Blade baits can be very effective, however, they definitely aren’t the go to bait for most anglers.

Most anglers will vertical jig them, however, a steady retrieve also can be effective.

This is one of the most realistic looking blade baits on the market.

Heddon Sonar Flash Blade Bait

This has been a popular blade bait for years.

Crankbaits are a versatile and effective lure choice for targeting smallmouth bass.  They mimic the movement of baitfish and can cover a lot of water, making them ideal for finding active bass.

Lipless Crankbaits

Shallow Divers

Medium Divers

Deep Divers

Berkley hit a home run with this lipless crankbait.  They have a huge variety of colors as well.

LUCKY CRAFT LV-500 Max ~Lucky Vibration Lipless Crank

This is a higher end crankbait, but worth the money if you’re looking for a quality bait that catches fish.

Dr.Fish 3 Pack Lipless Crankbait VIB Hard Bait

These baits are awesome and priced so low that every angler can carry these in their tackle box.

Smallmouth bass will eat swimbaits, but it’s best to downsize to 4 to 5 inches to match their smaller mouths. You can still catch nice smallmouth with 6 or 7-inch swimbaits, but you will get a lot less bites when throwing them.

Swim Them Slow & Steady

They have plenty of action, so keep it steady and you’ll get bit.

Jerkbait Retrieve

Sometimes, the bass don’t want to eat the bait with a steady retrieve.  Use a jerkbait retrieve and see what happens.

This bait looks so realistic in the water.

Real Fish 4″ Spring Shad Multi Jointed Swimbait

This is one of the best looking hard swimbaits on the market.

Real Fish 8″ Spring Shad Multi Jointed Swimbait

This is a big swimbait that was made to target big fish and it does just that.

Jerkbaits are excellent for catching smallmouth bass. They work well for targeting suspended bass in deeper water and for attracting bass in shallows feeding on baitfish. Regardless of the method, jerkbaits are effective for catching quality bass.

This jerkbait is one of best jerkbaits if you’re looking for action with an occasional bigger bass too.

Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait XR10 Fishing Lure

This has been one of the best jerkbaits for so many years and it still holds its spot near the top with all the awesome new baits on the market.

Berkley Stunna Fishing Hard Bait

Wow!  This jerkbait is awesome.

This is one of most awesome-looking glide baits on the market and it catches bass.

Berkley PowerBait Nessie Fishing Soft Bait

The Nessie is gaining popularity quickly.  This bait can catch good numbers of bass with big bass too.

Bassdash Swim Shad Glide Bait

This is a cool glide bait that won’t break the bank.

Strike King makes some awesome wake baits.  Just like their crankbait line, you have many different options for their wake baits too.

Strike King (HCWS2-568) Wake Shad

Another awesome wake bait from Strike King.

Bass Jigs work great for smallmouth bass, although, most bass anglers prefer to use these types of jigs for largemouth bass.  The smaller, finesse bass jigs tend to yield better results for numbers, but the regular bass jigs will catch some impressive smallmouth bass.

Flippin’ Jigs

Your all-around jig that works for many different situations.

Football Jigs

Football jigs are a favorite among anglers who enjoy using the crawling technique.

Skipping Jigs

These jigs skip easier so you can get these jigs further under docks, trees, boat houses and other tough spots to fish.

Swim Jigs

Sometimes, you just need a jig to swim for bass that are chasing bait fish.

The Hack Attack is an awesome flipping jig.

Strike King (TDJ34-46) Tour Grade Football Jig Fishing Lure 3/4 oz

This is an awesome football jig.

Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jigs Bait

Strike King makes on of the best swim jigs on the market.  Add a swimming trailer and get ready to set the hook.

Strike King Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig Oz

This jigs skips like a boss and has a high quality hook.

Bladed swim jigs are effective for smallmouth bass, offering a blend of a jig and spinnerbait. Simply cast and retrieve them with a slow, steady retrieve.  The vibration combines with their action is an awesome combination for attracting smallmouth bass.

Curly Tail Grubs as Trailers

Ringworms as Trailers

Swimbaits as Trailers

The Chatterbait is the original and still one of the best bladed swim jigs on the market today.

Reaction Tackle Tungsten Bladed Jig Heads

Reaction Tackle makes some really good bladed swim jigs.

Goture Bladed Jighead

Goture has a 5 pack kit with some nice bladed swim jigs.

These are some really nice bucktail jigs for a good price.

Dr.Fish 5 Pack Bucktail Jigs

They have a nice 5 pack for a reasonable price.  These jigs look great.

Blue Fox has been one of the classic brands for inline spinners.  They make some great spinners that catch good numbers and big fish too.

Wordens Original Rooster Tail

The Original Rooster Tail has been catching bass and other fish for many, many years and it still produces today.

Most spinnerbaits can benefit greatly by adding a trailer with a swimming tail.

Curly Tail Grubs

There are so many curly tail grubs on the market, which makes this an easy bait to match with colors and sizing with your favorite spinnerbait.

Ringworms

These are one of the most under-rated trailers for spinnerbaits.  Try them.  You’ll be happy you did.

Swimbaits

Swimbaits are great trailer for spinnerbaits.  This is one of the better big bass search tandems on the market.

Booyah makes some of the best spinnerbaits on the market.  This is just one of them.

USA BASS Tackle Apache Attack Spinnerbait

This spinnerbait is super sharp and looks great in the water.

Strike King KVD Finesse Spinnerbait

The KVD spinnerbaits are flat out awesome.  This is just one of many awesome Strike King Spinnerbaits.

Strike King Tour Grade Spinnerbait

This is another awesome spinnerbait by Strike King.

Curly Tail Grubs

These baits look great on an underspin and bass love the combination.

Swimbaits

Smaller to medium-sized swimbaits look great on most of the better underspins on the market.

They hit a home run with these.  They hold soft plastics well and look great.

Owner 5164 Willowleaf Flashy Swimmer with TwistLock Centering Pin

This might be the best underspin on the market.  Owner did an awesome job with this one.

Use a casting spoon that is similar to the baitfish smallmouth bass will be feeding on.  If you can match the colors somewhat closely, you will catch more smallmouth bass.

Try to avoid all of the big, bulky spoons that so many anglers use for salmon, big trout and northern pike.

This is one of the coolest spoons on the market and it performs better for bass than the traditional spoons.

Crocodile Spoons Fishing Lures 1oz

A nice spoon for targeting quality bass and other fish too.

A nice spoon that gets a lot of action when the water gets cold and the bass go deep.

Cotton Cordell C.C. Spoon

Cotton Cordell makes a good jigging spoon that just catches fish.

Buzzbaits are one of the most exciting topwater lures to use because the explosions can be absolutely incredible.  This is a lure that attracts aggressive bass and it works very well during the early morning and evening hours.

Booyah makes some of the best buzzbaits on the market.  They swim great, make tons of noise and catch quality bass.

Strike King Tour Grade Buzz Bait

Strike King knocked this one out of the park.

Chuggers (poppers) are popular among topwater bass anglers.  Use a quick twitch-and-stop retrieve when bass are aggressive, or a stop-and-go technique with longer pauses when they’re less active to entice them to the surface.

This is one of the cooler-looking poppers on the market.

Yo-Zuri Yo Zuri 3 D Inshore Popper

This was made for saltwater, but it’s one of the better poppers for bass fishing.

Floating minnows mimic the natural movement and appearance of baitfish, making them appealing to bass, particularly during their feeding times.  Use a twitch-and-pause technique to imitate an injured baitfish, triggering strikes during pauses.

This size is perfect for lots of action.

Rapala Original Floater 11

Upsize a bit to target quality bass.

Propbaits are thrilling topwater lures for bass fishing.  You can use a steady retrieve or a twitch-and-pause technique, with the latter often being more effective since most bass strike during the pause.

The Heddon Torpedo is a classic topwater lure.  It works so well with a twitch, twitch, pause technique.

Berkley Spin Rocket

This is a really cool propbait by Berkley.

The rotating tail creates commotion on the water’s surface, mimicking fleeing baitfish or other prey, which can attract bass.  The spinning action and splash draw attention from a distance, making it ideal for targeting bass in both clear and stained water.

The original rotating tail bait is still the best one on the market.  Once you use a whopper plopper, it is hard to go back to other topwater lures because the strikes can be unbelievable on these lures.

ODS Plopper Topwater Lure

This is a really nice rotating tail topwater lure for the price.

Crawlers are highly effective during the day but excel as topwater lures for night fishing. Bass can easily track the steady, slow retrieve of this lure at night, often leading to bites right next to the boat or along the shoreline.

This is one of the classic topwater lures of all time.  It doesn’t always perform well, however, in certain situations, this can be your best lure in your tackle box.

Heddon Crazy Crawler

This is a really neat topwater bait.  Fish it slowly along the surface and hang on.

Stickbaits create an exciting walk-the-dog action on the water’s surface.  This retrieve, combined with pauses, can attract aggressive bass from a distance, often leading to powerful strikes.

One of the all time great walk the dog baits and it still performs great today.

Heddon Super Spook

Upsize a little and this is one of the better topwater lures for targeting quality bass.