If there was any doubt that versatility remains the key to success for a touring angler, the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season erased it.
Including REDCREST and Heavy Hitters, this year’s schedule saw anglers compete on 11 distinct fisheries across nine states in seven different months of the year. From reservoirs to a tidal river to the Great Lakes and water temperatures ranging from the 40s at Lake Conroe to the 90s at the Potomac River, BPT pros faced a little bit of everything in 2025. The need for versatility was compounded by MLF’s decision to only allow anglers to utilize forward-facing sonar for one of three competition periods each day, which led to many pros employing two different patterns per day.
Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a wide range of baits caught bass not just across the season but at each individual event. That said, there are some trends that can be gleaned from looking back at the Top 10 baits articles from each of the nine events. Here are five takeaways that highlight the baits that shone brightest at catching bass in a wide array of locations and conditions.
1. When it comes to reaction baits, it’s hard to beat a bladed jig
In a bit of an upset, the bladed jig never accounted for a Bass Pro Tour win in 2025. However, the bait remained a staple regardless of conditions. It earned at least one mention in eight of the nine Top 10 baits recaps, more than any other technique.
The versatile tool produced from the southern end of the country to the far north, with pros finding success throwing it around everything from submerged grass to boat docks to bluff banks. Whether you prefer the Z-Man EverGreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer or the Strike King Thunder Cricket (the two most popular bladed jig models among BPT pros), the bladed jig remains king when it’s time to cover water.
2. Don’t forget about lipless crankbaits
The 2025 campaign showed that treble-hooked hard baits can still catch plenty of bass, with squarebills, deep crankbaits and jerkbaits all accounting for multiple high finishes. Somewhat surprising, though, was that the lipless crankbait appeared more than any of the above, helping account for at least one Top 10 at six of the nine events.
Lipless crankbaits dominated at Conroe, where winner Justin Cooper and five of the other Top 10 finishers leaned on the Texas staple during their periods without forward-facing sonar. While the bait’s ability to catch prespawn bass around submerged grass is no secret, it produced in other situations, too. Bryan Thrift used a pair of lipless baits to ignite schools of largemouth on Lake Murray. Cole Floyd threw a Strike King Red Eye Shad to imitate spawning shad around shell bars on Chickamauga. Nick Hatfield burned a SPRO Aruku Shad over shallow points to catch quite a few bass during his Heavy Hitters win on Smith Mountain Lake.
3. Worms never go out of style
Technically, you could make the case that one bait – the straight-tail worm – did appear in all nine Top 10 baits articles this season, although if you break it down into different categories (wacky worm, Neko rig, drop-shot, etc.) then no one technique quite matched the production of the bladed jig. However, it’s clear that worms – particularly finesse worms and senkos – remain incredibly versatile fish-catchers.
Worms dominated at the Harris Chain, with each of the top four finishers and six of the Top 10 pitching Texas-rigged stickworms to shallow cover. Drew Gill’s Neko-rigged Big Bite Baits Nekorama helped carry him to the win on Lake Murray, and the Neko rig popped up in five other Top 10 reports as well. No surprise, finesse worms on drop-shots also accounted for a hearty haul of bass ranging from Brent Ehrler and Marshall Robinson throwing Roboworms at Lake Murray to David Dudley pitching a drop-shot to spawning bass on Lake Guntersville to several anglers dragging drop-shots on Tennessee River ledges. And, of course, the wacky-rigged senko continued its fish-catching ways, most notably when Ott DeFoe used a Bass Pro Shops Stik-O to win on the Potomac.
4. While not the only game in town, minnows remain a must
The jighead minnow craze is far from over. But if this year is any indication, it’s starting to look like just another tool in anglers’ arsenals rather than the only way to compete.
Jighead minnows were part of the program for six of the nine winners in 2025. At a few events, they dominated – at both Conroe and Murray, stacking up big weights during the forward-facing sonar periods was basically a prerequisite for contending for the win, and Dustin Connell caught most of his REDCREST-winning bass on Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnows and Freeloaders. However, at three events (Harris Chain, Potomac and Saginaw Bay), the minnow never got mentioned by the Top 10 finishers – proof that, while the BPT’s forward-facing sonar restrictions certainly helped promote diversity in techniques, there are some situations where traditional tactics can still outperform the new technology. Of note, we also saw a few examples of anglers employing minnows without forward-facing sonar – both Connell and runner-up Wesley Strader did so on Guntersville, while Justin Lucas caught some big ones blind on Chickamauga.
In addition to the ever-productive CrushCity offerings, the most popular minnows included the Bass Pro Shops XPS Rock’n Shad (which Cooper used to win on Conroe), the Yamamoto Scope Shad, the Deps Sakamata Shad and the Zoom Winged Fluke.
5. Topwaters can win tournaments
Ask anglers their favorite way to catch bass, and most will probably answer with some sort of topwater technique. This season showed that topwater baits are not only fun; they can also win tournaments (once the water warms up, of course). Topwaters played a significant role in four of the final five events of the season, winning two of them.
Jake Lawrence provided perhaps the most dramatic moment in Bass Pro Tour history when he caught a 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth on a buzzbait in the final seconds to edge Jacob Wheeler for the win on Nickajack. That was one of many fish Lawrence caught both that day and this season on the Buckeye Buzzerk, part of a resurgent year for the buzzbait. Meanwhile, Wheeler secured his second win of the season by catching virtually all of his Championship Round bass on a SPRO Bronzeye frog at Saginaw Bay.
Buzzbaits, toads, frogs and a Berkley Choppo helped several other anglers secure high finishes in the shallow, grassy waters of Saginaw Bay and the Potomac River. Frogs also accounted for some big days on Smith Mountain – a completely different fishery with deep, clear water and no vegetation. Walking baits had their moments, too. Wheeler caught some big smallmouth on Nickajack using a Rapala PXR Jowler, where Floyd found success targeting largemouth farther down the lake with a Strike King Sexy Dawg.