by Ryan Farrington

Created on: June 29, 2009

Searching online catalogs for tackle can be a dizzying experience. Bright colors, flashy blades, technique specific plastics, and unrealistic claims of forty pound limits of bass are what anglers are generally greeted with. Thousands of tackle manufacturers are creating new self proclaimed best of the best baits on a monthly basis. How is one to determine what to purchase for the upcoming season? The truth is once you see through the millions of advertisements, and sponsorship influenced pro endorsements, the majority of these lures are variants of each other. To have a simple diversified tackle box, two categories of baits are required. Search baits and what I call seduction baits. These are the headings in which you should class your offerings. Keeping an assortment of each type will put you on bass quickly and efficiently.

Long distance casts, quick retrieves, and sore arms are all associated with search baits. These lures are highly efficient at finding actively feeding fish, locating under water structure, and producing vicious reaction strikes. Perhaps the best search baits are spinnerbaits and crankbaits. These lures can be retrieved rapidly, offer good feel when locating structure, are extremely versatile, and irresistible to hungry bass. These baits are generally the first in the water for many tournament anglers.

Peeking into any serious bass anglers tackle box will reveal the popularity of the spinnerbait. While not as affective as years ago, its versatility keeps this old school bait producing millions of bass annually. Its large profile and flashy, vibration inducing blades make spinnerbaits easy to see as well as hear down where the fish reside. It can be jigged along bottom, ripped a half an inch under the surface, or presented anywhere in between. Blades and skirts can be swapped to anglers preferences. This is the most customizable bait on the market, however keeping a few options with different colors and blades is all you need to cover all strike zones. Swapping styles of blades directly affects the retrieve speed and depth of the lure, while skirts are changed to produce more or less bulk and to customize colors. These attributes contribute to arguably the best lure for catching bass.

Every retail tackle shop selling bass related lures has more crankbaits on the pegboard than any other lure. They are categorized by running depth, body style, and size. Crankbaits must be matched perfectly to the fishing situation to be effective. It

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