All Available Types of Fishing Lures: Which is Best?

It can certainly be confusing when you look through a local tackle store’s myriad of options for fishing lures. There are several different types of fishing lures and they all vary in design and shape with some having bibs and others having distinct motions, hooks, and colors.

Thankfully, there’s a way to narrow down the thousands of options you have into a couple of simple categories.

Different Kinds of Lures and Their Uses

There’s no one size fits all solution when it comes to fishing lures as it will depend on the fish that you’re looking to get.

We’ll give you a list of the different kinds of lures with information on how each type works and its application. Let’s start!

Skirted Trolling Lure

A common type of fishing bait, a skirted trolling lure is designed for you to pull it from behind a boat with a trolling motor rushing at a fairly high speed as you chase big game fish such as marlin, tuna, and sailfish.

Lots of modern skirt trolling lures were produced in Hawaii for chasing yellowfin tuna and blue marlin.

The wriggling of the skirt around a bullet-shaped head will give off lots of motion on water and this is what attracts predatory fish from a considerable distance.

When choosing between different skirts, don’t choose the cheapest options as they’re likely to be ineffective or will easily render useless. Always select quality every time.

Crankbait

Out of all the fishing lure types, the crankbait is among the most popular and simplest forms of lure used in the US.

It’s named crankbait from the way it is used, which is cranking your reel. The lure is designed to move on the water in a particular way and at a particular depth with the normal retrieval speed.

The only thing that you may need to adjust is the speed of your lure retrieve. Just place the lure on the water surface then retrieve it when you see it dive and move the lure in a motion which can attract fish.

Jerkbait

From all the types of fishing lures, jerkbait is the one that’s most suited for retrieving quickly for a couple of seconds then stopping again for a couple of seconds to create a jerking motion.

A jerkbait doesn’t have any nose bib which will control its depth on water, which means it is going to sink on casting. To control its depth, give a couple of seconds for the lure to sink prior to retrieving it.

Spinnerbait

A spinnerbait has a spinning body that creates a quick motion when it’s retrieved. It gives off both noise and motion which can attract fish that’s nearby.

Spinnerbaits are used primarily for predatory fish like perch, pike, and bass.

Spoons

A spoon lure consists of a weed guard made of metal and it’s attached around a hook. This guard is what gives the bait a spinning motion while on water and reflective light that can capture the attention of fish.

A spoon’s movement is based on its thickness and shape so getting a couple of different sizes will provide you with the flexibility to adjust when you’re targeting different species.

Soft Plastic

Soft plastic bait is made of plastic and it has a weighted body that has a protruding hook. The hook often protrudes upwards to give it protection from weed and structure.

Among the different types of fishing lures, soft plastics gained immense popularity as they’re very easy to use.

This means they constantly come out with various sizes and shapes like mice and frogs. You can use soft plastic for almost any kind of fish.

Fly Fishing Fly

When you’re fly fishing with the best fly fishing rods, you would use flies in mimicking bugs and insects which are native to where you’re fishing.

This means that you have to be aware of the shape, color, and size of the local bugs. If you can get close to the characteristics of the food of your target, regardless of whether it’s salmon or trout, you’ll enjoy more success.

Jigs

Jigs have sinkers and hooks attached to them. They’re covered in soft plastic with the head moving up and down the water while the body or hook follows it as real fish would.

The jig is among the types of fishing lures that are available in various colors and shapes as they’ve grown in popularity.

You can get jigs that resemble real bait like frog jigs. You can also purchase fishing jigs which can suit almost all fishing purposes.

Squid Jig

As its name suggests, a squid jig is designed for catching squid. It doesn’t have the regular fishing hook; however, it comes with upward-facing prongs.

The prongs are what get caught in squid’s tentacles. You need to retrieve the lure constantly so the squid doesn’t swim away or let go of the prongs.

Topwater Lure

Also called a surface lure, this is the type of bait that does exactly as you’d expect: it stays on the surface of the water.

It’s particularly useful when fishing for species that eat bugs and insects like bass. A topwater lure mimics the local insect population.

It’s great to use whenever there’s thick underwater vegetation. Target species of topwater lures include tarpon, redfish, and bass.

Conclusion

Which do you think you need from the aforementioned types of fishing lures? We’ve personally had a lot of success with all of them.

But, there’s a need to understand the species that you’re targeting, the size that you need, and the depth of the water where you have to place the lures.

Remember that the main thing to consider when choosing a lure is whether or not it mimics the target fish’s diet. Also, in terms of size, both small and big size fish can strike small lures while only bigger fish will be able to strike big lures.

This is just an overview of the most common types of bait. Let us know if you want a more comprehensive guide by commenting below!