Ok I fish mainly plastics I am slowly opening up my arsenal but I am saving up money for baits. What are somebaits that I absolutly need?

Hula poppers, spinner baits, buzz baits, jitter bugs, hollow bodied frogs & mice, jigs, crank baits, rapalas, creature hard baits, etc. etc.

Hula poppers, spinner baits, buzz baits, jitter bugs, hollow bodied frogs & mice, jigs, crank baits, rapalas, creature hard baits, etc. etc.

I know all that but do I just need those baits or is there some basic colors I need?

Hula poppers, spinner baits, buzz baits, jitter bugs, hollow bodied frogs & mice, jigs, crank baits, rapalas, creature hard baits, etc. etc.

I know all that but do I just need those baits or is there some basic colors I need?

YES.

wow..... hey guess what......

....what are they?!?!?!?!?!?!?! haha

Must have? A few spinnerbaits, a spook bait, some cranks of various depths, and a hollow body frog. Don't worry about color. White, or white and chartreuse for spinners, something light for the spook, dark belly on the frog, and minnow patterns for the cranks.

Everybody's must have baits are all different.What one person's must have another person doesn't do well on them.

Here is what i "must have" in my tackle bag to give you an idea.I never leave home with these.

4" Yum Dinger (watermelon seed)

3.5 Mizmo skinny tubes (watermelon or green pumpkin)

3/8 brown weedless G-man jig with a Paca craw in Alabama or green pumpkin) 

4" Gambler ugly otter in green pumpkin.

Spinnerbaits must be all white and/or with a little chart. color.

If you look at my plastic colors i favor the green pumpkin,watermelon and brown colors.

Here are some member suggestions:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1143177139

8-)

I like these specific colors

-White

-Black

-Chartreuse

-Pumpkin Seed

Then, just for my amusement i buy hard baits with different pattern wraps, just for my entertainment mostly lol, the fish don't really care that much.

Must have? A few spinnerbaits, a spook bait, some cranks of various depths, and a hollow body frog. Don't worry about color. White, or white and chartreuse for spinners, something light for the spook, dark belly on the frog, and minnow patterns for the cranks.

 

X2 This is what you need

Match your lure color to the water conditions. If it's clear, try shad-colored crankbaits or spinnerbaits with transucent skirts. In worms, try lighter colors like cottor candy. If it's muddy, try darker colors in your plastics and jigs and chartreuse in crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

As far as must have baits for me:

Bandit 100's and 200's

Zoom finesse worms

Jigs, black for muddy water, olive green for clearer water

Spinnerbaits clear water, translucent skirt with silver blades, chartreuse skirt with gold blades in muddy water.

For topwaters, chrome or silver for poppers and prop baits. Buzzbaits with white skirts for clear water, black or chartreuse for muddy water.

Thx I plan on buying 10-20 baits (averaging $5 per bait) So I'm goon get some jigs, spinners, hula poppers, frogs and I don't know what else but thank you everyone

Crankbaits ranging from 10'-20', preferably DT's or DD's

Down here for me:

Soft plastic swimbaits (Swim Senkos, Skinny Dippers, hollow bellies)

Big worms (Thumper, Anaconda, DeLong, Ol Monster)

Plastic Craws (Rage Craw/Lobster, GYCB Fat Baby Craw)

Some type of "beaver" bait (Sweet Beaver, Wooly Bug, etc)

Jigs

Lipless Cranks (Xr50, Spots, Red Eyes)

If I'm in cover that isn't as thick as usual, spinnerbaits and a mix of diving cranks.

Like mentioned above, it would be better if we knew what waters you were fishing because everybody here fishes different types of waters and so their "must haves" are different.  I fish waters that dont generrally get below 10 feet, and in some cases, dont get below 6 feet.  Here are my must haves:

1.  Jig (Natural colors, Crigger Craw from KaRu Lures)

2.  10" Worm (Berkley or ZOOM, June Bug, Red Bug)

3.  Soft plastic frog (ZOOM Horny Toad in Bullfrog or Watermelon Red)

4.  Spinnerbait (I like the H20 Express from Academy, similar to sexy shad)

5.  Crank Bait (Shad Colored Crank for lakes, Bluegill colored cranks for ponds)

5" Yum Dinger (melon Pie), for some reason caught more fish with these than senkos

Strike king red eye shad , 1/2 oz. , "sexy shad" color ......... 

Strike king red eye shad , 1/2 oz. , "sexy shad" color .........

x2, these are awesome lipless baits

Lot's of good suggestions so far, I'm going to add Rapala Shad Raps & Mann's Baby 1 minus as affodable crankbaits that should be in everyone's tacklebox.

Sometimes the color choice depends on WHERE you're fishing.  Example, the Potomac bass and other tidal rivers in the area seem to like plastics with some blue in them.

Here's a partial list of baits, some of which are already covered in other posts, but worth repeating to present my views.

One must-have bait is the Zoom Baby Brush Hog creature bait.   Green pumpkin and/or watermelon with flakes for clear or lightly stained water; and darker color for heavily stained or muddy water.  I always have these colors and combinations in my tackle bag.

Some Senkos are necessary, 5-inch in green pumpkin, and/or watermelon with red flake, and some darker colors.  Consider 4-inch and 6-inch also.  Can use the Cabela's and Bass Pro house brands, or Strike King to save some coins.   

Spinner baits:  white skirt for clearer or lightly stained water; a combo white/chartreuse for more stained; and an all-chartreuse for heavily stained or muddy water.  The Strike King Kevin Van Dam types with the trailer hooks installed are good lures.  3/8 and/or 1/2 oz are the most used.

Zoom Finesse Worms.  I use them with a 1/8 Slider Head.  Colors are black, green pumpkin, and Red Bug.  Always in my bag.

Worms...for wacky worm fishing...various sizes and colors.  You should also carry some Berkley Power Worms in various sizes and colors.  Blue Fleck is a popular color.

A variety of grubs and tubes. Consider something like the Mann's Sting Ray or the Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.  Some tubes...can use Cabela's or Bass Pro house brands or Strike King.

Crankbaits...for various depths.  Most popular crank colors are 1) some variety of shad; 2) chartreuse with black or dark back; 3) fire tiger; and 4) other colors.  I prefer cranks with rattles.  I have used the Bass Pro XPS cranks, but the trebles are very cheap and need to be replaced with better quality.  If you can afford it, go with the SPRO Little John; or the Bass Pro Rick Clunn Lucky Craft (the RC version), but wait until the annual Bass Pro sale called the "Classic" that's around the Bassmaster Classic time.  And always have a Mann's Baby 1-Minus in a few colors.

IMPORTANT ...don't forget a variety of lipless crankbaits...also referred to as Rat-L-Traps from the brand-name originator of the lure, or simply "traps."  Have a variety of sizes and colors.  I like the Spro Aruku Shad brand. 

Top-water Poppers:  need a few of them in various colors.  Try Rebel.

Frogs:  try the new SPRO popper frog.   

Craws:  try the Berkley Power Bait "Crazy Legs Chigger Craw"...in various colors.

But overall,  there are many different lures that anglers prefer.  Another angler may hate Zoom worms, preferring Berkley.

Down here in S.E. Texas all the colors in need for plastics are wat/red, green pumpkin, bama bug, red bug and blk/blue. Those colors pretty much cover my needs for water clarity. For hard baits most of the time I go for natural shad patterns. But sometimes chartruese is necessary. Spinner baits there are 3 for me. white/chartruese,black, and a stanley color called golden bream or golden shiner I forget.