Best Bass Lures For Summer 2025

Hot weather and long days are great for kayaking, but tough for bass fishing. Warm water and bright sun put largemouth and smallmouth in a swoon. To escape the oppressive heat, bass retreat to the deepest holes and the darkest corners of the lake. They look for deep structure, like piles of trees and bushes to hide from their prey. Or, they find an area where tree limbs or boat docks overhang the water.

This doesn’t mean you should hang up the rod until things cool down though—you just have to know where and what to cast. Bass linger in the shade, waiting for a meal to drop off the branches or fall from the bank. Meanwhile, aquatic vegetation also provides respite from the sun, but fishing in the weeds and lily pads requires a pinpoint cast and finesse presentation. And of course, nothing beats a summer sunrise with the purple-pink sky reflected in the mirror-still water, when bass wake up hungry for a topwater lure splashing across the calm surface.

We spoke with three anglers at the top of the bass game to find out just what lures they are slinging this summer.

Best Bass Lures for Summer: Top Picks

• 6th Sense Cloud 9
• 6th Sense Flush 5.2
• Strike King Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Flipping Jig
• Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Popper
• Heddon Spook

Best for Targeting Offshore Brushpiles

6th Sense Cloud 9

Buy from:

6TH SENSE AMAZON BASS PRO

Why it works

I was working a brush pile I’ve fished many times before and wasn’t getting bit on my normal swimming worm or Carolina rig. The wind was blowing a little, but the sun was high and bright, so I thought the worm would work. I decided to go to a Cloud 9 C10 crankbait. The lure got bit on the first cast, and the pattern held for the remainder of the day. —Chris Mitchell

6th Sense Flush 5.2

Buy from:

6TH SENSE AMAZON BASS PRO

Why it works

As the days get hotter and the water temperatures rise, bass move deep to get into cooler water. Brush piles give fish cover to ambush bait and provide shade from the hot sun.

First, I use a swimming worm. I let the lure sink and then drag it across the bottom around and across the brushpile. I fan cast around the pile to figure out where the bass are holding.

When the fish are sluggish in the heat and under bright sky, I go with reliable bass rig and use a Carolina rig with a 6th Sense Flush rigged, with a 6th Sense pre-rig Carolina rig in 3/8 ounce and a 6th Sense Stout EWG 4/0. In overcast conditions, summer bass are more active. I’ll throw a crankbait, jerkbait or a spinnerbait and vary retrieve speeds until the fish respond. The best way to find brush piles is with sidescan sonar and searching along contour lines on the GPS map. —Chris Mitchell

Best for Punching Holes Through Thick Cover

Strike King Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Flipping Jig 3/4 Ounce

Buy from:

STRIKE KING AMAZON BASS PRO

Why it works

Like the name says, punching uses a weedless jig to punch holes in thick cover like lily pads, milfoil, cattails and even trash mats. The tactic requires quick, short, accurate casts to hit an opening in the cover. Punching is very effective in the summer when big largemouth move shallow to search for cover from the sun. This technique effectively targets hard-to-reach fish where big bass hide.

Best Fishing Sunglasses For 2025

The ideal weather for punching is high sun, high temperatures and light wind. To avoid sun and exposure to predators, bass move shallow and hide under floating vegetation. Punching requires precision casting, so calm wind gives me the best chance of hitting the mark.

On a hot day, bass move underneath any floating structure. I look for fish in lily pads, reeds, cattails, dollar pads, milfoil and eel grass. I flip my lure into the vegetation and watch the line as it falls. If the line stops, I know I got a bite.

I give the rod tip one pump to bounce the lure and let it fall again. Then I retrieve the lure and move onto the next flip. I’m looking for a reaction bite and most bites come as the lure sinks.

I pay attention to the type of weeds where I get bites. If I find a big area of dollar pads and notice a few full-size lily pads grouped together, I definitely flip that spot first. A little difference can make a huge impact on my success. —Jake Angulas

Best Popper for Topwater

Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Popper

Buy from:

YO-ZURI AMAZON BASS PRO

Why it works

Topwater fishing is arguably the most exciting way to catch fish. Nothing compares to a big bass erupting out of the water and smashing my bait; the rush leaves me wanting more. A topwater bait works from pre-spawn to late fall, but summer is the best time for topwater. In summer, as shad school up and bluegills move shallow, I find topwater action from offshore to right on the bank.

During the summer, prime time for topwater lures is mornings and evenings. During the day, I look for shade from overhanging trees, boat docks, vegetation, laydowns and brushpiles.

Popper-style lures, with a cupped face, work great for fishing around docks and over small laydowns. I like to work a popper slowly in a small patch of shade beneath overhanging tree branches. Poppers are effective in the back of a pocket, especially if the water is shaded.

The shape of a popper’s mouth creates the action. Subtle twitches of the rod tip cause the lure’s mouth to throw water forward and create a popping sound. Experiment with the cadence and power of the twitch to find the pattern that turns on the fish. —Casey Reed

Best for Walking Topwater

Heddon Spook

Buy from:

AMAZON BASS PRO DICK’S SPORTING GOODS

Why it works

Walking lures, like the Heddon Spook, are great summer bass lures for working the shady edge below a dock or open points and humps during low-light hours. Surface walkers really shine when shad are schooled up. If I see shad flickering on the surface, I cast just past the disturbance.

To walk a surface walker, I hold my rod tip pointed at a 45-degree angle to the water. Then, with a little slack in the line, I pop the rod tip and the lure bobs left and right. —Casey Reed

Meet our experts

Chris Mitchell | Brevard, Florida

• 2024 Florida BASS Nation Kayak State Championship Winner
• 2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes 3rd Place
• 2025 Florida Kayak Bass Trail Championship Winner

Sponsors:

• Kayaks by Bo
• Bonafide Kayaks
• 6th Sense Fishing
• Waterland Optics
• Yakrods
• Founder of Elite Sticks rods and lures

Jake Angulas | Mont Vernon, New Hampshire

• 2021 & 2024 Elite Kayak Fishing AOY
• Two-time KBF The Ten Qualifier (2022 & 2023)
• Two-time KBF 2023 Trail Series Champion
• Kayak Fishing League (KFL) AOY 2022

Sponsors:

• NuCanoe
• Power-Pole
• Sniper Marine Pole Mounts
• Dobyns Rods

Casey Reed | Bedford County, Virginia

• 2x Kayak Bass Fishing Regional Champion
• 6x Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship Qualifier

Sponsors:

• Old Town
• Dakota Lithium
• Cashion Rods
• FishUSA
• Humminbird
• Minn Kota
• Yo-Zuri
• Ketch
• Aftco
• Leupold
• Sniper Marine Pole Mounts
• Carver Covers