What are your 5 top producing baits?

[yakfisher]

I'm putting together a small bass kit that I can easily take and cast from my kayak. I have my ideas for top baits, but I'm looking to compile a nice easily transportable kit for fishing mostly smaller metro waters for bass. I usually take a 6'6" M spinning rod and a 7' MH casting rod. I'll be making a similar post on the pike tread. What are your thoughts? If you only had 5 baits to choose, what would you take?

[JP Z]

1. Rattle Bait - Rattletrap, Xcalibur, rippin rap, etc.

2. Senko, weightless or wacky style with a light weight head.

3. DT6 Rap.

4. Chatterbait

5. Topwater prop bait. Scatter Prop, etc.

6. Jig and chunk or some plastic trailer

7. Jigworm, 1/4oz or 3/8oz and like 4" Senko style baits is great.

Sorry I added a few extras but they do overlap with what I posted in the Pike forum if that helps

[Doufish2]

1)Jeaver(Mushroom head jig and Beaver)my go to bait his year

2)Wacky rigged Senko

3)Texas igged Beaver

4)Smithwick Devilhorse

5)3/8 oz Terminator jig with Havok fatty craw trailer

[Fisherman45]

1. Black and blue swim jig

2. Bronze eye Frog

3. crank bait

4. Spinner bait

5. T rigged worm

[EBass]

Talking largies I assume?

Top Water Frog

Small jig

Large jig

Tube/Senko/Fluke (weedless for the most part or on a jig as mentioned above)

Spinnerbait/Crankbait

[mainbutter]

1) senko

2) paddletail swimbait

3) floating jointed rapala

4) 3-5'' streamer (fly fishing)

5) WTD topwaters

[NELS-BELLS]

My son and I have had a similar discussion recently.

1. Small white jig with either a 2" or 3" white twister tail (most consistant producer for all species) (A must for a survival kit)

2. Pumpkin seed 4" Yum dinger, wacky rigged on a 1/0 Gamagatzu hook (can also be texas rigged if weedy.

3. 1/4 - 3/8 oz black jig (with a big enough hook so it can be texas rigged)with a 7" black Power worm

4. jointed floating rapala. (Also works great as a top-water)

5. white spinnerbait

Nels

[Juan Grande]

Two people voting for the jointed floating Rap. Do you have specific situations where you fish these? I have a whole box of them with rusty hooks. Maybe I'll have to refurbish them and try one out.

[RumRiverRat]

Chatterbait

Frog

Senko

Clackin Crank

Jig

[RuddyDuck]

Spinnerbait

Lipless or Square bill Cranks

senko type worm

Frog

Texas rigged worm

[Igor Drackenwolf]

1) 0/5 hooks & 5-6" senkos for wacky and/or Texas rig.

2) Spinner-baits

3) Lipless Cranks

4) Topwaters (Skitter-Props, Frogs, Buzz-baits, Hula-poppers)

5) An array of Shad-Raps (X-Raps, Tail-Dancers, suspending Glass-shads)

[NELS-BELLS]

Two people voting for the jointed floating Rap. Do you have specific situations where you fish these? I have a whole box of them with rusty hooks. Maybe I'll have to refurbish them and try one out.

The original poster said "only 5 baits". A jointed floating rapala can be fished a couple of different ways, thus getting more bang for your buck.

My inlaws turned me onto this lure for bass and it worked so good that I rushed out and bought a couple. They fish it as a top water bait mostly. You cast it to the same places you would cast a Skitter pop or Zara spook when the water is calm. I prefer the edges of emergent vegetation like lilly pads.

When the lure hits the water, let it sit for 5 to 10 seconds and then give it a twitch. Let it sit a while longer and twitch it again. Then slowly swim it back, while on the surface (like a snake) or reel it faster so it dives under the surface.

Great early season Bass producer and fun!

Nels

[yakfisher]

To everyone that has posted so far, thanks. Its been fun reading. So far what I've learned is that I need a spinner, a plug (top, middle, bottom) and plastics. Thanks for your input. This is what I've been using myself, I'm weak at using plastics other than for walleye.

White spinner, love the terminator in titanium so the wire won't bend when it hooks a pike.

Gold rattlin rap has caught crappie, bass and pike

Perch shad x-rap has been productive for pike as of late

And I need to learn how to use my bass jigs and rigs better

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

Each day and each lake calls for something different.

I find myself using the lures below the most during summer time:

1. Shadalicious swim bait (search bait)

2. Black and Blue jig when water is clear. Orange and brown jig when water is muddy.

3. Senkos

4. Drop shot/Cranks if there is a deep weed edge.

5. Texas Rigged purple or green with red flake 10inch worm.

[Comit 2]

Wow. It must be a numbers game for most of you. Not one has said Fluke, the best weedless jerkbait there is. Lures like the hard nose toad are good weed baits too. When I want size they are the two I throw.