 The
Revival of Old Lures
Greg Hackney
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bass wise-up to lures the more
frequently they see them. When anglers buy old lures
and fish them, they quickly discover that the old lures
are catching as many, if not more, bass than they did
when they were new. The reason is that these older lures
are ones that the bass haven’t seen before. Anglers
fishing these old lures have new confidence in the old
ones that win big-money tournaments. We’ll talk
this week with some of the nation’s top pros to
learn what old lures they’re still using and why.
 Greg
Hackney has proved he knows how to catch bass by winning
$65,000 and the title, Angler of the Year, on the Forest
L. Woods (FLW) tour. Hackney of Gonzalez, Louisiana,
has fished professionally for 5 years, although he’s
competed in bass-fishing tournaments since the age of
11. The website www.bassfan.com ranks Hackney as the
number-two bass-fishing pro in the nation.
“I catch plenty of bass on the old Spence Scout
crankbait, one of the first lures that Strike King ever
produced, which weighs about 1/2-ounce. I’ve found
it to be just as effective, if not more effective, today
as it was when originally made. The Spence Scout has
two line ties in the nose of the bait. I like to fish
mine by tying my line to the bottom line tie to get
that lure down. This shallow-running  crankbait
has a metal lip, and I fish it over vegetation, when
I’m cranking wood or any place where I’ll
fish a spinner bait. When I’m fishing the Spence
Scout, I use a really-slow retrieve and heavy line to
help float-up the bait. I like to fish the Spence Scout,
which runs about 6-inches deep, when the water’s
really dirty and stained. I’ll fish the Spence
Scout around lily pad beds in the late winter/early
spring when the lily pads haven’t grown back.
The bass will hang around those lily pad fields searching
for little baits near the surface.
“Although most fishermen will use spinner baits
at this time in this place, I prefer the Spence Scout
crankbait, in chartreuse, black, brown crawfish (orange
and brown), red crawfish and chrome with a black back.
I’ll make long casts to try to cut through as
much water as possible, usually casting the Spence Scout
out over long flats or paralleling the edges of long
flats. Most people fishing the Scout don’t believe
they’ll catch big bass with it because the lure
is so small. However, remember that if the bass are
going to or coming away from the bed, they’ll
be hungry and will eat anything they can. Too, not all
bass go to the bed at the same time. In many sections
of the nation, bass on the same lake may be moving to
the bed, sitting on the bed and coming off the bed all
at the same  time.
I’m originally from south Arkansas, and every
year in the spring, anglers in my area consistently
catch huge bass on Spence Scout crankbaits. The Spence
Scout also has a skirt on the back of it that gives
this lure a completely-different look from any other
baits the bass have seen at this time of year. With
fishing the Spence Scout, I’m fishing a different
type of lure in what most anglers consider to be spinner
bait water and giving the bass a different lure to look
at during a different time of year in a place where
that bass hasn’t seen that lure before, which
I believe causes me to get more strikes.”
Tomorrow: Tim Horton
|
