Bait, Lures, and Rigs
How to rig it, how to fish it, when to use it -- practical guides to hard baits, soft plastics, jigs, flies, rigs, and natural bait for freshwater and saltwater anglers.
Baitfish Fly
baitfish fly
The saltwater streamer family -- Lefty's Deceiver and friends -- that imitates schooling bait like bunker, mullet, and silversides: how to match the bait, fish it, and strip-set.
Jig Bass Jig
bass jig
A lead jig head with a weed guard and silicone skirt paired with a soft plastic trailer -- one of the most versatile and productive bass lures ever made, equally at home flipping docks, dragging deep structure, or swimming through timber.
Hard Bait Blade Bait
blade bait
A dense, flat metal lure that vibrates intensely when jigged vertically or retrieved -- a cold-water specialist for deep walleye, bass, and stripers that can be fished straight down under a boat to schools marked on a sonar.
Hard Bait Bladed Jig
bladed jig
A hybrid lure combining a jig head and soft plastic trailer with a metal blade that creates an erratic side-to-side vibrating wobble -- bridges the gap between a spinnerbait and a jig.
Rig Bobber / Float Rig
bobber float rig
The most fundamental fishing rig: a float holds your bait at a set depth while you watch for the dip. The rig every angler learns first and one that catches fish across every skill level and fishery.
Jig Bucktail Jig
bucktail jig
A simple but deadly lead head jig wrapped in deer-tail hair that pulses and breathes naturally in the water -- a staple of saltwater structure fishing and one of the most effective inshore search baits for big fish.
Natural Bait Bunker (Menhaden)
bunker menhaden
Oily, high-protein menhaden -- the No. 1 forage bait for trophy striped bass and bluefish. Snag and live-line a big one, or soak fresh chunks on a fish-finder rig.
Hard Bait Buzzbait
buzzbait
A wire bait with a churning propeller blade that runs along the surface creating a loud clacking gurgle -- one of the most aggressive topwater presentations for bass, triggering strikes from fish that ignore slower presentations.
Rig Carolina Rig
carolina rig
A heavy-weight bottom rig that drags along structure while the bait -- soft plastic or live -- rides above it on a leader: a deadly searching rig for bass and one of the best live-bait rigs inshore.
Hard Bait Casting Metal
casting metal
A dense, shiny metal lure that casts farther than almost anything else and sinks fast -- built for Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and pelagic fish at pier tips and in the surf when predators are chasing bait near the surface.
Clouser Minnow
clouser minnow
The Clouser Minnow may be the most versatile fly ever tied -- weighted eyes ride it hook-up for a darting jig action from smallmouth rivers to saltwater flats.
Crab & Shrimp Fly
crab shrimp fly
Crab and shrimp flies are the crustacean imitations that drive saltwater flats sight-fishing -- the flies you lead, sink, and barely move for bonefish, permit, and redfish.
Natural Bait Crabs & Sand Fleas
crabs sand fleas
Crustacean baits certain saltwater fish prefer above all -- fiddler crabs for sheepshead, sand fleas for pompano, and cut blue crab for big reds, drum, and tarpon.
Jig Crappie Jig
crappie jig
A small jig head paired with a soft plastic body, tube, or natural hair/feather dressing -- the primary lure for crappie and bluegill, equally effective vertically in brush piles or cast under a float.
Natural Bait Crawfish
crawfish
Live crawfish are a premier natural bait -- often the number-one forage for smallmouth bass. Learn to hook, fish, and source a craw, plus when soft-plastic imitations rival the real thing.
Soft Plastic Creature / Craw Bait
creature craw bait
A bulky soft plastic with multiple appendages, claws, and paddles that displace water and create realistic crawfish or creature movement -- the premier bait for flipping heavy cover and triggering big bass.
Natural Bait Cut Bait
cut bait
Fresh-cut chunks, steaks, and strips of oily fish that win on pure scent and blood -- the go-to bottom bait for catfish, redfish, black drum, and surf predators.
Hard Bait Deep-Diving Crankbait
deep diving crankbait
A crankbait with a long extended bill that dives 8–20+ feet on a steady retrieve -- the primary tool for targeting suspended bass, walleye, and stripers on main-lake structure, humps, and submerged points in summer and fall.
Rig Drop Shot Rig
drop shot
A finesse rig that suspends a bait at a precise, fixed height above the bottom -- one of the most effective setups for pressured bass and deep-water fish, and a deadly inshore live-shrimp rig for trout and redfish.
Dry Fly
dry fly
A fly that floats on the surface film to imitate an adult mayfly, caddis, midge, or stonefly -- the most visual, iconic way to catch trout, where the eat happens right on top.
Emerger
emerger
The fly that imitates an insect hatching in the surface film -- the answer to rising trout that ignore your dry fly. A more advanced, observation-driven trout pattern.
Rig Fish-Finder Rig
fish finder rig
A live-bait rig with a sinker that slides freely on the main line so a fish can pick up the bait and swim off without feeling the weight -- the go-to rig for big surf fish, inlet fishing, and targeting large predators on the bottom.
Soft Plastic Floating Worm
floating worm
A straight or slightly curved soft plastic worm rigged weightless on a light hook and fished on or near the surface -- a deadly summer technique for visible bass in open water, around emergent grass, and over shallow flats.
Rig Free-Line Rig
free line rig
The simplest rig possible: a hook tied directly to the leader with no weight, allowing live bait to swim naturally under its own power. Deadly for spooky fish in clear water and for presenting bait in current.
Hard Bait Hard Body Swimbait
hard swimbait
A large, hyper-realistic hard plastic bait with jointed segments that produce a lifelike swimming action -- a big-fish specialist that triggers trophy largemouth and stripers that ignore conventional lures.
Hard Bait Hard Jerkbait
hard jerkbait
A slender hard plastic baitfish imitation that suspends or sinks slowly -- its erratic twitch-pause action mimics a dying minnow and is one of the most effective cold-water and post-front presentations.
Soft Plastic Hollow-Body Frog
hollow body frog
A soft hollow rubber frog with upturned double hooks that rides weedlessly over lily pads, mats, and surface vegetation -- the most exciting way to catch big bass from impossible cover.
Hard Bait Inline Spinner
inline spinner
A simple metal-bladed lure on a straight wire shaft that spins on a steady retrieve -- the most beginner-friendly lure in freshwater and the go-to presentation for trout, perch, and reaction-bite bass.
Rig Knocker Rig
knocker rig
A pier and structure rig where the egg sinker rides right down to the hook eye -- keeping the bait pinned tight and vertical against pilings, bridge columns, and rocks where sheepshead, snapper, and drum live.
Hard Bait Lipless Crankbait
lipless crankbait
A flat-sided, tight-vibrating hard bait with a loud internal rattle that sinks on a slack line and can be fished at any depth -- one of the most versatile searching lures in bass fishing.
Natural Bait Live Shrimp
live shrimp
Live shrimp is the #1 inshore bait in the South -- if a fish swims the flats, it eats shrimp. Learn to hook, fish, and keep it frisky for trout, reds, and snook.
Natural Bait Minnows & Shiners
minnows shiners
Live minnows and shiners are the freshwater baitfish staple -- fish them under a float, free-lined, or on a jig for bass, crappie, walleye, and panfish.
Natural Bait Mud Minnows
mud minnows
Mud minnows are the toughest live bait on the inshore coast -- hardy, easy to keep, and the classic flounder bait for redfish, trout, and snook too.
Natural Bait Mullet
mullet bait
Live finger mullet and cut mullet chunks are two of the deadliest inshore baits there is -- dynamite on redfish, snook, tarpon, trout, and big drum, especially during the fall mullet run.
Jig Ned Rig
ned rig
A finesse bottom presentation built around a tiny soft plastic on a light mushroom-head jig -- designed for cold fronts, pressured fish, and clear-water bass that refuse everything else.
Rig Neko Rig
neko rig
A nail-weighted soft plastic rig that combines the fall action of a wacky rig with a head-down bottom-contact posture -- one of the most effective clear-water finesse presentations for pressured bass.
Natural Bait Nightcrawlers & Worms
nightcrawlers worms
Nightcrawlers and worms are the universal beginner bait -- a worm under a bobber catches nearly every freshwater fish that swims. Learn to hook, fish, and keep them.
Nymph
nymph
The subsurface fly that imitates immature aquatic insects -- the workhorse of trout fishing and the single highest-percentage way to catch trout, since they feed mostly below the surface.
Jig Offshore Speed Jig
offshore speed jig
A dense, hydrodynamic metal jig designed for fast vertical jigging in offshore water -- worked aggressively on the upstroke with a high-speed reel to target kingfish, amberjack, cobia, mahi, wahoo, and tuna over structure and in the water column.
Soft Plastic Paddletail Swimbait
paddletail swimbait
A soft plastic bait with a paddle-shaped tail that generates a consistent thumping kick on a straight retrieve -- the most versatile inshore saltwater bait and an increasingly dominant freshwater option.
Natural Bait Pinfish & Live Baitfish
live baitfish
Catch your own live baitfish -- pinfish, croaker, and pilchards -- on a sabiki or cast net, keep them lively in an aerated well, and live-line them for snook, reds, tarpon, and grouper.
Rig Pompano Rig
pompano hi low rig
A two-hook bottom rig with floating beads and dropper loops above a pyramid sinker -- the standard surf rig for pompano and whiting along Atlantic and Gulf beaches, optimized to present bait just above the bottom in the surf trough.
Popper & Foam Bug
popper fly
Floating topwater flies with a cupped face that pop, chug, and spit water to call fish up for an explosive surface eat -- the most exciting way to fly fish, fresh or salt.
Rig Popping Cork
popping cork
A weighted float with a concave or cupped top that makes a loud chug or pop on a sharp rod jerk -- suspending a bait or lure below it and calling fish from a distance in grass, stained water, and over shallow flats. An inshore saltwater staple that crosses over to freshwater for crappie and panfish.
Natural Bait Preserved & Prepared Baits
prepared bait
Shelf-stable engineered baits -- FishBites strips, PowerBait dough, and catfish stink bait -- that deliver real-bait scent with no livewell, no mess, and no fuss.
Soft Plastic Ribbon-Tail Worm
ribbon tail worm
A large soft plastic worm with a thin, ribbon-like curling tail that pulses with every movement -- a proven flipping bait for heavy cover and a go-to in stained, warm water.
Rig Sabiki Rig
sabiki rig
A ready-made leader strung with 4–6 small hooks tied with flashy synthetic fiber and gold hook droppers -- the most efficient way to catch multiple small baitfish at once from docks, bridges, and piers.
Hard Bait Saltwater Popper
saltwater popper
A large, buoyant hard-body popper with a cupped or scooped face designed for saltwater predators -- makes a violent splash and pop that calls pelagic and inshore fish from a distance, from snook at the surface to tuna on offshore feeds.
Jig Shaky Head
shaky head
A finesse jig with a narrow stand-up head and a long finesse worm nose-hooked so the tail quivers on the slightest movement -- one of the most consistent pressured-water bass presentations, especially on clear highland reservoirs.
Jig Slow Pitch Jig
slow pitch jig
An asymmetric, flattened metal jig designed to flutter and spiral horizontally on a slack-line fall -- the Japanese-origin technique that targets deep-water bottom fish with a dying-baitfish presentation entirely different from speed jigging.
Soft Plastic Soft Jerkbait
soft jerkbait
A slender, shad-shaped soft plastic with no built-in action -- its darting, fleeing baitfish movement comes entirely from rod twitches. Works in fresh and salt for nearly every predatory species.
Soft Plastic Soft Plastic Shrimp
soft plastic shrimp
A life-like shrimp imitation in soft plastic that matches one of the most universal forage species in inshore and estuarine fisheries -- fished under a popping cork, on a jig head, or free-lined.
Hard Bait Spinnerbait
spinnerbait
A wire-framed jig with one or two rotating metal blades that produce flash and vibration -- one of the best all-around reaction baits for covering water quickly in stained or off-color conditions.
Hard Bait Squarebill Crankbait
crankbait
A shallow-diving hard bait with a flat square lip that deflects off rocks, wood, and hard cover instead of hanging up -- triggering reaction strikes from bass that follow but won't bite.
Natural Bait Squid
squid
Frozen squid is the toughest, cheapest, most universal saltwater bait in the cooler -- cut into strips or rings, it survives long soaks and catches almost everything that swims.
Soft Plastic Stick Worm
stick worm
A dense, salt-impregnated soft plastic worm with no action tail -- its slow, side-to-side shimmy on a weightless fall triggers strikes from bass that have seen everything else.
Streamer
streamer
A big subsurface fly that imitates baitfish, leeches, and sculpins -- fished actively with strips and swings, it's how you target the largest predatory fish on a fly rod.
Hard Bait Suspending Twitchbait
suspending twitchbait
A slender hard plastic minnow that suspends or sinks slowly after each twitch -- designed for the sightlines and prey of clear inshore flats, one of the most effective saltwater hard baits available.
Terrestrial Fly
terrestrial fly
Foam and hair flies that imitate grasshoppers, ants, beetles, and crickets blown onto the water -- big, buoyant, easy-to-see summer dry flies trout eat with confidence.
Rig Texas Rig
texas rig
The most widely used soft plastic rig in fishing -- a weedless bullet-weight and offset-hook setup that lets you put a bait anywhere fish hide, from bass in heavy freshwater cover to redfish and snook on inshore grass flats.
Hard Bait Topwater Popper
topwater popper
A hard plastic surface lure with a cupped or concave face that spits water and makes a loud chug on each rod jerk -- a highly visual and effective topwater for both freshwater bass and inshore saltwater species.
Hard Bait Topwater Walker
topwater walker
A cigar-shaped hard bait that produces a side-to-side walk-the-dog surface action on slack-line twitches -- one of the most visual and exciting top-water presentations for both freshwater and saltwater predators.
Rig Umbrella Rig
umbrella rig
A wire frame that deploys multiple swimbaits simultaneously, imitating a school of baitfish in one cast -- a revolutionary and sometimes controversial rig that triggers competition instinct from bass and striped bass hunting in schools.
Rig Wacky Rig
wacky rig
A minimalist soft-plastic presentation that hooks a stick worm through its middle and lets both ends flutter freely on the fall -- one of the most effective finesse rigs for pressured bass.
Hard Bait Weedless Spoon
weedless spoon
A flat metal spoon with a weed guard and single hook that slides over grass, pads, and vegetation while producing flash and wobble -- a searching lure equally at home on freshwater flats and inshore grass flats.
Wet Fly & Soft Hackle
wet fly
The oldest fly style there is -- a sparse, soft subsurface fly swung below the surface to imitate emerging insects. The single easiest way for a beginner to catch trout.
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