3 Great Baits For Northern Bass

Try these baits and catch giant smallmouth bass in Ontario.

You booked your fishing vacation. The lodge website says it is a great location for big bad Ontario smallmouth bass. So what baits should you bring with you?

If you’re anything like me, you have way too many options to choose from. But here are three bass baits I've used to catch giant smallmouth everywhere I have fished for them across our province.

1. Tube Jigs

Tube jigs seem so old-fashioned to many bass anglers these days because of the influx of so many new baits and techniques to catch smallmouth bass, but the tried and true tube jig is high on my list on any new body of water regardless of the time of year, spring, summer and fall.

You can fish tube jigs throughout the entire water column by altering the size of the jig head you insert into the tube jig and choosing a handful of your favourite colours, you prepared to catch bass.

Snapping tube jigs off bottom or on the first shoreline ledges usually find active roaming bass.

I will fish these tube jigs on a medium-action spinning rod and reel combination with a fifteen-pound test braided line and a fluorocarbon leader tied directly to the jig eye. The braided line increases strike to hook up rations with virtually no stretch whatsoever regardless of how far you cast and the leader is invisible.

2. Topwater Bait

Regardless of which top water bait you choose or prefer, these noisy splashy hard baits call smallmouth bass from long distances and can be fished all day long, not just sunrise and sunset. Baits with noisy props and cupped lips that spit water and cause even more noise on the surface are my favourites, biting smallmouth just love to smash these baits all season long.

topwater bait

3. Jerkbaits

Jerkbaits can be fished at virtually any depth depending on the styles and sizes you choose but they are an excellent bass bait to fish from the cooler late spring conditions throughout summer and into late fall.

Something about a suspending jerkbait drives smallmouth mad and triggers them into striking even if they are not actively feeding.

Northern Ontario has virtually thousands of lakes and rivers filled with smallmouth bass of all sizes, shapes and colours, bringing these three proven baits will help you find bass faster and make them bite.

Enjoy your vacation and remember how the catch and release of trophy bass works. 

angler smallmouth bass fishing ontario
About Karl Kalonka

It's possible Karl's love for fishing began as early as the age of five. His parents took the kids on weekend trips across Ontario fishing for panfish, catfish, and bass. "I started with a bobber and worm from the time I was five years old," says Karl. These days, he has the enviable task of doing what he loves for a living, travelling across Ontario fishing, filming and producing two outdoor series, Extreme Angler and Crappie Angler TV.

Recommended Articles

5 Keys To Canadian Muskies

The fish of 10,000 casts; an elusive predator fish with legend and lore.

Great Fishing in Northern Lights Country Up Highway 588

Find bass, walleye and trout on your next fishing trip.

Top 5 Baits for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass

What baits do you use to target bass? Find out why these 5 are the best!

3 Great Ontario Walleye Destinations

Karl of Extreme Angler recommends must do walleye lakes in Ontario.

Troutfly Outpost is a Multi-Species Factory

This fly-in off-the-grid outpost offers excellent fishing and comfort.

Top 5 Musky Destinations in Ontario

The Musky Hunter shows you where to land the best musky in Ontario waters.

True Colours

How important is your lure colour when selecting a bait?

The Tigers of Sunset Country

The most picturesque of all freshwater fish.

Top Three Ontario Musky Waters

Where to catch the fish of 10,000 casts.

Wind, Cloud & Walleye

How Weather is Important to Walleye Anglers

Birch Bark Lodge

A Slice of Heaven on Wigwascence Lake

Four Seasons of Bass in Ontario

Northern Ontario is home to year-round bass.

Topwater Time in Northern Ontario

Summer Smallmouth Bass is All About Surface Lures

Eating Northern Pike

The Best Recipe to Cook This Fish

Don’t Be Afraid Of Muskies

Muskies are fish of 10,000 casts and are found in large bodies of water in Northwestern Ontario.

Lake of Bays fishing

Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Muskoka

Smallmouth Bass: Lightweight Champ

Learn about easy-to-access bass meccas as well as bucket-list hard to get to destinations.

Five Star Fishing

Birch Island Resort in Sunset Country is a beautiful resort offering world-class fishing.

5 Places to Shore Fish

Fish’n Canada shows you where to go shore fishing in Ontario.

Grand Tappattoo Resort: Fishing Adventures Near the GTA

A half-hour drive from Parry Sound = excellent pike and bass fishing.