bass fishing

1.  Hula Popper.  In calm conditions, cast it into pockets in the lily pads and around logs or other cover.  Let it sit for a minute, then retrieve in slow pops.
2.   Plastic Worm.  I like a 7" Power Worm most often.  For a simple rig, just put the worm on a jighead and fish it around the weedline.  Make sure you are close to bottom.
3.   Spinnerbait.   A spinnerbait with a rubber skirt is a great weedless searching lure.  Cast it into sparse lily pads or along the weed edge to find aggressive fish.

Are we talking Largemouth? Smallmouth? Both?  

For both my top 3 looks similar:

1. 7" plastic worm - texas worm hook, often times no weight (I just cast it right up under docks/trees/boats) Pause it in holes in the weeds or tight to structure and let it sink painfully slow most of my largemouth hit on those painful slow dropping pauses

2. Spinnerbait - cast out, reel back, set hook.  repeat.  Doesn't always work but it works often enough

3. Small inline spinner like a 1/8oz roostertail or any spinner that you might use for trout (these are deadly for Smallmouth especially)

My top three:

Chug bug

Spinner bait

Swim bait

With these three, you can catch large and smallmouth bass under almost any conditions, thick lily pads and weed mats notwithstanding (but who wants to fish that crap anyway).

Paddle and curly tail grubs, and the senko-style worm are honourable mentions also.

For ice fishing, the jiggin' rap clearly takes the cake.

my top 3 are...

zara puppy - love the top water action.

zoom lizard - for working the weedy areas

rat-l-trap-as a search tool

I like a small white 1/8 size jig with a 3 inch plastic grub as a search tool for them when their fairly shallow.  I like just a straight steady retrieve.  Works especially well when weeds are not too thick.  When weeds are super thick, cant ever forget about bigger bass style weedless jigs tipped with Uncle Josh pork rinds or other trailers.  Pitched into holes or pockets in the cabbage or on outer weed edges is how I like to fish them.  Jig and pig is what some folks call 'em. 

3-inch Senko, wacky rigged.  Largemouth & smallmouth both hammer it, especially in moving water.

1. Soft plastics (worms, creature baits and lizards in the spring)

2. Top Water: Pop-R's (Storm) and Frogs (Live Target) provide an awesome experience when the the top water bite is on.

3. Search Baits:  bladed swim jig (Chatter Bait), Lipless crank bait (Strike King Wild Eyed Minnow) and Spinner baits can all do the trick.  

4. Confidence and Personal Preference:  When reading what some other people wrote I had a lot of thoughts to the contrary or thought that I knew a lure that did the same thing but just a little bit better.  Will the lures I suggested work better for you than the ones other people suggested? Maybe? Maybe not? But they will work better for me because of my fishing style and experience and because I believe they will work. Having confidence in a lure is an intangible aspect that is as important as any.