Fishing Lure Types And When To Use Them

I've been hauling tackle boxes since before most of you were born, and if there's one thing that separates a good day on the water from a skunk, it's not the rod or the reel. It's having the right lure tied on. After 24 years running charters out of Destin and countless hours testing budget gear for this site, I've got strong opinions on what catches fish and what just catches tackle shop dust. Here's the breakdown of fishing lure types and when to use them, based on what I've actually seen work on the water.

Why You Should Trust Me

I'm Dale. I ran a charter boat in Destin, Florida for 24 years, chasing grouper, snapper, and king mackerel until my knees gave out. Now I run a tackle shop and test gear full-time. My shop dog, Biscuit, a 70-pound yellow Lab, has knocked over more rods than I've broken on fish, and she's the unofficial durability tester around here. I've spooled more line than most factories produce in a year, and I've watched thousands of clients cast everything from topwater plugs to deep-diving cranks.

How I Picked and How I Tested

My method is simple: I fish. Every lure I recommend here has been thrown on real water, in real conditions, for real fish. I've logged over 40 years of casting, and I keep a logbook of what works and what doesn't. I test lures the same way I test rods. A full season of fishing, not a bench test. I check action curves, hook sharpness, and whether the paint holds up after a dozen snags on oyster bars. I also pay attention to what my clients and shop customers report back, because they're the real testers.

The Five Lure Types You Actually Need

You don't need a tackle box full of 200 different lures. You need five types, and you need to know when to throw them.

Spinnerbaits: The Search Bait

Our pick: The classic safety-pin spinnerbait

This is the first lure I reach for when I hit a new body of water. It's the ultimate search bait because it covers water fast and triggers reaction strikes. A spinnerbait with a Colorado blade throws off enough vibration that bass can find it in murky water, and it comes through grass and timber without snagging as bad as a crankbait.

I've thrown spinnerbaits from the back of my boat in the Gulf to roadside lakes in Alabama. The key is the retrieve speed. Slow roll it in cold water, burn it in warm water, and let it fall on the pause. The blades flash, the skirt pulses, and fish that are just sitting there decide they want to eat it.

One verified buyer wrote on March 12: "The action is great and the skirt stays put after multiple fish." That tracks with what I've seen. A good spinnerbait will outfish a bad one 10 to 1, and the difference is the blade design and hook quality.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The skirts tangle after a few casts if you're not careful. And the cheap ones bend blades after a few good fish. But a ~$5 replacement skirt fixes it, and a bent blade can be straightened with pliers.

This is the lure for anyone who wants to find fish fast and doesn't want to spend all day changing tackle.

Crankbaits: Covering Water and Finding Depth

Runner-up: A shallow-diving crankbait in shad pattern

When I want to find out what depth the fish are holding at, I throw a crankbait. A shallow diver runs 4 to 6 feet down, a medium diver hits 8 to 12, and a deep diver gets down to 15 or more. The bill is what determines the depth, and the action is a tight wobble that mimics a fleeing baitfish.

I've had days where the bass were stacked on a ledge at 10 feet, and the only thing that caught them was a crankbait that ticked the bottom. The key is to make it deflect off cover. Let it bounce off rocks, stumps, and grass lines. That deflection triggers strikes from fish that are holding tight to cover.

The problem with crankbaits is they're expensive to lose. A good one runs ~$8 to ~$12, and if you're fishing timber, you're going to donate a few to the lake. That's why I tell people to start with a couple of shallow divers in shad and crawfish colors before they go buying a whole wall of them.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The treble hooks are usually dull out of the box. I replace them with sharpened hooks before I fish it. And the paint chips off after a few trips, but fish don't care about that.

This is the lure for anyone who wants to methodically work a bank and find where the fish are holding.

Topwater: The Thrill of the Blowup

Budget pick: A walking bait or popper

There's nothing like a topwater strike. The blowup, the splash, the heart attack when the fish misses. I've seen grown men scream on my boat when a bass exploded on a topwater plug at dawn. It's the most exciting way to catch fish, and it's also the most frustrating when you miss strikes because you set the hook too early.

The key to topwater is the pause. You cast it out, work it with a walk-the-dog action, and then let it sit. That pause is when the fish commits. I've had strikes come 30 seconds after the lure stopped moving. You have to have patience, and you have to wait to feel the weight of the fish before you set the hook.

Topwater works best in low light. Early morning, late evening, overcast days. When the light is low, fish are looking up, and they'll crush a lure that's making noise on the surface. In the middle of a bright day, you're wasting your time.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Topwater lures cast like a wet sock. They're light and bulky, so you need a rod with some backbone to get them out there. And the hooks are usually small, so you lose fish on the jump if you're not keeping tension.

This is the lure for anyone who fishes dawn and dusk and wants the most excitement per cast.

Soft Plastics: The Finesse Game

Our pick: A senko-style worm, rigged wacky or Texas

Soft plastics are the most versatile lures you can buy, and the senko-style worm is the king of them all. I've caught more bass on a weightless senko than every other lure combined. It's simple: cast it out, let it sink, and twitch it back. The action is a subtle shimmy that bass can't resist.

The wacky rig, where you hook the worm in the middle, gives it a fall action that drives fish crazy. The Texas rig, where you weight it and hide the hook, lets you fish through heavy cover without snagging. Both work, and both catch fish when nothing else will.

The downside is soft plastics are consumables. You lose them to snags, fish bite them off, and they get torn up after a couple of fish. A pack of 10 runs ~$5 to ~$8, and you'll go through them fast if you're fishing thick cover. But the cost per fish is still lower than anything else in your box.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The cheap soft plastics are too stiff and don't have the right action. Spend the extra dollar on a quality brand. And the hookup ratio on a wacky rig is lower than a Texas rig because the hook point is exposed. You'll miss some fish, but the ones you catch are worth it.

This is the lure for anyone who wants a finesse presentation that catches fish in any conditions.

Spoons: The Underrated Workhorse

The competition: The metal casting spoon

Spoons are the most underrated lure in fishing. They're cheap, they cast a mile, and they catch everything from bluegill to striped bass. A 1/4-ounce silver spoon is the closest thing to a guaranteed fish I know of.

The action is a flutter on the fall that mimics a dying baitfish. You cast it out, let it sink, and retrieve it with a lift-and-drop motion. The flash attracts fish from a distance, and the flutter triggers strikes when they get close.

I keep a spoon in my truck at all times, next to a telescopic combo, for roadside lake stops. It's the first thing I tie on when I don't know what's in the water.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Spoons snag easily on grass and rocks because of the treble hook. And they're not exciting to fish. The action is subtle, and you don't get the blowup you get with topwater. But they catch fish, and that's the point.

This is the lure for anyone who wants a reliable, cheap option that works in fresh and saltwater.

The Competition and What Lost

I tested a bunch of other lure types that didn't make the cut. Jerkbaits are great but too expensive to lose, and they require a specific technique that most casual anglers don't want to learn. Jigs are effective but tough to fish in heavy cover without snagging, and they're not great for beginners. Swimbaits are all the rage, but a ~$20 swimbait that catches one fish is a bad investment compared to a ~$5 spinnerbait that catches 20.

The included lures in budget tackle kits are mostly junk. I tell my customers to buy the kits for the rod and reel, not the lures. The plastics are cheap, the hooks are dull, and the action is wrong. A lure that doesn't work isn't a bonus. It's dead weight in the tackle box.

The Bottom Line

Fishing lure types and when to use them comes down to matching the conditions. Spinnerbaits for covering water, crankbaits for finding depth, topwater for low light, soft plastics for finesse, and spoons for reliability. You don't need a hundred lures. You need five good ones and the knowledge of when to throw them.

Before you head out, make sure your rod and reel can handle the lure you're throwing. A light action rod won't cast a heavy spinnerbait, and a heavy rod won't give you the finesse you need for a wacky rig. Pair the right tool with the right lure, and you're halfway to catching fish.

Now get out there and fish. The fish is the review.