The basics of fishing lures:

Bucktails are also called ‘jigs.’ These weighted lures are molded onto hooks, and rigged either with a plastic skirt, a hair tail, or a work.

Buzzbait looks like a safety pin. This lure for surface fishing has a propeller blade on one wire, and a hook hidden inside a skirt with a weighted body on the other.

Crankbait is a fish-like lure or plug, that’s designed to float just under the surface of the water. They’re often made of long-lasting plastic or wood, and some are combined with soft plastic tails that can be replaced as necessary.

Soft plastic lures are manufactured to resemble natural bait—worms, lizards, crayfish, shrimp, or wiggling creatures of indeterminate species. These are often sold in bulk, for angler’s ease in rigging them on the hook.

Spinnerbait, a great lure for bass, looks like a safety pin. This wire lure has one or more spinner blades on one end, and a weight, a skirt—and a hidden hook—on the other. Anglers use spinnerbait when they’re fishing around structures such as piers or stumps. A spinner, on its lonesome, has blades that rotate around this weighted-body treble-hook lure’s straight shaft.

Topwater lures are designed to float on the water’s surface; when they’re twisted or moved, they prove irresistible to fish. Usually, these are made of hard plastic, wood, or hollow rubber.

Now that you’re tackle box is fitted out, learn to hook bait the right way. You’ll use a different method, to hook different baits. Use a ‘bait-holder’ hook, with barbs on the hook shank, to grip soft baits such as clams, worms, and insects. Check local regulations, however, to confirm which baits are prohibited in the waters where you fish.