John's Journal...


MAGIC LURES AND SECRET BAITS FOR BASS

How to Find and Use a Magic Lure

Click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Thousands of dollars are made each year by lure manufacturers who believe they have produced such a lure. Many anglers swear by baits they claim will produce bass under any weather or water conditions. Even though pro fishermen won't admit to having magic baits, they do use the words, confidence lures, to describe these baits instead of the word, magic. But what causes a lure to be magical? How do you find and use a magic lure? How long does a magic lure's spellbinding characteristics last? Can you make any lure in your tackle box magic? Let's find out this week.

An old magical lure I always depended on to produce bass in farm ponds was an in-line spinner called the Shyster, which had a silver blade in front, a white body with black polka dots and a feathered tail with treble hooks in it. I fished the lure three days a week in farm ponds back during the 1970s and consistently produced bass with it. One day in a store, I saw a lure similar to the Shyster called the Thunderbird, which also was an in-line spinner. However, its body was yellow with black polka dots and had a rubber skirt instead of feathers. When the Thunderbird proved to be twice as effective as the Shyster, it became my new magic lure.

Click to enlargeMagic lures are baits you have confidence in that you fish more frequently than you do other lures. Most pro anglers have certain lures they have developed specific techniques for fishing that generally yield more bass than other lures in their boxes. For West Coast fishermen who have moved to the South like Gary Klein, sissy baits may be their confidence lures. In the far West, most of the lakes are deep and crystal clear. Little lures on light line often produce more bass then big lures on heavy line in these lakes. Because the West Coast pros have developed confidence in these lures, they have started fishing them in the East and have learned these sissy baits pay off in bass dividends during bad weather and/or bad weather conditions. Sissy baits include small jigs and worms and sometimes spinners that because they are small in size and are fished on light line, the bass are more likely to take the lures. Also an angler can feel the strikes better.

The plastic worm is another confidence bait for most serious anglers because it is slow moving and easy for the bass to eat, can be fished through various types of cover and utilized in all weather and water conditions. Many top pro bass fishermen believe that to regularly catch bass, you must be proficient with fishing the plastic worm, since often you can entice them to bite with a plastic worm, even when they don't want to bite. Too, smaller lures like the Slider worm, the 3-inch grub and tiny spinners often will take more bass than other lures throughout the year. Small baits moving at slow speeds on light line historically have triggered numbers of strikes under even the most-Click to enlargedifficult fishing conditions.

A confidence lure in many tackle boxes that charms bass is the crankbait. But like most tricks, the magic isn't in the lure but in the magician himself. If you crash a crankbait into heavy cover where few other anglers throw it, let the lure bounce off limbs and brush and then allow the crankbait to float up as though it is injured, bass will attack so quickly, you soon will be convinced the crankbait with a bouncing/floating action is magic.

Also, specific lures consistently produce more bass than other lures under certain weather and water conditions and at particular times of the year, which makes these lures magical at those times. The black muskie Jitterbug fished during hot summer months at night on heavy line around aquatic vegetation in small lakes and farm ponds holds large bass spellbound as it works its black magic after dark. Too, the spinner bait, which gives off vibrations, can be fished successfully in thick cover - especially in the fall and winter months. The spinner bait can be given a variety of actions to conjure up numbers of bass for the anglers who learn how to fish this magical lure.

Click to enlargeOne of the hottest lures, even when the water is still cold in the early spring, is the buzzbait. Four-time B.A.S.S. Masters Classic winner, Rick Clunn, believes that when you fish a buzzbait in the early spring, it will attract very big bass that are just beginning to move to the shallow water to feed and have not seen a buzz bait in several months. However, Clunn also gives one of the best definitions of how to find and use a magic lure when he says, "Actually I don't have any favorite baits or magic lures. I consider the lures in my tackle box the same as the tools in a carpenter's tool box. By choosing the correct lure for the job, I can catch bass. If I don't select the right lure for that particular job, then more than likely I won't take bass. To become an effective bass fisherman, you have to learn to fish a wide variety of lures effectively. When I begin fishing a new lure, I try and learn every way I possibly can to fish that lure under every water and weather condition." Clunn is convinced that mastering lures rather than searching for magic lures is the key to bass fishing success.

TOMORROW: HOW LONG DO MAGIC LURES LAST?


Check back each day this week for more about MAGIC LURES AND SECRET BAITS FOR BASS

Day 1: The Search for the Magical Bass Lure
Day 2: What Causes a Lure to Be Magic
Day 3: How to Find and Use a Magic Lure
Day 4: How Long Do Magic Lures Last?
Day 5: How Can You Make Any Lure in Your Tackle Box Magic?

 

 

Entry 306, Day 3