It’s June and that means one thing for a lot of bass anglers…. topwater season is official here. Granted, further south has had a topwater bite for a while now, but even in the north where I live (Wisconsin), the topwater bite is already picking up.
Overall, one of the cool things about bass fishing, whether it’s largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass, is that there are a lot of ways to catch fish. And sure, when it comes to tournament fishing and the technological advances of forward facing sonar, it seems like everyone has to be shaking a minnow the past couple years. Of course, the hottest bait of 2026 so far is the the Hideup Coike, or other variations of the urchin-style baits. We all saw them dominate on Santee Cooper recently, but across all the tournament fields, urchin baits have been REALLY popular this year. I’d recommend it for June too but you can’t any of them anywhere so it’s a moot point.
Butt the end of the day, you could put 10 different fishermen on the same body of water, hand them 10 entirely different setups, and there is a good chance every single one of them will catch fish. That is the beauty of chasing bass. Personally, my favorite way to fish is dropping the trolling motor, grabbing a heavy flipping stick, and pitching a Texas-rigged creature bait into the shallowest, nastiest cover I can find. I’m a fan of that old-school, beating-the-bank mentality where you visually pick apart the shoreline and drag them out of the dirt. Put me on a boat dock lake and skip docks for hours.
However, if there is one universal truth that almost every bass angler on the planet can agree on, it’s that absolutely nothing beats a topwater strike. There is just something incredibly addictive about walking a spook or dragging a hollow body frog across a matted grass line and having the water violently erupt underneath it. It is pure, chaotic fun, and if you haven’t experienced it, you’re missing out.
So without further ado, here’s 5 bass baits for the month of June, that should play across a majority of the middle 75% of the country… if you’re way north, maybe go back a month and check out May’s list, and if you’re on the deep south, maybe check out last year’s July post.
1. Topwater/Frog
Like I said, I LOVE a topwater bite. It’s probably the most fun you can have bass fishing to be honest. A topwater walking bait or a popper (especially during the mayfly hatch if you have that going on) is particularly effective in the summer months, as well as the shad and bluegill spawn. There’s nothing like the surprise of a big bass blowing up on a topwater walking bait and if you can find some big schools offshore, you can fill up the boat pretty quickly. Tough to go wrong with bone, natural, and/or chrome colors. But if you got some matted vegetation, lily pads, or my favorite, duckweed, a hollow body frog is tough to beat.
Berkley J-Walker Walking Bait – $11.99
Colors: Bone, Maverick, CJ Shad
Storm Arashi Cover Pop – $9.99
Colors: Green Gill, Ghost Pearl Shad
Rapala PXR Jowler 127 – $21.79
Colors: Broken Bone, Pure Chrome, Ayu
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
2. Crankbait
Fishing a deep crank can be a great way to catch them in the summer months, as a number of bass, especially some big ones, will push deeper where the water is a little cooler and the water has more dissolved oxygen in it. Look for ledges, deep points, creek channels, and offshore humps. If you’re in a big reservoir with some current, bass will often set up on the down-current side of the structure, waiting to ambush baitfish.
The one thing about deep cranking is that you really need a special rod for it, one that not everybody has since it is not that versatile. You’re gonna want a big and long, cranking rod with a moderate action, probably or 7 and a half feet or more, so you can get a good, long cast. A lower gear-ratio reel will help you not wind too fast.
Colors: Citrus Shad, Green Gizzard Shad, Big Shad
3. Drop Shot
A drop shot is one of the most versatile and one of the most effective techniques that you can honestly probably use every month of the year. I have one tied on pretty much year around, and it’s really become a confidence bait for me over the years. When I need a bite, pick up the drop shot. If you’re on the bank, it’s great. If you’re fishing around shallow flats or near docks, it’s great. If you’re fishing deep rock way offshore… still great.
If you’re not fishing around any grass or wood, you can nose hook your soft plastic on a drop shot hook, but if so, opt for a 2/0 finesse Neko hook and you can tex-pose that hook point so it’ll come through that cover without hanging up.
Roboworm Straight Tail Worm – $3.97 – $4.99
Colors: Aaron’s Magic, Margarita Mutilator, Morning Dawn
Berkley Lab Series Flat Worm – $14.99
Colors: Violet Morning Dawn, Tactical, Ember Jelly Fusion
4. Swim Jig
Swim jig is another one that is tough to beat this time of year, and that’s really because of how versatile it is. You can swim it in the grass, flip it around shallow heavy, skip docks with it, fish deeper weed lines… no matter where you live. It comes through just about everything efficiently, and can be an absolute killer during the the shad spawn or when bluegills are up on beds. There is always a population of bass that will stay shallow all year and you can always catch them on a swim jig.
Here’s a few swim jig options, with the Toad Thumper being more ideal for heavier cover and the Core Tackle has really good body rock when paired with a swimbait.
Toad Thumper Hydra HD Swim Jig – $5.49
5. Texas Rig
For me, flipping and pitching around shallow cover is always gonna play, whether we’re talking about pre-spawn fish, bedding bass or even post-spawners. It’s just the way I love to fish and it will catch you fish year around. Fish will generally go deep in the summer months, especially down south, but there’s always a population that stays shallow, and those are who we’re looking for here. Here in Wisconsin, I generally don’t start flipping until the water hits about 50 degrees, and then I’ll usually start with a jig, but once they get close to the spawn, and after, it just seems like a soft plastic performs better. If you want fewer bites but the chance at bigger fish (at least on average), maybe try a flipping jig.
If you haven’t found a favorite yet, here’s a few I really had a lot of success with last year, as well as a new offering from Berkley that I just broke out last week and had some success on.
Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug – $6.99
Colors: Black & Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin Blue, Candy Bug
Colors: Bluegill, Dark Gill, Green Pumpkin Watermelon Red
Rapala Crush City Cleanup Craw – $6.99
Colors: Tilapia Magic, Green Pumpkin Blue, Bama Craw
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast will give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
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Giving you the complete bait breakdown for major and minor Bass feeding times in any bass fishing location.
