Favorite Lures

Black Mister Twister
I haven’t tried any other color yet,



Tim

One lure? Just one?
One lure? For all fish? I don’t think that was the question–or I hope not!



Yes, my most consistent lure for largemouth is undoubtedly an old-style 3" black and silver Rapala (old style because it still says, “Made in Finland” on the lip). However, I would sometimes rather throw a jig, spinnerbait, or Silver Minnow because it’s a little more active.



Smallmouth–even tougher because some days one lure catches everything, but no lure works every day. I like the mini deep-diving Rebel Crawfish (make sure they run straight–they do make some that will capsize on you), but I’d have to say my favorite crankbait is a crawfish or bass pattern Bomber Model A (5A). I used to think the bass pattern was stupid, but in motion it looks a lot like a greenish crawfish; and the smallmouth seem to like the orange stripe, too.



Hand-tied bucktail jigs are also a favorite, since I can tie them to imitate crayfish, sculpins, leeches, or whatever. Plus, at about 10 cents apiece, they are not as painful to lose to snags.



Black maribou Road Runners are a killer sometimes.



Trout are easy; if they won’t hit a dressed Mepps, they’ll hit a brown streamer or a light brown dry fly. Occasionally I like to use the smallest size KO Wobbler to drift into logjams. A good one for roiled water is a #1 Mepps Comet with a single hook and an inch-long piece of worm.



I don’t care if you know what I fish with; if you don’t know where or how, the fish will still be there for me next week!


Favorite Lure
Leeches, black, brown, or gray. Mostly I troll with streamers, clouser minnows, or any of the Dan Blanton flash tail minow do well. But my all time favorite is the Steelhead Caddis tied by Bill McMillan of Portland, Ore. a killer fly in the fall on a tail out with a 20 pound steelie sitting in a salmon nest.

Favorite lure are…
Senkos,purplish with speckles of gold,Baby One Minus,bass pattern color,jigs with Yamamoto grubs,four inch black power worm.On the flyrod I go with foam poppers olive with black and silver tails,clousers with green over white bucktail and irresistibles.

They are no more
All of my favorite fishing lures ever are no longer made.



Best Northern Pike lure: Luhr Jensen’s Shyster, in an orange-red color (recognizable to printers as “Warm Red”) with black spots, in a 1/3-ounce size. LJ still makes the lure, but not in that color, only yellow and white. Why, Luhr Jensen, why? (But, at least, this thread inspired me to e-mail them and inquire.)



Best crappie, smallmouth bass, and walleye lure: Blakemore used to make a jig called, I think, the “Little John.” Bullet head, a moderate amount of hackle, very slim soft-plastic body that ended not in a curly-tail, but in a shape like a ping-pong paddle. The 1/16 oz. black and grape were deadly, the grape esp. after it had gotten very sun-faded and some of the hackle chewed off. I caught my biggest walleye ever on one.



Best trout lures:



(1) A skinny jointed eel, about 3" long. Purchased in a going-out-of-business sale, and absolutely irreplaceable. I said good-bye to mine in an inaccessible streamside bush.



(2) Weighted beetles, about 1/3" long, made of a firm-but-not-hard plastic that yielded a little bit to being squished (or bitten), covered with irridescent threads laid side by side, with a bit of feeler-looking stuff in the front. The beetles were weighted just enough so you could use them on spinning gear with a tiny bobber. The black ones were murderous, the dark green pretty darn good, and the tan were useless. Also purchased in a going-out-of-business sale. Both my husband and I distinctly remember that the box said “Orvis,” but Orvis has no memory of ever selling such a thing.



(3) Soft-plastic curly-tail jig bodies in a color exactly like bottled strawberry soda. The owners of a fishing camp used to make and sell their own, but then they retired. Could be some other strawberry jig bodies out there, just not where I can find them.

fav lures
you go on any commercial boat and you’ll see we carry just a few …first color, dark lures on dark, or overcast days or dark water. Blue and white combo/ light colors for bright days ,red and white ,chartruese yellow or green,or goldfish orange. natural baitfish reflect the colors that surround them so match your color to the water.we generally use a big lipped rapala style lure for a variety of fish deep trolling. clark spoons, silver or gold, remember match your water,are great for mackerals and toothy critters.and a bucktail jig for working holes and structure with a strip of natural bait on. remember most lures are designed to catch fishermen not fish…

for bass I’ve always been sucessful with a Mann’s snake bait,looks like a baby snake and floats,flip it on a lilt pad retrieve slowly and they hit these regardless if they are hungry or not, they just hate snakes. catch em up.

don’t use any
I just tie the worm or shiner to the line, foregoing a hook, and let the fish swallow away. You get fresh fish and the added bonus of regurigated bait to use again.

no lures
i have baitfish tattooed on my ankles and feet, just dangle and when they bite your toes pull in quick,this has saved me tons o money on bait+lures

Aww… shucks…
Y’all work to hard at this. One lil half stick of dynamite and I get all the fish I can eat for a month.



Then fer them days I wanna be quiet I have a special little Copenhagen can with a 9V battery in it…

tryed that
I tried using magic marker on my big toe to make a worm to use as you suggested. I don’t have that toe anymore. A big northern chomped down with all those teeth and has my toe now. That was, oh 7 years ago. Since then I use my line tie method.

fish tattoos
I believe! while surfing(on a board,not a yak) at myrtle beach a bluefish grabbed my toe and when i lifted it out of the water it bit off a chunk!!had to stay out of the water for 2 weeks,(a lifetime when you’re 16,) got the tattoos later and have been bit by many fish since…of course I was messin with most of them…the lobster that bit me hurt the most, but then there was that stone crab no,no! the yellow stingray was the absolute worst as far as pain.the green moray the bloodiest,made 3 of my fingers look like a peppermint stick…the sharks weren’t so bad,maybe I should stay off the water. Yes,it’s all true.I fish commercially it’s like the dog catcher being bit by a dog.occupational hazards abound