Your list is strong for late spring bass 🎣—you’ve got a nice mix of surface, reaction, and finesse options. If I were helping you build a smart starter lineup, I’d say you’re very close to a complete box.
What you already have covered well
- Whopper Plopper / small topwater: Great for early morning, windy banks, and low-light feeding windows. Topwater can absolutely shine in late spring, especially over shallow cover and calm-to-light chop. If you want a quick refresher, check out How to Fish The Whopper Plopper or How To Fish a WHOPPER PLOPPER.
- Jerkbait: Excellent choice. In late spring, jerkbaits still work when bass are suspended, roaming, or keying on baitfish. It’s one of the best “search and trigger” lures in the lineup.
- Chatterbait: Huge thumbs-up. This is one of the best late-spring confidence baits for covering water around grass, wood, docks, and transition banks.
- Senko / stick bait: Absolutely a must-have. A weightless Senko or wacky rig is one of the easiest ways to catch pressured bass around beds, docks, and shade.
- Spinnerbait: A classic for windy days and shallow cover. Also a great backup when bass want something moving but not too fast.
- Swimbait / minnows: Good call. Paddle-tail swimbaits and minnow-style baits are money when fish are chasing bait in clearer water.
- Frog: Yes, especially if you’ll fish matted grass, pads, or thick shoreline cover.
What I’d tweak
You probably don’t need both “whopper plopper” and “small topwater” unless one is a backup size/style. If one is a walking bait or popper, that’s actually a better complement than two similar plopper-style baits.
I’d also make sure you have a few specific sizes/colors rather than just categories:
- Topwater: bone, white, or black
- Jerkbait: shad or translucent baitfish colors
- Chatterbait / spinnerbait: white/chartreuse, plus one shad color
- Senko: green pumpkin, watermelon, black/blue
- Swimbait: perch, shad, or bluegill profiles
- Frog: black and white are the two easiest starting colors
If you want the best 6-lure bass starter kit
- Senko
- Chatterbait
- Jerkbait
- Spinnerbait
- Topwater plopper or walking bait
- Frog or swimbait depending on your water
My honest answer
If you’re trying to buy smart, your list is already good — but I’d prioritize one or two confidence baits and not overload on similar topwaters. Late spring bass usually reward a mix of moving baits + one finesse bait. If you want, I can turn your list into a ranked shopping list by priority and budget so you know exactly what to buy first. You’ve got a solid plan — now let’s make it catch fish 😄
