Seabass Hardbaits

Sea bass hardbaits at Charlie's Fishing: minnows, pencils, poppers and metal for the salt

This page holds our sea bass hardbaits: the plugs, pencils, poppers, vibration lures and metal jigs we stock for bass fishing in salt water. A hardbait for bass has a different job from a freshwater plug. It must fly far into an onshore wind, keep swimming in surf and tide instead of rolling over, and hang on hooks and split rings that survive salt. You find sinking minnows from BlueBlue and Rapala for the beach, floating minnows for estuaries and shallow flats, sinking pencils for current, walk the dog pencils and poppers for bass hunting on top, vibration lures and metal for depth and distance, and a big jointed swimbait for the biggest fish. Below we explain what each type does, with sizes and weights, so you know what to tie on when you reach the water. Soft lures for bass are on the Seabass Softbaits page, and all bass lures together on Seabass.

Sinking minnows for surf beaches and casting into the wind

On an open beach the fish are often just behind the breakers, and the wind is in your face. A sinking minnow with a weight transfer system is the answer: the weight slides to the tail on the cast, so the lure flies nose first without tumbling, then slides back for the swim. The BlueBlue Blooowin! is our first pick for this. The BlueBlue Blooowin! 60S (6 cm, 4 g) is the fry size for bass on tiny baitfish, the BlueBlue Blooowin! 80S (8 cm, 8 g) the all round beach size and the BlueBlue Blooowin! 110S (11 cm, 14 g, three trebles) the one for distance and bigger fish. All three run to about 1 m, swim with a tight wobble and an S-shaped slide on a straight retrieve, and dart when you twitch. When the wind and the swell get stronger, the BlueBlue Ballist 90S (9 cm, 21 g) is the heavy minnow: a lot of weight in a short body, so it holds its depth and keeps contact in rough water along harbour edges and current lines. From Rapala, the Rapala X-Rap 8 cm (7 g, 0.9 to 1.5 m) and the Rapala X-Rap 10 cm (13 g, 1.2 to 1.8 m) are slashbaits: rip them and they dart, wind them and they wobble. The Rapala Max Rap 11 (11 cm, 13 g) has tungsten balls in its MaxCast system for distance and suspends on the pause, and the Rapala Air Boss Salt Water (10 cm, 15.5 g, 1.5 to 1.8 m) is the saltwater version of the Air Boss twitchbait with VMC 7547 Ti hooks, built for twitch and pause over mid-depth water. See the whole range at BlueBlue Fishing and Rapala, and read BlueBlue Fishing Japan: four lures we tested in Dutch waters.

Floating and shallow minnows for estuaries and flats

In an estuary, over a sandbank or along a weedy flat the water is often only a metre deep, and a deep diver would plough the bottom. Here a floating minnow shines: it swims just under the surface, floats up on the pause and does not snag. The BlueBlue Blooowin! 125F (12.5 cm, three trebles) is the floating Blooowin! for exactly this: a wide rolling wobble on a slow retrieve, an erratic slide when you work the rod, at its best at dawn, dusk and on a flooding tide when bass push up over the flats. The Rapala X-Rap 6 cm Hot Head (6 cm, 4 g, 0.9 to 1.5 m) is the snack size for school bass on fry and for the days when bigger plugs get followed but not taken. Fish the flooding tide: bass move in with the water, feed along the edges of the channels and drop back on the ebb. More shallow runners in Crankbaits & Twitchbaits.

Sinking pencils and stickbaits for tide and current

A sinking pencil has no lip. It casts further than a minnow of the same weight, you count it down to the depth you want, and on a slow steady retrieve it slides and rolls like a baitfish drifting with the tide. In a tide race or a harbour mouth, cast across the current, let the lure swing round on a tight line and keep the retrieve slow: the current does the work. The BlueBlue Snecon 90S (9 cm, 15 g) is the famous S-curve pencil, with a stepped head and free moving weight balls that make it swing wider the stronger the flow. The BlueBlue Snecon 50S (5 cm, 3 g) is the finesse version for harbour edges, canals and shallow flats where bass follow small baitfish close to the wall. The BlueBlue Snecon 150S (15 cm, 40 g) is the big one of the family, with the same unpredictable S-curve, rattling weight balls and two trebles on a through-wire frame, for long casts from the rocks and bass in strong current that hunt bigger prey. The BlueBlue Arvin 60S (6 cm, 6.5 g) is a compact sinking stickbait with a subtle roll that works in current and still water, and with the rod tip up it runs just under the surface like a fleeing baitfish. The BlueBlue Arvin 150S (15 cm, 40 g) is the big one: a long cast from the rocks, a slow count down along a drop-off or a current seam, and a profile for bass that feed on larger prey. All BlueBlue stickbaits and pencils are in BlueBlue Fishing.

Topwater pencils and poppers for bass hunting on the surface

When you see swirls or bass pushing mullet fry against the rocks, a surface lure gives the most exciting fishing there is. There are two types. A walk the dog pencil glides left and right on short twitches and covers a lot of water in calm conditions. A popper spits and pops with each pull and calls fish up in a chop or over rough ground where a diving lure would snag. The Rapala Precision Xtreme Pencil Saltwater (10.7 cm, 21 g) is our main bass pencil: through wired, an internal weight on a rail for long casts, a Dual Frequency Knocker that gives a high and a low pitch in turn, and VMC 7548 Ti coated trebles. The Rapala Precision X-Treme Pencil 87 (8.7 cm, 12 g) is the same pencil one size down. The Rapala X-Light Pencil (5 cm, 4 g) is for light tackle and clear, calm water when bass sip tiny fry. The BlueBlue Gachipen 130 (13 cm, 30 g) is the big through wired pencil for bass on medium sized baitfish and for long casts from the rocks. From BlueBlue's small topwaters, the BlueBlue Inemun 60 (6 cm, 6 g) walks with a subtle action for pressured, calm water, while the BlueBlue Chupazo 60 (6 cm, 7 g) has a fat body that pushes water, so fish find it from further away. The Rapala Skitter Pop 7 cm (7 g) is the balsa popper with a cupped lip and a feather dressed rear treble: pop it, let it sit, pop again. See all surface lures in Topwaters.

Vibration lures and blade baits for deeper harbours and current

When bass hold deeper, in a harbour basin, along a pier or in a strong tide, a vibration lure gets down fast and keeps buzzing on a slow retrieve. The BlueBlue Narage 50 (5 cm, about 12 g) falls in a spiral so the line does not tangle on the drop and works cast or vertical. The BlueBlue Narage 65 (6.5 cm, 18 g) is a lipped vibration lure that casts far and stays close to the bottom; its flat body loses balance on the pause and sinks slowly on its side, which is often the moment a following bass takes. The BlueBlue Shalldus 14 (6 cm, 14 g) and BlueBlue Shalldus 20 (7.5 cm, 18 g) are blade baits with a willow leaf tail that keep a tight vibration even at low speed, ideal for urban harbours and canals that connect to the sea. The Fiiish Power Tail Evo 40 (4 cm, 5 g) and Fiiish Power Tail Evo 50 (5 cm, 8 g) are small, dense vibration lures that cast a long way for their size and hold their action in faster current. More in Vibration Baits and Fiiish.

Metal jigs and spoons for distance and deep water

Nothing casts like metal. When bass and mackerel feed far out, or the fish sit in deep water off a pier or a rock mark, a compact jig reaches them. The BlueBlue SeaRide Mini 15 g falls slowly and horizontally and darts on short lifts, rigged with a treble and an assist hook. The BlueBlue Fallten in 20, 30 and 40 g is slim and fast sinking for deep water and strong tide, with a treble and an extra inline hook. The Savage Gear 3D Jig Minnow 20 g (7.5 cm) is a 3D scanned baitfish profile that swims on a straight retrieve as well as on lifts. And the classic Abu Garcia Toby Spoon 15 g and Abu Garcia Toby Spoon 20 g (both 7.5 cm) still catch bass, sea trout and mackerel on a plain wind in, with a stable wobble even at speed. See Metal Jigs and Spoons, Savage Gear Lures and Abu Garcia.

Big baits for big bass: swimbaits and bucktails

Large bass eat large prey, and in autumn, when they feed on mackerel and herring, a big lure sorts out the bigger fish. The SPRO Swimbait 80 Fast Sink Saltwater (20.3 cm, 150 g) is a three piece jointed swimbait in saltwater baitfish colours, sinking about 30 cm per second, with two Gamakatsu 1/0 2X Strong trebles on SPRO Power Split Rings. It gets down in current and swell on a steady retrieve from rocks, piers and harbour walls, and it trolls at depth without added weight. The BIM Tackle Crazy Rabbit JNR (21 cm, 15 g, 27 g wet) is a bucktail with a flashing blade and a clip on head you can swap to fish shallow or deep, straight or vertical. More in Swimbaits & Glidebaits, Mouse & Bucktail Lures, SPRO and BIM Tackle.

Hooks, split rings and snaps that survive salt water

Salt is hard on hooks and split rings. Rinse your plugs in fresh water after a session, check the rings and replace a treble as soon as the point is dull or the finish starts to rust. Many bass anglers swap the trebles for inline singles: the BKK IMP Single Hook is a forged inline single that sits straight in the split ring, keeps the plug's action, holds well in a bass's hard mouth and is far easier to unhook on the rocks or at night. Use a strong, compact snap on a fluorocarbon leader of 0.35 to 0.50 mm, so you change lures in seconds and the leader takes the abrasion of rocks and mussels. Find hooks and rings in BKK Hooks, Hooks and Rigs and Spare Parts, snaps in Small fishing tackle and leaders in Lines and Leaders.

Which sea bass hardbait for which situation

• Surf beach, wind in your face: Blooowin! 80S or 110S, X-Rap 10 cm, Max Rap 11.
• Rough water, strong swell, you need to feel the lure: Ballist 90S, Air Boss Salt Water.
• Estuary, sandbank or flat under 1.5 m deep: Blooowin! 125F, X-Rap 6 cm Hot Head.
• Tide race and harbour mouth: Snecon 90S swung across the current, Arvin 150S or Snecon 150S for the big fish.
• Bass on tiny fry close to the wall: Snecon 50S, Arvin 60S, Blooowin! 60S.
• Calm surface at dawn or dusk: Precision Xtreme Pencil Saltwater, Pencil 87, Gachipen 130, Inemun 60.
• Chop or rough ground on the surface: Skitter Pop 7 cm, Chupazo 60.
• Deep harbour basin or pier: Narage 65, Shalldus 20, SeaRide Mini.
• Fish far out or in deep water: Fallten 30 or 40 g, 3D Jig Minnow 20 g, Toby 20 g.
• Big bass on mackerel in autumn: SPRO Swimbait 80 Fast Sink Saltwater, Crazy Rabbit JNR.
See also Seabass, Seabass Softbaits and Hardbaits.

Why buy sea bass hardbaits at Charlie's Fishing

We are based on the Dutch North Sea coast and pick our hardbaits for its conditions: onshore wind, surf, strong tides and rocky breakwaters. That is why the range goes deep in BlueBlue and Rapala saltwater models in several sizes, with metal, vibration lures and a big swimbait next to them. Every lure ships from our own stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we are happy to tell you which size and weight fit your mark. For inspiration read Night fishing for seabass in the Netherlands, Seabass fishing with John Willems in the Netherlands and Rapala: which baits to use and when.

What is the difference between a minnow, a pencil and a popper for sea bass?

A minnow has a lip and swims by itself on a straight retrieve at a set depth, such as the Blooowin! or X-Rap. A sinking pencil has no lip, casts further, sinks to the depth you count it down to and slides on a slow retrieve, such as the Snecon. A topwater pencil floats and walks the dog on twitches, and a popper floats and pops with each pull. Minnows cover open water, sinking pencils handle current, and surface lures are for bass feeding on top.

Which hardbait for sea bass in strong current and tide?

Choose a lure that keeps swimming when the water pulls on it: a sinking pencil such as the Snecon 90S swung across the flow, a heavy minnow such as the Ballist 90S, or a vibration lure such as the Narage 65 when the fish sit deep. Cast up tide and across, keep the line tight and retrieve slowly, so the current gives the lure its action. Fish the hours around the turn of the tide, when the flow eases and bass feed hardest.

Do I need to change the hooks on sea bass hardbaits for salt water?

Not straight away: the saltwater models here come with corrosion resistant trebles. Rinse them after each trip and replace a hook when the point dulls or rust shows. Many bass anglers fit inline singles such as the BKK IMP Single Hook, because they hold well, unhook easily and are kinder to fish you want to return. Keep the same hook size as the original so the lure keeps its balance.