
For clear water, smaller and more natural profiles usually get more bites than oversized, loud baits. The Great Outdoors Shops 3.5” Bandit Swimbait – Natural-Action Paddletail | Baitlicious is the best straight-up clear-water paddletail pick here because it’s compact and described as ideal for clear water and pressured bass. The Sapper Baits 3.8" Ambush Gilly Swimbait- Pack of 6 is a strong bluegill-style option when fish are keying on panfish around cover. The Lanciotti Lures Lancoitti "Swimbait" and A.M. Anglers Shad Swimbait are better when bass are tracking baitfish in open water or around shallow structure. If you want a finesse, ultra-natural look for pressured fish, Veeu Design Lil Burno Real Clear Gold Back is a good micro soft-swim choice.
Switch to a glide bait like Jenko Fishing Jenko Groovy Glide Swimbait when you need more side-to-side movement or want to trigger reaction strikes from bigger bass. Move to a larger hard swimbait like A.M. Anglers Carp Swimbait when fish want a bigger profile or are holding deeper on edges and drop-offs. If bass are suspended and following but not eating, a finesse mid-strolling bait like Jenko Fishing The Don Swimbait (5pk) – Mid-Strolling Soft Plastic is the better call.
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