Dice Baits Gear Guide

An all-new JDM finesse fishing trend that’s taken the US bass-fishing market by storm, dice baits, also known as “fuzzy dice,” have captured the attention of curious fish and bass anglers with a crazy design that originated as a cube or hunk of plastic covered in tentacle-like appendages. On the surface, dice baits appear to be a ridiculous bass fishing trend, but fuzzy lures played a key role in major tournaments like Michael Neal’s MLF win on the St. Lawrence River in 2024 and Kyoya Fujita’s second-place finish in the Elite Series on Lake Seminole in 2023.

With increased pressure and advancements in sonar technology, finesse tactics like hover strolling and jig minnows have excelled in recent years, and dice baits fall into a similar category of hover finesse tactics that trigger a unique feeding response in bass. While a dice bait doesn’t necessarily mimic any type of forage, the key to this bait is imparting action to get the tentacles moving to create a unique sense of life that fish can’t resist. In this gear guide, we’ll go over the best fishing gear to fish dice, examine salted and unsalted rigging options, and check out money-saving DIY alternatives for anglers who want to create and customize their own baits.

Dice baits are lightweight by nature and commonly thrown on a drop shot, wacky rig, neko, or fished weightless, so a finesse-oriented spinning rod or bait finesse casting setup is a good choice to improve casting distance and maximize sensitivity. A 6’6” to 7’2” medium light to medium power spinning rod with fast to extra-fast taper provides a good balance of sensitivity, handling, and leverage to allow for accurate casts with lightweight rigs and effective hooksets. Bait finesse casting gear is also a great choice for dice baits, as some anglers prefer the mechanics of a casting rod for making short accurate casts to bed fish, pitching to targets on live sonar, and delivering a hookset.

Specialized fishing reels aren’t necessary to throw dice baits, as any 2000- to 3000-size spinning reel you would employ for drop shots, wacky rigs, or finesse lures can be used effectively. If you’re going ultra-finesse with less than 6-lb line and a lightly weighted or weightless dice rig, it may be advantageous to use a smaller 1000- to 1500-size spinning reel for improved line management and handling. When making repeated casts to shallow fish that spook easily, consider using a bait finesse casting reel for the added convenience of engaging the spool with the thumb bar instead of constantly opening the bail to make a cast. Regardless of which setup you use, be sure your reel has a smooth-starting drag system since dice rig presentations are often characterized by thin-diameter fishing lines and light wire hooks.

Ultra-thin fluorocarbon lines are popular for presenting small dice baits, but the ideal line choice may depend on how you plan on rigging up or the specific fishing application. If you’re making short pitches to the bank, sight fishing for bed fish, or casting to targets on live sonar, the translucency of a straight 4- to 6-lb fluorocarbon line provides added stealth while preventing the frustration of connection knots hanging up as they pass through the guides. When targeting fish in deeper water with dice baits on a drop shot, the strength and no-stretch power of an 8- to 15-lb braided mainline to fluorocarbon leader increases sensitivity and hook-setting power at the end of a long cast.

Commonly offered in salted, non-salted, or floating plastic model options, the composition of dice baits greatly affects their buoyancy and sink rate, ultimately providing different benefits based on how you choose to rig up. Non-salted dice baits float or fall slowly through the water column, making them perfect for wacky or neko rigs, pitching to bed fish, casting to live sonar targets, or sight fishing for cruising fish. Salted dice baits are packed with salt and sink faster through the water, making them ideal for deeper depths and drop shots, free rigs, and jika rigs.

Nose-hooking dice baits with a drop shot hook can tear up these expensive soft baits quickly, so consider picking up a pack of Owner Centering Pin Springs to help anchor the hook firmly in the plastic. Simply twist a centering pin spring into the nose of the bait and thread the hook through the spring to greatly extend the life of your dice baits.

As many tackle junkies know, shipping from overseas often comes with a hefty price tag due to the taxes, duties, and shipping costs incurred by importers, and there’s no exception with original JDM baits like the OSP Saikoro Dice which run $19.99 for a four-pack. While manufacturers are rushing to enter this category, these soft baits often come in limited pack quantities and remain costly no matter which brand you choose, so DIY and budget-minded anglers should experiment with homemade creations.

Using your favorite silicone skirt strand material, a Decoy Rubber Threader, and small sections of your favorite stick baits, you can create custom dice baits to save money and take advantage of this unique bass fishing trend. Simply attach one to three strands of silicone to the sharp wire end and flexible rubber holding section, pierce the threader through the soft plastic, and pull skirting material back through the plastic to create dice or give your baits new appendages.

Fuzzy dice baits fall into a one-off creature bait category of soft plastic lures that don’t necessarily mimic natural forage, so there’s no need to overthink color selection. If you are targeting bottom-dwelling bass over deep water with a drop shot, natural colors like shad or smoke mimic baitfish, while green pumpkin and brown shades better imitate bluegill, perch, or sunfish species. Dice baits are also highly effective for sight fishing applications, so don’t hesitate to use bright colors like white, pink, or black so you can easily identify them in the water when pitching to a bed fish or targeting shallow cruising fish.

While many bass fishing trends come and go, dice baits have cemented a spot in the arsenals of early adopters with their unique ability to capitalize on the curiosity of pressured fish. Regardless of your first impression of dice baits, they’re highly effective when fish are on beds during the spring, and provide anglers a serious edge by showing pressured fish something completely out of the ordinary when they’ve seen every bait imaginable.