Join professional angler Bryan New as he dives into the world of herring fishing. New discusses his 3 must-have baits when fishing for bass in lakes where herring are present. Herring are a relatively unique forage due to their physical characteristics. Their life cycle can make bass behave differently compared to other places across the country, which brings about some fun baits and tactics.
FEATURED PRODUCT
• WALKING BAIT – SPRO Walking Haint: Buy at Bass Pro Shops | Buy at Tackle Warehouse
• JOINTED SWIMBAIT – SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer Swimbait: Buy at Bass Pro Shops | Buy at Tackle Warehouse | Buy at FishUSA
• FLUKE HOOK – Gamakatsu Worm 34R Hydroll: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
• ROD – ARK Invoker Tour Series 7′ 2″: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
• REEL – ARK Gravity 7: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
• LINE – Sunline FC Sniper 14- to 16-pound: Buy at Bass Pro Shops | Buy at Tackle Warehouse | Buy at FishUSA
• FLUKE STORAGE – G-Box 3500D Deep Utility Case: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
ESSENTIAL BAITS FOR TARGETING BASS AROUND HERRING
WALKING BAITS
New highlights walking baits as the best topwater bass lure when fishing over schooling herring. These baits, with their slender profiles and quick movements, are ideal for sunny, calm days to mimic the fast-moving herring that bass find irresistible. For colors, New keeps it simple—chrome for sunny days and bone for overcast conditions, ensuring the bait is visible and attractive under varying light conditions. When the water gets choppy or the fish are deeper, New switches to more aggressive pencil poppers. These create significant surface disturbance, making them perfect for windy conditions or when a more pronounced action is needed to attract bass from afar.
FLUKE-STYLE BAITS
For subtler approaches, New relies on fluke-style baits. He stresses the importance of keeping these baits straight for optimal performance and stores them in a hard utility case to preserve their shape. New uses a wide yet simple range of colors, varying from natural chromes to translucent hues depending on water visibility and weather conditions.
MULTI-JOINTED SWIMBAITS
New also reaches for a hard swimbait when targeting bass under these conditions for several reasons. Herring swim very quickly and have a streamlined profile, which jointed swimbaits resemble. Jointed swimbaits can be reeled fast and kept above the fishes heads, which often triggers a feeding response from bass chasing herring. Once again, New keeps his colors simple with chrome, translucent, and other natural appearances which he shuffles through depending on the conditions.
