Four Lures Every Bass Angler MUST Have in Their Tacklebox

Want to start bass fishing but do not know what to buy? Try out my top picks for awesome bass lures today, including the Senko, topwater poppers, and two more great picks! Bass lure shopping can be overwhelming at times, but hopefully this guide gives you a good place to start. Tight lines!

Senko
Designed by professional bass angler Gary Yamamoto, the Senko is one of the most popular, and most effective bass lures on the market today. Many fishermen resist fishing it, since its quite ugly and does not bear much of a resemblance to any "normal" creature. Instead, it looks much more like a skinny plastic cigar, wider at the middle and tapered off at the ends. Yamamoto baits sells the original and most popular versions of this awesome plastic, but many other companies make clone versions of it, including Yum, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and more. I've found the most effective way to fish the senko is Texas rigged, with a slow lifting and dropping retrieve. The fish seem to really like hitting the lure on the fall, so give it plenty of time to settle to the bottom. Watch for your line moving away, a sure-sign you've got a fish on.

Topwater Popper
Rebel, Megabass, Rapala, Bass Pro Shops and many other popular bass fishing companies make excellent topwater poppers. Fishing these lures isn't too tricky, and usually involves some variation of the "pop" the lure, let ripples reside, then retrieve, and "pop" again. Strikes can be enormous and take a little practice to get hookups done correctly. Topwater fishing is a blast and shouldn't be overlooked by any serious bass angler. Buy a few of these lures, in different styles, since it's easy to snag them on overhanging limbs and in thick algae.

Spinnerbait
Ok, I'll admit it-I hate spinnerbaits. I'm not confident fishing them and I usually do poorly on them. However, most of my bass friends fish them a lot and do excellent on them, usually on the Colorado-blade versions (better vibrations?). They imitate schooling baitfish quite well and are fairly weedless, making them a nice choice for many bass scenarios. Try them out today!

Bass Jigs
I throw a variety of different jigs for bass, usually for smallmouth bass, but largemouth will pounce on them as well. Always try tipping your jigs with some tasty trailers, adding to the enticing nature of the lure. I've even used simple plastic grubs on spinner jigs and nailed nice bass with them. Casting jigs out is lots of fun and they can get under docks and other thick cover areas easier than most. Jigs can be used in hot or cold weather and make an excellent, all-around good bass lure.