This article will outline the 5 best lures to use when fishing and some tips and techniques for using them.
These lures aren't being listed haphazardly either, they are all effective and all have their place in any serious fisherman's repertoire.
These lures are great to use when fishing and have proven themselves to be effective through more than fifty years of combined personal fishing experience.
The number of options available to us when it comes to fishing lures is astronomical, but these 5 are certainly, at the very least, among the best 5 lures to use when fishing.
There are many factors that go into making a fishing lure effective, but none is more important that the knowledge of the angler, and knowledge comes from practice, so the more time that can be spent on the water fishing, the better.
In any case these 5 lures need to be in your tackle box and at your disposal anytime that you are fishing.
Let's get down to business, shall we?

• The Jitterbug - The Jitterbug is among the most poplar top water fishing lures of all time and should be available to you when fishing.
  If I could have only 1 top water lure, the Jitterbug would be it.
  When retrieved this lure makes a "gurgling" sound that fish find irresistible.
  The key to fishing this lure is to retrieve it very slowly to create the lures well know "wobble" and "gurgle" sound.
  
• The Rapala Floating Minnow - This minnow imitation has been around for more than 75 years and imitates a minnow as well as any fishing lure on the market.
  The Rapala floating minnow is easy to fish and certainly among the best lures to use when fishing, especially where live minnows are a natural bait fish.
  
• The KickTail Minnow - The KickTail Minnow, much like the Rapala floating minnow is very easy to fish and also extremely effective.
  The difference between the two lures is that the KickTail imitates a shad as well as any lure on the market, rather than a minnow.
  The KickTail is definitely one of the best lures to use when fishing, especially where shad are a prominent bait fish.
  
• The Fat Rap - The Fat Rap is also made by Rapala, but is a diving crankbait.
  You need to have a diving crank bait available when fishing and the Fat Rap is among the best fishing lures to have.
  This fishing lure is easy to fish and is avaialble in extremely realistic bait fish color patterns.
  Add a Fat Rap or two to your tackle box to use when you need to fish in a bit deeper water.
  
• That Rat-L-Trap - The Rat-L-Trap is made by Bill Lewis lures and is the pinnacle when it comes to rattling crankbaits.
  Rat-L-Trap's make a lot of noise under the water which is great for stained or muddy water situations.
  The bottom line is that these fishing lures are effective and should be available when fishing, especially when fishing in less than perfect water clarity.
  

Although all of these lures are "crank baits" they are all different and are all effective for various fishing situations and scenarios.
If you could have only 5 lures for fishing, having only these 5 would be a great way to go.
These lures are definitely among the 5 best lures to use when fishing in almost any freshwater fishing situation.