8 Best Fishing Lures 2021

Key Specs
• Target Species: Trout
• Lure Type: Artificial bait

PowerBait has a reputation for working so well, it’s almost cheating. Part of the secret is that these dough-like nuggets are modeled after the food trout are fed at fish hatcheries where many of the nation’s trout are raised before being released in lakes, rivers, and streams. 

Just hook one of the nuggets onto a small bait hook and either let it float in a current or use a bobber to let the nugget hang in the water column. PowerBait is a great lure for kids and beginners to get a taste of success; just try to set the hook quickly as trout tend to swallow the bait whole.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Bass
• Lure Type: Crankbait

Freshwater bass are a predator species that are notoriously aggressive and fun to fish because of their aggressive strikes. Growing up in the Finger Lakes, I enjoyed trying to get bass to breach with topwater lures, but these diving, rattling crankbaits from Runcl are nearly as fun.

Multiple internal rattles draw attention as does the tight wobbling action on the retrieve, which displaces water and alerts the predator fish such as bass. The lures aren’t cheap, but they’re well-made and effective. Change up your retrieval speed to dive to different depths and search the water column for your trophy bass.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Bass, pike
• Lure Type: Topwater

When freshwater fishing shallow bogs and grass beds, topwater lures such as this frog imitator from Rebel are a great choice to generate powerful strikes from predator fish such as bass and pike. Twin treble hooks at the tail and underbelly ensure a hook set no matter where the fish strikes from.

A realistic color pattern mimics actual frog prey, but it’s the action of the lure that really sells it to the fish. This lure is meant to displace lots of water and create disturbance, so use a herky-jerky retrieval style such as “walk the dog” or in this case, “walk the frog.”

Key Specs
• Target Species: Panfish, bass
• Lure Type: Soft bait

Hauling out a stringer full of panfish, such as bluegill and sunfish, is a timeless treat many anglers forget about. Often an accidental catch when fishing for bass, panfish are great table fare and can be great fun to fish. The classic lure for panfish is a short grub such as Strike King’s Rage Tail Twin Tail.

The twin tail displaces water and draws the fish’s attention with a flipping action in the tail on retrieval. Hook the grub on a simple bait hook and retrieve slowly for a simple, throwback fishing experience. The grub is also a great option with a bobber or as a trailer on a jig or chatterbait.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Trout
• Lure Type: Fly

Any serious fly fisherman knows that the right fly depends on a host of factors including weather, water temps, time of day, time of year, and the insects occurring naturally on the water. But when traveling to a new body of water or when you’re unsure of the current conditions, it’s nice to have an option that works almost anywhere, any time of year such as the classic Woolly Bugger.

Made to imitate a broad range of insects and small baitfish, the Woolly Bugger isn’t a delicate presentation, but it’s a streamer that can help you search the waters to find out what trout are interested in. It’s not cheap, but this is a fly you’ll use again and again in unfamiliar territory.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Catfish
• Lure Type: Dip bait

Catfish have incredible capacities for taste and smell, and so anglers rightly target them with scent-heavy baits. There are plenty of natural baits as well as artificial PowerBait style dough baits. Dip bait such as Team Catfish’s Secret-7 can be used with any catfish bait, including with specialized catfishing tubes with sponges meant to soak up the scented dip.

While the bait technically can be used with just a treble hook, the consistency isn’t great for fishing solo. Instead, pair it with a specialized dip bait hook, tube bait, or other catfishing bait such as chicken parts, bait doughs, or other lure.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Walleye
• Lure Type: Hard bait

Walleye are some of the most choice freshwater table fare, and there are lots of techniques designed to land them. This classic Rapala crankbait is long and lean and imitates the larger baitfish that big walleye prefer to eat, especially early in the season.

The plastic lip on the crankbait helps it dive down, and you can control the depth with your retrieval speed. Try different depths (and use your fish finder if you have one) to figure out where baitfish are congregating and dive your Rapala accordingly.

Key Specs
• Target Species: Saltwater
• Lure Type: Spoon

This classic spoon from ACME is a staple in the tackle boxes of both freshwater and inshore fisherman and for good reason. The silver color mimics a wide variety of baitfish and its corrosion-resistant finish means it’ll last through years of use. The unique shape of the Kastmaster isn’t your traditional spoon as it doesn’t have any pronounced concavity. Still, it behaves like a spoon with rapid fluttering action on the retrieve which, combined with the silver reflective finish, creates a visual alert for predator fish. The dense weight and aerodynamic shape of the lure make it easy to cast far relative to its size which is ideal for shorecasting.