You guys who are overlooking the bucktail are thinking too locally. From Maine to as far south as they catch stripers, the jig has taken far more bass than any other lure. It accounts for the lion's share of the bigger bass at Montauk in the fall. Not just under the Lighthouse, too. Sure, lots of fish are taken during those daytime blitzes on plugs, but at night, eels and bucktails account for most of the fish. In the south shore inlets, almost all of the bigger bass fall to bucktails--the ones that don't are taken on eels. But the question asked "what
lure"
Lately, weighted shads like Storms and Tsunamis get their share of fish, but it's a recent phenomenon. Historically, it's the bucktail jig.