What "old time" lure do you still routinely throw and why?

[Chief Grey Bear]

Another that he loved and that has produced many good smallie for me was a Heddon Tiny Tad, not the Tad Polly which is larger. Yellow was the chosen color. It was a frustrating lure to use as it screwed up about half the time but when it didn't it would sure catch fish.

Great topic.

Ahh the Tiny Tad! Yes it is a killer!

Here is a fish I caught a few weeks ago on one.

I use the regular size mostly but have even tossed the Magnum with results.

I don't have any problem with the screwing up. Not any more than any other crank.

[slab slinger]

I always catch myself throwing a Flat Fish in black when it gets tough on the river. I have a bag full of high tech new baits but that old thing has landed me alot of fish since i was a kid. My dad got me started off with them as a kid. Don't Know why i always lean on it either the fact it catches fish or i have alot of faith conection to it. Haha.

[Chuck Moore]

I still fish the White Zara spook my dad caught 19 small mouth over 3#'s, on a float trip in the early 50's. Wooden boat, 40's flat bed truck,. fishing out of Forsyth, MO I can still see today with my 70 year old eyes. Had to cut a tree down on the Niangua, in the 70's, to retrieve the lure, used to get a buzz on in days gone by, letting the thumb off the 2500C a bit early. Now I forget to let my thumb up. C. Moore

[joeD]

I don't throw old time lures because I don't have any. So, I guess I'm stuck throwing new time lures. Obviously, my loss.

[Smallieguy87]

I don't really own any "old time" lures but i think a lot of today's methods simply spin from teaching an old dog new tricks. I do swim 4 inch grubs on a jig head (a method that has been around much longer then i have), i still throw a slider worm on occasion though i don't use the slider heads. Throwing a mepps inline tends to work well a lot of the time, and i just recently (way late to the game) started throwing wiggle warts and its a shame i don't have any of the old school ones to compare action or finish with.

[ozark trout fisher]

I don't really own any "old time" lures but i think a lot of today's methods simply spin from teaching an old dog new tricks. I do swim 4 inch grubs on a jig head (a method that has been around much longer then i have), i still throw a slider worm on occasion though i don't use the slider heads. Throwing a mepps inline tends to work well a lot of the time, and i just recently (way late to the game) started throwing wiggle warts and its a shame i don't have any of the old school ones to compare action or finish with.

Yep, the old Mepps is still way more effective than you think for smallies. And pretty much everything else, depending on the size of the spinner in question. I will say that I have almost equal success with Rooster Tails and Panther Martins, but once you get away from those three inlines, productivity/reliability tends to drop off a cliff in my experience. I've found I can get away with off-brand almost anything in fishing...but not here. You try to cut cost and you almost invariably end up with the joy that is a spinner that doesn't spin.

I'll admit these are my primary backup plan behind the Rebel Craw in the summer months. It's nice because I can alternate between the larger ones to weed out pretty much everything besides bass (and the occasional and particularly rambunctious goggle eye/longear/etc) but you can just downsize whenever you want variety, or panfish for the frying pan.

[Smallieguy87]

Yep, the old Mepps is still way more effective than you think for smallies. And pretty much everything else, depending on the size of the spinner in question. I will say that I have almost equal success with Rooster Tails and Panther Martins, but once you get away from those three inlines, productivity/reliability tends to drop off a cliff in my experience. I've found I can get away with off-brand almost anything in fishing...but not here. You try to cut cost and you almost invariably end up with the joy that is a spinner that doesn't spin.

I'll admit these are my primary backup plan behind the Rebel Craw in the summer months. It's nice because I can alternate between the larger ones to weed out pretty much everything besides bass (and the occasional and particularly rambunctious goggle eye/longear/etc) but you can just downsize whenever you want variety, or panfish for the frying pan.

I tend to take the mepps over the rooster tail most of the time. I sometimes have a problem with the wardens rooster tails blade When using a faster retrieve and I don't get that with the mepps. I have probably a dozen rebel craws in just two colors. I throw ditch and green craw. I've tried some of the other colors but they don't produce near as well as those two.

[drew03cmc]

Ahh the Tiny Tad! Yes it is a killer!

Here is a fish I caught a few weeks ago on one.

I use the regular size mostly but have even tossed the Magnum with results.

I don't have any problem with the screwing up. Not any more than any other crank.

image.jpg

That Tiny Tad is pretty cool. Are there any colors better than others?

[ozark trout fisher]

I tend to take the mepps over the rooster tail most of the time. I sometimes have a problem with the wardens rooster tails blade When using a faster retrieve and I don't get that with the mepps. I have probably a dozen rebel craws in just two colors. I throw ditch and green craw. I've tried some of the other colors but they don't produce near as well as those two.

Yeah, I'd take the Mepps over the Rooster Tail the majority of the time because of exactly what you said...Rooster Tails are not amenable to a fast retrieve, or in my experience areas with faster current where the heavier (in relation to the size of the lure) Mepp's tends to shine.

But weirdly enough I've noticed times when the fish seem noticeably preferential to one or the other, with those being distributed about equal between the two...of course there are plenty of confounding variables that probably explain more of that, but I've got to pretend like I have some clue what's going on down there.

I usually add a split shot about a foot up the line for casting and added depth with Rooster Tails, except in small creek situations. And it seems to help the spinner work properly with slightly faster retrieves, though that could be my imagination.This is one technique I am pretty sure increases my catch rate, and rather dramatically in deeper, faster reaches. It can help with Mepp's too, but it doesn't seem as critical. Plus I am often fishing the extra deep version of the latter, which eliminates the need.

[Kayser]

So here's a question- how do you fish the Heddon baby lucky 13? Like a popper/chugger, or more like a crank?