Under Rated Lures.

[Ray Esboldt]

I agree with RR, but don't like saying it. Hair jigs for smallmouth are killers. And, later in the year, they are great for largemouth too. They do have some drawbacks. One, like RR said, they are terrible in the weeds. Two, you really want to throw the ones that are 1/16th oz. or smaller - they are not very effective when laying sideways on the bottom. Three, pike go nuts for them. They must really like wearing them as jewlery.

Most underated technique is drifting. I have caught lots of fish dragging a jig worm down a weedline in heavy wind. And, sometimes you have no choice but to drift when you fry your batteries on Coon Lake.

[newmember]

mimic minnows. i use the regular ones but the slurpies work well too. especially for smallies.

[mainbutter]

Most underated technique is drifting. I have caught lots of fish dragging a jig worm down a weedline in heavy wind. And, sometimes you have no choice but to drift when you fry your batteries on Coon Lake.

I fish bass on a small lake in Michigan.. not a great fishing lake, often pretty windy and all I have to fish out of is a canoe.

The best catch rate for me has been dragging a nightcrawler on a 1/0 hook across weedbeds. Then it's time sit in front and paddle hard back against the wind. It's hard fishing(because of dealing with wind) but fun!

[goblueM]

i bass fish out of a canoe only (no boat) and do real well drifting. both casting cranks and swimbaits, and dragging plastics

all you need are a few milk runs and you're golden. quieter with no trolling motor running and a lot less obvious!

[ShoreGuy1984]

What about poppers, I think they are under rated.

[RK]

RR, Ray -

Shush on the hair jigs. You guys are killing me... When times are tough (after a nasty cold front) there isn't much better than a black 1/16 oz marabou, fox hair or bunny strip jig. I've tied some on Lunker City football heads with the little wire weedguard that fish pretty well in weeds. Marabou is a little less sticky in weeds than actual hair though.

Agape - fun learning something from clients isn't it? When I first started guiding I had two clients out muskie fishing. One of them wanted to throw a spoon. Being the professional scout I was, 20 years old and knowing everything, I told him spoons didn't really work for muskies. He put one on anyhow - a big 5-of-Diamonds. On his first cast, the spoon got hit the instant it hit the water. I mean, instantly. *Splash - WHAM* I think the fish may have actually come out of the water to grab it on the way down. Somewhere in my office I have a picture of the fish jumping about 20 feet out from the boat. It's sideways, with its head facing slightly away from the camera, and you can actually see the 5-of-Diamonds through the flared gill. I kept it to remind myself to never, ever say something "won't work."

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[river rat316]

Yeah hair jigs don't work.... jeez Ray

[Nick Kuhn]

Agape - fun learning something from clients isn't it? When I first started guiding I had two clients out muskie fishing. One of them wanted to throw a spoon. Being the professional scout I was, 20 years old and knowing everything, I told him spoons didn't really work for muskies. He put one on anyhow - a big 5-of-Diamonds. On his first cast, the spoon got hit the instant it hit the water. I mean, instantly. *Splash - WHAM* I think the fish may have actually come out of the water to grab it on the way down. Somewhere in my office I have a picture of the fish jumping about 20 feet out from the boat. It's sideways, with its head facing slightly away from the camera, and you can actually see the 5-of-Diamonds through the flared gill. I kept it to remind myself to never, ever say something "won't work."

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

My brother did that a while ago. We arrived on our first spot and with a fairly large bucktail I had boated a pair of hammerhandles before my brother even got his rod out. He decided to put on a 1/2 ounce 5 o diamonds to catch the hammerhandles and on his 3rd cast he hooked into a 40" muskie. I don't understand fishing sometimes.

[Larson15]

Yeah, fishing is weird sometimes. I like getting weird looks from Muskie guys when i catch them on 3/4 oz jign/pig's

[augustwest]

Great story about the 5 Of Diamonds

Back in '94 on Sandy Pond(Offset on Lake Ontario) my buddy puts a Chart/Red one on and lands a 12# Walleye on his first cast This water is known for Monster Pike up in the 30# plus area.

[mainbutter]

RR, Ray -

Shush on the hair jigs. You guys are killing me... When times are tough (after a nasty cold front) there isn't much better than a black 1/16 oz marabou, fox hair or bunny strip jig. I've tied some on Lunker City football heads with the little wire weedguard that fish pretty well in weeds. Marabou is a little less sticky in weeds than actual hair though.

Agape - fun learning something from clients isn't it? When I first started guiding I had two clients out muskie fishing. One of them wanted to throw a spoon. Being the professional scout I was, 20 years old and knowing everything, I told him spoons didn't really work for muskies. He put one on anyhow - a big 5-of-Diamonds. On his first cast, the spoon got hit the instant it hit the water. I mean, instantly. *Splash - WHAM* I think the fish may have actually come out of the water to grab it on the way down. Somewhere in my office I have a picture of the fish jumping about 20 feet out from the boat. It's sideways, with its head facing slightly away from the camera, and you can actually see the 5-of-Diamonds through the flared gill. I kept it to remind myself to never, ever say something "won't work."

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

I've said it multiple times.

I've had more muskies chomp on a senko than any other lure this year. Every lure has its day

[gritsnham]

I had a stretch of catching tiger muskies in 20+ fow with carolinas and lizards haha funny what fish go for sometimes.

I would have to agree on the swimjig, I have just started to use them alot more this year and they catch alot of fish(muskies also) plus they are so much fun because fish just smoke them

[Ray Esboldt]

Robbo,

You're the one that mentioned those jigs first. Remember me shushing you!

I won't even start to talk about dragging for brown fish...

[river rat316]

Alright, now you have gone far enough, someone censor Ray

[Central Bassman]

there is no bad lure?.. Ummm how about this one?

Deitz i thought i would never see the day that you would post your top secret lure on FM.

[RK]

Robbo,

You're the one that mentioned those jigs first. Remember me shushing you!

I won't even start to talk about dragging for brown fish...

Ohh...yeah. My bad.

[tgruenke]

I would agree with the poster who mentioned Beetle Spins. Last spring we caught everything on them. Even two decent size northerns with out a leader. I also am a fan of the DT Fat01. I have caught several northerns, bass and a small musky. The best part is it can stay shallow and crawl over submerged weeds.

[Aaron Carrell]

Where in the heck can you find those DT 1's nowadays?! I've hunted for them all year long everytime I'm in any store with lures and have never seen them in stock. Seriously, where?!

[tgruenke]

I have gotten all of mine at Fleet Farm.

[goblueM]

oh i'd add jigging spoons to the list as well

[TonkaBass]

How about those new strike king spoons (basically a regular spoon with a more little more slender look)? We tried some spoons this summer for a little while with not much luck.... I could see the smallies crushing those things though!

[carpmanjake]

banjo minnow

AMEN TO THAT!

my dad got a kit of the original banjo minnows years ago. and he never used them, so i asked if i could have them. and they caught fish! and lots of em!

just a twitch pause retrieve, and the bass would go crazy for it!

[Fever]

The past few years I've gotten into shallow cranks in order to cover water. I've gradually replaced my spinnerbait habit and dependency for the most part with these lures and have found them quite successfull. Mann's baby minus one and the Storm Wiggle Wart series are awsome. The stay shallow, have a great (small) profile and displace a lot of water. I think a lot of shallow fish on pressured waters get educated by spinner bait tossers and these shallow cranks can really shine when you are covering water. There is a bit of down size though as quick jumps and big head shakes can result in lost fish. Just compensate with medium forgiving rods, mono, proper rod angle (tip down towards water), and a properly set drag - and it'll help. I agree with the DT-01 as well. Good lure and Yes Fleet Farm is the place to go. Never been disapointed there as they even carry DT-20's. Another hard to find Crank.

[cruiseforever]

Bass Oreno Forogt about them for many years. Used them all the time 35 years ago when I started Bass fishing. Tried one this year and it still works.

[IRISHbaseball]

i just found a bass oreno in my granpas tackle box i have tried fishing it but i dont know what it is should i fish it like a sub surface crank, a top water, a jerk bait or what?