The 8 Essential Fishing Lures (And When to Use Each)

Walk into any bait shop, and you’ll see walls lined with thousands of fishing lures in every imaginable shape and color. It’s overwhelming. But the truth is, you only need to understand a handful of core lure types to catch a wide variety of fish species just about anywhere.

Instead of live bait, these artificial baits use movement, vibrations, and appearance to trigger a fish’s predatory instincts. This guide goes beyond just listing lures; we’ll cover the core strategies behind why they work, so you can choose the right lure, at the right time, and cast with confidence.

The Angler’s Mindset: The “90/10 Rule”

Before we touch a lure, understand this principle: 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. This is the golden rule of fishing. Fish aren’t scattered randomly; they congregate in specific areas for two reasons: food and safety (cover). Your job isn’t to fish the entire lake, but to identify and fish that productive 10%. This means focusing on structures like weed lines, rock piles, submerged timber, creek channels, and boat docks. The best lure in the world won’t work if there are no fish there to see it.

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Choosing the Right Lure Color: A Simple Guide

types of fishing lures — Source: Ilkka Jukarainen

Color selection is crucial and simpler than it seems. It all comes down to water visibility.

Clear Water (Good Visibility): Use natural colors. Baits that are translucent, green, brown, or white mimic natural prey like shad, bluegill, or craws. The fish can see clearly, so realism is key.
Stained/Murky Water (Poor Visibility): Use very bright or very dark colors. Bright colors like chartreuse, orange, and firetiger stand out. Alternatively, dark colors like black, blue, and junebug create a solid silhouette that fish can see against the brighter surface.

The 8 Essential Lure Types

I will tell you the most productive lure types you can use in your fishing line to share my knowledge. See what you can put in your tackle box to catch different species.

1. Plugs

Plugs, also called crankbaits, are colored solid plastic to look like baitfish. A thin sheet of metal called a lip is attached at the front and has two to three hooks. Sometimes, you can adjust the lip to make the lure sway. Plug lure sink, dive, swim, or float, depending on their design.

Crankbaits also used treble hooks for freshwater and saltwater fishing. These treble hooks are great for plugs used in bass fishing as the angles cause reaction strikes from bass.

How to Catch Fish Using Plug Lure

It is best to take advantage of the plug’s movement when using it as a lure. On the surface, crankbaits either suspend or float in the water but sharply dive when retrieving.

You can use the reel-and-stop move to have the plug resemble a live bait fish’s behavior. Try changing your reeling speed and twitching intervals. You may also want to lower your rod tip and hold it off to the side.

2. Jigs

Jigs are considered one of the most popular types of lures and feature a plastic grub or feather skirt. It has a hook and a weighted head, making it perfect for bottom feeders as they can sink quickly.

How to Attract Fish Using Jigs

When using jigs, you should let it sink into the bottom to take full advantage of its weight. Start jigging the lure when the line slacks, which means the jig has already fallen. Slightly lift your fishing rod and lower it again as you retrieve the link.

3. Spinnerbait

Spinnerbaits are lures good to use for bass. They move horizontally, which makes them somehow different from other lures. Two of the popular types of spinnerbait are the in line spinners and safety pin lures.

With spinner baits you have a skirted hook attached to them on one side and one or more metal blades on the other. The spinning blade acts like a propeller which reflects the color and creates vibrations. This makes them mimic live minnows and other live bait and is perfect for catching bass and predatory fish like perch.

How to Use Spinnerbait in Fishing

An excellent way to attract game fish is to pull your spinnerbait beneath the murky water’s surface. Make sure the spinning blades are underneath the water and keep your rod high to attract much fish.

If the fishes hide in deep waters with the worst visibility, add a sinker and depend on your spinnerbait’s vibrations. In fishing for bass, spinnerbait are good lures to catch largemouth bass.

4. Spoons

Spoons are metal lures that are concave and curved. The shape of the spoon lures makes them shine and wobble as they move in the water. This resembles an injured baitfish that attracts game fish.

Capturing Fish Using Spoons

Anglers usually cast the spoon lure 10 to 20 feet below their target fish zone. Have a good look at your bait to set an adequate speed for retrieving the spoon. You can use spoons to catch trout in deep water.

The spoon won’t properly wobble if it moves too slowly or too fast. In setting a target depth, trolling the lure requires a downrigger.

5. Soft Plastics

A soft plastics are a flexible rubbery lure that is frequently used in fishing for bass. They can vary from worms, minnows, lizards, and frogs.

We’ve rounded up the best bass soft plastics in our other article.

Using Soft Plastic Lures for Fishing

Select the right size and color of the soft plastic baits and make sure it naturally fits with the surrounding. On a clear day, use a bright color. However, avoid using it when the sky is cloudy.

Soft plastics allow you to accurately mimic the movement of wounded species. Let it sink to the bottom, and have your rod twitch a few times. Pull the lure up in a bouncy way if there’s no hook-up.

6. Flies

Flies are traditionally used in fly fishing. Now, they can also be used in spin fishing due to the development of their materials. These lures are made up of a skirt and a single hook. Tie these lures using threads, feathers, or furs to make them similar to crustaceans, insects, and other baits.

Choosing the Right Fly Fishing Lures

It is good to use flies in places where fishes approach the surface of the water. Surface flies float on the water, while subsurface flies sink.

In choosing the type of flies, you’ll use, consider what kind of prey your targeted fish eats. Dry flies are waterproof lures that imitate insects and float on the water. Wet flies are lures that imitate minnows and aquatic insects and sink beneath the surface. Brook trout is the favorite target of anglers in this type of fishing.

7. Swimbaits

Swimbaits are fish replicas that have a hook attached to the top. They mimic the swimming motion of other fish by having a subtle body movement when dragged into the water. This makes it difficult for your target to differentiate themselves from natural prey.

Catching Species With Swimbaits

Swimbaits attract fish bites by encouraging feeding behavior. A larger swimbait is needed if you plan on catching a wide variety of fish species.

8. Surfaces

The surface lure is designed to mimic a bait fish or bugs on the water’s surface, wherein a larger fish, like a bass fish, would go for. It is considered one of the best styles to use, as you will see what’s happening.

Using Surface Lures in Fishing

Surface lures are great for targeting bigger fish and are usually used in bass fishing. Toss the lure on the surface, and it will increase the chance of a big fish jumping into your lure than to an actual prey. You can move your lure using a zigzag pattern to make it more attractive and appealing.

Expert FAQ: Answering Your Top Lure Questions

What lure catches the biggest bass?

While any lure can catch a big one, anglers specifically targeting trophy bass often use large swimbaits (8″+), deep-diving football jigs with bulky craw trailers, or large topwater lures. These big baits present a substantial meal that tempts the largest predators.

Can fish smell human scent on lures?

Yes, many believe so. Fish have a keen sense of smell. It’s good practice to wash your hands with scent-free soap before fishing or to use a fish-attractant scent spray on your baits. At a minimum, avoid strong scents like gasoline, bug spray, or sunscreen on your hands.

What is the single best lure for catching the most fish?

If forced to choose one, most experienced anglers would pick a jig paired with a soft plastic trailer. Its versatility to be fished deep, shallow, fast, or slow makes it incredibly effective for a huge wide variety of fish species in any season.

The Bottom Line

Mastering these eight lure types gives you a tool for any situation. Focus on the 90/10 rule to find the fish, use water clarity to choose your color, and then cast your chosen lure with confidence. That’s the formula for consistent success.