Five lures. That's the box.

You do not need forty lures. You need five that cover different depths and different moods, and you need to know when each one is the wrong choice.

1. A 5-inch green pumpkin worm. Texas rigged. This is the default when you do not know what they want. It works in weeds, around wood, and on bare bottom.
2. A weightless stick bait. Senko-style. Skip it under docks and around sparse cover. If they will not eat a moving bait, they will often eat this on the fall.
3. A spinnerbait, white or chartreuse, 3/8 oz. For wind, stained water, and covering a bank. If the blades are not thumping, you are reeling too slow or the lure is too light for the depth.
4. A jerkbait that suspends. Clear to lightly stained water, especially when fish are not on the bottom. The pause is the bite. Count it. Do not just rip it back to the boat.
5. A hollow frog. Mats, lily pads, and the thick stuff nothing else gets through. Wait until you feel the fish before you set the hook. Setting on the splash is how you miss.

When we link to a specific lure, it will be one of these categories, and the page will say if we earn a commission. The short list does not change because a brand sent a box.