Each year tackle manufacturers introduce new lures that feature colors, shapes, and actions designed to allow anglers to catch more and bigger fish than ever before. Some of these are bound to be winners. However, the tried and true tackle box friends that hooked lunkers in the past will still be effective today. In some cases, fishing with very old lures can yield surprisingly good results.
The “Jig-and-Pig”
Anglers have relied upon this combination since Grandpa learned to fish. In its original form, this combination featured strips of pork rind that came in a jar, resulting in the lure’s colorful name. Fishermen today will be more likely to add a soft plastic worm or crawfish to the rig, but the effect is the same. In early spring, this combination is deadly when fished along the banks where waters are starting to warm up. The jig lure should be worked from bank to boat or from about ten feet out back to the bank, with slow, deliberate retrieves. Bass are likely to hit the when the lure is suspended or when it is sinking slowly toward the bottom.
Stickbaits are Proven Performers
It’s hard to improve upon the classic stickbait. Rapala minnows have been around for a long time, and they’ve been catching bass all the while. Every old-time fisherman’s tackle box holds some of these. If the bottom of the box still has one of Heddon’s late 1970’s Hedd-Hunter Minnows rattling around, it would be a good idea to introduce it to twenty-first century bass. As with jigs and spinners, the minnows should be fished slowly in the spring. Bass and baitfish are just warming up, so the angler should match the pace of the retrieve to the pace of life in cool April waters.
Catch Big Bass with Crankbaits
Crankbaits allow the angler to send them diving down where the big fish lurk. Old favorites like the Bomber Model A and the Heddon Hellbender can still bring in the trophy bass. Perhaps the greatest lure of all time, the Arbogast Jitterbug, has been around since 1938, and it has never ceased to catch fish. It may not have the flash and dash of new lures, but its slow glub-glub retrieve is irresistible to fish, especially bass. Arbogast’s other big winner, the Hula Popper, was introduced in 1941. Hula Poppers can still do their thing in a big way, enticing the fish with their little, wiggly hula skirts. The slower they’re fished, the more bass they bring up. Anglers have been hauling in hawgs on these little guys for over sixty years. Fishing any one of these classic lures in pre-spawn staging areas near underwater structure can easily bring in quick limits of big bass.
Anglers heading out to their favorite fishing holes this spring are anxious to try out the new additions to their tackle, but they shouldn’t forget about the proven winners they already own. With bass moving out of their deep winter holes and into shallower waters, some of these old friends may be just what is needed to start the season off right.
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