Depends on time and place which of the above will produce the best. Bait usually will win my vote as the most consistent producer and will often catch the larger fish. I have found that Herring Strip works great. I fish it regularly and have become very confident in it's ability to hook fish. It's less prone to the nuances mentioned by Downriggin above. In the winter my choices are herring strip, plugs (if there's bait around) and spoons. I don't like using a big flasher especially on BM as it really takes the fun out of fighting the fish to me.