If a river is in your bass fishing plans, we have you covered with favorite baits chosen by the Bassmaster Elite Series pros. You even get a bonus, as each bait has a technical feature that makes it stand out. Rig up for river fishing with the help of the pros and this lure lineup. We put together the gallery at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake, but you can use the baits on any river.
All captions: Craig Lamb
All captions: Craig Lamb
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Jason Christie
Favorite bait: 1/2-ounce BOOYAH Bankroll Jig, black/blue, with a YUM Craw Chunk.
Favorite bait: 1/2-ounce BOOYAH Bankroll Jig, black/blue, with a YUM Craw Chunk.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Why he uses it: This all-in-one jig replaces the need for separate swim, pitching and flipping jigs. “If I’m going down a shoreline, I can swim this bait through grass, flip a laydown, flip a bush and do it all with this one jig. It’s just an all-around versatile jig setup,” said Christie.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: Christie uses a rattle chamber for added strike appeal. He inserts the body of the craw chunk through two O-rings, then slides the chamber between them and the plastic. “I didn’t want the rattle to get in the way of the ability to get a solid hookset, and this setup prevents that from happening.” The rattles rock back and forth as the bait is worked through the strike zone, as an added bonus.
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Carl Jocumsen
Favorite bait: 1/2-ounce Bassman TW Series Spinnerbait, white/chartreuse, with tandem Colorado and mag willow blades. An X-Zone Lures Pro Series Swammer is added for a trailer.
Favorite bait: 1/2-ounce Bassman TW Series Spinnerbait, white/chartreuse, with tandem Colorado and mag willow blades. An X-Zone Lures Pro Series Swammer is added for a trailer.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Why he uses it: The compact design is ideal for finnicky river fish that don’t want a bulky spinnerbait. You can customize the blades and skirts for the ever-changing conditions that are encountered on a river system. Jocumsen most often uses the 1/2-ounce size, and weights range from 1/4- to 3/4-ounce sizes. “I can adjust blade sizes and shapes as the water clarity changes,” said Jocumsen. He chooses gold and silver blades and translucent skirts for clear water. White and chartreuse skirts, with orange blades are for muddy water.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The mag willow has more thump and wider water displacement for dirty water conditions, while keeping the bait higher in the water column, and thus longer in the strike zone. “I want to wind it as slow as possible and keep the blade thumping. Smaller blades will make the bait sink and fall outside the strike zone.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Brandon Palaniuk
Favorite bait: Rapala BX Brat 06 squarebill crankbait.
Why he uses it: Numerous Top 10s on multiple river systems makes it a tried-and-true bait. “It’s super stable and runs true no matter the retrieve speed.”
Favorite bait: Rapala BX Brat 06 squarebill crankbait.
Why he uses it: Numerous Top 10s on multiple river systems makes it a tried-and-true bait. “It’s super stable and runs true no matter the retrieve speed.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech features: The V-cut belly and semi-flat sides produce a unique action for a squarebill crankbait. “The bait has a bigger lip on a smaller body,” said Palaniuk. “The angle of the bill makes it deflect really well through the cover, and it won’t get stuck in the riprap.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Randy Sullivan
Favorite bait: 7-inch PowerBait Power Worm, blue flake.
Why he uses it: Versatility. Texas rig it for flipping, pitching and casting to cover.
Favorite bait: 7-inch PowerBait Power Worm, blue flake.
Why he uses it: Versatility. Texas rig it for flipping, pitching and casting to cover.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: Sullivan uses a 3/8-ounce weight. “I cast it out, and leave it on the bottom like I’m bottom fishing for catfish,” said Sullivan. “The tail is flapping and quivering with the current, and the bass can’t resist it."
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Brian Snowden
Favorite bait: Bagley Balsa B crankbait, 1970s era, with the brass eyes. Snowden collects the relics and only uses them on competition days.
Why he uses it: The balsa is more buoyant than plastic and it actually backs up, allowing you to fish it through laydowns and stumps without getting hung up. It runs about 4 feet, which is ideal for the shallow strike zone favored by river bass.
Favorite bait: Bagley Balsa B crankbait, 1970s era, with the brass eyes. Snowden collects the relics and only uses them on competition days.
Why he uses it: The balsa is more buoyant than plastic and it actually backs up, allowing you to fish it through laydowns and stumps without getting hung up. It runs about 4 feet, which is ideal for the shallow strike zone favored by river bass.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The brass harness causes the bait to kick sideways like it’s deflecting off cover. “A lot of times we try and make our lures deflect off the cover, but this bait does that on a straight retrieve,” said Snowden.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Luke Palmer
Favorite bait: BOOYAH prototype swim jig.
Why he uses it: The head design catches more water to keep the swim jig higher in the water, and longer in the strike zone.
Favorite bait: BOOYAH prototype swim jig.
Why he uses it: The head design catches more water to keep the swim jig higher in the water, and longer in the strike zone.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The triangle shaped head and a line tie below the wide gap hook enable better hookup ratios. The line tie is also parallel with the hook shank for a better action.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Brandon Lester
Favorite bait: Buzzbait designed for the blade to make contact with the head, and a soft plastic frog trailer.
Why he uses it: “Buzzbaits get a lot of attention and produce reaction strikes for docile fish in river systems,” said Lester. “The flat shape of the frog allows me to skip it beneath docks for more coverage.”
Favorite bait: Buzzbait designed for the blade to make contact with the head, and a soft plastic frog trailer.
Why he uses it: “Buzzbaits get a lot of attention and produce reaction strikes for docile fish in river systems,” said Lester. “The flat shape of the frog allows me to skip it beneath docks for more coverage.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The blade is designed to strike the head of the bait to make a loud, annoying clatter that is irresistible to the bass.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Justin Atkins
Favorite bait: Berkley PowerBait Chigger Bug, in green pumpkin, white and blue sapphire.
Why he uses it: A versatile do-it-all soft plastic bait that makes an ideal trailer for bladed jigs, swim jigs and flipping/pitching jigs. It can be fished solo as a Texas rig. “River systems always have crawfish in the forage, and I can cut down on the number of soft plastics that I carry in the boat,” said Atkins.
Favorite bait: Berkley PowerBait Chigger Bug, in green pumpkin, white and blue sapphire.
Why he uses it: A versatile do-it-all soft plastic bait that makes an ideal trailer for bladed jigs, swim jigs and flipping/pitching jigs. It can be fished solo as a Texas rig. “River systems always have crawfish in the forage, and I can cut down on the number of soft plastics that I carry in the boat,” said Atkins.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The leg design produces a tight kicking action. “More often than not, a soft plastic trailer with a tight action will get reaction strikes from aggressive and docile bass, so you don’t need multiple baits.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Chris Zaldain
Favorite bait: Megabass 6-inch Magdraft Freestyle Swimbait, Albino or White Back Shad, with a 7/0 Trokar Swim Blade Hook.
Why he uses it: You get a shad imitating bait that is ideal for a shad spawn, with the flash and vibration of a spinnerbait.
Favorite bait: Megabass 6-inch Magdraft Freestyle Swimbait, Albino or White Back Shad, with a 7/0 Trokar Swim Blade Hook.
Why he uses it: You get a shad imitating bait that is ideal for a shad spawn, with the flash and vibration of a spinnerbait.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Tech feature: The Inline head makes the lure weedless, and there’s a spring keeper that makes precise rigging easier. The extra wide gap accommodates larger-bodied swimbaits. “I can fish it in heavy cover without getting hung up,” said Zaldain.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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