My early years of fishing started in 1960 and my gear was pretty simple and my bait was worms.
As I got older I bought my first fishing rod and a Red Devil. Back then I had no problem catching all the fish I could land just using worms or my Red Devil. Those were my catfish and pike days on the river behind our farm.
In never did any bass fishing until I was in my 30s.
Since then I have enjoyed smallmouth bass fishing and have acquired a few favourite bass lures
and many have become my go to lures when fishing gets tough.
Today I walk into the bass fishing section and get immediately excited as well as a bit scared as there are so many bass lures to choose from and in they come in a variety of sizes and colours, just to make it more confusing.
I was looking at bass lures a few weeks ago and over heard a guy say “Holy Shit” excuse my language but he said it, not me. The look on his face was funny because you could see he was instantly overwhelmed with the huge supply. I laughed and said, ‘Isn’t it great??’.
Staying On Budget
We have a limited budget so my wife continually reminds me not to go overboard when I head for the bass fishing section. If it was for Jenny I would probably have tackle boxes like my fishing buddies have.
I do buy a few new bass fishing lures each year. Some are to replace those I lost the previous fishing season and other to add to my little collection of confidence bass baits. I also watch eBay for any deals I can get on bass lures, usually during the winter when I have more time on my hands.
I took a few minutes with Ron, the guy I met in the bass fishing lure section, and learned that he was new to bass fishing so I pointed out a few lures I like to call my confidence baits. I think he grabbed at least one of each lure I pointed out and in every size available.
Look For Bass Lure Sales
The bass fishing experience I’ve gained over the past 30 years here in New Brunswick helps me to narrow my focus to just the lures I really want to try. I have to keep a check list of the lures I am interested in or I get shopping for bass lures and completely forget my goals, then I have to deal with my wife.
Okay, Jenny’s not that bad, I kind of make fun of her because she won’t go fishing with me.
Fishing is a costly hobby if you don’t look for sales. Well if money isn’t an issue I guess it doesn’t matter but to those of us on a budget it does. I love it when I find a sale and get double the lures for the money.
When I show up for a day of fishing I may not have a hundred bass lures at the ready, like most of my fishing buddies do but I still have fun and catch bass, pickerel and perch, so I’m a happy fisher.
Heck I have a hard time remembering the names of the few bass lures I have. What would I do if I had a hundred.
Using Ebay To Get Bass Fishing Lure Deals
I like keep my eye on eBay for great deals on bass fishing lures
as people will sell of their current supplies of lures in order to get more and I like to get in on the deals when they are happening.
Just last Sunday morning I was able to get more than 30 awesome lures for under $50.00 and that was delivered right to my door. My budget for bass fishing lures is higher than that so I have money left over to buy even more this year.
My Personal Favourite Bass Lure Types
The Rat-L Trap
Rat-L Trap bass fishing lures are what I use to cover water and to bring smallmouth bass closer to the boat. The work in all kinds of water clarity, good or poor as they have a rattle inside made up of metal beads and makes a noise bass find hard to ignore.
I have been fishing this type of bass lure for many years and have some that are older than my 26 years old son and they still attract and catch bass every year.
The metallic beads inside of the rattle chamber help make a noise that a number of kinds of bass are unable to avoid.
Bill Lewis Original Saltwater Rat-L-Trap – Chrome Hot Chartreuse Red – Lures
Bass Jigs
There will be times you just can’t get the attention of a bass using other types of lures such as the Rat-L Trap. This is the time to get out a bass jig and a plastic worm or crayfish. I have had days of catching 30 and 40 bass, all with jigs, when nothing else seemed to work.
I never used jigs until one day we were fishing this huge bass pond in our area which I normally used my fly rod on. This day nothing was happening and we tried every lure we had.
My fishing buddy finally pulled out a jig and put on a little pumpkin seed coloured grub and dropped it into the water and let it sink to the bottom. It didn’t even make it to the bottom before he yelled ‘Fish On’. And then another and another.
I moved over to his location and snagged a couple of those jigs and grubs from him and tried them myself. I had just found a brand new bass lure to add to my collection. We continued to catch smallmouth bass all day long, just tossing them to the shore and dragging them across the bottom.
The jig is just a hook with a small ball on the end that usually has eyes on it. They of course come in a multitude of colours although my favourite today is still the pumpkin seed colour. The just catch bass when nothing else seems to be working.
I have a special tackle box that’s just jigs of various sizes along with grubs and other plastic baits I can use on the jigs.
Fluke Baits
Fluke baits all tend to look like bait fish so it’s important to find fluke baits that match the bait in the waters you will be fishing. We fish a variety of lakes and streams so a variety of fluke baits are required because bass can be picky when looking at something that doesn’t match what they are used to eating.
These fluke baits don’t come with hooks in them so you need to have hooks that will allow you to hook the fluke bait so that it moves through the water naturally, like the real thing as bass today aren’t all that stupid and not as easy to fool as some people think.
These baits are great for pulling through weeds as the hook can be buried in the bait and not get caught up so much on the local vegetation.
Zoom Soft Plastic Baits – Super Fluke Jr. – Rainbow Shad – Softbaits
Spinner Bait
My fishing buddy Roland and I have has some awesome days fishing smallmouth bass using spinner baits. You can cast them a country mile and they attract bass. They are pretty versatile as well.
I also love using Mepps to attract smallmouth bass. I can cast them under trees along the shores, from my float tube, and catch feisty bass all day long. I love them on those really hot days when it’s great to have the shade of those trees.
I have only touch on bass fishing lures but these will give you a start and have worked for me for a long long time. Have a great time on the water and let us know what’s been working for you.
