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Are you one of those who are confused about the types of fishing lures, don’t worry I was also one of you. Fishing lures are an essential part of fishing and also a confusing one. As it attracts your catch so it must be the specific type of lure for the specific type of fish. Although live baits can also be used but they are an expensive option. Plenty of different types of lures are today available in the market, you just need basic knowledge of them.
I have listed some common types of fishing lures and their best uses with specific specie so next time it will be a lot easier for you to pick a suitable fishing lure as it is always hard to pick one from multiple options.
Quick View on Types of Fishing Lures
| IMAGE | LURE TYPE | BEST FOR | PRICE |
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Spinner Baits |
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CrankBaits |
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Jigs |
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Spoons |
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Soft Plastic Lures |
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Top Water Lures |
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Blade Baits |
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Chatter Baits |
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SwimBaits |
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Fishing Flies |
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Different Types of Fishing Lures- Explained
FEATURES
Spinner baits are the most commonly used bait among anglers and one of the recommended types of fishing lure for beginners. These are colorful baits with oval-shaped thin metal blades on one side and the skirted hook on the other arm of the lure wire. As the lure moves, the blades spin, shines, and create a vibration that nearby fish feels and gets attracted to the bait. You may also find variety in blade styles and sizes.
Different colors added to this bait also attract the fish, so the color should also be selected wisely and according to the fish type and the color of the water. It is recommended to use colorful baits in daytime while the white ones at night time.
Spinnerbaits are also sub sub-divided among various types like inline spinners, Bucktails or safety Pin spinners. These baits differ in the size and shape from the spinnerbaits as inline baits have blades mounted on their necks. Among all, spinnerbaits are recommended.
The spinnerbaits are perfect for bass fishing, generally the largemouth, pike, musky and some saltwater species like mackerel and small tuna are targeted when using spinnerbaits.
Regarding their weights the lighter ones are recommended for top water and pond fishing while the heavier ones should be used for bottom fishing.
BOOYAH Pond Magic Small-Water Spinner-Bait Bass Fishing Lure
best spinnerbait fishing lure
FEATURES
The wood or plastic-bodied fishing lure with hooks mounted on both ends of the lure. Crankbaits are called by many names like plugs, deep-diver, minnow, or shallow divers as each specific type and size of the crankbait differently dives deep into the water.
The special thing about crankbaits is that they are specially designed to resemble the original minnows and baitfish. At the front of this bait, the plastic or metal object called “lure lip” is there which affects how deep the lure will dive and the lure’s direction. The larger the lip the deeper lure will dive similarly, the small one floats near the surface.
The color schemes of the crankbaits are selected by the real-life species to attract fish and sometimes in murky water conditions when a fish can’t see a lure some rattles or beads or anything that produces sound is placed into the lure body so that the fish hears the sound and gets towards it.
Crankbaits are also available in multiple weights so one can pick the suitable lure for the big and small fish. Multiple fishing techniques can be adopted with crankbaits as they dive deeply and retrieves sharply and speedily.
The crankbaits are usually used to catch bass, trout, and many saltwater and freshwater species as they can float, sinks, and dive as well.
Booyah Streak IV Foam-Injected Crankbait Fishing Lure
best crankbait fishing lure
FEATURES
A perfect lure for bottom fishing as jigs has a weighted head with a plastic body or skirt where the hook is suspended on the body. Due to this heavy head, the jigs speedily sink into the water thus reaching the deep water species. They are one of the most common types of fishing lures.
Jigs are considered a very versatile lure as it works in every water condition and is suitable for every type of fish species.
They dive vertically rather than spin horizontally like spinnerbaits. Their soft colorful body attracts many bass and when it comes to bass fishing it is recommended to use dark-colored lures than lighter ones as they will be more visible to bass like largemouth or smallmouth bass.
Only three components of the jig i.e. jig head, hook, and plastic body entices the crappies, trout, and bass to bite.
6th Sense Divine Swim Jig
best jig fishing lure
FEATURES
A very simple and classic type of fishing lure that resembles the shape of a spoon. A simply curved lure that reflects light underwater shines and attracts fish towards it. One big advantage of using spoons is, as they are made of metal material they are tough and strong so they wouldn’t be affected by sharp fish teeth.
The spoons resemble baitfish a lot when it wobbles during retrieval and that’s why popular among game fish as a wobbling baitfish is never neglected by the mackerel family.
They are used with spinning rods and trolling fishing rods targeting salmon, trout, walleye, bluefish, and bass. It is one of the simplest and cheapest types of fishing lures.
SouthBend SBSPOON3
best spoon fishing bait
FEATURES
You may have heard about worm fishing where worms are used to attract fish, as they are very good at attracting catfish, trout, walleye, striped bass, and sunfish. As an alternative and long-lasting option to them, soft plastic baits are used. They are simply soft rubber material baits with multiple colors and sizes. Even they are available in not only a worm shape but also in the shape of other species that can be used as bait.
They are used with a fishing rig which is a line leader with a weighted jig head at the end of the line, the soft plastics are tied with a hook on the line in this way weight is at the bottom level while the plastic lure is tied above it.
No specific techniques and specific water conditions are required for this type of fishing lure, you can simply pick it and fish anywhere. All you is the line, hook, lure, weight, and also rod and reel setup. Although you may have to choose the weight with a bit of consideration 1/8 ounces is a recommended weight for normal fishing.
They are popular among bass anglers due to their versatility in performing in any environment so are the perfect type of fishing lure for bass.
Yamamoto Senko Fishing hook
best softplastic fishing lure
FEATURES
As the name suggests these lures are used for topwater fishing where the fish floats near the water’s surface. These lures rather than sinks just float on the top. An easily adopted fishing activity by many anglers.
The ideal time to use topwater lures is the summer season when fish mostly stays at the surface level.
Top water lures are available in a variety like a popper style, hollow body frog, and many other forms all these are used for different fish and different water conditions.
Different methods like battery lights or rattles are used in freshwater baits to mimic the original live creatures and entice the fish to strike the lure. Some of the top water fish targets are black bass, redfish, bluefish, barracuda, and pickerel.
Many professional anglers suggest not to retrieve the bait immediately when you feel the fish strike and let the hook perfectly fit into the fish’s mouth.
Heddon Super Spook Topwater Fishing Lure for Saltwater and Freshwater
best topwater fishing lure
FEATURES
Another type of fishing lure that is basically used for vertical jigging that the reason the hook is placed at the end of the lure. This bait allows the anglers to drop the bait deep into the depth. So in contrast to topwater baits, these baits are used for targeting deep water species.
These are metal material baits shaped like oval-shaped fish that wiggle like a baitfish and produce vibration as it moves up and down which may trigger the nearby fish to strike. It is usually used for winter fishing as in this season mostly fish stays at the bottom level.
Different blade baits designs and sizes are available for each specific fish as different species may have different tastes but they are made simple and easy to replace baits.
The basic technique to use blade baits is that after casting it into the water, speedily wag it up and then again release it slowly.
The blade bait has a thick mouth and there are two or three holes on the top of the lure which lets you use any of these holes for snap or swivels. Blade baits can be used to catch walleye, white bass, Muskie, Crappie, and many other deep water species.
Heddon Sonar Adjustable-Action Fishing Lure
best bladebait fishing lure
FEATURES
A relatively new bait that resembles spinner baits in appearance as it has a skirted hook but with a metal plate/blade at the top front. These lures become popular among anglers as they produce a unique vibrating sound on retrieval. This sound attracts bass and provokes them to bite the lure. This vibrating sound is produced by the metal plate.
Many anglers declare it as a new type of blade bait but actually, it’s a new addition to baits types.
They are available in different colors and sizes. Different fish are attracted to different bait colors like baitfish are attracted to a white chatter bait while green colors attract the pan fish.
An effective lure that must be a part of your tackle box as it attracts bass and other big fish it may cost you more than other lures but it’s a worth buying product.
Z-Man Chatterbait
best chatterbait fishing lure
FEATURES
Swimbaits are often confused with crankbaits but they differ from them. They are actually designed to resemble baitfish and to trigger bites from the bass thus their main target is bass. The specific thing about these baits is their paddle tail which intimates the look of a baitfish where its tail wiggles on retrieval.
They come in four different types i.e. soft plastic swimbait, paddle tail swimbait, hard plastic, and glide bait. These types vary in size with each other the hard plastic ones are larger than soft plastic swimbaits. Among all these types the soft plastic ones are recommended by professional anglers due to their flexible and long-lasting nature.
They are also a perfect choice for beginners as no specific water conditions and locations are required. Casting lures from the shore, jetty fishing, and pond water fishing swim baits fit in all situations.
YUM Grub Multi-Species Curly-Tail Swim-Bait Fishing Lure
best swimbait fishing lure
FEATURES
These artificial lures are used for fly fishing. It simply contains feathers with a hook, they actually give the look of a fly or a small furry insect. They aren’t made in resemblance with a baitfish they are designed to imitate insects.
Fly lures are categorized into five different lures i.e. dry flies, wet flies, poppers, streamers, and saltwater flies. They also come in different shapes like nymphs, streamers, or aquatic insects (spawn). Some of them float on the surface while some sink deep into the water you should pick according to your target fish. Here the dry flies float while the wet ones sink into the water.
However, fly lures aren’t recommended to beginners as fly fishing is one of the difficult types of fishing as it is technique specific. Many marine species like redfish, tarpon, bonefish, Snook as well as bass and Pan fish you can target these using fly lures.
Flies Direct BH Prince Nymph Assortment Trout Fishing Flies
best flies fishing lure
Frequently Asked Questions
How to pick a perfect type of fishing lure?
Several things and points matter when selecting a suitable type of fishing lure and it is always a difficult task when you barely know about the lure types and their differences.
The very first thing to look at before selecting a lure is the type of fish you are targeting and secondly what they prey on as different fish prey on different small objects so you should be aware of your targeted fish’s taste and preferences.
I have mentioned some of the species and what they prey on.
Trout
Aquatic insects, worms, terrestrial insects
Salmon
Worms, crayfish, herring, grasshoppers, Crustaceans
Largemouth bass
Frogs, minnows, crayfish, yellow perch, bluegills overall bass fish likes to eat frogs, lizards, other small fish, and insects
Walleye
Small walleyes eat insects and crustaceans while the adult ones prey on other small fish
How to choose the lure color?
If you are fishing day time so you can easily pick any sharp or dark color but if you are fishing at night then I will prefer you to use white color as it will be visible to the fish at this time.
Which lure is best for beginners?
I will recommend beginners select topwater lures and spinner baits.
What is the best lure to catch bass?
Crankbaits, jigs, soft plastic worms, and spinner baits are good options to pick for bass fishing.
Conclusion
Now all the readers are pretty much aware of the types of fishing lures, hope next time you will pick your lure with full confidence because it is all about focusing on your target and its preferences then it will be a lot easier for you. And once you have selected the perfect lure, with a proper setup you will definitely end up with a victory.