Artificial Lures: A Guide to Every Type

Topwater lures

Topwater lures are fished on the surface. Fish attack them from below, so you see the strike happen — which is why topwater fishing produces such a loyal following. Works best in low light (early morning, evening, overcast days), over shallow water, and whenever fish are pushing bait to the surface.

Poppers

A popper has a cupped or concave face that throws water and makes a “bloop” on each rod twitch. The sound and surface disturbance draw fish from a distance. Cast it out, let the rings die, then pop — pause — pop. Slow down more than you think you need to. The pause is usually when the fish commits.

Walking baits (stick baits)

A weighted torpedo shape — the Zara Spook is the archetype — that “walks the dog” side to side on alternating rod twitches with slack line. The left-right action imitates a fleeing or disoriented baitfish. Keep the rod tip low, let the line go slack between twitches, and maintain a steady rhythm. Walk it near bait activity, around dock pilings, or across the edge of any grass flat.

Frogs

A soft hollow frog body with two upward-pointing hooks that slide over lily pads, hydrilla mats, and floating grass without snagging. When a bass blows up underneath, wait until you feel the fish before setting the hook — give it a half-beat so the fish has it fully in its mouth. The upturned hooks need the gap to load against a hard jaw. Fishing a frog across a mat of surface grass is one of the most electric experiences in freshwater fishing.

Buzzbaits

An open wire frame with a spinning prop-like blade above a skirted hook. Thrown and retrieved at a constant fast pace to keep the blade churning on the surface. Buzzbaits make a loud clacking sound that draws reaction strikes from aggressive fish. No subtlety required. Best in the first hour of morning light over a shallow grass flat — or whenever fish are visibly busting bait.

Prop baits

Similar to walking baits but with small spinning propellers on one or both ends. The prop creates a sputter and bubble trail on each twitch. When fish are ignoring poppers and walkers, the different cadence of a prop bait can be the trigger. Fished with a twitch-pause-twitch retrieve, same as a popper.

Crankbaits

Crankbaits are hard-bodied lures with a plastic or metal bill (lip) that dives them to a target depth on a steady retrieve. The body wobbles, and most rattle. Cast and wind — the lure does the work. Best for covering water fast and triggering reaction bites on fish that aren’t actively feeding.

Shallow-diving crankbaits

Short, wide bill; runs 0 to 4 feet. The best choice for shallow cover — docks, seawalls, riprap banks, and the outside edge of grass flats. Burn it fast to trigger a reaction, or slow-roll it just above the bottom. When it deflects off a rock or a dock post, that sudden change of direction often produces the strike.

Medium-diving crankbaits

Moderate bill; runs 4 to 10 feet. The all-around workhorse depth range. Works on points, channel drops, and any mid-depth structure where fish stage between shallow feeding flats and deeper holding water. Long casts are important — the bait needs time after the cast to reach maximum depth before the retrieve ends.

Deep-diving crankbaits

Long, angled bill; runs 10 to 20-plus feet depending on line and cast length. Best thrown on fluorocarbon or monofilament (not braid) — the stretch helps the bill work properly and the thinner diameter lets the lure dive deeper. Ticking the bottom in summer heat when fish have moved deep is one of the most reliable presentations for largemouth and smallmouth bass on ledges.

Lipless crankbaits

No bill; slab-sided body that sinks. Fished on a straight retrieve (it vibrates and rattles at any speed), yo-yo’d off the bottom, or ripped through grass on a lift-and-fall. The lipless crank is one of the best lures for grass edges — let it fall into the weeds, then rip upward to tear it free; that sudden burst often draws the strike. Works year-round but is exceptional in cold water when fish are sluggish and won’t chase fast baits. The Rat-L-Trap and Red Eye Shad are the most widely used.

Jerkbaits

Jerkbaits are elongated minnow-shaped hard lures fished with rod jerks and pauses rather than a steady retrieve. Most are suspending (neutral buoyancy), meaning they hover motionless after a pull — that pause is when fish strike. Cold-water and clear-water specialist.

Suspending jerkbaits

Jerk-jerk-pause. The fish hits during the pause. In cold water, extend the pause — sometimes five to ten seconds in near-freezing conditions. The slower the water temperature, the longer fish need to commit. Snook and speckled trout crush suspending jerkbaits in inshore channels during winter cold snaps. The Rapala X-Rap and Megabass Vision 110 are two of the most fished.

Floating jerkbaits

Floats up on the pause. Better in shallow water where a neutrally buoyant bait would hang up on bottom. Good over seagrass flats and in streams where you want the pause to bring the bait toward the surface rather than hovering at depth.

Sinking jerkbaits

Sinks on the pause. Lets you count down to a target depth before the next twitch. Useful for fish suspended off the bottom at a specific depth without having to change lures. Popular for stripers under the surface in deeper water and for offshore pelagics.

Soft plastics

The broadest lure category. Soft plastics are poured from flexible material with scent and color built in, and they can be rigged dozens of ways — weedless, weighted, drop-shot, under a float. They imitate almost any forage. Most serious bass and inshore anglers fish soft plastics more than anything else, and for good reason: they’re versatile, inexpensive, and they catch everything.

Plastic worms

The original soft plastic. Straight-tail, ribbon-tail, paddle-tail, finesse worm — all effective in different situations. Texas rig (hook point buried in the body) for weedless fishing in heavy cover; Carolina rig for covering open water; drop-shot for suspended or pressured fish that won’t come up for anything else. A 10-inch ribbon-tail worm Texas-rigged may have caught more big largemouth bass than any other single lure presentation.

Soft swimbaits

Paddle-tail or segmented body that swims on a straight retrieve. Range from 2-inch shad imitators for crappie and trout to 12-inch trophy hunters for big stripers and largemouth. The most natural-looking soft plastic option — in clear water, nothing else comes as close to a real baitfish. Pair with an exposed jig head for open water or rig weedless for grass. Color-match to whatever baitfish is in the system.

Creature baits

Irregular shapes with claws, appendages, paddle legs, and arms imitating crayfish, lizards, and bream. Fished Texas-rig into heavy cover, punched through floating grass mats, or used as a jig trailer to add bulk and action. Bass under heavy fishing pressure often eat creature baits when more realistic options are being ignored.

Flukes (soft jerkbaits)

Minnow-shaped soft plastic rigged weightless and twitched with slack line like a hard jerkbait — but with a softer, more gliding action. The subtle movement on a weightless fluke reaches spooky fish in clear water that won’t look at harder-working baits. One of the best lures for sight-fishing redfish on grass flats.

Tubes

Hollow cylinder with a shredded tentacle skirt. Rig with an internal jig head hidden inside the body for a fluid, spiraling fall that imitates a crayfish backing away. One of the most effective smallmouth and walleye lures ever made; also works for crappie on small jig heads.

Grubs

A small curly-tail soft plastic on a jig head. Simple, inexpensive, and universally effective. The curly tail generates action at almost any retrieve speed — slow-roll for crappie, swim and hop for walleye and flounder, vertical jig for stripers and bluefish. A 3-inch grub on a 1/8-ounce jig head is one of the most versatile and cost-effective setups that exists.

Jigs

A jig is a hook with a molded lead or tungsten head, often dressed with a rubber skirt or paired with a soft plastic trailer. Jigs fish from the surface to the deepest structure you can reach, and they work in saltwater and freshwater alike. Most experienced anglers consider jigs the most consistently productive lure type available.

Flipping and pitching jigs

Heavy head (3/8 to 3/4 oz), compact rubber skirt, stiff weedguard. Designed to punch through grass and wood where most lures snag immediately. The jig falls fast and straight — fish often hit on the initial drop. Pair with a chunk or creature trailer for added action and scent. The finesse jig (lighter head, smaller profile) is a scaled-down version for colder water and heavily pressured fish.

Football jigs

Wide, flat football-shaped head that rocks on hard bottom without tipping over. Drag it slowly along gravel, rock, or shell — it mimics a crayfish backing away from a predator. Best when bass have moved deep in summer heat and are staging on ledges or rocky points in 12 to 20 feet of water.

Swim jigs

Streamlined pointed head with a light weedguard. Swum at speed through and over vegetation. Functions like a cross between a jig and a spinnerbait — covers water like a spinnerbait but fishes tight to cover like a jig. Pair with a paddle-tail swimbait trailer. One of the most effective warm-weather techniques along submerged grass edges.

Bladed jigs (chatterbaits)

A jig head with a hexagonal metal blade rigged in front of the hook. The blade vibrates and thumps on any retrieve speed, even very slow. You feel the action through the rod as a constant rhythmic thump — when it stops, set the hook. One of the most consistently productive bass lures introduced in the past 20 years, especially in spring when fish are moving shallow toward spawning areas.

Ned rig

A small mushroom-head jig (1/16 to 1/4 oz) paired with a stubby soft plastic stick bait. The light weight lands softly, the small profile doesn’t spook fish, and the bait stands upright on the bottom between twitches. Originally developed for tough midwest waters, the ned rig is now one of the most widely used finesse setups in the country. When nothing else is working, downsize to a Ned.

Spinners and spinnerbaits

Blade-based lures generate flash and vibration that fish detect through their lateral line — which means they work in murky or stained water where visual lures struggle. They are reaction baits: the goal is to trigger a strike before the fish can think about it.

Inline spinners

A hook on a straight wire shaft with a spinning blade that rotates around the shaft (Mepps, Rooster Tail, Blue Fox). Cast and retrieve at a steady speed — the blade spins and flashes the whole time. One of the best overall stream trout lures, and highly effective for crappie, bass, and perch in lakes and ponds. Simple to fish: cast, let it sink a beat, then retrieve. Slower speed = deeper depth.

Spinnerbaits

An open-wire frame with one or two spinning blades above a skirted jig. Weedless by design — the wire frame deflects off cover that would snag any other lure. Fish it on a steady retrieve, slow-roll it along the bottom, or helicopter it down a ledge on a tight line. The Colorado blade generates more vibration (good for stained water and low light); the willow blade generates more flash (better for clear water). One of the most important bass lures ever made.

Spoons

A spoon is a curved piece of metal with a hook. The concave shape creates a wobbling, flashing action that imitates a wounded baitfish. Spoons are among the oldest artificial lures in use — they catch fish across almost every species and every depth zone, from the surface to 200 feet.

Casting spoons

Concave metal plate with a single hook. Cast and retrieve at variable speeds — the wobble and flash imitate a distressed baitfish. A weedless spoon with a soft plastic strip or pork rind trailer is a classic redfish lure for fishing over shallow grass flats where a treble-hook spoon would snag constantly.

Trolling spoons

Long, thin spoon with an exaggerated wobble. Must be run at boat speed to generate action — they don’t cast well. Standard for Great Lakes salmon and lake trout on downriggers, and for offshore king mackerel behind in-line planers. The flutter and flash at trolling speed replicates an injured baitfish.

Jigging spoons (flutter spoons)

Heavy, flat metal spoon worked vertically: drop to the bottom (or to the depth of the fish), snap the rod tip sharply upward, then let it flutter back down on a semi-slack line. Fish strike on the falling flutter. One of the most effective deep-water presentations in both freshwater and saltwater — and one of the easiest to learn.

Flies

Flies are ultra-light lures tied from thread, hair, feathers, foam, and synthetics to imitate insects, baitfish, crayfish, or crustaceans. They’re cast with a fly rod — a specialized system where the weight of the fly line does the casting work rather than the lure itself.

The three primary fly types:

• Dry flies — float on the surface to imitate adult insects (mayflies, caddis, grasshoppers). The most visually dramatic form of trout and salmon fishing.
• Nymphs — fished below the surface to imitate aquatic larvae. Trout eat nymphs far more than dry flies; nymphing is the most consistently productive freshwater fly technique.
• Streamers — larger flies stripped through the water to imitate baitfish, leeches, or crayfish. This is the primary fly type for bass, pike, and saltwater species.

Fly fishing is its own discipline with an entire ecosystem of techniques, rod weights, and line systems. The key point for any angler: flies are not only for trout. Saltwater fly fishing for bonefish, permit, tarpon, stripers, and redfish on the flats is a serious and highly effective pursuit that many experienced anglers consider the most demanding and rewarding form of the sport.