Time after time, with ultralight bass fishing, I get asked about what lures work best, what colors are best, how to work this lure or that lure. Every now and then, I even get asked about some expensive scam lures, and breaks my heart. Trust me, I had all of the same questions that you had when I began. I have taken the time to break down 5 known classic baits that catch fish, period. These baits have been around for a long time, and are here to stay.

Up to bat first is our all time favorite, and a true classic, the plastic worm. This bait was concocted up back in 1949 by Nick Creme in his basement. These baits have been putting more fish in livewells longer than most of us have been alive. In most areas you fish, you can get away with a 4incher in either the black/blue (junebug) or green/black flake colors.

On the list next is the Rapala Floating Minnow. Rapala makes a jointed model of this bait, and when reeled slowly on top of the water, it acts like a spook lure. The faster you reel though, makes it dive a little deeper, topping out around 1 foot deep. If the fish are in a feeding mood, this is my go to lure. You can just let this lure sit as well, often called deadsticking. If you know that you are over a fishy area, let the lure die, and sit for 15-30 seconds or so, and give it a couple twitches. This will get their attention. The smaller sizes work best on ultralight rods.

The next one is the classic grub. The good old plastic 2″ grub. It doesn’t look like much, a little round body with a curly tail, on a jig head. To a fish though, it is exactly what they want. A slow moving, chunk of food. You can fish it deep to shallow, fast or slow. Try burning the tail across the top of the water like a buzzbait in the morning or evenings. I use green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, or even black. Black jig heads on both.

Fourth on the list, is the Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 ounce spinnerbait. We all know that spinnerbaits catch fish. Swim them along the bottom, just fast enough to let the blades flutter, jig it, burn it on top, or wake it just below the surface. These things catch fish, plain and simple. I like the firetiger color for muddy water, and the white with copper blades for stained water. I don’t fish much clear water, but if you do, try White/Silver/Chartreuse mix, with silver blades.

Skirted jigs are known around most bass club circles as big fish catchers. This goes for ultralight bass fishing jigs as well. You get a lot more fish with ultralight techniques, however, jigs still weed out the smaller fish. There is just something about them. Especially fishing in ponds, these are the big fish slayers.

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