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Most new bass baits for the upcoming year are revealed at ICAST in July. Though many of those lures aren’t available for purchase until the fall. Which means we usually don’t get to see what the newest baits can do until the end of the year. But the early spawn is when I really get to put new baits through the wringer and see what can what catches the most fish.
This year, there were plenty of new options, including affordable glide baits, funky-looking soft plastics, micro crankbaits, specialized spinnerbaits, and an innovative topwater. From my experience, there are usually only a handful to a dozen or so new baits doing something completely new or different enough to produce more bites. Those are the baits you want to spend your money on. I sifted through a couple of dozen new lures to narrow down the list. Here are the top 7 best bass baits of 2026.
Specs
- Sizes: 6”, 8”, 10”
- Weights: 1 oz, 2.2 oz, 4.2 oz
- Sink rate: Slow sinking
- Colors: 14
The Berkley Chop Block is my favorite new bait for 2026. I even caught a near 7-pounder on it early in my testing. But that one bite isn’t the only reason I love this bait. The Chop Block is available in the same lengths as most run-of-the-mill glides, with 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch baits. But the key difference is its lightweight design, which makes these baits easier to fish with more traditional gear, though I’d still recommend stepping up to a 7’ 6” rod for the 8-inch bait. The softness of the Chop Block also creates a more fluid action as opposed to the hard chops of a rigid glide. Plus, you can skip this bait.
There’s a front treble on a hook hanger, but instead of having another fixed hook hanger on the back, Berkley used a cord to tether a double back hook to the front hook. The back hook is then held in place by a slit in the bait and a magnet. This allows the back hook to detach from the bait during a fight, which takes almost all the leverage away from a bass, the same way a line through on a swimbait does.
Specs
- Sizes: 2.5”, 3.5”, 4.5”
- Quantity per pack: 8, 6, 5
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: 20
- Price: $6.99 (2.5″), $6.99 (3.5″), $7.99 (4.5″)
The 3.5-inch Rapala Crush City Mooch Minnow paired with a jighead and Live Sonar is a deadly combination. In response to the bait’s success, Rapala released two new sizes in the Mooch Minnow–the 2.5-inch and 4.5-inch. There are a couple of things that make all of these baits special. For starters, Rapala makes the Mooch Minnows from Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), which are super soft and more durable than other soft plastics. With the Mooch Minnow, you can catch a dozen fish or more without having to re-rig. Secondly, the cross-shaped tail of the Mooch Minnow creates a subtle swimming action that has proven to be more effective in high-pressure situations, and often in general, than a swimbait with a paddle tail. The bigger 4.5-inch bait will work well with bigger jigheads, underspins, and scrounger heads, as well as rigged on the back of a vibrating jig or spinnerbait.
Specs
- Size: 2.75”
- Quantity per pack: 4
- Colors: 8
- Price: $9.99
Z-Man took their already popular Ned TRD and ran strands of skirt material through it to create an offering for the new-fangled fuzzy bait fans. The result is a bait that flat-out catches them. While this soft-plastic works well on a traditional Ned head, I’ve been rigging it on a Jika rig, which has given me an awesome alternative to a finesse jig. This bait, rigged on this setup, can slip and slide through rock, wood, and grass alike, while still presenting the larger skirted profile of a jig.
As is the case with the TRD, the Fuzzy TRD is made of ElaZtech, Z-Man’s proprietary soft plastic that is extremely durable and buoyant. This makes the Fuzzy TRD the best of all fuzzy baits for fishing along the bottom, simply because of its durability. And the buoyancy of the bait causes the tail end to float off the bottom, making for a better presentation and reducing hangups. The ElaZtech material also clings to the skirt strands, helping them last longer. Other fuzzy baits made of traditional soft-plastic materials lose their strands quickly.
Specs
- Length: 1 and ¾”
- Weight: 5/16 ounce
- Depth: 2-3 feet
- Colors: 10
- Price: $16.99
This tiny little crankbait is a miniature version of a long-time favorite of mine, the SPRO MD 55. With flat sides and a rounded-off, thin square bill, the Micro slips through the water with a fairly tight wiggle and climbs right across rocks and wood without issue. Built to dive only 2 to 3 feet deep, this 5/16th ounce morsel will require spinning gear for most anglers to be able to fish it effectively. Bait finesse gear can work too, and if you are good with a baitcaster and light baits, you can get by with throwing this on a 6’ 10” to 7’ medium casting rod with 12-pound test. The Micro 45 comes in 10 colors, from reds and oranges to mimic crawfish to shad patterns to chartreuse and black for muddy water. So there’s something there to imitate anything that swims or crawls in less than 3 feet of water, no matter the clarity.
Specs
- Length: 1 and ¾”
- Weight: 5/16 ounce
- Depth: 2-3 feet
- Colors: 10
- Price: $16.99
The Rapala Clap Tail is the latest bait trying to capitalize on the reeling-prop-bait craze started by the River2Sea a few years ago. Instead of building a straight knockoff, Rapala put its own spin on this style of bait, quite literally. They added a metal tail and a small metal blade to the back. The result is a clinging, clashing, and flashing action that gives anglers something different to throw. While I haven’t had the chance to fish the Claptail yet, I think this bait will excel during the summer and fall when I dial in on topwater.
Specs
- Length: 4.72”
- Weight: 0.9 ounces
- Sink rate: Moderate-fast sink
- Colors: 3
- Price: $59.99
Built with a similar profile to its big brother, the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180, the Lil Guy is roughly two and a quarter inches shorter and an ounce and a half lighter. The result is a more manageable bait that can be thrown on lighter gear and in more situations, but with the action and drawing power of a glidebait. This means you don’t need specialized glidebait gear. A basic 7’ 3” medium-heavy baitcaster with a 200-size reel spooled with 17-pound test will do just fine with the Lil Guy.
Fishing this smaller glide should open up opportunities to catch more fish and still get big bites. SPRO advertises this bait with a moderate-fast sink rate, which should be able to get down enough so you can see it on Live sonar and capitalize on bass that might not respond to a minnow or full-size glide.
Specs
- Weight: ½ or ¾ ounce
- Colors: 12
- Price: $19.99 or $20.99
The Bass Puzzle Grass Piece combines elements of a spinnerbait with those of a vibrating jig. With a shorter, stiffer spinnerbait arm attached to a ChatterBait-esque blade, this lure has a rocking and rumbling action. The lure comes through grass and wood well, and the resistance of the bait’s hard thumping blade forces you to fish slowly. If you try to reel it in too fast, it will ride up and break the surface. Since this bait makes you fish slowly, it’s a great option in low-visibility situations. I’ve caught a few good fish on it in muddy and cold water, and I’m excited to fish this bait through the spring.
How We Tested Bass Lures
Since baits and lures vary so widely in size, technique, and design, it is difficult to create a baseline testing process to compare them as we would do with baitcasting rods. Instead, the best way to test baits is to get them out on the water and answer one simple question: Do these baits catch bass?
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing since last fall—wearing these baits out to see what they can do. The selection process included choosing any new bait or lure release since ICAST 2025. Many of the baits on this list didn’t go on sale until last fall or winter, and some just hit the market. I threw hundreds of casts with every bait and lure on the list and used various techniques to get a feel for what these baits can do. Here’s how they performed.
Why Trust Us
For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. Our writers and editors eat, sleep, and breathe the outdoors, and that passion comes through in our product reviews. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.
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