Comprehensive List of Artificial Baits
Here is a comprehensive list of Artificial Baits. Click on the link of each to take a deep dive on how to use them and what to use them for. Understanding all the different kinds of Artificial Baits will not only save you time and money but it will make you a better angler on the water.
Soft Plastic Baits
- Worms: Straight-tail worms, curly-tail worms, finesse worms.
- Craws: Creature baits, crawfish imitations.
- Grubs: Twister-tail grubs, paddle-tail grubs.
- Senkos: Stick baits with a wiggly action.
- Swimbaits: Paddle-tail swimbaits, hollow-body swimbaits.
- Tubes: Tube-shaped baits with tentacles or appendages.
Hard Baits
- Crankbaits: Diving plugs with a lip that creates wobbling action.
- Jerkbaits: Suspending or floating lures with an erratic, twitching action.
- Topwater Lures: Poppers, walkers, prop baits, buzzbaits.
- Spinnerbaits: Lures with spinning blades and a skirted body.
- Spoons: Metal lures with a concave shape that produces wobbling or flashing action.
- Jigs: Lead or tungsten heads with a variety of trailer options.
- Blade Baits: Metal lures with a thin profile and vibrating action.
Swimbaits
- Paddle-Tail Swimbaits: Soft plastic baits with a paddle-like tail that produces lifelike swimming action.
- Jointed Swimbaits: Multi-segmented baits that mimic the movement of live fish.
- Glide Baits: Large, single-jointed swimbaits with a side-to-side gliding action.
- Line-Through Swimbaits: Swimbaits rigged with a line passing through the bait’s body, allowing it to slide up the line during a strike.
Jigs and Trailers:
- Football Jigs: Jigs with a wide, football-shaped head for dragging along the bottom.
- Flipping Jigs: Jigs designed for pitching and flipping into heavy cover.
- Finesse Jigs: Compact jigs with a finesse presentation.
- Craw Trailers: Soft plastic crawfish imitations.
- Chunk Trailers: Compact, chunky soft plastic trailers.
- Creature Trailers: Soft plastic baits with multiple legs, appendages, or claws.
Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits:
- Willowleaf Spinnerbaits: Spinnerbaits with narrow, willowleaf-shaped blades for fast, flashy retrieves.
- Colorado Spinnerbaits: Spinnerbaits with round, Colorado-shaped blades for slower, more vibration-oriented retrieves.
- Tandem Spinnerbaits: Spinnerbaits with two blades of different shapes or sizes.
- Inline Spinnerbaits: Compact spinnerbaits with a single spinning blade.
- Buzzbaits: Topwater lures with a propeller blade that creates a buzzing noise and surface disturbance.
Soft Plastic Frogs and Mice:
- Hollow-Body Frogs: Soft plastic topwater frogs with weedless hooks for fishing in heavy cover.
- Mouse Baits: Soft plastic mouse imitations designed for topwater action.
Saltwater Baits:
- Soft Plastic Shrimp: Lifelike shrimp imitations with a variety of actions and scents.
- Paddle-Tail Swimbaits: Large soft plastic baits with a paddle-like tail for saltwater predators.
- Bucktail Jigs: Jigs with a bucktail skirt for saltwater species like flounder, striped bass, and redfish.
- Metal Jigs: Metal lures with various shapes and weights for casting and jigging in saltwater.
Remember to choose baits that match the target species, fishing conditions, and the natural prey in the area you are fishing. Experiment with different colors, sizes, and actions to determine what works best for your desired catch.