Soft plastic lizards are great baits for largemouth bass. Anglers use lizards on many different rigs to fish shallow water, deep water and just about everywhere in between. This is one of the better baits for catching quality-sized largemouth bass.
What Sizes are Best for Largemouth Bass Fishing?
Lizards work great for action and quality fish in the 6 to 7 inch range. Upsize a little bit more to target big largemouth bass.
Big Lizards Work Great for Bigger Bass
Soft plastic lizards are one of the better baits for targeting bigger largemouth bass if you upsize your baits into that 8 to 10 range. There are some lizards that aren’t as long, but super thick and these make good baits for bigger bass too. Bigger largemouth bass like to eat a bigger lizard bait from spring through fall.
How to Rig Soft Plastic Lizards
With so many different soft plastic lizards in a variety of sizes, anglers can use any of the popular bass fishing rigs with these baits. The Texas rig and Carolina rig are probably the most popular, but you can use a variety of different jigheads, weightless rigs, swimbait hooks and more to fish these baits.
Best Techniques
Flipping & Pitching Around Cover
Flipping and pitching around cover is the best way to target largemouth bass with these baits. Fish around wood, weed edges and pockets and any other type of cover that largemouth bass love to use.
Hop Them Along the Bottom
Use your favorite weedless rig and hop these baits along the bottom. Work them up off the bottom, then let them fall back down to the bottom and make sure to pause the bait. Many of your bites will come on the fall or when the bait comes completely to a stop.
Fish Them Slowly Through the Water Column
A lighter jighead or split shot rig works great to fish a soft plastic lizard slowly through the water column. When smallmouth bass are suspended up off the bottom, you can catch quite a few of them by fishing a lizard slowly through the water column.
Drag Them Along the Bottom
You can also have good success by just slowly dragging these baits along the bottom.
Swim Them
You can also swim lizards for largemouth bass. A slow and steady retrieve along a weed edge or some other type of cover can be very effective.
