Top 3 Fishing Stories of the Week: Choose the Right Lure, Bucket List Bass Lakes, and Slop Fishing Bass Secrets

From 8 expert tips to help you choose the best lure for every fishing situation, to 6 bucket list bass fishing destinations you must fish, and how to catch more bass in the slop this summer, these stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

From 8 expert tips to help you choose the best lure for every fishing situation, to 6 bucket list bass fishing destinations you must fish, and how to catch more bass in the slop this summer, these stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week. | Photos by Joe Shead | Tim Little | Justin Hoffman

1.) How to Choose the Right Fishing Lure: 8 Expert Tips for Fishing Success

Struggling to pick the right lure? Learn 8 key factors—from species and water temperature to cover and depth—to boost your catch rate and confidence on the water. | Photo by Joe Shead

My girlfriend -- who hadn't fished seriously until she met me -- recently asked me, "How do you know which lure to choose when you're fishing?"

It was a good question. I've been fishing so long, I guess I take simple questions like that for granted, although I get skunked often enough that maybe I'm not the right person to ask. But I thought about it. And I'm sure a lot of anglers might have the same question. So I tried to come up with some answers…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

2.) 6 Bucket List Bass Fishing Lakes You Need to Visit Before You Die

Clear Lake in California and these other legendary waters should be on every true bass fishing fan's bucket list. | Photo by Tim Little

Some people take bucket list barbecue tours. Others try to visit as many major league or minor league baseball stadiums as they can. The golf nuts want to play all of the hallowed courses where majors are held.

I just want to fish (well, I also want to eat barbecue, but only if it’s near good fishing).

In particular, I want to fish for bass on the watery equivalent of Augusta. I love smashing ‘em on out-of-the-way or unknown lakes, but for me bassing at its best is a cultural and historical effort as well as just a pure smashfest. I want to go to the places that have historical significance, and once I’m there I want to catch ‘em in the most iconic way possible for that region. Sure, you could probably catch big bass with a Senko or using a minnow and forward-facing sonar to great effect in these same places, but as long as I’m dreaming, I want some sort of presentation purity, too.

If you’re building a bucket list, consider my top 6 (in no particular order) places to start:…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

3.) Slop Fishing Secrets: How to Catch Big Largemouth Bass in Thick Cover

Learn expert strategies for fishing slop mats for largemouth bass using hollow body frogs, flipping jigs, and Texas-rigged plastics. Maximize your summer bass game in heavy cover. | Justin Hoffman

Slop can take on a variety of forms, but in layman's terms, it is vegetative matter found floating on the surface. In some instances it can be chopped up cabbage or grasses from outboard props, duck weed mats, or algae blooms. Most often it's a combination and mix of a few varieties.


Easy to spot when out on the water, slop can be found throughout a lake or river system - up tight to shore, sitting atop expansive flats, or butted up against cane islands or other emergent structure. And due to wind and wave action, slop can appear overnight - as well as disappear just as quickly…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.