I have more confidence in a Senko than anything else, but it isn't my favorite bait to fish.

If I have my druthers, and the bass are cooperating, I'll throw a white spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait like a RatLTrap.

I almost always have a rod rigged with a Texas rigged Gitem Big Flapper worm.

early spring spinnerbait

late spring Mr. Lizard!

Fat Ika/Senko

Football Jig

Shakey Head

Spook Jr.

When it's tough- a Jig or a finess worm!

Go to baits:

Spring it's a Jerkbait

Spawn it's a 4 or 5 inch stickbait

Summer it's a wt'd plastic or jig

Fall it's a jig

late winter it's a jig or spoon

Case Plastics Jack's Worm, Zoom Fat Albert Grub

Probly a rat l trap in chrome or texas rigged black trick worm in some of my secret sent  

I used to have a go to lure years ago and have been thinking about this all Winter.  I have learned so many techiques and have confidence in so many things I have gotten away from go to baits.  Over the last 15 years I have gone through these go to baits.  Here is the evolution:

Rapala Crippled Minnow (fished as a jerkbait)

4" black power worm

1/2oz tandem spinnerbait

Senko

Baby Brush Hog

Jig

Horny Toad / Ribbit

Super Fluke

Bandit Footloose

So far this year the Mattlures Baby Bass and *** *** have caught fish for me.

I only have 6 baitcasting combos and 3 spinning combos so I only have a few options to tie up for each trip ;D

This spring I will probably have 5 rods rigged up with the following:

Hard Jerkbait

***

Jig

Bandit Footloose

Swimbait

One other thing that I will mention is.......switch to whatever your partner is using to catch all of the fish!

It used to always be a crankbait, but like Tpayneful, I've become confident with so many different baits there really isn't just one.

Falcon

I use which ever one works the best during that time.

I try to stick to what the conditions are calling for. But these baits will most likely be at the end of my lines:

Spring - prespawn-lipless crankbait, jig, and crawfish pattern shallow

           crank, basstrix

         - spawn - tube, stick worm, shallow bluegill crank

         - post spawn - lipless crank, senko, jig

Summer - Big worm, Jig, Spoon, frog, deep crank

Fall - cranks of all kinds

Go to, or confidence baits, are 10" worms and cranks.

1.Brush Hog, Wolly Hawgtail, Hoo Daddy

2.Tiki Stick

3.Tube

4.Frog,Buzzbait (Warmer weather)

5.Red Eye Shad.

pearch colored suspending rapala.

5" Yamamato Double Tail Hula Grubs in either blue pearl/silver flake or blue pearl/black flake usually work for me up in michigan, also tubes or 4" gulp minnow grubs fluorescent orange or green pumpkin on a jig head

chatterbait!!!!!

spinnerbait or senko

but there's nothing I love more than fishing a topwater popper if the conditions permit it 8-)

my go to used to be a spinnerbait, but my friends and i have all of the sudden been catchin some hawgs on jigs so now im gonna have to say a black and blue football head jig with black and blue berkley craw trailer

The one that catches the most fish ;D

Helicopter Luer

No way.... Texas rig-Powerworm #1

and Watermelon Senko's bout all I fish... and zoom fluke....

Topwater; Jitterbug 5/8 oz. Black

Minnow Lures: Original Floating or Jointed #11 in Silver

Cranks; Rapala Dt's or Storm Big Bass: Darker Crawfish colors or Blue gill

Plastics: 5inch ***: Dark Greens T Rigged

            4 inch: Wacky Rigged

            7.5 inch *** Ribbon Tail worms, t rigged

Jigs; A couple of various heads with either a *** Brush Bug or Beaver Craw

Jigs, jerkbaits (hard and soft), weightless plastic (senko or kreature), and walk-the-dog topwaters (zaras and sammy's). For nightifishing, it's all about the black/blue chatterbait.

I want to do a lot more rattle trapping and shakey heading this year, hopefully those two baits will be on my list by next spring, but I just don't use them enough to have confidence in them right now.

 Shad-Rap DT-10, all the time...

I use a variety of lures with confidence. When I think of a goto bait, it's the one I throw when fishing is tough, and most other lures won't work. Mine is a Berkley 4" Power Finesse Worm Hand Pour (Watermelon Magic Red Glitter), usually on a 1/8 ounce Slider Spider Jig. Also works great texas rigged, split shot rigged, or when drop shotting.

Watermelon/Chart zoom lizard.  Crawdad pattern cranks bomber model A, Fat A, Wiggle Wart.  

Trickworms, and senkos. I know it is two but one is never enough right?

                 -searoach