depends on the time of year. right now i would use creature baits fished slowly. spawning is about to get going.

My favorite lure has always been the classical hula popper. I fish it over weeds, in shallow water, close to structure.
it is MY lure that catches when nothing does and i have had AWESOME times with it

rattletrap

plevine, was that the lure with the little red light that flashed inside it? cause i saw one of those as well.

Mine is a sexy shad silent crankbait made by strike king tie it on and HOLD ON VERY GOOD BAIT by the way WAY TO GO STRIKE KING!!!

i've begun using the bass poppers that i sell for my business and people from new york to CA say they work really well.

My favorites are Zara Spooks and buzzbaits and Scumrats for on top.
Rapala DT's, Wiggle Warts and Rattletraps for mid-deep.
The Senko for docks, etc.
I know the question asked for the number one but I think there are too many variables to have just one. It all depends on what's going on. I'll always start with top water, it's too much fun.

Big ol' shiner minners!!
Especially during the spawn, I rig my fly rod with nothing but a 2/0 gold perch hook, no weight. Hook one of them big minners just behind the dorsal fin, being careful not to sever the spine.
Flip him into shallow water and he comes to the surface and dances. Sit back and wait for the ride!!! LOL!!
Love it!!

Bubba

joint rappal in a purch color.

wacky rigged 5" yum dinger

7 1/2 plastic worm fished with no weights. Color depends on the natural forage in the water, but in the Northern lakes with rocky bottoms, crayfish colors work great.

Hercules candles!

Just kidding!!

Jitterbug is my #1 Bass bomb!

A 6 inch black lizard, texas rigged. Always a reliable choice.

On lakes a shad rap and colored depending on lake clarity. For rivers and streams a GYCB hula grub. Unbeatable.

OK so basically everything works...

in the magazine I saw some lure that is supposed to look like a bleeding fish and apparently it works great

in the magazine I saw some lure that is supposed to look like a bleeding fish and apparently it works great

Spoons

Dude, the ultimate bait is worms or nightcrawlers. They almost never fail me.

Zoom lizards or worms!

Rattletraps and ribbit frogs always work for me.

My go to is Texas rigged plastic worm, sometimes weightless, sometimes not, depending on the situation. colors: any of the variations of blue, purple, pumpkin, watermelon, black. Another favorite is the Pop-R. Under the right conditions zara spooks can be a ton of fun (by ton of fun I mean good size fish coming all the way out of the water on the strike) , but if you are fishing them for long they can get a bit tiring.

Pumpkin colored Rubber worm, Texas rigged

A black grape trick worm in clearer water. or my favorite the buzz tail shad. Has to be the 4 inch. Works wonders on top water. Landed big bass with these two.

I have been fishing bass tournaments since I was 10 years old and I rely mainly on soft plastics, but vary in the presentation and methods I use. If I am fishing a tournament, my first goal is to reach my limit in my live well, so I will throw a Zoom Fluke Worm (Watermelon Seed) on a 3/0 wide gap hook. After I have my limit, then it is time to hunt for big momma. What do I do then? Well, like I said, soft plastics for me. Down here in Florida on the lakes and rivers that I fish, there are a lot of floating mats comprised of mixed vegetation. I use Gambler crawfish plastics. Red and black or blue and black. And I flip in the heavy vegetation with a 4/0 Gamakatsu and depending on the thickness of the vegetation, up to a 1/2 oz bullet weight (always set your weight so that it will not slide on your line while flipping. I use a toothpick to do this by setting my weight where I want it and inserting a toothpick in the top and breaking the excess off.) This is a very reliable tactic for fishing in hot weather, but it has been found effective year round for me. We don't have a lot of deep water lakes or rivers around here, so I don't use many crankbaits. Topwater fishing is great when homeowners on the water don't complain about the hydrilla washing up onto their little private beaches. If I am topwater fishing, I stick to Bagley's Bang-o-lure (gold) or a Smithwick Devil's Horse (yellow and black). You can catch a fish on just about anything, but the key is presentation, patience, and confidence in yourself and the lure/method that you are using.

Good luck fishing to everyone!

when it comes to bass fishing I have the best luck using old fashioned night crawler with a tad bit of chewing tobacco spit on them. works like a charm I have landed many big bass using this bait I can pull in anywhere between 15-20 nice sized bass in a 4 hour period ranging 3lbs to 8lbs maybe it is the spot I fish but the bait is hot.

lures seem to work best for me but lures don't do crap with any other kind of fish