Attention Bass Fishermen, Would you use these lures in a tournament?

Question

Now is the time of the year where I make my occasional forray in to Bass fishing. I guess you can say I'm "old school" because I don't use plastic worms, I do use the following and catch my share of nice fish.

1. Lazy Ike

2. Mirro-Lure

3. Jitterbug / Hula-Popper

4. Rebel Crayfish

5. Mister Twister (original) 3" yellow and black

I went with a friend of mine who is a serious tournament angler

and he laughed his tail off when I took my little tackle box and

hanful of lures. I caught as many as he did. My question is that do any of you use some of these "old school" lures during a tournament, and if so, how do they perform ?

Answer 1

it all depends on where and when tourneys are a set date but the fish are not so early you can catch a few on beds. with a Berkley gulp crawler hooked with tandem snell.just cast into bed and jerk you won`t get refused,or mister twisters.mid somer you find them deeper i would use  lazy ike or mirro-lure trolled behind boat next to submerged shelters if i could find them.or my favorite a jigging Rapala jigged over and around the shelters, early fall its Jitterbug/Hullapopper time.because of the frog migration that happens in most lakes. just remember to always keep a open mind when fishing it opens the possibilities. your fishin buddy

Answer 2

Lazy Ike and Mirro-Lure I have never used however I have used the others.

The jitterbug or hulapopper I would use early in the morning if the wind is some what calm. you can go later into the morning if it's overcast. These along with other top waters are best fished in the morning when bugs are out, before the sun runs them into hiding.

Redel Cray fish can be used as the prior poster said, along rock piles. However, be careful not to get it hung up on the bottom. Learn the difference in the way it feels when your lure bounces off a rock then let it float back up a little.

The mister twister I really only would use as a part of another rig such as a spinnerbait skirt or on a trailer hook.

as far as your friend laughing at you when you fish your old school.... I fished a tournament using $12 shakespear rods that I had to get in a pinch and took 3rd place... this guy using all St. Croix rods ($250 -$300) took last

your equipment works as long as you use it the way it was meant

Answer 3

As long as your catching fish with them it doesn't matter if they are old.

(#2-#4 should be excellent in any regard!)

Answer 4

I don't tournament fish any more , but I'll tell you something that you already know- fish tend to hit lures that is not thrown at them every day, all day long. Something that they have not seen, or perhaps ever seen can sometimes be deadly. And the lures that you have mentioned have stood the test of time, they caught fish when they were new, and they still catch fish. I have several "old reliables" in my box that I sometimes have to go to when the fishing gets too slow .There have been a lot of lures that took the market by storm, and after about 4 years, you couldn't pay a fish to bite them- They will never attain the status of "old reliable" You see, evidently the fish didn't know that they were not supposed to hit your lures.

Answer 5

maybe as a last resort - when I fish competively I use allot more worms and some crankbaits. Crayfish I might use working it around submerged rock piles or rocky shores. I'd dump the Mr twisters... so many better worms out there....

Answer 6

I know the feeling, the same has happened to me, i don't own many new lures, Ive still got some of the original rapala floating in black and silver and that's about all i use, as you know i stick mostly to the fly fishing front, d**n I'm still using a mepps no 3 spinner from 1975 for salmon when I'm not fly fishing for them, just because they are old spinners and plugs they still work fine so long as you fish them right on an ugly stik rod with a Penn reel...

Answer 7

The rebel crayfish is about the only lure on that list I would use in a tournament. Work it around a rock bed or a rip-rap bank. I caught a 4 pound small mouth on one in February... Good lure...

Answer 8

I don't use any of those. They each are good lures and have a  time and place when they will produce. But there are better lures out there now that will produce more strikes under the same conditions. In a tournament situation you need every advantage, so you try to fish the areas with the greatest likelyhood of holding fish and the same with lures. You fish lures with most likelyhood of drawing a strike. But don't get me wrong, they are great lures and you should fish the lure you have the most confidence in. Keep fishing and have a good day.