With another Bassmaster Elite season in the books, it’s time to dig in and uncover what patterns took the top spots. More accurately, let’s have a look at the specific lures used by the circuit’s best.

I always enjoy these season recaps. They give us a better idea of what’s really working on tour, versus what’s just getting the hype. As we all know, the nation’s top pros have access to, and experience with, nearly every bait on the market. Yet, when the cash is on the table, its often a select few lures that get the call.

We also see trends each year. In my 30-plus years of following the sport, I can name a half-dozen times when it seemed like every angler was throwing the same thing. Square-bills, shaky-heads, bladed jigs and frogs immediately come to mind as examples that have had their day. This year, however, there didn’t appear to be an overwhelming favorite. In addition, a few old-school methods returned to popularity. Let’s get started.

Here’s a list of the lures reported to have won the nine regular-season events. In addition, I follow with baits responsible for 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes. In most cases, I tried to include lures that made a sizable impact in the event, staying away from those credited with a single fish or two, as that could skew results.

Three-time winners: Carolina-rigged plastics, Texas-rigged plastics, jigs (flipping and football).

Two-time winners: Dropshot plastics.

Single-event winners: Swimbait, spinnerbait, bladed jig, shaky-head plastic, flutter spoon, crankbait, Ned-rig, topwater.

If you’re under the age of 40, you may be asking the question: What the heck is a Carolina-rig? No surprise there, as Carolina rigs have certainly waned in popularity since the early days of structure fishing, when they were all the rage. In fact, in the 1980s, Carolina-rigged plastics were likely the most widely used lure group among tournament anglers.

The concept then was simple. The old “ball and chain” got anglers to the bottom in a hurry and allowed them to “feel” their way to hot spots. That’s right, back in the day, the only way to find shell beds, rock piles or brush was often to feel them with your bait. This required endless casting to productive places, gridding out areas to uncover “the juice.”

Nowadays, it’s simple. Just drive around with a side-imager looking for anomalies, scroll over and mark. Which is why the Carolina-rig bump surprises me. Certainly, there are more natural ways to present a plastic bait in deep water. I mean, it seems as if a new rigging technique comes out quarterly. Yet somehow the old big weight, barrel swivel and leader took down a couple hundred grand in 2022.

As for the others, is the Texas-rigged plastic worm the greatest bass lure ever invented? Could be. It still wins, some 75 years later. And jigs are again gaining momentum. Here, the Elite Series format likely makes a difference, as a jig is a low-numbers, big-fish bait. We’d see more of those come into play, logically, in five-fish events. Again, a tried-and-true technique continues to perform.

Finally, dropshots will always come out on top when smallmouth venues are on the schedule. Will the technique ever be replaced for targeting big brownies? Doubtful.

Lures responsible for 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes: dropshot (5), spinnerbait (4), bladed jig (3), crankbait (3), lipless crankbait (2), swimjig (2), jig (2), Ned-rig (2), flutter spoon (2), Texas-rigged plastic, jerkbait, shaky-head, swimbait, frog, finesse plastic (all one each).

Interesting how this is lopsided compared to the winners. Dropshots take top honors, no big surprise, but spinnerbaits and bladed jigs were much more frequent among top finishers than winners. After review of each event, this may be due to the winners staking out a single spot in many tournaments and refining their approach to a single bait or two. The other top finishers, by comparison, often moved around more and junk-fished.

Another interesting concept is the prevalence of power-fishing techniques over finesse. Dropshotting aside, the top baits were all tied to baitcasters and heavy lines, a real win for hardcore bassers. Of note is the resurgence of spinnerbait fishing. I had a feeling about this one. Could many bass be tiring of the thump of the bladed jig, and be turned back on by the flash of the bladed wire? You know, there was a time when a spinnerbait won everything.

So what does all of this mean? Can we use this information to better our fishing?

For one, it shows which techniques should take center stage among up-and-coming tournament anglers. I’m always blown away by this fact. It’s been 25 years since I heard Rick Clunn preach the values of learning power-fishing over all else, yet his word holds true, even in this day of modern everything. Try as we may, mankind still can’t seem to create a lure so lifelike that bass would rather eat it than a hunk of lead with a rubber skirt.

Second, it shows that just about anything can have its day. We still see specialists – Chris Zaldain immediately comes to mind with his Megabass swimbaits, and Jason Christie with his old-school Booyah blade. These guys stick to their guns and it often pays off.

So, if you’re embarking on a new career in fishing, what’s my advice, based on the most recent data?

Ignore the hype and throw what you know.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)