No reasonable person doesn’t adjust their tactics based on conditions but if you needed to commit to one lure? What would it be and how would it be rigged?

I go full retard far too often using a weightless 5” senko. Full disclosure.

Usually a spinner bait. Or a TX rigged plastic worm.
Tough choice for me.

If I had to catch a bass or nothing else was working I'll agree with you on the Senko but I'll try topwaters or crank baits first.

Creature / crawfish type plastic texas rigged.

I catch more bass on 5" Senko's than anything else. Sure wouldn't like giving up the Booyah pad crasher frogs and spinner baits though.

3inch watermelon tube. powdr

A watermelon "Wacky" worm.

When I was a kid it was the black licorice worms with the built-in 3 hooks. Cleaned up many a farm pond/lake with those things. Nowadays the main go to is a Zoom 8" lizard in Junebug.

Wacky rigged 4” Senko in most darker colors.

Does anyone still use Slug-Gos?

How many of y’all remember the Original Creme brand plastic worms ?

They had a weed less hook and a little propeller type spinner rigged on them. Caught a lot of fish with them as a kid.

Shaky head rigged worm...

I remember the Cream worm you describe very well. My high school fishing buddy of mine were fishing ponds at his local country club and I asked him to borrow the Cream worm still in the package in his tackle box which I did. I caught so many fish on that purple cream worm he asked for the worm back in short order.

I remember the Creme worms (not the rigged ones) as being very stiff.

Right after spawn, floating rapala twitched. If that doesnt work, a leech on a plain hook or jig head

Jerk bait. I catch 85% of my bass on the silver #6 Rapala X-rap. I fish a Western impoundment in Az with lots of shad. This lure will get reaction strikes when other lures won't work. 6 lb fireline with a lightweight 6' rod and the Pflueger arbor reel make for a setup that minimizes fatigue.

The silver #3 countdown reeled in slowly with no action, with either 4 lb or 6 lb fireline, is another lure that catches them when other lures fail.

6" Purple plastic worm, Texas rigged.

I've never fished a plastic worm, but reading here it sure looks like the go to choice. A buddy caught one of the nicer bass that I'd seen come out of our lake up north using a plastic worm. We have something like 100 water retention ponds in our Florida community that only a few guys fish and I've seen pictures of ten pounders coming out of those. I've only used an orange floating #9 Rapala and it is like taking a census of the bass in there. Got two on the same cast on the front and back hook of that Rapala last time out.

I was telling a guy at work last week that I could do all my bass fishing with green lizards, purple worms, baby bass senkos and a top water of some kind, probably a spook or something like that.

If I had to pick just one I would probably go with the green lizard, 1/4oz bullet weight, and a 4/0 worm hook Texas rig.

Senko... You can rig it so many ways. A 5" Senko can be rigged weightless, nailed or Carolina rigged and go from the surface to the bottom year round. Tough to best that kind of versatility in one single bait.

Spinnerbait hands down

Silver and black or silver and blue torpedo.

I’ve caught a ton of bass on the silver and blue version.

Are you talkin Heddon Tiny Torpedo ?

Yep

Love sluggos.


I llike the OP. Son #2 go to is a Yum Swim n Dinger in that blue flake color. He does well.

My goto is a soft paddle tail (the cheap onesZoom? Yum?) either weightless or with 1/8 oz tx rig.



Go to used to be a rapala floating f7 in gold/black.

Then a swiss swing.

As a kid it was a purple or black rubber worm and a split shot.

... and a rebel crayfish...

and...

and...

:-)

I use the tiny most, but also the larger one.
When the sand bass are running at Wright
Patman spillway we can catch over 100 a
day on the clear model and the blue and silver.
Both sizes work equally well.

Yep. The sand bass or whites and the Stripers like em too.
My favorite all time top water bait.

Ain't nothing like seeing a topwater explosion.

Agreed. I love fishing top water bass. Have used Tiny Torpedo's, Jitterbugs, buzz baits, rubber frogs. Lately I like skipping the Booyah pad crasher frogs amongst and over the lilly pads but it's all good.

Looks like I need to add a few to the quiver. Thanks, Gents.

I like chatterbaits. Weedless and go anywhere.

Terminator made an in-line spinner. Was for redfishing. Works great for bass also.

Snagless sally.

Zoom lizard.

Spinner bait. Silver willow leaf, chartreuse skirt. It's always tied on one rod.

If I could only have one it's gonna be a original Zoom trick worm, or a 6" sinko style bait. No way in hell I'm doing that though.

Those used to be the shiit!! Do they still make em?

I've always used floating rapala and spinnerbaits depending on the time of year. Rapala favorite sports are bronze or silver with black back, spinnerbait I like white...

I'm not really a bass fisherman, but my go-to is a 3 inch hula popper, black. Heave that sucker out with a spinning rod 'n' reel, take up the slack, then twitch the tip .. chug .. chug .. chug .. ka-boooooom. It's about the only thing I can catch 'em on. (Also caught a couple on popper flies with a fly rod.)

Tom

Weightless Texas rigged 6" Culprit worm in grape shad.

Jointed Rapala or a chartreuse spinner followed by a Zara Spook. Oh heck a plastic worm or jig and pig is in there somewhere too.

Rooster tail

haha, our catching stupid dinks. It's ok I used too also .. Then i learned how to catch real bass.

I took it to mean...most dependable to produce a fish. To catch big ones I use texas rig plastics

What color rooster tail? Seen my Ol man catch a pig one day off a green rooster tail trolling for trout, little surprised when he got it to the boat

Another vote for senkos wacky style in purple or green.

Do you guys use the O-ring trick? Learned it from a fishing guide. You slide a rubber o-ring to the middle of the worm with an applicator. You get a lot more fish per senko (which is nice, those senkos get pricey).

I fish a lot of TX rigged Senkos, been tearing them up lately on baby bass color fished weightless. But they are the most fragile rubber worms I’ve ever seen. I’ve tried about 3 different brands and they all suck in the durability dept.

I caught 19 Saturday morning fishing a Texas rigged weightless Senko through grass beds in 7' of water on a big flat just off a channel bend. Only one good one, about 5 pounds.

They will catch bass. When I first moved to the Snake It was easy and a convince to catch bass some evening on every cast on a Blue Fox Spinner...... But now I'm bearing down and that Spinner will not on a daily basis catch as big of bass I'm catching now.

What are ya using shag? Mostly smallmouth in the snake ain't it?

The color I used is a green and white and orange. Seems to do pretty well but shag is right...mostly 12 inch bass

So far doing best on Crankbaits and tube jigs. I’ve got a lot to learn tho. Yes Smallies

Smallies on the Snake...this is Swan Falls area.
Catch a bunch like it with Shaky head rigs...

Thanks for that info! Appreciate it.

If I could have only one lure to catch a bass?
Your Sinko is a great lure but it's only effective in the top tier of the water column.
I would go with the 10" Power worm that I could rig to fish the top, swim it in the middle and especially the bottom in cover; Like brush Piles.

tack

Senko's are great on a Carolina rig or finesse rigged several different ways and fished on the bottom.

Bass season opened yesterday here. Went out yesterday afternoon. Caught 5 nice ones and 3 dinks in an hour and a half. All on a wacky rigged 5" watermelon Senko.

How does “bass season” work? Can’t catch them any other time? Can’t keep them any other time but can C&R?

Honestly curious. We don’t have fishing “season” here, just go whenever you want same limit all the time.

If they're not in season it's catch and release only. Went a couple times in the last two weeks and caught some nice ones but it pains me to have to put a good one back so don't fish much till open season.

How big is a good one where you’re at? Smallies or bucketmouths?

Nice ones are 15 - 20" either smallmouth or largemouth. Good eatin size.

Yep. Must suck to live where there is a season on freshwater fish.

There are fish with no season on them that can be taken all year inluding all varieties of sunfish, yellow perch, black and white crappie, rock bass, pickerel, bullheads, suckers and carp. More popular game fish are generally protected during the spawn but there is something to fish for all year round if you are so inclined. I generally only fish spring and summer anyway and hunt sept. - March. To me it would suck a bunch to live in a state where you have to own land or pay for a lease to hunt. Or where it's 90+ degrees in the shade for weeks or months on end.

You are absolutely right, Sinko's however don't come through hardwood brush as well as Texas rigged worms..
Works for me as I have about 100 of them on Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.

I’d go with the 6” senko natural or dark colors
I don’t fish them wacky style prefer weedless style
Just caught a 18” small mouth bass and a few smaller ones this afternoon out on the kayak.

Anyone have success with these highly hyped Whopper Ploppers? Just had a shipment of 3 of their 75 size arrive from tackle warehouse.

Been fishing the 110 Plopper for years. It's a killer! The Bone color has consistently been the best color for me.

The small farm ponds I fish I always catch something on rooster tail

Another favorite for me is shiners under a cork . Fun way to catch bass.

Ned Rig has amazed me and caught more fish than any other plastic I have used .

1/8ths oz Black jig head w/yellow eye and a Black 4" curly tail worm.

For smallmouth: KVD Dreamshot, drop shot rig.

For Largemouth: Yamamoto 5 inch grub, texas rigged with 1/8 oz weight.

If I could only have one lure for both: Rapala Original Floating #11, black/silver.

Rick N Tenn's not wrong about the Ned Rig. We used it for the first time this past summer when it got hot and caught a lot of fish when not much else was working.

The 5" bubble-gum Senko is my go-to bass lure......works great and doesn't get hung-up in the moss.

I started throwing a chatterbait this year. They are skipable on bait casting gear and they catch bigger than average fish much of the time. It has become my go to when the water is cool. Mid summer they don't seem to like them as much.

ball and chain for me, carolina rigged craw

White or chartreuse tandem Spinnerbait. Can fish it shallow or deep.

Lazy Ike. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

Exactly what is a Texas rigged worm? I fish with plastic worms on worm hooks rigged weedless (the barb turned back into the worm body) . Is that Texas rigged? Until I found this forum, I never heard of a Texas Rig. Would somebody explain it to me please?

What you describe is called a TX rig when a sliding bullet weight is fished on the front of the worm.

Kid, that is exactly how I fish with a plastic worm, bullet weight and all. I guess a Texas Rig is what I’ve been using all along. Thanks.

Depending on how the river is flowing, 3ounce weight, slido, hook of your choice.
Chovies, sardines or pile worms as bait.

Striper love em

Zoom baby brush hog

Can't argue that too much. I'll still take Senkos overall but we caught a good dozen plus yesterday including an 18 & a 20 incher with brown & watermelon Baby Brush Hogs. Caught a couple on Senkos but it really picked up with the Baby Brush Hogs.

Cuban tree frogs work great. top water is a lot of fun

Mud puppy on a cirle hook, weighted to stay a foot off the bottom!

The lakes I fish regularly are loaded with Largemouth, Smallmouth & Rock Bass and we crush them on poppers. Mostly early and late in the day, but also during the middle of the day to a lesser degree. I like the Rebel Pop-R the best but the fish bite just as well on the cheap knock-offs I buy in bulk online. My son and I also catch the occasional chain pickerel & black crappie on the poppers. Last year my son caught a huge white perch on a Rapala popper while bass fishing.

We caught the usual suspects this past holiday week with Rebel Poppers - Largemouth, Smallmouth, Rock Bass and Black Crappie. We also caught White Perch, Yellow perch and Bluegills on bait. My son and I also caught two Bullhead Catfish that had to weigh 5 pounds each - his on an inline spinner and mine on a black jitterbug. Tons of fun on light spinning tackle.

Have 2 still in the package in my tackle box😀

Love em. Just ordered 4 more after losing my last one.

Check out the prop frog as well. The frog legs are whopper plopped type propellers.