The
Revival of Old Lures Continued
More with Larry Nixon
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 talk this week
with some of the nation’s top pros to learn what
old lures they’re still using and why.
“I
also take the old Weed Wing, a different type of buzzbait
that’ll come through pond scum and weeds that
no other buzzbait will come through in my tackle box,”
Nixon explains. “Too, the Buck’s Buzzer
is another classic buzzbait I always take with me. Many
of these old lures were designed and built to fit specific
fishing problems – not to work everywhere all
the time. When you’re out on a lake and encounter
a unique fishing situation, many times you can solve
this fishing problem with a classic lure. At one time,
the old Berkley Gator Tail plastic
worm was one of the hottest plastic worms on the market
but mostly has been forgotten now. Bass probably won’t
have seen the unique action of this lure, which works
when other plastic worms won’t. I guarantee if
I fish on a river system that has the factors that will
cause me to use that bait, I believe I can win the tournament.
The Bayou Boogie, another classic lure today's top pros
use to earn nice paychecks, is one I’ve lost.
I don’t have any more personally, but pros still
catch bass on the Bayou Boogie. The Zara Spook is a
classic lure that people don’t forget, mainly
due to its unique action. I like to fish the Zara Spook
during the spawn and post-spawn, primarily from May
throughout the summer, especially when
bass are schooling. Most of today's bass tournament
anglers carry old lures in their tackle boxes, however,
the general public doesn’t know they’re
using these antique lures until suddenly someone wins
tournament with them. The fishermen nor the manufacturers
are promoting these lures. That’s when a light
bulb goes off in a fisherman's brain, and he’ll
say to himself, ‘I remember that old lure now.
I’d totally forgotten about it.’ There’s
a time and a place to pull out an old lure from years
ago, use it and catch bass that no one else can catch.”
Tomorrow: Jimmy Mason
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