The first, is the all time favorite. Brought around in 1949 by Mr. Nick Creme, the Plastic Worm. This thing has caught more fish than all other baits combined probably. You can’t go wrong with a 4″ plastic worm with a curly tail in either green pumpkin, or junebug. Guaranteed fish catcher, just change up your presentation.

Second in the list, is the Rapala Floating Minnow. This thing is a topwater spook-type bait, or a shallow diving crankbait, depending on what the fish prefer that day. One other thing I like about the Minnow, is the ability to dead-stick it. I have caught more fish taking a break and talking for a second, then moving the bait again, than any other presentation. On an ultralight fishing rod with light line, these ultralight lures fly a country mile! Pick up the F4 size, it is perfect for ultralight gear.

The next would have to be a grub. The good old 2″ plastic grub. It doesn’t look like much, a little round body with a curly tail, on a jig head. To a fish though, it is exactly what they want. A slow moving, chunk of food. You can fish it deep to shallow, slow or fast. You can even burn the tail on top of the water like a buzzbait! I prefer green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, or black, with black jig heads on both.

Fourth is the spinnerbait. I like a Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 ounce. The 1/8 ounce baits just don’t do it for me for some reason. I have had some decent size (or what I believe) fish break them. The Pond Magics hold up, but after a few months of steady catching fish, you do have to replace the skirt. You can pick up replacements easily though, online. I like the Chartreuse color for muddy water, and the White with Gold Blades for stained and clear water.

The last, but not the least, the skirted jig. Yes, even on an ultralight line, these things are proven “big” fish catchers. You will catch a lot of fish on ultralight gear, but your spinnerbait, and jig fish are going to be bigger. There is something to the bulk of the bait that pushes smaller fish out. When it comes to jig fishing, I prefer the Booyah Bitsy Bug 3/16 ounce, and 1/4 ounce. For clear water I will use the Green / Brown color they provide, and for stained water I will use black and blue. For the really muddy water, I will add a small glass rattle to help the fish locate the bait.

So there you have it. 5 Must Have Baits for Ultralight Fishing. I hope you get as much use out of these 5 lures as I have! Until next time, remember to subscribe to our RSS newsletter!

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Let’s start off with some bottom baits, like the plastic worm, and skirted jig. These baits are known for their “hopping” type of retrieve. This is because this is one of the most effective methods of retrieving these lures. However, some days, you are required to just dead stick it. By this, I mean, as soon as your bait hits the water, begin counting. Watch the line to be sure it isn’t grabbed on the way to the bottom.

Count to 30 seconds. Once you reach 30, slightly twitch the bait. (I mean slightly! I make it move just enough to get the skirt to breathe, or the tail of the worm to wiggle.) There is something about this technique that makes the fish, at least in my opinion, believe that the lure was stunned for a second, and still had a little quiver left in it. Whatever the fish believe, this is an effective presentation for worms, and skirted jigs!

So, when hopping doesn’t get you bit with a jig, try dead sticking it for a change of pace. Sometimes if dead sticking it doesn’t work, go back to hopping, but change up the speed of the hops. From faster, to slower, and make the hops kind of erratic. You’re just testing to see what they want to bite on that day is all.

Next up on the list, some middle of the water column, or swimming type baits. We’ll throw on a crankbait, and a spinnerbait. Most people tend to just cast and crank with a crankbait. This is a highly effective strategy if you are around timber, or something you can bang the lure against. This is a big no-no with Ultralight Fishing however. You will snap lines, and lose money if you attempt to bang your ultralight crankbaits off of debris underwater.

To remedy this, instead of casting and cranking, try letting the bait float to the surface, for a half second or a little longer if necessary. Essentially the same as deadsticking a worm, just not allowing the bait to rise too much, these things float pretty well. But I believe the fish thinks that the little bait stopped for a second, saw the bigger fish, and took off again. It is as soon as I start reeling after the pause that I get vicious strikes on a crankbait.

The spinnerbait can really be fished at all depths, and this is the one ultralight fishing lure that you can use around debris due to its completely weedless nature. If you slow roll it, or allow it to sink to the bottom, and reel just quick enough to make the blades flutter, you can catch fish most of the time. However, when they are in a finicky mood, hop it along like a jig. You will get bit this way as well. When they are very active, or actively feeding, usually around dawn and dusk, you can burn the blades across the top of the water like a buzzbait. You get some nice topwater strikes this way.

On overcast days, try either burning it on top of the water just fast enough to make the blades flutter and splash, or by “waking” it just beneath the surface. You can wake the bait by allowing it to sink 1-2 inches, and then reeling fast enough to create a wake bulge on the surface. It is easier to perform with larger baits, but it can be done with ultralights. The fish key in on the v shape of the wake, and it is like a blood trail. You can see the fish come from below to attack it, crazy feeling!

So the fish are actively feeding, around dawn or dusk? Break out the topwater lures! In this category I will include my all time favorites, the floating minnow, and the popper. If the fish are in a neutral mood, break out the popper. Cast it out, and let the rings disappear. Once they are gone, test to find out what the fish want, by popping once, allow the rings to settle, and then twitch the bait. If that doesn’t get you bit, gradually get more aggressive, with fewer pauses between the pops. The most effective retrieve for me using a popper is to cast it, and then give it to small pops, let it sit, then twitch it. This will usually get you bit.

Last one up for the article, the floating minnow, or jointed floating minnow. You can use this thing as a shallow crankbait, and repeat what I discussed above, or as a jerkbait, get it down, and give it a jerk or two. If the fish are active, it will appear as a dying prey item to them. You also use this bait as a topwater plug.

When the clouds are out, and the sun is behind them, the fish look up for food. This is the perfect time to throw topwater. You cast this bait out to a fishy looking spot, and let it sit like you would a popper. Begin to slowly reel, keeping the bait on top of the water for a foot or so. Let it rest again. Continue doing this, being patient, all the way back to you. You will get bit.

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The first, is an all time favorite, and definate classic by any definition. Brought around in 1949 by Mr. Nick Creme, the plastic worm has been catching fish longer than many of us have been around. You can’t go wrong with a 4″ plastic worm with a curly tail, in either green pumpkin, or junebug. Guaranteed fish catcher. If you aren’t getting bit, change your presentation.

Second up is the Rapala Floating Minnow. The jointed version of this lure acts like a topwater spook type bait, but when you reel faster it acts like a shallow diving crankbait. Either way, when the fish are active, this is one of my go-to baits. One thing I do like about the floating minnow is the ability to dead stick it. I have caught more fish, taking a break and talking, then moving it again, than any other presentation. The F4 size in silver with black back is a perfect color in just about any water.

The next one is the classic grub. The good old plastic 2″ grub. It doesn’t look like much, a little round body with a curly tail, on a jig head. To a fish though, it is exactly what they want. A slow moving, chunk of food. You can fish it deep to shallow, fast or slow. Try burning the tail across the top of the water like a buzzbait in the morning or evenings. I use green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, or even black. Black jig heads on both.

Fourth on the list, is the Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 ounce spinnerbait. We all know that spinnerbaits catch fish. Swim them along the bottom, just fast enough to let the blades flutter, jig it, burn it on top, or wake it just below the surface. These things catch fish, plain and simple. I like the firetiger color for muddy water, and the white with copper blades for stained water. I don’t fish much clear water, but if you do, try White/Silver/Chartreuse mix, with silver blades.

Last, but not the least, is the skirted jig. Even on ultralight fishing gear, these things are proven “big” fish catchers. You catch a grip of fish on ultralight gear, but the skirt jig weeds out the smaller fish. I rarely catch a fish under 1lb using a skirted jig and trailer fishing in ponds.

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Have you tried tossing a jig lately? They are guaranteed big fish baits, so why haven’t you? In this case, we are going to scale down sizes a bit, instead of targeting just LARGE fish, we’re gonna empty the pond! Find out how to fish it!

Start by lightly flipping one of these baits using a spinning rod. Pick any spot along the bank that is different than the rest. The spots that usually stick out to your eyes are the places where bass are grouping. They like different settings too! Get the jig to softly land in the water, and let it sit for a few seconds. Give it a light hop or two to get it in motion, and then just squeeze your rod handle to make the hairs breathe a bit. The bass are going to eat it up. Most of the time, the fish will just suck the bait up, and you won’t feel anything. Other times, you might feel a light “tick”. Set the hook.

Around standing timber, and docks are also good places to toss the Booyah Bitsy Bug. Letting these lightweight baits fall along pylons, and stick ups are great for thumping bass on top of the nose. The small profile even allows you to skip the jig up underneath the dock to work it back to you. There are many applications, and I have even learned that on some days, the bass just prefer it swimming along the bottom. I prefer using the black/blue and the green/brown colors in both 1/8 and 1/4 oz depending on the wind or current.

We all know that jigs are big bass baits, but what about the smaller versions, like the Booyah Bitsy Bug jig? These smaller 1/8th and 1/4 oz models pack a mighty punch. Throwing them in a few key areas will help you catch a lot more fish. You may not catch all of the trophies in the pond, but you will make up for it in numbers.

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