When it comes to bass fishing, lures are an extremely effective technique for catching both largemouth and smallmouth bass. However, not all lures work equally well for all species and sizes of bass. Understanding which types of bass are best suited for different lures can help improve your success rate.
Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass are aggressive predators that will strike at a wide variety of artificial lures. Their large mouth gives them the ability to attack even very large plugs, spinnerbaits, and other lures. In general, largemouth bass in the 2-5 pound range are ideal for targeting with lures. Smaller juvenile fish will strike at smaller lures like crankbaits and spinners while trophy sized bass over 5 pounds will inhale even huge 10+ inch swimbaits and surface lures.
Largemouth bass love cover and ambush prey from weeds, brush, docks, and other structure. Lures like weedless jigs, texas rigged plastics, topwater poppers, and buzzbaits work excellent for picking off largemouths around cover. Use lures that create vibration and noise to attract aggressive strikes. Bright, contrasting colors like black/blue or white/chartreuse works well in stained water.
Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass are less likely to strike purely reactionary lures and prefer lures that mimic shad and other forage fish. They have a smaller mouth than largemouths so you’ll need to scale down lure sizes, especially for river smallmouths which tend to run smaller than lake populations.
Good smallmouth lures include tubes, grubs, crankbaits, spinners, and small surface lures. Natural baitfish patterns like brown, green, and olive are effective as are translucent whites and shad patterns. Look for smallmouths relating to rocky or sandy bottoms, especially in lakes. In rivers, target current breaks, eddies, and log jams. Fight hard when you hook one!
Spotted Bass
Spotted bass fall somewhere between largemouths and smallmouths in their lure preferences. They are aggressive like largemouths but prefer smaller profile lures similar to smallmouth bass. Top spotted bass lures include flukes, shaky head worms, small crankbaits, spinners, and compact jigs.
Go with more natural colors and moderate action retrieves. Spots relate to cover and structure similarly to largemouths. Focus on docks, laydowns, and submerged vegetation. In clear water scenarios, bait finesse lures on light line to entice finicky biters. Spotted bass put up a great fight for their size and are a blast to catch on light tackle.
In summary, match the lure to the specific type of bass you are targeting. Largemouths are amenable to a wide variety of big, noisy lures while smallmouths and spots prefer more finesse presentations. Pay attention to their habitat and adjust lure sizes accordingly. With practice, you’ll be able to dial in the perfect lure for whichever bass species you encounter.