lures

The Middle School Plug Masters

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:17:30 -0400

The seventh-graders at Bordentown Regional Middle School in New Jersey are turning out some serious striper plugs in shop class. It's a project dreamt up by New Jersey teacher and angler Greg Poole, and with a little help from a master plug-maker and a group of kids genuinely interested in learning the craft, the result is some impressive poppers and Danny swimmers that any surfcaster worth his salt would agree will catch. This is their story.

The Killers: 112 Can't-Miss Lures of Today's Top Guides

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:59:34 -0500

Ask fishing guides to name their favorite lures and most sigh, then grumble, then inevitably utter some variation on the words, “That’s tough, because it all depends on the conditions.” But deep down, all guides—regardless of sponsorships, endorsements, or free lures showered on them by manufacturers—know the patterns that will get them hooked up on their home waters anytime. They all have standbys that get it done come rain, wind, or dirty water. So we found and grilled 28 top guides throughout the United States and Canada and got them to reveal their absolute favorite lures in four categories for seven species—and even tell us how they use them. It’s a lot of info, and it’s all here. Read it, then check your gear—and we’ll see you at the tackle shop. Click on a species below.

Favorite Lures of the Smallmouth Guides

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:16:56 -0500

Guide John Blais

John Blais
Location: Belgrade/Cobbosseecontee Lake, Maine
Credentials: Blais has been chasing smallmouth throughout Maine for over 20 years, both is still-water and the river systems. Boating 50 fish a day is common, and he’s led clients to his share of six-pound bronzebacks.
Number of years guiding: 7
Contact: (207) 872-9688; belgradebassin.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: War Eagle Double Willow
Color: Mouse/Nickel Blades
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “I like War Eagles because you can really burn them. It almost seems like the faster you reel, the better they look. The water up here in Maine is really clear, so the fish tend to be spooky. I’ll have clients cast way past the area we’re targeting and get the blades moving right away. That way, the lure looks natural when it reaches the fish and the splash doesn’t scare them.”

Storm Wiggle Wort

Favorite Crankbait: Storm Original Wiggle Wart
Color: Phantom Brown Crayfish
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 3/8 oz.
Details: “Ninety-five percent of the smallmouths’ diet in my waters is crayfish. The Wiggle Wart looks a lot like a wounded crayfish if you work it correctly. If you’re retrieving a crankbait and feel it bump a rock or stump, stop reeling immediately. If it doesn’t get hit, start again with a slower cadence. This action mimics a wounded crayfish trying to escape. If you’re not deflecting the lure off structure, you won’t catch anything.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Yamamoto Senko
Color: Black/Red Flake
Size: 5 in.
Details: “Dark-colored lures create great contrast in clear water. Senkos work particularly well in the post-spawn when you want big, suspending females. They’re also easy for novices to fish. I always fish a Senko whacky-style, but you want them to fall horizontally so they look natural. Too many anglers run the hook through the collar of the bait, but that’s not the center of the bait. Bend a Senko until the ends meet so you find the center and put the hook there.”

Favorite Jig: Bass Stalker Finesse Jig
Color: Black/Blue
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “The concave, angled head on these jigs makes them sit upright on the bottom. If you match them with a pork trailer, they look just like a defensive crayfish. People don’t realize that jigs are very versatile. If I’m fishing one more traditionally, I just move the rod tip from ten o’clock to 12 o’clock to impart slight action. But sometimes I’ll just reel steadily and swim them. Both work as long as you maintain constant contact with the lure.

Guide Ed Keller

Ed Keller
Location: Susquehanna/Potomac River, Maryland
Credentials: A former Redman Tournament Circuit pro, Keller now focuses his angling efforts into putting customers on up to 40 smallmouth a day, many of them weighing four pounds or better.
Number of years guiding: 9
Contact: (301) 582-9404; potomacguides.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: Strike King Premier Pro Model
Color: White/Gold Blades
Weight: 3/8 oz.
Details: “The water in our rivers can be off-color depending on time of year and run-off. Gold shows up much better in those conditions, and double willow blades produce more vibration. I’ve found that a slower retrieve produces well in my area. You do have to keep the blades turning, but bumping the bottom on the occasion is not a bad thing. I’ll use this retrieve when we’re fishing around grass points in four to five feet of water.”

Favorite Crankbait: Rebel Wee-Crawfish
Color: Green Crawfish
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 1/5 oz.
Details: “Crayfish are the main forage of our smallmouth. This lure has a wide wobble that triggers more strikes than any other imitation I’ve found. Because of the odd profile of this crankbait, you need to get the retrieve just right. I try to reel just fast enough to get the rod tip tapping slightly. Pull them too fast and all they do is roll.”

Yamamoto Senko

Favorite Soft Plastic: Yamamoto Senko
Color: Watermelon
Size: 4 in.
Details: “Senkos are great during the post-spawn when bass are guarding the fry. The watermelon color has great visibility, and fish hit it defensively as it falls. I rig a Senko Texas-style with no weight. I prefer a 2/0 or 3/0 wide-gap hook. You want them to fall in a nice level position. They look the most natural that way. A bait falling nose-down just doesn’t look right.”

Favorite Jig: Rite Bite Tube
Color: Green Pumpkin/Purple Flake
Size: 3 ½ in.
Weight: 1/8 oz jighead.
Details: “These tubes are heavily salt-impregnated, which I think causes fish to hang on longer when they strike. The plastic material is also thicker in this bait then many other, which makes them more durable. I use a 1/8-ounce jighead with a tube 80% of the time. If you’re targeting suspending smallmouth, they won’t usually dive to chase a jig that comes whizzing past them. One-quarter-ounce jigs fall too fast, but 1/8-ounce is just right in most cases.”

Captain John Davis

John Davis
Location: Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee
Credentials: Davis began running smallmouth trips only six years ago because he “didn’t want to share secrets.” But now that he’s offering his knowledge to clients, they shouldn’t be surprised to hook bass topping seven pounds.
Number of years guiding: 6
Contact: (859) 619-8002; smallmouthspecialty.com

Stanley Wedge Tandem

Favorite Spinnerbait: Stanley Wedge Tandem
Color: Chartreuse/White
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “The Wedge appeals to me because it doesn’t look bulky in the water. The head is very streamlined, which gives it a nice presentation. I like to run a spinner bait shallow enough that I can see the blades flashing, but not high enough that there is a wake on the surface. I also like to position the boat so I’m throwing parallel to the bank. When the bass are holding shallow, it’s a deadly combination.”

Favorite Crankbait: Luhr Jensen Hot Lips
Color: Hot Texas Red Crystal
Size: 2 ¾ in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “Hot Lips run true right out of the box. I’ve never had to tune them to get a fish-catching action. That red-and-black color is also a terrific crayfish imitator. With any crankbait, you need to be hitting things underwater, like logs, rocks, or just the bottom, for success with bigger fish. A lure bouncing off debris better imitates a fleeing crayfish. The fish key in on the sound. I’ve had five clean runs and caught nothing, then on the sixth, I hit a rock and a fish grabs it.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Kalin’s Triple Threat Grub
Color: Brown/Chartreuse
Size: 5 in.
Details: “Grubs are great in mid- to late spring when bass are in the cover, because you can bring them over the grass without getting hung. Triple Threats have great tail action, and they’re something any client can fish easily. People get so wrapped up in all these new scented lures. They’re expensive, and in my experience grubs are more about getting a reaction strike than attracting the fish with smell. A grub brought in with a steady retrieve catches plenty of fish. I never worry about scent.”

Favorite Jig: Punisher Shaky Jig
Color: Brown
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “I’ve caught hundreds of fish on this jig. It has a finer skirt material that I think gives it a little more subtle action. It even works great in really cold water. The best thing about a skirted jig is the versatility. Sure you can jig them up and down, hop them along, but one thing that I like to do is slow-crawl them. I’ll let it settle on the bottom, and provided it doesn’t get hit on the fall, just drag it so it looks like a slow-moving crayfish.”

Guide John Tipton

John Tipton
Location: New/Shenandoah River, West Virginia
Credentials: A veteran smallmouth hunter on the rivers of West Virginia, Tipton runs more than 75 trips a year, getting customers hooked into fish winter, spring, summer and fall.
Number of years guiding: 18
Contact: (540) 731-3165; newriverfishing.com

Favorite Jig: Yamamoto Hula Grub
Color: Green Pumpkin
Size: 2 in
Weight: 1/4 oz stand-up jighead.
Details: “Ninety-eight percent of the forage in the New River is crayfish, and Green Pumpkin best matches their molted color. These jigs work well year-round, but when the water is cold, I use a stand-up jighead. The smallmouth won’t chase a jig, but with a head that causes them to sit vertically on the bottom, you can practically dead-stick the bait and let the current impart the action. Just make sure to keep constant contact with the bottom.”

Favorite Spinnerbait: Strike King SpinnerBait
Color: White/Silver Blades
Weight: 1/4 oz
Details: “You can't beat a white spinnerbait in my opinion. White and silver just match so many different kinds of forage. However, I do think people tend to just cast and reel. They don't think about speed and approach enough. I've caught smallmouth as the lure was falling. I've also caught just as much reeling fast just under the surface as I have slow and deep.”

Favorite Crankbait: Lucky Craft RC 1.5
Color: Purple Perch
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 1/2 oz
Details: “Lucky Craft lures might be on the expensive side, but they can take a beating. That's important because the trick to getting strikes is often boucing a crankbait off structure. The Purple Perch pattern has always done well for me in various water conditions.”

Case's Wacky Jack

Favorite Soft Plastic: Case's Wacky Jack
Color: Green Pumpkin
Size: 5 1/2 in.
Details: “The Wacky Jack is very similar to a Senko, but I've found that the design outfishes them signifcantly. Because of those pointed ends, the lures just has a natural action on the fall that smallmouth can't seem to resist. The green pumpkin does a great job matching crayfish, and this color works all year long.”

Favorite Lures of the Crappie Guides

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:19:46 -0500

Captain Jim Porter

Jim Porter
Location: Stick Marsh/Farm 13, Florida
Credentials: An accomplished fishing writer and professional guide since 2002, fifty percent of all Porter’s trips are for crappie, during which he routinely boats fish weighing two pounds or better.
Number of years guiding: 7
Contact: (321) 951-7841; stickmarsh.com

Favorite Spinner: Mepps Aglia Ultra Lite
Color: Gold with yellow tail
Weight: 1/18 oz.
Details: “Crappie react well to flash, and a gold spinner has always been a productive standby, but I honestly don’t use them that often. I’ve always found that Colorado blades have better rotation at slower speeds than other styles. I’ll cast and give a quick wrist snap just to get it turning, but once it’s going, you can slow down to the speed you need and the blade will stay in motion.”

Luhr Jensen Hot Shot

Favorite Hardbait: Luhr Jensen Hot Shot
Color: Silver
Size: 1 ½ in.
Details: “These are odd looking crankbaits, but they have a very erratic action that makes them want to run to one side, then run back to center for a few beats, then go the other way. I think the give off a different sound wave because of that action. To effectively fish crankbaits for crappie, you have to know the size of the fish you’re targeting. I use them primarily when I know there are lots of ten-plus-inchers around. Big crappie hit them no problem, but smaller fish will shy away from larger baits.”

Favorite Jig: The Perfect Crappy Jig
Color: Gray Ghost
Weight: 1/16 oz.
Details: “I developed these jigs because I wasn’t happy with what was out there. The eye is offset so the jig hangs horizontally instead of tail down, which is unnatural. The marabou tail also undulates constantly, even while sitting still, which really triggers strikes. I actually don’t jig a jig at all. I find that a slow, steady retrieve is more productive. I think that might be because the jig doesn’t look nervous, therefore it’s more vulnerable because it doesn’t act like a baitfish that thinks it’s in trouble.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Bass Pro Tripple Ripple Grub
Color: White
Size: 3 in.
Weight: 1/8 oz. jighead
Details: “Many curly-tail grubs are molded in one piece, so the tail is stiff and takes some aggressive jigging to get it moving correctly. The three strands on the Tripple Ripple have a nice wiggle even when worked super slowly. Lots of guys fish soft plastics under corks, which is effective but can also hold you back. Even when you think your depth is set just right, the lure will always find the one branch or rock sticking up higher and hang up. If you skip the float, you can adapt to quick changes in depth or structure height more efficiently, which means more time in the water.”

Captain Randy Martin

Randy Martin
Location: Kentucky Lake, Kentucky
Credentials: When anglers want the best shot at boating plenty of crappie weighing over two pounds, they book with Martin, who has guided on Kentucky Lake for eight years, but fished it since 1986.
Number of years guiding: 8
Contact: (270) 354-8935; crappieattitude.com

Favorite Spinner: Blakemore Road Runner
Color: Chartreuse/White
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “The blade action on these lures does a good job of simulating a wounded baitfish. Sometimes I’ll tip them with a tube or grub to add even more action. A tight line is key for fishing a Road Runner, because the blade spins on the fall just as well as on the retrieve, so many times the crappie will hit it as it drops over structure.”

Favorite Hardbait: Rapala Fat Rap
Color: Silver
Size: 1 ½ in.
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “Any color that imitates a generic shad is a good crankbait choice. I like a lure that can run shallow but dive up to 12 feet and has a good, tight wobble. Crappie tend to key in on erratic action over a steady retrieve. I instruct my clients to stop the lure frequently and change speeds often. It’s subtle changes that catch a crappie’s attention.”

Favorite Jig: Standard Round Head Hair Jig
Color: Chartreuse
Weight: 3/32 oz.
Details: “The jigs I use most often are locally made, but they’re pretty standard. Any plain, round head jig will work well, and I always do best with this head style. A 3/32-ounce jig is a middle-of-the-road weight that’s pretty versatile. When you’re vertical jigging over brush piles, or any structure, you want the jig to be parallel when you pause. Round head jigs stay evenly horizontal, which I think most accurately represents a real baitfish. I find that jigs that lay nose-up or down catch fewer crappie.”

Southern Pro Lit'l Hustler

Favorite Soft Plastic: Southern Pro Lit’l Hustler
Color: Chartreuse
Size: 1 in.
Weight: 1/16 oz. jighead
Details: “Tubes will always be a universal producer for crappie, and they’re effective all throughout the season. Our water is often slightly stained, so you can never go wrong with chartreuse. When the crappie are up on the banks spawning in the spring, I remind my charters that most hits are out of egg defense rather than hunger. If you cast into spawning fish and retrieve quickly, they see the threat leave and might not chase. But if you cast and let the jig hang under a float right in the middle of them, keeping it perfectly still, they’ll get mad and attack it.”

Guide Jason Piper

Jason Piper
Location: Beaver Lake, Arkansas
Credentials: A regular crappie hunter on Beaver Lake since 1992, Piper began guiding professionally in 2003 and now runs more than 100 trips a season to put clients on crappie that often reach two-pounds.
Number of years guiding: 6
Contact: (479) 640-3980; jtcrappieguidear.com

Favorite Spinner: Strike King Mini-King
Color: Black/Blue
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “I fish the upper end of Beaver Lake, which can get really murky compared to the rest. Black has a sharp silhouette and has always done well for me in dirty water. When you get out on the water and the clarity is bad, you’ve got to get something out there that has lots of vibration. Tubes and jigs will still catch fish, but they have to be right in front of their faces, whereas a spinnerbait they can find.”

Favorite Hardbait: Rat-L-Trap
Color: Fire Tiger
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “Threadfin shad are a favorite forage of our crappie. Although it doesn’t seem like this color would match them, if you hold a threadfin in the sun, you’ll see twinges of green and purple. Lots of anglers will probably tell you to pause your retrieve with a Rat-L-Trap, but I don’t care for the way they fall. Dropping nose-down is not natural, so I’ll cast past the structure I want to fish and always maintain a steady retrieve over it all the way back to the boat.”

Arkie Jigs Shinneee Hinneee

Favorite Jig: Arkie Jigs Shinneee Hinneee
Color: Chartreuse/Silver
Weight: 1/16 oz.
Details: “These jigs are incredibly simple but highly effective. The bottom line is, crappies react to flash, and just the little bit off tinsel goes a long way. They’re absolutely my top-producing jig. This jig is a big producer because it takes hardly any action to make fish hit it. The trick is just barely flicking your wrist. It can almost be boring because it’s like dead-sticking, but the slightest twitch gets it done. If it’s windy and there are waves, I tell me clients to drop it and not do anything. The bounce of the boat is enough.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: YUM Wooly Curltail
Color: Chartreuse
Size: 1 ½ in.
Weight: 1/16 oz. jighead
Details: “I’ve fished a lots of soft plastics over the years, and this is the best by far. The tail is a little shorter, which helps avoid short strikes, and since it’s ribbed down the entire body length, the vibration, although slight, is a huge plus. No matter how deep the water is, I never use more than a 1/16-ounce jighead with grubs or tubes. Any bigger and they fall too fast, plus the hook size grows and may affect the number of fish you get. Rather than up head size, I’ll use split shots on the line to increase the weight, but keep the offering small.”

Captain Steve Welch

Steve Welch
Location: Lake Shelbyville, Illinois
Credentials: A Crappie U.S.A touring pro and guide on Lake Shelbyville since 1993, Welch has a widespread reputation for bringing heavy stringers back to the dock.
Number of years guiding: 16
Contact: (217) 762-7257; lakeshelbyvilleguide.com

Favorite Spinner: Charlie Brewer’s Slider
Color: White/Chartreuse
Weight: 1/16 oz.
Details: “There are spinners similar to the Slider, but most have curly tails and I believe the paddle tail out-fishes them three to one. I also never go heavier than 1/16th ounce because the lure will drop too fast and end up under suspended crappie. People tend to attempt a 60-foot cast with a spinner when all you need to do is throw 30 feet. The worst thing you can do is throw high in the air and create a big loop between the lure and the water. When the lure splashes down, it’ll sink and end up in the brush before you get all of that slack reeled up. I’ll tell clients to only move the rod tip from 11 to 2 o’clock when they cast. A short stroke is all it takes.”

Cotton Cordell Gay Blade

Favorite Hardbait: Cotton Cordell Gay Blade
Color: Chrome/Blue
Weight: 1/4 oz.
Details: “I don't often throw crankbaits for crappy, but I will use a Gay Blade on occasion as a search bait. The vibration this lure gives off really stands out. I'll fan-cast it in shallower water when I'm looking for crappie in the spring or if I think they're on the move. Once I find them, I'll switch to a move effetive method. Lures like this will, however, catch bigger fish over all.”

Favorite Jig: Midsouth Super Jig
Color: Chartreuse
Size: 1 in.
Weight: 1/16 oz. jighead
Details: “Tubes are always going to produce crappie any time of year. I think the trick to making them work for you is being able to adapt them to any situation. You have to know when to jig, when to let them sit under a float, and be really familiar with the depth of top spots. Chartreuse has always caught the most fish for me."

Favorite Soft Plastic: Mister Twister Teenie
Color: Black/Chartreuse Pearl
Size: 2 in.
Details: “Tiny grubs are great because you can work them many different way. Sometimes I find that a straight retrieve works best. But these particular grubs don't require hard motion to get the tail going, which is really important.”

Favorite Lures of the Walleye Guides

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:07:24 -0500

Captain Rick Millette

Rick Millette
Location: Lake Erie, Ohio
Credentials: Millette has taken the knowledge gained fishing Erie since 1962 and turned it over to his clients, who have put walleye over 14 pounds in the box with his help.
Number of years guiding: 28
Contact: (614) 771-1910; eriequest.com

Favorite Shallow Hardbait: Storm Junior Thunderstick
Color: Hot Tiger
Size: 3 ½ in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “Perch are a major forage for our walleye, and this is a great imitation. Thundersticks roll slightly, which give them a lot of side flash. Over the years, I devised a reeling pattern that works well for these lures. I’ll cast out, crank three times just to get the lure tapping bottom, then stop for three seconds and repeat. That stop-start action broken up in threes always catches walleye for me.”

Favorite Deep Hardbait: Storm Deep Junior Thunderstick
Color: Metallic Rainbow Trout
Size: 3 ½ in.
Weight: 5/16 oz.
Details: “I troll these lures most of the time, and they run well with trolling weights, which is very important. The color is also a good match for an emerald shiner. Too many anglers think you can set a rod in a holder, get on the troll and forget about it, but you’ve got to watch constantly. Even big walleye can hit so subtly, they won’t even trip the planer board. Any change in the action of the rod tip can mean there’s a fish on."

Storm Junior Thunderstick

Favorite Jig: Standard Round Head
Color: Purple
Weight: ¾ oz.
Details: “I don’t really have a brand preference and I buy lots of jigs locally, but plain round doesn’t seen to hang as much. Since I fish rocky bottom, that means a lot. A 3/4-ounce jigs might seem heavy to many walleye anglers, but I have a theory that the bigger the jig, the more sound it makes as it bangs off the rocks. That thumping sound attracts fish because they feel it with their lateral line. My catch rates went way up after switching to heavier jigheads.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Berkley Power Grub
Color: Natural Chartreuse
Size: 3 in.
Details: “When the walleye are coming out of the rivers after spawning, the water is turbid and dirty with run-off. These grubs get it done in that situation because they have good vibration and the scent doesn’t hurt. Stinger hooks are often only used with live bait on a jighead, but I use them with grubs, too. Rather than try to place a treble stinger in the rear of the bait, I’ll let it free-swing back by the tail. That’s often the key to coming tight on walleye that hit gently.”

Captain Jeff Sundin

Jeff Sundin
Location: Lake Winnibigoshish/Leech Lake, Minnesota
Credentials: Sundin’s 25 years of experience guiding year-round in the boundaries of Chippewa National Forest have given him a knack for leading clients to 10-plus-pound walleye.
Number of years guiding: 25
Contact: (218) 246-2375; jeffsundin.com

Favorite Shallow Hardbait: Salmo Hornet
Color: Red Tail Shiner
Size: 2 in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details" “In the spring and fall, we troll lots of water 10 feet deep or less. This lure is rated to dive to five feet and tracks very straight. The color is also a perfect match for northen ciscos, locally known as tulibees, which are a primary walleye forage. Sometimes you hurt yourself by matching forage color too closely with a crankbait. When there are tons of baitfish in an area, the walleye may not be able to differentiate between your lure and the real thing, which sounds good, but throwing an off-the-wall color that shows them something different can produce more fish.”

Favorite Deep Hardbait: Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk
Color: Gold
Size: 4 in.
Weight: 3/8 oz.
Details: “The water in the local lakes is often stained and this color stands out really well. The Husky also has a consistent action when trolled at a slow speed. If I’m trolling bigger baits like a Husky, I always start out running at two or three miles per hour, then adjust to find the sweet spot. You can’t rely on the speed that worked last week, because wind, depth, and other factors will have an effect on how the lure runs.”

Jigs N' Rigs Bugeye Shorty

Favorite Jig: Jigs N’ Rigs Bugeye Shorty
Color: Glow/blue back
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: “These jigs have a short-shank hook and tear-drop body, so when you rig a minnow on one, the bait’s head stays tight against the lead and can’t slide back. This makes for a much cleaner presentation. I liken my jigging method to snapping somebody with a wet towel. I go for that quick snap, but tell clients to always maintain a tight line after the snap because a walleye bite is often very light. It feels more like extra pressure on the line instead of a sharp tug.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Berkley Gulp! Alive Minnow
Color: Black Shad
Size: 4 in.
Weight: ¼ oz. long-shank jighead
Details: “Spot tail shiners are a popular live bait in my area, and if they’re in short supply this soft plastic in this color matches them perfectly. I’ve also noticed that this lure catches bigger fish on average. A soft plastic rigged on a jighead is a very productive lure when the fish are gathered in numbers to spawn in the spring. Strikes can be most aggressive this time of year, so since I use a four-inch bait, it’s important to rig them on a jighead with a long enough hook to seat the bend near the tail. This way you don’t miss short-strikers.”

Captain Karl Palmer

Karl Palmer
Location: Lake Oahe/Lake Sharpe, South Dakota
Credentials: Running over 100 trips between per season, Palmer has a sharp bead on the walleye in his home lakes, using 15 years experience to put charters on walleye topping 10 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 15
Contact: (605) 223-3186; dakotawalleye.com

Favorite Shallow Hardbait: Rapala Husky Jerk
Color: Silver/Blue
Size: 3 1/8 in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “This lure best resembles a rainbow smelt, which is a main food source for our walleye. In the spring when the fish hold in ten feet or less, the Husky works the shallows very effectively. If I need to get a Husky Jerk down a little deeper, I’ll add a few split shots about 14 inches up the line. People think that will affect the action, but it doesn’t. In cold water you need to work lures really slowly sometimes, but it can be hard to get them to the right depth without cranking fast.”

Favorite Deep Hardbait: Cotton Cordell Wally Diver
Color: Fluorescent Red/Black
Size: 2 ½ in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “Wally Divers have a tight vibration that ups catch rates on the troll, especially in the spring when the water is usually a little stained from all the run-off. The bright red color has always done well for me in tinged water conditions. When we’re on the troll, I tell my clients to set the hook on every little tick. Walleye don’t slam a lure like a largemouth. They inhale the lure with a gulp of water, which can equate to only a minor tug in rod tip. I always say, ‘hook sets are free.’”

Cabela's Wobble Jig

Favorite Jig: Cabela's Wobble Jig
Color: Pink Glow
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “When a Wobble Jig hits the bottom, the hook stands straight up. So if I have a live minnow on the jig, it’s now more visible and can’t easily burry in the bottom. A minnow’s back is designed to be camouflage, so I always put one on a jig upside down. If you think about it, the white belly is now exposed and the bait will flop more trying to right itself. I outfish other guys with this trick all the time.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Mister Twister Lil’ Bit
Color: White
Size: 1 in.
Weight: ¼ oz. jighead
Details: “I actually pinch the tail off these lures are just put the body on a jig to give it a little extra color and bulk. This also makes the jig sink a little slower. The biggest mistake anglers make with jigs is fishing them as soon as they hit the water. Even if I mark suspending fish, I tell them to drop to the bottom, because there are usually fish there, too. Depending on the depth, I tell them to count to 20 or so before they even think about touching the reel handle.”

Captain Kimm Blaquiere

Kimm Blaquiere
Location: Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Credentials: Running more than 60 trips a season for Lake Winnipeg “greenbacks,” Blaquiere has a GPS loaded with coveted marks where he frequently finds fish that pin the needle past 13 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 14
Contact: (204) 955-6683; greenbackfishing.com

Favorite Deep Hardbait: Rapala Shad Rap
Color: White
Size: 3 ½ in.
Weight: 9/16 oz.
Details: “White is my favorite color, but it’s tough to find a white Shad Rap in the States, so the shad pattern is my number two. Shad Raps run true right out of the box, whereas other brands need tuning in the nose to get the right action. In the summer, Lake Winnipeg has an algae bloom. So I let the swimmers stir up the algae, which gets the bait moving and the walleye move in to feed. I’ll troll the outside of the bathing beaches. As soon as the swimmers leave, the bite stops.”

Rapala Shad Rap

Favorite Shallow Hardbait: Rapala Jointed Shad Rap
Color: Blue
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 1/4 oz.
Details: “Depending on the water clarity, blue can also be a very productive color, as it has lots of flash and matches many baitfish species. Shallow-running Shad Raps, like the deeper versions, also run very true without the need for tuning. I actually do a lot of trolling in water less than five feet deep. You can cast all day, but by covering more water, even in the shallows, you'll catch more walleye.”

Favorite Jig: Round Rattle Jig
Color: Blue
Weight: 1/4 oz.
Details: “Upping the noise level of even a small jig can really increase productivity whether your using a soft plastic or live bait. If the water is at all stained, that tiny click from the rattle can make all the difference. Even when working a jig very subtly, a rattle will make some noise and can actually help to attract walleye from fairly far off.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Berkley Gulp! Minnow
Color: Pearl Silver
Size: 3 in.
Details: “No doubt, the new Berkley soft plastics have increased catch rates. The scent can really produce some larger fish than older soft plastics that were popular in the past. I actually don't use too many soft plastics, but the Gulp! Minnow is pretty popular with many anglers on Lake Winnipeg.”

Favorite Lures of the Pike Guides

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:56:33 -0500

Captain Bobby Liedberg

Bobby Liedberg
Location: Lake Delavan, Wisconsin
Credentials: Liedberg has called Lake Delavan his home since childhood and now plies its waters with clients, offering a “no pike, no pay” rule on all full-day trips.
Number of years guiding: 12
Contact: (630) 830-7687; pikeboy.com

Favorite Jerkbait: Original Rapala Floater
Color: Silver
Size: 7 in.
Weight: 11/16 oz.
Details: “The Original Rapala just matches so many different bait species. It’s a top choice no matter where you chase pike. Lots of anglers think the biggest pike are caught in really deep water, but that’s not true. Some of the heaviest fish from Lake Delavan have come from water two feet deep or less. Although I’m not a huge jerkbait fan, they do have an advantage in the shallows, especially if you remember that big fish live there, too.”

Favorite Spinnerbait: Pikeboy Single Colorado
Color: Black/Red/Silver Blade
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “I’ve been making all my own spinner baits for a long time because everything I used to buy, the pike would destroy. These lures are made with heavy-gauge wire and high-end components. It’s really about durability. I chose that color because it gives a sharp silhouette in lots of water conditions. Finding closed-eye spinner baits these days isn’t easy, but they have a major advantage. I use wire leaders with a snap, and without a closed eye, that snap could slide all the way up to the blade and hurt the action or cause you to lose a fish because you end up pulling against the wire at a more vulnerable point.”

One of guide Bobby Liedberg's chewed up Rat-L-Traps.

Favorite Diving Hardbait: Rat-L-Trap
Color: Chrome
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “Put me anywhere in the U.S. for pike and I’m bringing my Rat-L-Trap. You can work these lures at any depth in the water column, fast or slow. They’re just as versatile as you can get and pike slam them. I never get rid of a Rat-L-Trap that the pike have beaten up. Actually, once a little of the chrome peels off, exposing those subtle white spots underneath, I catch more with it. I guess it looks even more like a natural baitfish.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Berkley Gulp! Shaky Shad
Color: Smelt
Size: 4 in.
Weight: ½ oz. skirted jig
Details: “Pike are generally aggressive, but there are times when they’re picky. That’s when bouncing a soft plastic in front of their face works best. The Gulp! in dark, natural bait colors work best for me when the bite is slow. I typically rig these shads on ½-ounce skirted largemouth-style jigs, but vertical jigging doesn’t work that well. I use this setup to punch through the weeds and just retrieve slowly and steadily. You cover more water that way, and the idea is to pull the lure right in front of the pike. With jigging, you might lift it right over the fish.”

Guide Andrew Klassen

Andrew Klassen
Location: Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada
Credentials: A professional guide since he was 16, Klassen, now 23, is one of the youngest guide service owners and pike gurus on Lake of the Woods.
Number of years guiding: 7
Contact: (204) 480-4572; andrewklassen.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: Musky Mayhem Double Cow Girl
Color: Black/Nickel Blade
Size: 10 in.
Weight: 2 ¾ oz.
Details: “This spinner was designed for musky, but I catch lots of big pike on it. Our fish are primarily eating large ciscos. This lure matches the bait size, as well as producing lots of flash. I find spinners produce best over rocky bottom where weeds don’t impede the visibility. Pike will rise up from ten feet down to hit one, but you’ve got to get the blades going the second it hits the water.”

Favorite Diving Hardbait: Musky Mania Jake
Color: Holoform Silver Shiner
Size: 8 in.
Weight: 2 ¾ oz.
Details: “The flat, narrow profile of this bait is pretty unique. Because it’s not round, I think it has more flash. It also works well casting or trolling up to 16 feet down. To get the most out of a Jake, you want it to roll a little on the retrieve. A sharp twitch is all it takes, and by rolling it, you can better expose the sides of the lure to maximize the flash it gives off.”

Suick Thriller

Favorite Jerkbait: Original Weighted Suick Thriller
Color: Sucker
Size: 10 in.
Details: “I don’t really know why anything eats these lures, because they just look like a big stick in the water, but with a little modification, you can get them to hang in a fish’s face and they crush them. I’ll take pliers and bend the corners of the tail down at a 45-degree angle. It might take some time to get the action just right, but the end result will add just a little back-end shimmy to the lure when it stops. That little twitch drives pike mad.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Musky Innovations Bull Dawg
Color: Black/Orange
Size: 9 in.
Weight: 3 oz.
Details: “I just have lots of confidence in this lures because it’s so versatile. It will run at any depth you want and looks great at any speed. Some people don’t understand spend a lot on Bull Dawgs to have pike tear them up, but they last longer than you think. My record is 20 fish on one Dawg, and the trick to that is taking a lighter to the cuts and gashes to melt them shut after each trip. You’ll prolong lure life significantly.”

Captain Steve Scepaniak

Steve Scepaniak
Location: Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
Credentials: Specializing in trophy pike weighing upwards of 20 pounds, Scepaniak has honed his lure methods over the last 25 years to entice the biggest fish in Mille Lacs Lake.
Number of years guiding: 25
Contact: (320) 253-7535; predatorguideservice.com

Favorite Jerkbait: Original Weighted Suick
Color: Black
Size: 9 in.
Weight: 2 ½ oz.
Details: “I love these jerkbaits because it’s up to the angler to implement the action. That lets you tailor your retrieve to match conditions. I stick to black because it has the sharpest silhouette in the water. Any time you cast a jerkbait, it’s essential to let the ripples dissipate before you start your retrieve. Pike key in on the splash and come to investigate, but sometimes they take their time. If you start to retrieve right away, the lure is almost back to the boat by the time the fish reaches the point of splash down.”

Favorite Spinnerbait: Ruff Tackle Rad Dog
Color: Gray
Weight: 2 1/8 oz.
Details: “That light gray color resembles the belly of a baitfish and these lures are pretty heavy-duty. I also caught 32 pike over 40 inches on this lure one season. I modify about 90% of my lures, and spinner baits are no exception. I take off the blade that comes on the lure and replace it with a silver Colorado, number seven. You get maximum vibration from that, and the rod tip actually quivers. Pike pick up that vibe with those long lateral lines.”

Favorite Diving Hardbait: Salmo Whitefish
Color: Copper/gold
Size: 7 in.
Weight: 2 oz.
Details: “Both the size and color of this lure matches a sucker well, and they’re the main food for our larger fish. In Mille Lacs, we’ve got suckers that weigh up to seven pounds. A spastic retrieve will always catch more fish, but to take that further, something I always tell me clients to do is rip the bait up to the surface when it gets near the boat. Pike will follow it and often lose interest near the boat, but if you rip it up, they think it’s a baitfish trying to escape and smash it.”

Musky Innovations Heli-Dawg

Favorite Soft Plastic: Musky Innovations Heli Dawg
Color: Sherbert
Size: 9 in.
Details: “One of my clients landed the largest pike of his life on this lure. They’re ideal for fishing thick cabbage patches because of their weight and helicopter action on the fall. The best thing you can do with a Heli Dog is get it hung in the weeds, then rip it free. The pike home in on the movement of the weeds and grab the lure as it breaks out and starts swimming away. You’re essentially making the effect of bait fleeing from the cover that much more realistic.”

Guide Red Childress

Red Childress
Location: Allegheny River, Pennsylvania
Credentials: A moving-water pike and musky specialist, Childress runs over 80 trips a year in his jet boat to put his clients on northerns that frequently tape out over 40 inches.
Number of years guiding: 14
Contact: (814) 723-5912; alleghenyguideservice.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: Lee Snyder Spinnerbait
Color: White/Gold
Weight: 2 oz.
Details: “Lee is a local lure maker, and I’ve always done well on pike and musky with his spinnerbaits. White is a very versatile color, and although silver and gold blades have advantages in different light conditions, gold is the all-around producer. I rarely throw a spinnerbait that isn’t tipped with a little meat, like a grub or scented shad. Pike are either on or they’re off, so anything you can do to add just a little more life to a spinner will always catch more fish.”

Shack Attack Curly Sue

Favorite Soft Plastic: Shack Attack Curly Sue
Color: Brown Sucker
Size: 9 in.
Weight: 4 1/2 oz.
Details: “There are similar soft plastics on the market, but I have yet to find a soft jig that is more durable than a Shack Attack. Right down to the internal rigging wire, these baits are tough. I'll fish them at any depth, but you have to be ready with these lures because the fish like to hit them on the drop.”

Favorite Diving Hardbait: Bomber Long A
Color: Chartreuse/Silver
Size: 6 in.
Details: “I don't really throw diving swimmers that often, but I've always done really well on a regular Bomber Long A. Chartreuse and silver are highly visible in almost any water conditions, so this pattern has proved particularly deadly. Bombers are also great because you can cast or troll them.”

Favorite Jerkbait: Phanton Lures Phantom
Color: Bleeding Sucker
Size: 7 1/2 in..
Details: “Phantoms have a great walk-the-dog action unlike many other jerkbaits. They're also nearly indestructable because of the high-impact plastic they use to make them. The bleeding sucker is a dead-on imitation of a real sucker, which happens to be a main forage item for the larger pike and muskies in the Allegheny.”

Favorite Lures of the Striper Guides

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:35:24 -0500

Captain Gene Quigley

Gene Quigley
Location: Manasquan, New Jersey
Credentials: A fly and artificial specialist, Captain Quigley has earned a reputation as a top guide on the Jersey Coast, putting clients on stripers up to 58 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 16
Contact: (732) 528-1861; shorecatch.com

Favorite Hardbait: Gag’s Grabbers Mambo Minnow
Color: Yellow/Pearl
Size: 5 in.
Weight: 5/8 oz.
Details: “The Mambo has a very unique wobble. It’s extremely tight, which I think most accurately matches the movement of many baitfish. They also have great action no matter what speed you use on the retrieve. Something I’ve noticed that works really well with these lures is reeling very fast and stopping abruptly so the lure suspends. I often catch more bass when the lure hangs than I do during a steady retrieve."

Pajama Plugs Metal-Lipped Swimmer

Favorite Topwater: Pajama Plugs Metal-Lip Swimmer
Color: White
Size: 7 in.
Details: “Lots of metal-lip swimmers only perform well in calm water or when there’s a chop, but the Pajamas have great action in all conditions. Fished correctly, a metal-lip will draw bass up from deeper water. Anglers move in on a blitz and are in such a hurry, they cast and retrieve this style of lure too fast. You have to have patience with metal-lips. You need a slow retrieve to achieve the right action on the surface. Too quick and all they do is spin.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Hogy
Color: White
Size: 10 in.
Details: “Hogy Lures are hand-poured and nothing in the world moves like one in the water. I use them a lot because they match all kinds of forage from eels to large bunker. Hogy makes a double-hook rig that you can buy with their baits and I prefer it. The hooks are heavy-gauge, so they add just enough weight to keep the lure tracking an inch or two under the surface. You don’t want this type of bait skipping on top.”

Favorite Jig: AVA 47 Diamond Jig
Color: Silver, undressed hook
Size: 5 in.
Weight: 3 oz.
Details: “Diamond jigs are absolutely one of the most versatile lures out there when the fish go deep. I prefer a plain hook without a tube. The size 47 gets down to the bottom really quickly and mimics everything from sand eels to peanut bunker. Rather than letting the lure hit bottom and start jigging up and down, I’ll tell my clients to let it hit, then crank as fast as they can. When the lure reaches midway up the water column, I’ll say drop it back down. We call this speed-jigging, and it often produces more reaction strikes from bigger bass.”

Captain Randy Saliga

Randy Saliga
Location: Lake Murray, South Carolina
Credentials: Saliga has called Lake Murray his home water since 1986 and now runs over 120 trips per season in pursuit of stripers. Fish weighing over 30 pounds are not uncommon for this pro.
Number of years guiding: 17
Contact: (803) 364-2971; blueheronguide.com

Favorite Hardbait: Rebel Spoonbill Minnow
Color: Silver/blue
Size: 4 ½ in.
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “Whether trolling or casting, I’ve always found these lures very easy to work. They have a consistent action that has always produced for me. When you’re trolling a diving lure with multiple treble hooks, stripers are going to set themselves. Sometimes clients insist on setting the hook anyway, which is okay, but you can’t over do it or you’re more likely to pull the hooks.”

Favorite Topwater: Heddon Zara Spook Puppy
Color: Clear
Size: 3 in.
Details: “I know clear seems like an odd color, but the stripers react very well to it early in the morning or on cloudy days. Our topwater action is typically best during low light conditions. I think the trick to catching fish on Spooks is maximizing their time in the water. There’s no need to rush a retrieve, especially since you want the lure to look injured. I have my clients cast out, turn only one half-crank and twitch. This will keep the lure working properly and it will stay in the zone longer."

Favorite Soft Plastic: Slug-Go
Color: Chartreuse
Size: 4 in.
Details: “I really like these lures for working around hydrilla. It’s hard to fish heavy cover like that with other lures, so soft plastic jerk baits are my choice when the bass are in the weeds. Anglers think soft jerk baits require a slow finesse, but I find that the faster the retrieve the better. This is especially true in heavy cover. I’ll work them fast right over the hydrilla or along the edge. The lure will draw the fish out and they just slam it."

Blakemore Road Runner Bucktail

Favorite Jig: Blakemore Roadrunner Bucktail
Color: Chartreuse/White
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “By far, Road Runners are my top producer. Their versatility for fishing all kinds of water and with all kinds of methods from trolling to jigging is unmatched. If I’m jigging a Road Runner, I’ll usually tip them with a soft plastic grub or ribbon tail worm for added action, but when I drop I’ll reel one or two cranks and stop. The stop gives the bass a chance to catch up, and that’s usually when the grab it.”

Captain Bill Carey

Bill Carey
Location: Lake Texoma, Texas
Credentials: Since 1983, Bill Carey has been guiding for, writing about, and hosting TV shows on the stripers of famed Lake Texoma. Carey’s outfit averages about 350 trips per year.
Number of years guiding: 25
Contact: (877) 786-4477; striperexpress.com

Favorite Hardbait: Rat-L-Trap
Color: Chrome
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “Striped bass have a very long lateral line that is designed to pick up vibration. Rat-L-Traps produce a lot of rhythm and sound that the fish home in on. When I retrieve a Rat-L-Trap, I’ll reel three cranks and quickly sweep the rod. After the sweep I pause and let the lure float up a little. Bam! There’s your strike.”

Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper

Favorite Topwater: Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper
Color: Chrome/Blue Back
Size: 6 in.
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “In Texas you can throw topwater for stripers eight months a year. These lures are loud and work well blind-casting against the banks early in the morning. If the action is furious and you’re releasing fish fast, you can also grab these lures without getting hooked because they’re so long and the first treble hook sits far back. I always tell my clients, when a fish takes a pencil down, don’t strike. Wait for the rod to load on it’s own. If you try to whack the fish, you’ll have a big lure with two big treble hooks flying at your head."

Favorite Soft Plastic: Mister Twister Sassy Shad
Color: Luminescent
Size: 4 in.
Weight: ½ oz. jighead
Details: “I like these shads for the simple reason that our water is often off-color. White has great visibility and the kicking tail ups the vibration level. You always want to cast a shad into the wind to ensure it will reach your target depth. When you retrieve, you never want slack in the line. Always reel fast enough to keep contact. ”

Favorite Jig: Blakemore Roadrunner Bucktail
Color: White
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “These jigs produce our biggest stripers that hold on deeper structure December through March. They’ve always been a favorite since you can reel steady or vertically jig them. I seem to catch even more stripers on these jigs if I tip them. Gizzard shad make up 92% of the stripers’ diet in Lake Texoma, so I’ll add a soft-plastic grub to these jigs in white with a chartreuse tail to match the forage colors.”

Captain Bill McBurney

Bill McBurney
Location: Lake Powell, Arizona
Credentials: The second licensed captain ever to charter on Lake Powell, McBurney has led clients to numerous stripers over 30 pounds, and specializes in all methods from trolling to fly fishing.
Number of years guiding: 30
Contact: (928) 645-0352; ambassadorguides.com

Favorite Hardbait: Storm Deep Thunder
Color: Mullet
Size: 6 in.
Weight: 2 oz.
Details: “These lures dive to 30 feet and troll well at pretty much all speeds. They’re my favorite during pre-spawn in the spring when we need to cover lots of water looking for big females that haven’t joined the males on the staging points yet. I always keep a small can of quick-drying orange spray paint in my tackle box to quickly add some color to the belly of my hardbaits. Carp are a pretty big forage for Lake Powell stripers, and that orange belly makes the lures more accurately represent them. It also adds that much more color and flash for stronger visibility.”

Favorite Topwater: Heddon Zara Spook
Color: Black Shiner
Size: 4 in.
Details: “Zaras have always produced well on Lake Powell. I think the steady cadence you can achieve at any speed makes them very versatile, and the Black Shiner, which is a chrome color can't miss as far as matching the bait. When stripers are up on top, they rarely refuse a Zara.”

Storm Deep Thunder

Favorite Jig: Gitzit Tube
Color: Pumpkin
Size: 3 in.
Details: “Tube jigs catch lots of fish because you can vary the amount of weight you use to make them work in almost any situation. Likewise, you can let them sit still or work them quickly. They adapt well. The green pumpkin color seems to draw strikes in many water conditions and matches both crayfish and juvenile carp colors in Powell.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Yamamoto Grub
Color: White
Size: 4 in.
Details: “I use quite a few different soft plastics, but if we're talking about a go-to, it's hard to beat a white grub. When all else fails, stripers will hit this lure. If fish are higher in the water column, I've even pulled them just under the surface to draw strike. I've alway got some white grubs on board.”

Favorite Lures of the Trout Guides

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:31:20 -0500

Captain Ernie Calandrelli

Ernie Calandrelli
Location: Niagara River, New York
Credentials: For 22 years, Calandrelli has been guiding clients on the Niagara River to lake trout, brown trout, and steelhead weighing up to 22 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 22
Contact: (716) 609-3064

Favorite Spinner: Mepps Aglia Long
Color: Silver
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “Truthfully, I’ve been using these lures since I was a kid and they’ve always produced. They just catch everything, so I’ve never switched spinners. I like to run spinners off of three-way swivel rigs. I tie the main line to one eye, a four-foot leader connected to the lure on the second eye, and a sinker on a second leader to the third eye. Not only does the rig get the spinner down, but there are a lot of snags and spinners aren’t cheap. Usually all you lose is the weight if you hang up.”

Favorite Spoon: Little Cleo
Color: Nickel/Blue
Weight: ¾ oz.
Details: “Cleos are a little wider than other spoons, so they produce a slower wobble. Slow speeds catch more fish in my area, and with these lures you don’t have to rip them to achieve the right action. Getting a spoon in the zone on days when wind and current are running the same direction can be tricky. Don’t be afraid to use your trolling motor to counteract that and slow the boat down. Spoons that don’t get near the bottom won’t catch anything.”

Favorite Jig: Riptide Shad
Color: Black Pearl
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 3/8 oz. jighead
Details: “Soft plastic with kicking tails really have an advantage in faster water because the vibration they produce helps the fish feel them. That’s important when the jig is only in the zone for a short time. I rig shads on a 3/8-ounce jighead and fish them a lot for lake trout on the famed Niagara Bar. The trick for success is not to jig aggressively, but let them drift naturally. You want the jig bouncing, if not dragging, across the bottom.”

Luhr Jensen Kwikfish

Favorite Hardbait: Luhr-Jensen Kwikfish K10
Color: Silver
Size: 3 3/16 in.
Details: “Even when the fishing is very tough, Kwikfish have always produced for me. Of course, you’ve got to be able to fish them correctly, but troll one in front of a steelhead any time of year and you’re hooked up. Most guys run Kwikfish on three-way rigs, but I prefer to slide a worm sinker on the main line ahead of a barrel swivel, then tie a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader with lure to the swivel. This rig seems to hang up a lot less and gives the Kwikfish better action.”

Guide Chuck Kashner

Chuck Kashner
Location: Battenkill River/Otter Creek, Vermont
Credentials: Both a fly and spinning specialist, Kashner has over 170 miles of streams mentally mapped and knows just where to find the biggest brooks, browns, and ‘bows in Vermont.
Number of years guiding: 18
Contact: (800) 682-0103; vermontfishingtrips.com

Favorite Spinner: Panther Martin
Color: Gold/Black
Weight: 1/8 oz.
Details: "Any stream that gets run-off from the Green Mountains tends to have a tannic color. The gold always seems to show up best, and you can get a Panther’s blade turning with very little effort. I always cast a spinner upstream and work down. I believe that bigger trout are more apt to grab a bait or chase prey as it moves down stream. This presentation also allows the spinner to get down deep. Quatering the current will make the lure ride too high to be effective most of the time.”

Favorite Spoon: Thomas Buoyant Spoon
Color: Gold
Weight: 1/6 oz.
Details: "Thomas spoons have been highly effective for me over the years. Here too, gold is going to be the best given the tannic quality of many streams I fish. At times, spoons can be more effective at working deeper holes. I use them a lot in slower water.”

Mister Twister Meeny

Favorite Jig: Mister Twister Meeny
Color: Black
Size: 3 in.
Details: "Sometimes anglers fishing streams overlook curly-tail jigs. I don't use themthat often, but in dirtier water they come in handy. The vibration catches the attention of larger fish, and the black color has always produced. I'm not sure if it's that it mimicks a leech or just gives sharper contrast, but it works.”

Favorite Hard Bait: Rapala Countdown Minnow
Color: Gold
Size: 1 1/2 in.
Details: "If I'm sepcifically targeting larger trout, I'll often go with a larger lure like a Rapala Countdown. You can work them effectively at almost any speed and they handle current when presenting downstream. Because these lures sin laterally, the stop-start retrieve works really well."

Guide "Crazy" Mike Neher

Mike Neher
Location: White River, Arkansas
Credentials: Guiding on the White River since he was 15, Mike Neher has a reputation for putting clients on brown trout tipping the scales over the 20-pound mark.
Number of years guiding: 34
Contact: (870) 453-8502; crazymikefishing.com

Favorite Spinner: Bluefox Classic Vibrax
Color: Gold
Weight: 3/16 oz.
Details: “It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get the blade on a Vibrax turning. That makes it easier to work effectively on a slow retrieve, and, in turn, helps you keep the lure near the bottom. The closer you can get a spinner to the fish the better, especially in clear water. White River trout aren’t going to rise or chase the lure a mile, so a slow, steady retrieve just off the bottom gets it done.”

Favorite Spoon: Thomas Buoyant Spoon
Color: Copper
Weight: 1/6 oz.
Details: “Thomas spoons have a nice, slow flutter without a lot of spin. That flutter really attracts the trout. Stop by any resort along the White River and I promise they sell these spoons. Like spinners, I always fish spoons very slowly really close to the bottom. Because these particular spoons have such a natural flutter, it pays to just let them fall now and again.”

Favorite Jig: P.J.’s Marabou Jig
Color: White
Weight: 3/32 oz.
Details: “P.J.’s jigs are standard in this area. Because the marabou is tied all the way up to the head with no chenille between, the jigs have a ripple action from head to tail. You can’t jig a P.J. too aggressively. You don’t want it rising at an angle towards the boat, but that’s not easy when you’re drifting. What we do is jig with a slack line so the jig jumps straight up and down. The trout either grab it as it falls, or we actually see them hit it.”

Smithwick Rattlin' Rouge

Favorite Hardbait: Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogue
Color: Chrome/Blue Back/Orange Belly
Size: 4 ½-inch
Weight: 1/3 oz.
Details: “The favorite food of a big brown trout is a little rainbow trout, and this jerkbait in this color matches them perfectly. Large trout want a big meal. To be successful with this lure, you always have to keep it moving. If you stop, the fish will look at it and figure out it’s fake. Maintain an erractic twitch to keep the lure rolling and flashing.”

Captain Lonnie Osterholm

Lonnie Osterholm
Location: Priest Lake/Columbia River, Idaho/Washington
Credentials: With 25 years experience, Osterholm is a master angler on both big-water rivers and deep lakes of the Northwest, boating rainbow and lake trout heavier than 40 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 25
Contact: (208) 610-3535; bigfishtales.com

Favorite Spoon: Hopkins NO=EQL
Color: Silver
Size: 3 in.
Weight: 1 ¼ oz.
Details: “No matter which bait is prevalent, from herring to needlefish to sardines, this lure matches it perfectly. It’s an old stand-by. When you’re fishing a lake where the trout could be holding at 200 feet in one spot and 40 at the next, you need a heavy lure like a Hopkins to get down, but to make them work, you have to be non-rhythmic in the presentation. I let them hit bottom, crank up a few times, jig a bit, then change it up. Just make sure you re-find the bottom every minute or so.”

Favorite Jig: Northland Magnum Air-Plane Jig
Color: Whitefish
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “The action of an Air-Plane jig is hard to beat. They spiral on their way down and when you jig one they have a funny, erratic action that they trout seem to love. Jigging in deep water isn’t easy, because sometimes the lure is so down so far it’s hard to feel a strike. That’s why I don’t recommend fishing a lake like Priest without braided line. You can feel the fish fart, even down 200 feet.”

Favorite Hardbait: Luhr Jensen Kwikfish K15
Color: Rainbow Trout
Size: 5 in.
Details: “Kwikfish dig into the bottom, float up, and lose their action until the water catches it and it starts that wide wobble again. That pattern of movement triggers strikes. You always want to use a floating plug if you’re going to pull it on a downrigger. Since you often want the lure to bounce off the bottom, a sinking plug is likely to hit an obstruction and hang, whereas a floater will often deflect and rise up out of the rocks or whatever it might encounter.”

Luhr Jensen Teespoon

Favorite Spinner: Luhr Jensen Teespoon
Color: Chartreuse/Silver Blade
Weight: ¾ oz.
Details: “The way the beads are set up on a Teespoon makes them clink together on the retrieve. I think that sound has a lot to do with their productivity. The beads combined with vibration from the blade works really well. Trolling a spinner is all about finding the lure’s sweet spot. I generally start trolling around two miles per hour, but some days the water conditions, whether it’s wind or color, force me to change speeds. Guys tend to stick with one speed no matter what and it’ll cost them fish. ”

Favorite Lures of the Largemouth Guides

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:04:15 -0500

Captain Roger Lee Brown

Roger Lee Brown
Location: Lake Champlain, New York
Credentials: Brown is a former pro tournament angler turned operator of a 3-day bass fishing school with national and international cliental from as far off a South Korea, Africa, and New Zealand.
Number of years guiding: 23
Contact: (518) 597-4240; capital.net/~rlbrown/

Favorite Spinnerbait: Stanley Wedge
Color: Gold Shiner/Gold Blade
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “These baits are very easy to tune right out of a package. This particular lure also caught my all-time biggest bass: a 17.2-pounder. I'll grab the Colorado blade with needle-nose pliers about a 1/4-inch from the tip. Then I'll bend the blade at a 45-degree angle away from the cup. This will create a lip and give the lure five times more vibration. It’ll feel like you’re pulling a crankbait.”

Favorite Crankbait: Bill Norman Deep Little N
Color: Smoky Joe
Size: 2 ½ in.
Weight: 3/8 oz.
Details: “This lure has always been a pet bait for me. That color is a shad pattern, which is probably the most versatile for a crankbait anywhere in the country. The Deep Little N is rated to run at six to eight feet. But a fast retrieve will get it as deep as twelve and it also works really well just sub-surface if you slow-crawl it.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: Zoom Li’l Critter Craw
Color: Watermelon Red
Size: 3 in.
Details: “I have more confidence in this soft plastic in this color than any other no matter where I fish in the U.S. I’ve tried many different colors in countless conditions and Watermelon will out-fish all of them. This bait is also the best imitation I’ve found of a soft-shell crawfish, which are candy to bass. When Carolina-rigging I encourage anglers to use enclosed rattle chambers instead of the normal glass or brass beads strung on the line. The click they produce alerts bass that natural forage is near by. But what happens when weeds get wedged between the beads? With enclosed rattles, you don’t have that problem and produce an enticing click on every cast.”

Heddon Zara Spook

Favorite Topwater: Heddon Zara Spook
Color: Natural Leopard Frog
Size: 4 ½ in.
Details: “Anglers forget that all the bass can see on a big, round, buoyant bait is the belly. So colors on the back don’t make much difference. White is a natural forage color and this frog pattern has a white belly strip. Assuming the bass may catch a glimpse of the sides now and again, I stick with the frog as they are a natural forage everywhere. People put too much into working a walk-the-dog. They try to achieve long strides and they work them all the way back to the boat. I’ve caught more bass on a Zara that was sitting still than during a steady retrieve.”

Captain Marc Mitrany

Marc Mitrany
Location: Lake Casitas/Castaic, California
Credentials: As Mitrany grew up fishing the lakes on which he now guides, his intimate knowledge of these waters help him lead clients to largemouth weighing up to 14 pounds.
Number of years guiding: 13
Contact: (800) 572-6230; ojaiangler.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin
Color: Pearl White
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “I like these lures because they can effectively fish the entire water column. Also, because you can change out the tail, they’re very versatile if you need to match various water conditions. When bass are boiling on the surface, many guys go to topwater, but in my experience the Hornet is the most effective lure in that situation, especially matched with half a Zoom Super Fluke. You can work them just sub-surface and they cast far, so you need not be right on top of the fish.”

Favorite Crankbait: Bill Norman DD 22
Color: Splatter Bass
Size: 3 in.
Weight: 5/8 oz.
Details: “All big bass eat little bass, but it’s not always out of hunger. Little fish annoy big fish and that holds true everywhere. That’s why a bass pattern crank is my go-to. I always fish a crankbait with a stop-and-go action. Baitfish tend to move this way in schools. They bolt real fast then just hang around, bolt, hang around. I try to match that natural movement.”

Robo Worm Straight Tail

Favorite Soft Plastic: Robo Worm Straight Tail
Color: Ox Blood/Red Flake
Size: 6 in.
Details: “Worms produce year-round on Lake Casitas and are probably the most effect lures I use. I stick to this color because it matches the lake’s crayfish, which are a primary forage for our fish all year. We have lots of structure in Casitas. There’s everything from fallen oaks and timber to small brush piles, and that’s where the bigger bass live. Because you need to really get in that cover, fishing a worm on a Texas rig or drop-shot rig is going to out-fish most other methods.”

Favorite Topwater: Zoom Super Fluke
Color: Albino
Size: 4 in.
Details: “Flukes are just classic topwaters. There is something about the action as they glide along the surface the bass can’t resist. You can also work them nice and slowly. Many anglers rig Flukes weedless, but I always expose the hook point through the back of the bait. If a fish grabs the lure but doesn’t completely commit to the take, you’ll often miss it if you have to penetrate the soft plastic for a hook set. Keeping the hook exposed really ups the catch ratio.”

Captain Tom Redington

Tom Redington
Location: Lake Fork, Texas
Credentials: Redington has been hunting trophy largemouth on Lake Fork since 1993, in which time he’s boated his personal best 12 ½-pounder. Since he became a full-time guide, he’s put clients on lunkers topping the 11-pound mark.
Number of years guiding: 6
Contact: (214) 683-9572; lakeforkguidetrips.com

Favorite Crankbait: Cotton Cordell Super Spot
Color: Rayburn Red
Size: 2 in.
Weight: 3/16 oz.
Details: “Super Spots make a lot of noise and you can work them at almost any speed, deep or just under the surface. The heavy rattling really produces a lot of fish for me. I stick with the red color because it's a good crayfish match.”

Favorite Soft Plastic: LFT Magic Shad
Color: Watermelon Seed/Red Flake
Size: 5 in.
Details: “These shads are very versatile and can be fished a number of ways both weighted or unweighted. Bass will grab one as it falls to the bottom, so you have to remember that you'll rarely feel a strike. You need to watch your line where it enters the water. Any tick, bounce, or side movement can mean a bass grabbed the bait.”

Favorite Topwater: Original Yellow Magic
Color: Smoke Shad
Size: 2 3/4 in.
Details: “I've been a fan of the Yellow Magic for a long time. I think the scoop in the mouth is a little deeper than other poppers, which makes a big difference. You can work one of these lures at any speed, and even a sublte chug will throw enough water to grab the bass's attention.”

Terminator T-1

Favorite Spinnerbait: Terminator T-1
Color: white
Weight: 1/2 oz.
Details: “Terminators can really take a beating. I know people say they're expensive, but when you consider the cover they bounce off constantly, it makes sense to use a bait that will last rather than constantly buying new ones. I go with white because it's simply the most versatile color you can fish.”

Captain Mike Shellen

Mike Shellen
Location: Lake Okeechobee, Florida
Credentials: Although former golf pro Mike Shellen has only been a full-time guide on Lake Okeechobee for eight years, he’s been fishing it over 30 and has eight 10-plus-pound bass to his credit.
Number of years guiding: 8
Contact: (863) 357-0892; okeechobeebassfishing.com

Favorite Spinnerbait: War Eagle Double Willow
Color: White/Gold Blade
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “For starters, War Eagles are very cost effective, and I like willow blades because they don’t hang as easily. As for the color, I always say you can throw any color spinner bait as long as it’s white. We’re always fishing in Kissimmee grass beds. So I tell my clients to engage the reel while the spinner is still in the air and start cranking before it hits the water. Spinner baits are only weedless if they’re moving. Let them sink on a slack line and they’ll hang more often than not.”

Favorite Crankbait: Rat-L-Trap
Color: Chrome/Black Back
Weight: ½ oz.
Details: “This is probably my most effective lure in the summer when the bass are schooling up on the shad. They are a perfect bait match and work at all depths. Even when bass are blasting schools of shad, they don’t get stupid. The first day you can reel straight in and catch them. The next day you might have to violently jerk a Rat-L-Trap to get hit. It changes daily, so never assume you’ve got them figured out.”

Zoom Horny Toad

Favorite Soft Plastic: Zoom Horny Toad
Color: Black
Size: 4 ¼ in.
Weight: 1/64 oz. screw-in weight
Details: “The design of these frogs allows them to easily come right over top of the weeds. The leg design is a plus, too, because they’re always fluttering and adding realism. Horny Toads are big baits, and if you rip the rod back as soon as the fish hits, you’ll pull the lure away almost every time. You want to bow the rod and wait until you feel the fish. It takes practice, but it’s the only way.”

Favorite Topwater: Rebel Pop-R
Color: Tennessee Shad
Size: 2 ½ in.
Weight: ¼ oz.
Details: “Pop-Rs produce lots of sound between the deep mouth and internal rattles. You can get a bass’s attention without imparting too much action.Everyone thinks you have to jerk a popper so it splashes loudly and spits water. A recent pattern I’ve noticed over the last few years is that they often work more effectively during a steady retrieve. It just proves that you can never stop experimenting, even if the action you create isn’t typical of a particular lure.”

Collectible Fishing Lures: Rare Mechanical and Spring-Loaded Baits from the Early 20th Century

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:41:07 -0500

Table of Contents

1. Neon Fire Fly ($75-$150)
2. Bubble Minnie ($50-$300)
3. Anderson Minnow ($75-$100)
4. Make-Em Bite ($350-$500)
5. Cats Paw ($50-$75)
6. Dubble Header ($50-$500)
7. Glowbody Minnow ($50-$400)
8. Magnetic Weedless ($20-$40)
9. Johnson Striker ($200-$400)
10. Combination Minnow ($250-$300)
11. Pflueger All-in-One ($100-$2000+)
12. Retrievable Minnow ($300-$1800)
13. Fenner Weedless ($15-$60)
14. Rhodes Frog ($140-$2000)
15. Darby Weedless ($100-$800)
16. Schaller Three Bagger ($50-$350)
17. Evans Weed Queen ($100-$200)
18. Wilson 6-in-1 ($75-$500)
19. E-Z WAY ($200-$1000)
20. Drake's Sea Bat ($75-$150)
21. Automatic Weedless ($100-$150)
22. PLUS: A Note About Lure Values

Don't forget to check out our other lure galleries
Gallery I: Early 20th Century Collectibles
Gallery II: Rodents, Reptiles, and Other Critter-Shaped Baits

About the Author
Rob Pavey, a full-time writer and outdoors columnist with The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, has collected and studied fishing lures more than 24 years. His awardd winning collection of early lures and boxes is among the most comprehensive ever assembled.

Rob is a 22-year member of the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club and has authored or edited three reference books on antique tackle and written dozens of magazine and feature articles on the topic. His educational website www.mrlurebox.com contains photos and details on hundreds of other early lure makers, as well as information on collecting and appraisals.

If you've got a lure you think he might be interested in, or just want to ask him some questions about collecting antique tackle, shoot him an email at: rpavey1@comcast.net