The First Five Lures to Own

Every bass angler, regardless of experience level, can catch fish year-round with five lure types in the boat: a squarebill crankbait, a topwater walking bait, a Texas-rigged soft plastic worm, a skirted jig, and a lipless vibration bait. This combination covers the entire water column, works in every season, and forces you to develop the retrieve skills that separate anglers who catch fish from anglers who just make casts. Use this as your foundation before adding specialty baits for glide baits, swimbaits, or finesse presentations.

Key takeaways

Best for	A starter kit that covers shallow cover, open water, and bottom contact without owning dozens of lures.
Water depth	Together these five baits fish effectively from the surface down to about 15 feet.
Gear	A medium-heavy casting rod with 12 to 17 pound fluorocarbon handles four of the five baits.
Retrieve	Slow down in cold or clear water and speed up when water warms or turns murky.
Best colors	Natural shad patterns and green pumpkin cover the majority of conditions you will face.
Top mistake	Retrieving every lure at the same pace instead of adjusting to water temperature and bass mood.

Squarebill Crankbait for Shallow Cover

A squarebill's flat face and rounded lip let it deflect off rock, wood, and stumps instead of hanging up, which is exactly why it excels in shallow, cover-heavy water where bass ambush prey. It shines from prespawn through fall whenever bass hold tight to bank cover in three feet of water or less.

Gear: 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod with a moderate tip, paired with 12 to 15 pound fluorocarbon for the sensitivity to feel contact and the abrasion resistance to survive rock and wood.
Retrieve: Cast past the cover, reel steadily to make contact, then pause a half second when it deflects off an object. That pause is often when the strike happens.
Where and when: Riprap, laydowns, dock pilings, and stump fields in stained to moderately clear water. Best from water temperatures of 55 degrees and up.
Colors: Craw patterns in dingy water, shad patterns in clear water.

Browse a range of squarebill crankbaits built for consistent deflection and hook-up ratios.

Topwater Walking Bait for Reaction Strikes

A walking bait produces the classic side-to-side "walk the dog" action that triggers reaction strikes from bass that are not actively feeding but will not pass up an easy meal on the surface. It is most effective early and late in the day, and in low light or overcast conditions when bass roam and look up.

Cast beyond the target area, whether that is a grass edge, a point, or open water over schooling fish.
Let the ring settle completely before starting your retrieve. Bass often strike a lure the instant it lands, so stay ready.
Use short, sharp downward twitches of the rod tip while reeling in slack, keeping the rod tip low and near the water's surface.
Vary cadence between steady walking and irregular pauses, especially when a fish blows up but misses the bait.

Match your rod to the bait's action: a 6-foot 10-inch to 7-foot medium action rod with a soft tip prevents pulling the bait away from a striking fish. Use 30 to 50 pound braid or 12 to 15 pound monofilament, since fluorocarbon sinks and kills the walking action. Explore pencil walking baits and other topwater lures for calm mornings and low-light windows.

Texas-Rigged Soft Plastic Worm for Everyday Bites

No lure catches more bass across more conditions than a Texas-rigged worm. Its weedless design lets it be fished through heavy vegetation, brush, and rock without constant snagging, and its subtle fall mimics natural prey better than almost anything else in the box.

Rigging: Thread a bullet weight onto your line, tie on an offset worm hook, and insert the hook point back into the body of the worm so the point is buried and weedless.
Gear: 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod with 15 to 20 pound fluorocarbon for cover, or spinning gear with 10 to 12 pound fluorocarbon for finesse presentations in clear water.
Retrieve: Cast to cover, let the bait fall on a semi-slack line so you can feel subtle taps, then work it with slow lifts and drops along the bottom. Most strikes occur on the fall, so watch your line for any twitch or movement.
Where and when: Grass lines, laydowns, and bottom transitions year-round. This is your go-to bait when fish are pressured or the bite has slowed.

Stock up on ribbon-tail and straight-tail styles from soft plastics to match local forage.

Skirted Jig for Big Bites

A jig imitates a crawfish or baitfish better than almost any other bait, and it consistently produces larger average fish than moving baits. It is a year-round tool, but it becomes especially important in cold water when bass want a slow, bottom-hugging presentation.

Choose a jig weight based on cover density and depth: 3/8 ounce for open water and light cover, 1/2 to 3/4 ounce for thick grass or heavy current.
Add a matching trailer, a craw imitator for a bulkier profile or a paddle-tail grub for extra vibration.
Cast to cover and let the jig fall on a taut line so you can detect bites on the drop.
Once it settles, hop it slowly along the bottom with short rod lifts, pausing several seconds between hops to mimic a feeding crawfish.

Use a 7-foot to 7-foot 6-inch heavy action casting rod with 15 to 20 pound fluorocarbon or 40 to 50 pound braid in matted vegetation. Green pumpkin and black-and-blue are proven producers in nearly every region. Shop jigs built for weedless performance around wood and grass.

Lipless Vibration Bait for Fast Coverage

A lipless crankbait's tight vibration and loud rattle let it be fished fast to cover water and locate active fish, making it one of the best search baits available. It excels over submerged grass, around riprap, and during the fall when shad schools push bass into feeding mode.

Retrieve: Cast it out, let it sink to the depth you want to target, then reel at a steady pace so it stays just above the grass or bottom. If it ticks vegetation, snap the rod tip to rip it free, which often triggers a reaction strike.
Seasonal note: Extremely effective in cold water using a slow lift-and-fall retrieve along channel edges and bluffs when bass are lethargic but still willing to eat a slow-falling bait.
Gear: Medium-heavy casting rod with some tip flex to avoid pulling hooks, paired with 12 to 15 pound fluorocarbon.

Find dependable options in lipless vibration baits for both warm-water power fishing and cold-water finesse presentations.

Putting the Five Together

Think of these five lures as covering four presentations: reaction fishing on the surface, reaction fishing near cover, slow bottom contact, and fast-moving search fishing. Rotate through them based on water clarity, temperature, and cover density rather than committing to one bait all day. If the crankbait and lipless bait are not producing, that is usually a signal to slow down with the jig or worm rather than abandoning the area entirely. For a complete rundown of gear pairings and technique breakdowns, see all bass fishing guides, and browse all tackle to round out your box once these five are covered.

Quick answers

Do I need all five lures before I start bass fishing?

Not on day one, but building toward all five within your first season will teach you the core presentations that cover nearly every situation you will face. Start with the Texas-rigged worm and squarebill crankbait since they are the most forgiving for new anglers to learn.

What line should I spool up for these five lures?

Fluorocarbon in the 12 to 20 pound range covers the crankbait, worm, and jig due to its low stretch and abrasion resistance. Reserve braid or monofilament for the topwater walking bait, since fluorocarbon sinks and dampens the side-to-side action that makes it effective.

How do I know which lure to throw first on a new lake?

Start with a search bait like the lipless vibration bait or squarebill crankbait to cover water and locate active fish quickly. Once you get bites or see cover holding fish, slow down with the jig or worm to capitalize on that specific spot.

Can these five lures work in both natural lakes and reservoirs?

Yes, all five are effective in both settings because they target universal bass behaviors like ambushing cover, chasing baitfish, and feeding on crawfish along the bottom. Adjust size and color to match local forage and water clarity rather than changing the lure types themselves.