much part of Japanese bass fishing culture. 

[KP Duty]

5 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Yes, he does. I've heard other Elites say that if they knew what he was throwing, they'd buy the exact same things. Jake Lattendrese, cameraman for BASS (and Japanese American), has said that hiding baits and being secretive is very much part of Japanese bass fishing culture. 

Not telling people what you are catching them on is just the competitive nature of anglers.  "How about YOU figure it out!", lol.  Also, most anglers believe in fish becoming 'aware' of a bait, and do not want everyone throwing 'their' bait.

[OkobojiEagle]

I don't follow tournaments...

 

How many tournaments has this Fothergill fished professionally?  (I've never heard of him)

 

What lake was this tournament on?

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

3 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

I don't follow tournaments...

 

How many tournaments has this Fothergill fished professionally?  (I've never heard of him)

 

What lake was this tournament on?

Tournament was on Ray Roberts in Texas. It’s  Fothergills first year on the elites this year, he qualified through the opens last year. 

[KP Duty]

6 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

Tournament was on Ray Roberts in Texas. It’s  Fothergills first year on the elites this year, he qualified through the opens last year. 

It's interesting that he won the super bowl of bass fishing, but most don't consider him the best fisherman in the country.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

14 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

It's interesting that he won the super bowl of bass fishing, but most don't consider him the best fisherman in the country.

People maybe heard his name last year around the opens but I’d say lots of guys had never heard of him until he won.

[FishTank]

I have been waiting to see if this lure pops up but the bait I heard that was catching them was a pink bladed jig with a bright pink and blue trailer. Morning Dawn is the actual color I think. Good luck finding one.