Currently on the deck:

Spinnerbait

DD22

Choppo

10” worm on 3/8 Spot Remover

Dropshot Reaper

6” straight worm on 1/8 darter head

BFS crankbait

Free Rig

Jig

3in Paddle Tail Swimbait

Wacky Senko

Topwater of some kind

Deep Diving Crankbait

River fishing

Usually 3 spinning rods and 3 bait casting rods

Choppo

Senko/Whacky

Jig 3/16 or 1/8 oz finesse

Frog

Square Bill

Usually experiment with a bait.

Summer nights

-Quazkiller buzzbait in black

-Savage Gear Bat crawler

-T - Rigged 10 - 15.25" ribbon tail

-T - Rigged 6.25" craw

-Football jig

-large Shakey Head

-3/4 to 1 ounce Single Colorado Spinnerbait

Summer mornings, if I fish through the night

-Bull Shad Wakebait

-big Glidebait

-Hollow body Frog

-Super Fluke

-Football jig

-standard Shakey Head

I of course have a little of everything in the boat but those are the bulk of what I throw.

I only fish 1 lake with stained water ( spinnerbait - bladed jig ).

The rest are very clear so summer baits are as follows " top 5 ".

Ned rig

Jackall Flickshake

Karashi

Drop-shot

Shakey head

I do catch a few on buzzbaits in summer.

Five rigs in the kayak, each doing double or triple-duty:

-weightless Senko- or Fluke-style plastic

-Texas rig worm or creature; jig

-Buzzbait, spinnerbait, or belly-weighted swimbait

-walking or popping topwater; occasional jerkbait

-finesse worm on head of some kind (ijgworm, shakyhead, slider, etc. ), ned rig, or tube

Other than changing out my jerkbait for a top water my line ups stay pretty much the same. I will just change my retrieve.

Ned rig, sqaure bill, spinner, drop shot, chatter bait, fluke.

T rig Zoom UV speed worms

T rig Zoom UV craw

Fluke

Spinnerbaits

Buzz bait or Plopper

Chatter bait

Crank bait if not to much grass

Last time I was actively fishing in the summer I usually carried

Daytime

Dropshot

Texas Rig

Crankbait

Popper

Shaky head

Neko rig

Two other rods with different stuff depending on conditions

Nighttime

Spinnerbait

Jig

Texas Rig

Maybe a couple other rods

Jig, long ribbon tail worm, wobble head, 6.75” rising son. I love dragging deep in the summer. More situationally, a frog/punch bait, but I have to drive to specifically seek out this bite.

In the summertime what I have tied on usually consists of:

3/4oz spinnerbait

Weedless frog

10” T-rigged ribbontail worm

T-rigged Rage Structure Bug

Popper

5” wacky rigged senko

Finesse worm on a drop shot

My summer time staples:

• Spinnerbait

• 7 or 10" power worm, 3/16oz. weight

• NED rig, green pumpkin

• Buzz-bait, black

• Rapala DT8

• Senko, green pumpkin

• 1/16oz. jig with 2.5" Gulp minnow, black shad

• Drop shot

• Jig-n-plastic

• Chomper

On 5/31/2026 at 10:04 AM, papajoe222 said:

I will normally have five rods on my deck and rigged during the summer.

Here's what I have tied on;

A jig, and most often it's with a craw trailer

A lipless crank

A Spook or a popper

A buzzbait or plopper

A tube or Senko

These five let me cover the water column and determine the activity level, which can and will change throughout the day.

If the bite is slow, I just downsize most of the time. I'm not saying I don't throw spinnerbaits, squarebills, worms, or other stuff, I do. This is what I head out with and the majority of time is all I need.

What baits do you have tied on for summer?

Hard to disagree with that lineup. You've got the surface, middle, and bottom covered, which is really what matters.

We spend most of our time saltwater fishing, but the approach is pretty similar — start with a few confidence baits that cover different parts of the water column and let the fish tell you what they want. Too many anglers spend more time changing lures than actually fishing.

If I had to add one thing, it'd probably be a soft plastic swimbait. It seems to produce when a lot of other baits aren't getting much attention.

I tell ya, a big 130 Whopper Plopper with upgraded BKK Fang hooks has been my go-to down here in the south Florida everglades. Working a slow roll around points and through cuts or off banks—KABOOM! If I want a literal TON of smaller fish, I’ll use the smaller 110.

Next in line is a 12in Ole Monster worm with a de-barbed 7/0 worm hook. I like those worms because not only do they get the bigger fish but I also can reuse them over and over, very durable. I only use worms during the daytime. There’s just so many better lures to use at night, for me, at least. I just don’t have a patience for the worm at night.

Next is a punch rig 65lb braid, 2oz tungsten weight with dual bobber-stops onto a 5/0 strait shank hook. The thick stuff is quite thick where I fish! I only use it during the daytime with the exception of nights during the full moon.

After that is a bladed jig with a black frog trailer as well as a 3/0 trailer hook. I usually use that mid-mornings or when the wind picks up. Mostly at night.

Next up is a big costume made jitterbug, only used at night. Talk about bone jarring hits!

Next up is a custom made spinnerbait with a single number 6 Hildebrandt Colorado blade, big black thumper, only used at night.

So, much of my summertime bait selection may depend on when I’m fishing, day or night, yet it’s still pretty much the same, very simple and very strait forward, very durable and very strong…..along with a big baits for big fish mentality.

I have 3 absolutes: black/blue swimjig with matching ragebug trailer, white spinnerbait, and black/red flake ned rig.

Largemouth

1) Topwater: Buzzbait, Rage Tail Shad, Sammy--> depends on the cover

2) Plastic: Chigger Craw, Baby Brush Hog, Super Hog, Beaver

3) Neko: Big TRD

4) Ned

5) Wacky Senko

• I'd have more than this but these would be my biggest players. I'd also have a bladed jig, swimjig, frog, shakeyhead, and a swimbait tied on--> so much depends on the cover. Good chance I'd have a C-rig on too.

Smallmouth

1) Ned

2) Neko

3) Dropshot- I usually have 2 dropshot rigs ready in the summer.

4) Swimbait- 2 different ones

5) Spybait

I've suddenly fallen in love with Zoom Trick worms with bright tails. T-rigged. Prior to that, I was fishing T-rigged craws, but the bass in my pond hit the worms harder.

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I've suddenly fallen in love with Zoom Trick worms with bright tails. T-rigged. Prior to that, I was fishing T-rigged craws, but the bass in my pond hit the worms harder.

If you haven’t already gotten yourself some, grab a couple highlighter bait markers. They are easier to use that dip-it and then you can have a bright tail on any color bait, not just the ones they mold.

Also, the trick worm just flat out catches fish. Rig it half a dozen different ways or more- Texas rig, split shot rig, weedless wacky, floating, neko, shaky head, etc.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Dye_Marker/descpage-ZDM.html

Shallow cranks, drop shot worms and bait fish imitators, spinnerbait, bladed jig, swimbait. Also, the free rig bite really starting to heat up here in N FL.

1. Spinnerbait

2. Texas Rigged Ribbon-Tail Worm

3. Skirted Jig

4. Drop Shot

5. Ned

football jig. I always have a senko tied on.