Top Micro Ultralite Fishing Lures



Several months ago, I came across an excellent article at In-Fisherman, speaking volumes about “Might Mini Cranks.” The author discussed a wide range of tips, tactics and lures to use for ultralite anglers wanting to throw tiny cranks and jerkbaits. Since then, I've built up an ever-expanding collection of ultralite fishing lures and I wanted to take this opportunity to share with everyone what I have found. 

(Please excuse any typos in this post; it’s a fairly long one!)


Jet Tackle Lures
is one of the best sources I have found of ultra cheap fishing lures in the United States. They also happen to offer a fantastic line of micro lures, perfect for ultralite anglers on a budget. While I love my expensive Yo-Zuri micros, I also maintain a collection of cheap small lures that I’m not afraid to cast near heavier cover or other snag-prone areas. Here’s their page of micro lures (web link-view ALL micro lures from Jet Tackle here) and following are profiles of several of these lures.

S3-Jetx (bottom 3) vs S4-LKA039
Catches trout too!
Tiny

Jet Tackle’s S3-JETX0002 is pretty solid little lure. Actually, it’s one of my favorite micro lures they offer, coming in at a tiny 1.2 inches (3cm). I’ve nailed a load of different sized green sunfish and other panfish on this tiny micro lure. I’ve also caught several wild rainbow trout on it from different secret SoCal creeks, thus showing off its versatility. It’s probably closest in shape to a mini Rapala, although considerably lighter. It has a fairly slow sink rate and a nice wobble on retrieve. They offer the S3-JETX0002 in 8 different colors, each for the stellar price of just $1.27. Try and beat that when you are looking for decent micro lures! It’s definitely one of the best micro lures offered by Jet Tackle and one I would urge any ultralite angler to purchase. ★★★★★


The S4-LKA039 is another tiny (1.6 inch) lure from Jet Tackle, in a mini jerkbait shape. It’s also one of the most detailed micro lures they offer and comes in a wide array of enticing colors. I have several of them in my ultralite box. It has an excellent side to side wobble, but unfortunately, it doesn’t sink fast enough to be of as much use to me as the S3-JetX. I still like it and adding a snap swivel to the front does help, but it’s mostly shallow water bait. It’s available for $1.27 as well. ★★★★


The tiniest true crankbait offered by Jet Tackle is the S4-LKA046. It’s definitely a solid shallow water crankbait, with an excellent wobble, even on faster retrieves and required little to no tuning. However, I wish it could dive a little deeper, as it is probably limited to 6 inches or less of diving depth. It’s still not a bad lure for $1.27 but it won’t replace my trusty Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow crankbait. ★★


One of the neatest tiny topwaters offered by Jet Tackle is the S5-FLA031. It’s a typical topwater popper and looks great in the water. The S5-FLA031 comes in at a true 2 inches and pops like a pro on retrieve. I’m not worried about casting it near thick cover for bass or sunfish on my urban creek fishing trips, because at $1.27 it doesn’t hurt to lose it (well, not too much at least). Definitely one I would recommend picking up for topwater ultralite fans, one of the better lures offered by Jet Tackle. Get it! ★★★★★
( more after the jump) 

The S6-FLA076 is another tiny jerkbait, although not as small as many of the other lures profiled here (2’’). It looks really good, nice details and all, and is also super cheap ($1.27). It’s decent on retrieve but feels a little too lightweight to be of much use. I think a slightly heavier model would be better, as it would offer better balance and diving ability. I’ll keep it as backup but not as a primary lure at all. ★★

Jet Tackle Micro Crankbaits
I can’t rave enough about the  S6-JET10966 line of mini crankbaits from Jet Tackle. These 2.4 inch cranks are excellent, with great diving depth  action (throw a snap swivel on front for best action), tons of excellent patterns, and they catch fish! I hooked up with largemouth bass and sunfish on these ultralite fun lures, no questions about that! While I’d love them even more if they were .5’’ smaller, they are awesome ultralite lures and definitely some of the best bargains offered by Jet Tackle. ★★★★★



Sadly, the S7-FLA040 line of 2.8’’ jerkbaits look amazing but do not perform well, in my opinion. They simply don’t have much action in the water, unless violently jerked (much harder than many Rapalas or XPS jerkbaits requires). A steady retrieve makes these look like a knife cutting through water, with little or no action. I was really disappointed by these as I had high hopes for them with their excellent appearance and price.

Lastly, the TinyBomber range of crankbaits are a little chubbier and longer than most covered here (2.4’’ long) but they look great in the water! They have an excellent wobble, dive well and come in 5 different colors. $1.39 is a terrific bargain for these too! I liked them so much I put in a second order for them, definitely worth a shot. I think they are a little too “fat” for most panfish, but will work great for city park pond and urban creek largemouth bass fishing. ★★★★


Overall, I’m really pleased with the line of small Jet Tackle Lures. While you can purchase a few of their lures from other websites or eBay for cheaper on occasion, only Jet Tackle ships from inside the United States. Their customer service and shipping times are excellent; shipping costs are very low as well.

Other Micro lures:

Conquer Outdoors


Imagine my surprise when I walked across a new stand of lures in the fishing section at WalMart, complete with micro crankbaits for just $1! Sold under the name Conquer Outdoors, these “Crappie Lures” were incredibly cheap and came in several different colors. They are just a little larger than a Bitsy Pond Minnow but have a similar action in the water. Not only do they work fairly well on both slow and fast retrieves, but they catch fish too! I was super excited to find these and have to admit that I may have cleaned out one WalMart’s stock of these lures, sorry! Unfortunately, when I returned, they stopped carrying the smaller ones and only carry bass-sized jerkbaits, cranks and spinnerbaits now. These are also very cheap ($2 or so) and I’ve picked up a few of them as well.  I’ve seen the little cardboard stand holding these lures at several WalMarts now but haven’t seen the crappie crankbaits previously sold at any of the stands. Keep your eyes open and maybe you’ll find them at your local branch.

wLure


Both wLure (C146) and Jet Tackle (S4-LKA046) carry a nice selection of chubby micro crankbaits. They don't have a very deep diving depth (6-10 ''?) but they have a solid wobble and definitely catch fish.I've caught a lot of green sunfish on these, as you can see in the photos.

Yo-Zuri
 Yo-Zuri Goby
Yo-Zuri Aile Kilifish
Between the Aile Goby and Aile Killifish, Yo-Zuri has some of the highest quality micro lures, period. The Killifsh is great for topwater and the Goby is more of a crankbait. They require light line and gentle touch to fish, but they absolutely destroy the sunfish! The Killifish is one of my favorite ultralite lures available on the market today.

Top and Bottom-Tsunami MicroCranks
Middle-YoZuri Snap Bean
Also worthy of mention is the Yo-Zuri Snap Beans. These are the ultimate in micro cranks. While a few decent alternatives exist, these little guys are fantastic on sunfish. I’ve had my ultralite fishing pole violently struck as I’m slowly retrieving a Snap Bean in an urban creek, thanks to aggressive green sunfish. I highly recommend picking up a few of these for sure!

Rebel
Rebel Jerkbait
Rebel has a nice selection of ultralite lures available. I have a few, including a small jerkbait (it performs excellently). Prices are decent but it can be hard to find some of these at local tackle stores (easiest is to look online for them). They also have a really nice tiny crawfish crankbait, a bee, frog, grasshopper and more. The one I really want to get but haven’t yet is the Rebel Tadfry-keep your eyes out on this tiny guy, looks like a killer lure for panfish.

Bass Pro Shops
BPS MicroMinnow
BPS MicroCrankbait
BPS carries a great line of micro lures. They have a nice micro crankbait, a Yo-Zuri style ultralite crank, and a unique “worm” colorful wiggler crankbait. All are very affordable and I’ve scored some decent fish on the micro crankbait.

Ladybug (generic) Lure

This little lure pops up on eBay from time to time and always interested me. I finally picked one up and was rather disappointed by it. It’s small, but is also quite wide-not the micro lure I was looking for. It also struggles to dive on retrieve, although it has a decent wobble. Stay clear of this one.

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31 comments

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September 24, 2012 at 7:22 AM delete

They really work well, don't they?
Great pictures of them, by the way! ;)

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September 25, 2012 at 7:44 PM delete

All of these by Jet Tackle look pretty cool!

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jrm
February 4, 2013 at 3:26 PM delete

can you tell me the name of, who makes it, or where you got the micro crank in the first picture third row over bottom bait. it looks like a small rainbow trout. i have the lure but cant remember where i got it or what it was called. ive been slaying trout with it the past few years. i think it came in a two pack one just a little larger than the other. ive looking for years and your picture is the first trace of it ive found. thanx

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February 8, 2013 at 10:07 AM delete

Hello JRM,

That is a Yo-Zuri Snap Bean. They do come in packs, one smaller and one larger. Excellent panfish lure, although it must be fished on light line and with a medium slow retrieve for best action.

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June 11, 2013 at 10:13 PM delete

Great Blog carpanglerdude!
Thanks for sharing your experience with these ul crankbaits. I am just starting to find their worth and definitely love to see your reviews. My best go to ul crank so far is the rebel teeny wee r. LMB and panfish love to devour them and I love to use it to catch them. There is another one that I am contemplating on getting a few of...the Salmo Hornet (smallest size). They have them on clearance for $3 online and I am debating if I should pick up a few to try. Have you any luck with those?

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June 12, 2013 at 9:48 AM delete

I haven't used the Salmo Hornet but I've heard good things about it. Where did you find it so cheaply online?

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June 12, 2013 at 10:51 AM delete

Here ya go: https://redrockstore.com/Catalog/index.php?crn=122&rn=3865&action=show_detail

I saw your post of the faux yozuri snap beans on eBay as well. Would you recommend those as well? I plan on keeping the rest of my UL lures new and use the the non branded ones instead. Helps ease the pain of losing one. lol

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June 12, 2013 at 5:39 PM delete

Thanks for the link. I may have to pick some up. Yes, those faux snap beans are excellent. I grabbed a bunch off of eBay when they started showing up. They run well (gotta slow, slow retrieve 'em for best results) and are much more affordable.

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June 17, 2013 at 4:32 AM delete

For getting a good results must be insured to do all above listed activities.
Nice pctures you have taken.
Deep sea fishing in Dubai

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June 26, 2013 at 9:16 AM delete

Hey did you pick up any of the hornets? Just got my order today and they look good but they did run out of 2 colors.

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June 26, 2013 at 10:00 AM delete

Not yet. I will though, thanks for the link. Are they fairly slim?

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June 26, 2013 at 11:46 AM delete

The name stands true. They are shaped like a hornet lol Fairly slim, the bill is wider than the body at it's widest point, and if you can imagaine what a tiny carp would look like, that's the salmo hornet size 3. For the price, it's definitely worth it imo

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July 2, 2013 at 3:59 PM delete

Has anyone tried the Daiwa SC Shiners?
seem to be a very good micro crankbait, I was just wondering how they acted in the water, if they throw really well.
I like the 3/32 ounce size at 1.5 inches long, but just mainly curious, also thanks for the link on the salmo hornets.
they seem to be very nice, bought all of the ones on sale, for that price you can't beat it.

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July 10, 2013 at 8:48 AM delete

Yea you really can't, I might cut one apart to see how it's designed. I haven't tried the Daiwa's yet, still have a backlog of a few cranks to try, but isn't that always the story haha

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July 10, 2013 at 8:49 AM delete

I had a question about Jet Tackle though, how do the larger cranks run? Are they comparable to Rapalas in terms of running straight and action?

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July 14, 2013 at 5:51 AM delete

Hey Izaak,
Found another one to add to your collection, Bill Norman Quarterbug.

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July 19, 2013 at 9:27 PM delete

Good find! Not the prettiest but should work!

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May 19, 2014 at 10:18 AM delete

Anybody have an update on Jet? The website's been closed down "for maintenance".

Rather than snap swivels try the little snaps used for changing flies. Mustad makes them.
bill

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May 20, 2014 at 7:06 AM delete

Look like same for me. Might try emailing them, they've been very responsive in the past.
Thanks for the tip!

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June 8, 2014 at 3:48 PM delete

I see Jet's back up, good deal!

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Anonymous
June 15, 2014 at 10:04 PM delete

After reading your blog and looking at Jet's site I just placed an order today for 11 of them. I got to looking just a bit ago and decided to order another 11. 22 lures plus shipping for right at $40.00 bucks. I love it. I am looking forward to getting them wet and seeing if O have as much luck as you did. Thanks for the great reviews. I also ordered a couple of the Yo-zuri's to see how I like them.

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June 25, 2014 at 12:14 PM delete

I notice the smallest two Jet minnows are now listed as being heavier. My sinking 1.2" ones weigh .05gms and Jet now listed them as .07gms. The 1.6" floater is now listed as around 1/8 oz where mine was .09gms. I made a suspending bait out of one of mine. drilled a 1/16 hole on top and added a drop of water. Sealed with a drop of thick ca.
bill

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July 29, 2014 at 10:52 PM delete

 Excellent tips. Really useful stuff .Never had an idea about this, will look for more of such informative posts from your side.. Good job...Keep it up
Best bait for fishing

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August 29, 2015 at 3:26 PM delete

I use the Ugly Duckling 2F and have caught many small fish.
I find them in Ebay.
The best I found

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August 29, 2015 at 3:35 PM delete

I use the Ugly Duckling 2F and have caught many small fish.
I find them in Ebay.
The best I found

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August 19, 2016 at 8:01 PM delete

Just so you know, the lady bug isn't supposed to dive' hense the very vertical lip. It's a topwater wakebait.

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March 20, 2017 at 8:33 PM delete This comment has been removed by the author.
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March 20, 2017 at 8:33 PM delete

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April 14, 2017 at 10:08 AM delete

Thanks for this
useful post.
Really love to read this post and its seems like a great blog i have ever seen
Nice and easy to follow. Thank you.

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April 11, 2018 at 12:30 AM delete

This post is really nice and informative. The explanation given is really comprehensive and informative. I am feeling happy to comment on this post.
Fishing lures online

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January 13, 2019 at 3:47 PM delete This comment has been removed by the author.
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Be nice.