11 Best Smallmouth Bass Lures That Never Fail (Catch More, Bite After Bite)

Hola! Welcome to my review of the best smallmouth bass lures.

Smallmouth bass are often found in areas where the bottom is sandy or rocky. When they’re hungry, they’ll devour your lures with a passion. You’d better make sure your smallmouth bass lures can withstand these bites.

Lucky for you, we’ve compiled the best lures to catch more smallmouth bass right here. Let’s get started.

Be sure to check out the best spinning reels for bass as well!

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Best Small Soft Plastics

Small soft plastics are the lure that works when all else fails. They may not have as good action as other fishing lures, but they present such an easy meal that any fish will find it hard to resist taking a bite, and as such are big bass producers.

Best Overall

1. Strike King Coffee Tube

Tube jigs are one of the best types of fishing lures for bed fishing. Given that smallmouth bass like to lurk in deeper water like rocky and sandy bottoms, you’ll need a lure like this to get the job done. Aside from being well-suited for smallmouth fishing on water floors, this lure gives off a caffeinated scent, hence the name “Coffee Tube”. This scent appeals to bass and has a good presentation that provides lots of action.

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Best For Dropshotting

2. Yamamoto Senko Worm

The Yamamoto Senko is the best smallmouth bass lure for dropshotting. The flimsy nature of the Yamamoto Senko makes it wag its tail in an irresistible presentation when dropshotting. Among soft plastic worms, this one takes the top spot for dropshotting.

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Best Scent

3. Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Worm

Next up, the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent is for when you want a worm you can cast and wait. Fishes just can’t resist the PowerBait material’s scent that reaches far and wide. You’ll be able to reach even bass that can’t see your lure with its smell. 

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Best Blade Bait

Let’s begin with blade baits. To clarify, blade baits are also crankbaits, but they have a treble hook at each end.

Best Blade Bait

4. Heddon Sonar

One of the best smallmouth lures, the Heddon Sonar, like all blade baits, was designed to draw out reaction bites from fishes. No lure does this job for smallmouth bass better than the Heddon Sonar. Not only is the action tempting to bass, but the flash from its shiny body is also hard to resist.

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Best Jigs

You won’t see any angler without at least a jig or two. Jigs are a staple of anglers fishing for smallmouth bass simply because you can use them no matter what time of the year it is. They’re also known to be one of the best for large smallmouth bass, so you definitely want to have a couple of these in your arsenal.

They’re also great largemouth lures and these lures work for largemouth bass too.

Best Dark Jig

5. Outkast Tackle Feider Fly

Designed by pro angler Seth Feider, you can be sure this lure is backed by years of pro angling experience. Do make sure to get the 1/8 ounces version. Also, I was only able to find the dark colour options, so I included the next lure for bright colours.

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Best Bright Jig

6. Spro Hair Jig

As you can tell, this is no normal lure. This new way of positioning the head and the eyelet makes this lure more realistic than other hair jigs. For those looking for a bright-coloured bucktail jig, look no further.

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Best Jerkbait

Sometimes, when the smallmouth bass aren’t biting, you might just need a jerkbait. The way these smallmouth lures imitate distressed baitfish is just unmatched by other smallmouth lures.

Best Jerkbait

7. Rapala X-Rap XR10 Jerkbait

This is my number 1 lure whenever I need a jerkbait. Other jerkbaits just can’t match its action or its rattle. It’s able to slice through water quickly, resulting in an unrivalled darting motion. And the rattle further agitates smallmouth bass to come after this lure.

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Best Crankbait And Spinnerbait

Crankbaits and spinnerbaits aren’t must-haves, but they have their own charm that can outperform even small soft plastic lures at times.

Best Crankbait

8. Rebel Crawfish

First up, the rebel crawfish is an interesting but effective crankbait. It’s not every day that you see a crawfish crankbait. I’ve found that it works better than any crankbait I have. My guess is it’s because of its unbelievably realistic colour scheme. It looks exactly like an actual crawfish. This lure works best on the bottom of whatever waters you want to catch fish in because that’s where crawfish can be found.

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Best Spinnerbait

9. Booyah Blade

Next up, the Booyah Blade took the top spot among spinnerbaits because of its uncanny ability to mimic swimming baitfish. It works especially well on smallmouth bass, and its ultra-tough components help it stand up to those feeding aggressively.

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Topwater Lures

Another classic, topwater lures shine in calm waters. If it’s a peaceful day with no waves, whip out these good smallmouth bass lures to snag a trophy smallmouth.

Best Topwater Lure

10. Rapala X-Rap Pop

When it comes to topwater lures, this lure has no equal. Firstly, the arched body shape creates loud splashes with the slightest movement, which means no fish can miss it when you’re dragging it along with your boat. The lifelike eyes and colour pattern add to the attractiveness. Lastly, its internal rattle beckons smallmouth bass of all sizes to come closer and get a piece of the meal.

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Best Runner-Up

11. Heddon Super Spook Jr

This smallmouth bass lure was engineered to handle super strong bites. It also has a streamlined body to cruise through water with ease. Its red and white design has been proven time and again to work like magic for smallmouth bass fishing. During retrieval, it resembles an injured baitfish that smallmouth bass love to go after.

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My Verdict

These smallmouth bass lures are guaranteed to help you reel them in as long as you use them right.

That said, it’s always good to have a variety of different fishing lures for smallmouth bass. For smallmouth anglers who are cash-strapped or on a budget though, you’ll want to get the Strike King Coffee Tube. It’s the only lure you’ll ever need for smallmouth bass fishing.

Alternatively, since smallmouth typically eat crayfish, you can catch some of your own for free. Otherwise, if you prefer using lures, you can pick one from this list of popular smallmouth lures.

If you’ve found the smallmouth bass lure that you wanted, you might be looking for a rod and reel to go with it. For targeting bass, while many anglers prefer baitcasting gear, some still prefer spinning gear. As such, here are the best bass fishing rods and the best baitcasting reels and best spinning reels to go with them.