The shallow water monster bass of the Sunshine State can be finicky, but they grow BIG. Here’s a starter set of lures proven to work exceptionally well just about any place you go down there.

Soft plastic “creature baits” are super versatile and there are ridiculous numbers of options. Here are my five favorites, five I use occasionally, and five I want to try soon.

There are lure colors that produced really well for me earlier in my fishing life, in shapes that I still use frequently, that got benched. Maybe I found a “better” color, or one that’s easier to purchase, but the following four options got “retired” for no apparent reason.

The Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver changed the nature of the flipping game. It spawned the category of “beaver baits” and became the preferred choice for most mat flippers. You can get by with standards like Watermelon Red, Black Red Flake, Black Blue Flake and Green Pumpkin – but the pros also have some lesser-known favorites.

When interviewing bass pros about their lure choices, when referring to their sponsor’s soft stickbait they’ll often state, “You know, their version of the Senko.” The Yamamoto category leader isn’t the only one, though. Here are some other examples of lures where the specific has become the name for the entire category.