What are the five best freshwater fishing lures that every angler should own, whether they usually fish lakes for largemouth bass, cast in creeks and rivers for snakeheads, or anything in-between? Hold off on the urge to use AI to answer the question. In fact, you can ask AI how many different airplane models have been built since the Wright brothers took flight, and in under a second it can tell you about 18,000. Ask that computo-brain how many bicycle brands have come into being since 1875 and it unhesitatingly tosses out the figure 2925. But ask it how many different fishing lures have been made and the synthetic synapse is stumped. The best artificial intelligence can come up with is to say that the number is “vast and constantly evolving.” Indeed. Then try asking it what the five best freshwater fishing lures are for a beginner angler. Again AI begs out, perhaps because it’s finally grown “smart” enough to realize that there’s a lot of contradictory information out there—and it doesn’t have the prerequisite 30-plus years of angling experience to take a stab at formulating a satisfactory answer.
Fear not, dear beginner angler. We have that experience and we don’t need to glean the idiocracy of the internets to formulate such a list. And while it may not be perfect in every angler’s eyes, this group of must-have lure choices is entirely defensible. The opinions of others will surely differ somewhat and that’s perfectly valid, but if we were restarting our freshwater fishing lives as beginners tomorrow, these are the first five lures we’d make sure were in the tacklebox.
#2 Mepps Aglia Dressed Spinner – The Aglia started the Mepps legend when it was first invented in France in the 1930s. The fact that it’s still in production today, nearly a century later, tells you something—it works. The #2 Aglia is small enough that crappie and trout will pounce on it, but large enough to garner attention from bass and steelhead. After you find out how well it works you’ll probably go out and add a #1, a #3, and a #4 to your collection to target smaller and larger species, too.
- A Selection of Tube Jigs (and jig heads) – There are a million look-alikes in the world of tube jigs and none necessarily stand out as “best,” but no one can question the effectiveness of a tube on a jighead. Get some two-inchers for panfish like crappie and perch, and three- or four-inchers for bass. Also get a selection of colors and a selection of head sizes so you can cover different depth ranges. Tip: make sure you have red/whites in the mix for crappie, and some dark brown rootbeer patterns for smallmouth.
- River2Sea Whopper Plopper 75 (white) – We might easily have simply said a "topwater plug" is among the best freshwater fishing lures instead of singling out the Whopper Plopper, or perhaps we might have gone with the classic Heddon Spook. However, this specific selection holds one advantage over other topwater plugs: you can work it like a pro from the very first cast, because all you do is retrieve and the lure’s action is automatic. Most other topwaters require some practice to work effectively. Ultimately you’ll probably want to move in that direction, but to enjoy success and build up some quick confidence, the River2Sea Whopper Plopper is a winner.
- Plastic Worms – If you’re going to try to catch bass—and you almost certainly will—you’ll need to have some plastic worms on hand. We especially like these for beginner anglers because fishing them “wacky worm” style (sliding your hook right through the middle of the worm) is as simple as it gets. You will, however have to learn to detect that subtle tap that means a bass has sucked the worm into its mouth. That’s how you know when to set the hook. A variety of colors is nice but most of the time natural brown and pumpkinseed green catch the lion’s share.
- Rebel Wee Craw – There is no predator fish living in a creek, stream, or river in the Mid-Atlantic zone that doesn’t love eating crayfish, and just about all of them will smack a Rebel Wee Craw with abandon. Smallmouth, rock bass, sunfish, trout—you name it. Larger versions of the Rebel Crawfish are available and we’d suggest grabbing a few of these, too, for those days when you’re casting in areas that have larger specimens around. But for all-around fish-catching riverine versatility the Wee Craw is awfully tough to beat.
Do you have a best freshwater fishing lure of your own that you think belongs on this list? Of course! Do you see one or more listed here that you haven’t had much luck with? That wouldn’t be a shocker, either. Remember folks, this is fishing we’re talking about. What works today won’t necessarily work tomorrow and fish do change their minds. If you don’t believe us, just ask AI.