If you had to use only one lure for bass opener, what would your go-to bait be? Personally, I have started to use x-raps religou

[snooked4life]

If you had to use only one lure for bass opener, what would your go-to bait be? Personally, I have started to use x-raps religously

[teufelhunden]

I am assuming since you said bass opener you are up north as most southern states do not have a bass season. If this is the case I would go off of the water temperature, if it is warm enough for spawn I would go with soft plastics in shallow water sight casting beds. If not spawning temp yet I would work your x-rap in deep cover and in staging areas off of the main lake points.

Hope that helps because that is as specific as I could be with a general question.

[Alex Pernice the fly rod winner]

Powerbait worms, they can b e fished so many ways...

[Walt Smith]

Brown or Black nightcrawler

[hunt_fish_sleep]

Down here in the south, bass are always open. To me, bass aren't good to eat, so I figure why fish for them? If I never caught another bass in my life, I would not mind at all. All they ever do is make me think I've got a huge crappie on.

[CPT BRAD]

Small top water spinner. I've had good luck recently with the 'wounded' variety with either red in the skirt or red hooks. Don't know why but with fishing if something works I stick with it.

[mark mefford]

rapala lure perch pattern

[ken.mcloud]

Re: hunt_fish_sleep's comment:

Does anyone know if bass from up north taste different from southern bass?

Because the ones we catch up here are delicious! Probably one of my favorite kinds of fish. I guess its possible they they eat differnt kinds of food, so their flesh tastes different.

or maybe us northerners just have different tastes?

as for my lure:
soft plastics, either a leech or a crayfish, depending on what they're hitting.

[muskiemaster]

I being from Wisconsin and not being able to bass fish yet either will probably use a ratl n rap or buzzbait all depends seeing as I need distance becuase bass are still pretty deep and not spawning yet.

[hunt_fish_sleep]

Re: Ken.mcloud:

I don't know what the bass down south taste like because I haven't eaten a bass since my first traumatic experience. I live in Minnesota for 11 years and instead of fishing for Walleye on opener, one year we decided to fish for bass. We caught a bunch and fried them up... awful. We moved here to NC 5 years ago and sorely miss Walleye. That's some of the best eating fish you'll ever eat. I do like the jumbo sized NC crappie and the great trout fishing that NC offers. You win some, you lose some. I'm going to be going to BYU this summer, so I'll be doing a lot of fishing in the Provo river to feed myself with trout. It will be the first time in decades that fishing even approached the realm of economicality.

[Armchair Mike]

Bass down south taste great. I usually bake the fillets with butter and lemon juice rather than frying them. My go-to fish finding bait is a black spinnerbait with a silver blade, but this is for muddy or stained water. I use a chartreuse and white spinnerbait with a silver blade for clearer water.

[peter]

a countdown rapala brown trout in lakes and a yellow riverside jig in rivers

[snooked4life]

i dont eat bass like i wouldnt eat a dog. Man's best friends

[Mcorbett1]

If I had only one bait, it would be a spinner bait, tandem willow leaf. The color would vary depending on season, but would be chartreuse/white or blue/white for most applications. It can be fished as a "wake bait" near the surface, slow rolled deep, and is almost snag proof when fished in brush and woody cover. It is as versatile as the plastics, but has the advantage of flash and vibration.
Bass are great eating, especially the one to two pound size. The larger and older a bass is, the tougher it becomes. Southern bass grow quicker as they have a longer "feeding" season. This may be why northern bass don't seem to taste as good as southern bass. As with all fish, water quality plays a big part in taste.

[DakotaMan]

Shadrap!