Edited by: Kenneth Reaves
Reviewed by: Michael DarmontLast Update:
The Rundown
Best Overall: Mister Twister Lil' Bit (click to see)
“No other lure stands out better in sandy bottoms than the Mister Twister Lil Bit. Its curly tail’s got a lot of action and its bright color attracts any white bass hanging out at the bottom.”
Best Budget Option: Yakima Bait Rooster Tail (click to see)
“If you want an affordable lure with flash action and swift moves through the water like the minnows they feed on, you can’t go wrong with the Yakima Rooster Tail.”
Easiest To Use: SPRO Bucktail Jig (click to see)
“The SPRO Jig is ideal for beginners since you can use it right out of the box and only needs simple straight retrieves. It comes attached to its jig head and is ready to tie onto your line.”
White bass is a blast to catch. Once you find a school, you can snag one on nearly every cast. The mild fish has tender and flaky meat, making it a great choice to target to put meat in the freezer.
White bass primarily feeds on minnows, so the lures you want to use will mimic their natural food. Try to use small lures around ⅜ ounce or smaller, as you’ll get the most success on these. They need to have plenty of action or flash, so once you’re on the fish, they’ll readily take your lure.
To get you on the right track, we’ve put together this guide of seven of the best white bass lures. We’ll also be giving you some information to help you find, identify, and catch them.
Best Lures To Catch White Bass
Our Top 7 Picks
Best Overall
Mister Twister Lil’ Bit
Best Overall White Bass Fishing Lure
The 1-inch length is perfect for mimicking small minnows
A ton of action that fits in their mouths
Best Budget Option
Yakima Bait Rooster Tail
Best Budget White Bass Fishing Lure
Tail hair pulsates in the water, mimicking baitfish
An affordable yet effective option
Easiest To Use
SPRO Bucktail Jig
Easiest To Use White Bass Fishing Lure
Jighead attached and sinks quickly in the water
Ready to go out of the package
Classic lure
Acme Little Cleo Spoon
Classic White Bass Fishing Lure
Tried and true baitfish mimic
Spoons for any body of water
best soft bait
Bass Assassin Tiny Shad
Best Soft White Bass Fishing Lure
Pair with a small jig head of preference
Scented attractant helps get bites
Most Versatile
SteelShad Lipless Crankbait
Most Versatile White Bass Fishing Lure
Stainless steel and coated hooks resist corrosion
Any retrieval in any depth
Best Premium Option
Googan Squad Scout Jr
Best Premium White Bass Fishing Lure
Suspends in water like a natural baitfish
Hang a bait right in front of the fish
Table of Contents
Best Lures For White Bass 2021
These are the best white bass lures you need to have in your tackle box:
- Mister Twister Lil' Bit
- Yakima Bait Rooster Tail
- SPRO Bucktail Jig
- Acme Little Cleo Spoon
- Bass Assassin Tiny Shad
- SteelShad Lipless Crankbait
- Googan Squad Scout Jr
Mister Twister Lil’ Bit
Best Overall: A ton of action that fits in their mouths
KEY FEATURES
- The 1-inch length is perfect for mimicking small minnows
- The curly tail provides plenty of action for attracting fish
- Comes in a variety of colors to choose from
White bass will readily take baits once you get their attention, and the curly tail on this grub is perfect. The colors it comes in include chartreuse and pink, making it stand out on the sandy bottoms and in deep water when the bass are hanging out there.
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Lure Details
The lure size is perfect for white bass, as they feed on small minnows and have relatively small mouths. Coming in at one inch, these grubs have a curly tail that creates a ton of action in the water to help get the fish’s attention. Rigged with a small jig head or just on a small weighted hook, this lure works in any situation you’re targeting white bass.
How to Use It
White bass spook easily, so with some lures, you’ll want to cast beyond where the fish are holding and retrieve your lure into them. With this one, you should be able to cast right into the fish. Let the lure sink for a few beats, and then give it a steady, medium-speed retrieve. If you’ve found a school of white bass, you can expect them to hit this lure in almost every cast.
Yakima Bait Rooster Tail
Best Budget Option: An affordable yet effective white bass fishing lure
KEY FEATURES
- Flash plate creates noise and flashes going through the water
- Comes in a variety of sizes, with ⅛ ounce being best for white bass
- Tail hair pulsates in the water, mimicking baitfish
When you’re looking for white bass lures, you want something with flash action that moves through the water like the minnows they feed on. The Yakima Bait Rooster Tail checks all the boxes and comes in various sizes and colors to match what works best in your area. This lure works for any angler aiming to catch white bass and in most environments.
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Lure Details
The Yakima Bait Rooster Tail comes with a flash plate and a hair-tail that creates a lot of action and flash in the water. The tail pulsates on retrieval, mimicking the tail movement of small fish. It also has a thin body with an eye to help with it looking more realistic. The treble hook on end is the perfect hook for this lure and will hook the hungry fish quickly.
How to Use It
A simple retrieve is all you need for this lure, so it works well for beginners. Cast out beyond where the fish are holding and give your lure a medium-speed retrieval through their school. If you can get it across their faces, white bass should readily eat the lure up.
SPRO Bucktail Jig
Easiest To Use: Ready to go out of the package
KEY FEATURES
- Ready to use out of the package
- Bucktail mimics fishtail in the water
- Jighead attached and sinks quickly in the water
Bucktail jigs are easy to use since they come ready-to-use right out of the package and only need simple straight retrieves to be effective. You’ll want to use the smallest size you can find, at least the ⅜ ounce size, when targeting white bass. The tail section pulses in the water and makes it look like a baitfish swimming.
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Lure Details
The one-piece lure comes attached to its jig head and is ready to tie onto your line. It hides a sharp hook in its tail hairs, which pulse and move in the water, looking like the tail of a small prey fish. It also has eyes on its body, increasing the realistic look of the lure.
How to Use It
Bucktail jigs work on a variety of retrieves, but a simple straight one works well. Throw in some tiny twitches and pauses to help tempt fish into biting. This lure works exceptionally well in deeper water, thanks to its fast-sinking nature.
Acme Little Cleo Spoon
Classic Lure: Spoons for any body of water
KEY FEATURES
- Tried and true baitfish mimic
- Bright finish flashes in all water depths
- Treble snags fish on strikes
Spoons are classic fishing lures used in all bodies of water. Thanks to its flashy action in the water, a small spoon like the Acme Little Cleo Spoon works excellent for white bass. They work great for beginner anglers and kids since they’re easy to use and easily replaceable.
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Lure Details
This spoon is available in quite a few different colors and patterns. Nearly any of them will work, but we recommend either the gold or hammered nickel for their flash. The ⅜ ounce size is small enough to fit in white bass mouths and mimic their favorite prey.
How to Use It
Simple cast and retrieval will work well with a spoon. Throw in a few twitches to help get the fish’s attention. As with the other larger white bass lures on the list, try to cast beyond the school you’re targeting and retrieve the lure across the faces of the fish instead of casting directly onto them.
Bass Assassin Tiny Shad
Best Soft Bait Minnow Mimic: Plus an added scent to assist in attracting fish
KEY FEATURES
- Four colors to choose from
- Pair with a small jig head of preference
- Scented attractant helps get bites
These small soft plastics work great on a small jig head to mimic the minnows white bass are after. They have added scent to assist in attracting fish and can be paired with any small jig head of your choosing. Bass Assassin Tiny Shad works better for veteran anglers, as the retrieval needs to be mixed up, and it doesn’t come ready to use.
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Lure Details
The small soft plastics look like little minnow bodies in the water. They don’t provide action on their own, so the action is on the angler using the lure. What makes them stand out is the bass assassin scent added to them, which helps draw in the fish you’re after
How to Use It
Once rigged on a jighead, you can use standard retrievals with the lure, bounce it across the bottom, or twitch it back to you. Thanks to its scent, once you find the white bass, they should strike the lure quickly, believing it to be a wounded minnow and an easy meal.
SteelShad Lipless Crankbait
Most Versatile: Any retrieval in any depth
KEY FEATURES
- Blade body cuts through water and creates plenty of flashes
- Gives a ton of action with simple retrievals and low effort
- Stainless steel and coated hooks resist corrosion
If you’re looking for a versatile lure, look no further than the SteelShad Lipless Crankbait. They can be retrieved with straight retrieves, twitches, or even trolled. With minimal effort, the blade lures act like jerk baits and swimbaits, making them rattle and move around like crazy to attract fish. They work in most environments, but they’re perfect for bank anglers because they cast incredibly far for their weight.
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Lure Details
The standout for these white bass lures is that each one is made of stainless steel and features coated hooks that allow them to last longer than other lures. In addition to this, they wobble much more than you expect, creating a ton of action. You can choose from various colors, and they’ll catch plenty of fish, even fish that aren’t white bass.
How to Use It
The great thing about these white bass lures is you can use them in almost any way. Cast and retrieve, jig it, or even troll it at most depths. Again, try to cast beyond the fish, and retrieve it into them, so you don’t spook the school you’ve found. Try out a few different retrievals, and then use whichever one produces the best results.
Googan Squad Scout Jr Crankbait
Best Premium Option: Hang a bait right in front of the fish
KEY FEATURES
- Suspends in water like a natural baitfish
- Looks and moves like a baitfish
- Dual treble hooks work great for snagging fish
The best part about the Googan Crankbaits is that they suspend in the water when you pause your retrieval. This is normal behavior for prey fish and drives white bass crazy. While not cheap, the lure catches white bass and works best for anglers on sandy bottoms and humps in lakes.
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Lure Details
Coming in a variety of colors, this crankbait can mimic different baitfish. The bone-white works well in most circumstances, but try to match colors with the natural bait in your area. It suspends in the water, making it look more like a realistic minnow. It also features dual treble hooks, which will help increase your odds of a hookup when fish strike.
How to Use It
This lure works best with a classic jerkbait retrieval, twitch-twitch-pause. Since it hangs in the water, the twitches get the fish’s attention and expect bites when you pause. The lure is a little large, so use it when you’re on bigger white bass to make sure they can get their mouths around it.
Factors To Consider When White Bass Fishing
Season
In the Spring, white bass moves into smaller creeks and lake outlets to spawn. Then, during the rest of the year, they spread out across larger lakes and bodies of water. To find them, look for birds diving and schools of shad. They’ll usually be on the bottom underneath the schools of shad.
White bass doesn’t look for cover but travels around in packs. Look for humps and ridges in lakes to help locate them as well. The best time of year to fish them is during their spawn, when they’re more concentrated and easy to find.
Water temperature
When it comes to water temperature, white bass act much like other species of fish. When water temperatures are warmer, you can find them easier in shallow waters, especially when they’re spawning. During colder months, white bass migrates to the deeper areas of the body of water, staying where the water temperature is warmer.
Lures
White bass lures need to be small enough to fit in their mouth and match their typical prey. The best lures mimic the small minnows or shad they primarily feed on. Other lures with plenty of flash, action, and rattles that help attract the fish and tempt them to strike work well.
While white bass feed aggressively and in packs, they are still skittish. It’s important to avoid casting directly at them, as it can scare them away rather than trigger a bite. The best practice with any lure is to cast beyond where the fish are located and retrieve your lure through the school. Once you’ve found a school, you can hook a white bass on nearly every cast, thanks to their aggressive feeding habits.
Types Of White Bass Lures
Artificial
Artificial lures are what we’ve listed in this article. Soft or hard plastics and fake baits are made to mimic actual prey species. The best part about artificial lures is their reusability. You can use the same lure over and over during the day and on many white bass fishing trips until it breaks beyond repair. Compared to the cost of natural baits, artificial lures are also typically more cost-effective if you aren’t catching your baits.
Natural
Natural baits are either live or dead fish or other creatures used as bait. White bass will readily eat shad and other minnows used as bait. Unlike artificial lures, you typically get one cast per bait, and over time it can add up to be more expensive. Some fish prefer natural baits and will hit real baits more readily than artificial baits. You can also catch your natural bait, whether you’re digging worms or netting small fish to use before you head out for your white bass fishing trip.
Questions & Answers
How do you identify white bass?
White bass can be easily confused with striped and hybrid bass, thanks to them looking very much the same. To make sure you’ve just reeled in white bass.
White bass typically has a smaller head and a small hunchback. Unlike their cousins, they have yellow eyes and are mostly silver-colored with dark greenbacks. If you’re still unsure, check the back of the tongue, white bass has one or two patches of teeth there that help distinguish them from other basses.
Where does white bass live?
White bass is a typical fish across North America. In the United States, they range from the Mississippi River Basin down to Louisiana and into the Rio Grande River in Texas and New Mexico. They’re also found in The Great Lakes and Canada, making them very widespread across the continent.
In each region, the spawning time is dependent on the season and temperature. This causes the white bass to spawn at different times in the year. It also makes the best time of year to fish for white bass vary by region.
What is the best tackle for white bass?
Light tackle is the best for white bass. They might be pretty strong for their size, but they still don’t put up too much of a fight. You’d have no trouble catching them on children’s fishing rods.
To get the most fun out of the fish and match the small lures needed, we recommend going with a light action rod and a light line around a five to ten-pound test. For the most part, white bass only grows to around four pounds, so this should be plenty for you to bring them in.