Proof that old baits still catch fish

[Skeet22]

So I called my Father in law Sat eve to see if he wanted to make a quick evening trip as I knew the fish were biting pretty good due to me fishing the day before. We get out on the lake and he has a classic 4" Luck E Strike Rick Clunn Tequila Sunrise worm T-Rigged under what looked like a 3/8 oz bullet weight. He is going on about how many fish he has caught on this worm back in his Bass fishing days after I asked if he wanted to use some of my baits I have been nailing them on which was a Watermelon Red SK Game Hawg. Of course he declined my offer and I let it be but I was really thinking there is no way in hell he will be fishing to his potential with this rig but figured I'd let him learn the hard way. To make a long story short he wore my A** out with this rig all evening catching 6 Bass ranging from 2-4.5 lbs while I had 1 nice 2lb fish and a load of dinks. It was an enjoyable and humbling experience and left me scratching my head. I was super happy for him to be honest b/c he does not get to fish much and has been listening to me talk about the nice fish i've been catching on this lake which he used to fish and never caught the size fish that is being caught today due to a diversion project. So I was glad he was able to find out first hand that I have not been telling fish stories. Anyhow it has me really thinking about how we so often over complicate our lure selection and always bite on the latest and greatest trends. While I understand the importance of versatility in our sport it also kind of reminded me of the old "keep it simple stupid" phrase. I tell you it almost makes me want to just stick with all Zoom plastics that are proven fish catchers vs spending loads of money on all the "Rage" and latest technology soft plastics if you know what I mean(no disrespect inteneded). I attached a pic of the 4.5 and a pic of a similiar worm except he was using Teq Sunrise. **You have to click on the second pic to view full view**

[Raul]

There 's no need to prove anything, bass are dumb now as they were 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago. The difference is that we now have more baits that in given circumstances provide a little extra edge than baits from the old days didn 't have.

[Revo_Carrot Stix]

Good post Skeet.

We'd probably be surprised how much luck we'd have with an arsenal of just a spinnerbait, jitterbug, big-o, and bag of old school plastic worms, heck throw in a zebco combo. All for under $50.

How cool would a tournament like that be? i bet the weigh in bags would not be any different...

[Stasher1]

Those Luck E Strike "Tequila Sunrise" worms are still available and are still very productive at times. My brother-in-law and I caught a bunch on the 6" version of that worm (in the same color) at Watts Bar about a year ago.

Newer isn't always better...especially on highly pressured lakes.

[Skeet22]

Those Luck E Strike "Tequila Sunrise" worms are still available and are still very productive at times. My brother-in-law and I caught a bunch on the 6" version of that worm (in the same color) at Watts Bar about a year ago.

Newer isn't always better...especially on highly pressured lakes.

I was actually wondering if his success was due to fish seeing a bait that they more than likely have not seen in their life. I doubt it.

[Raul]

Those Luck E Strike "Tequila Sunrise" worms are still available and are still very productive at times. My brother-in-law and I caught a bunch on the 6" version of that worm (in the same color) at Watts Bar about a year ago.

Newer isn't always better...especially on highly pressured lakes.

I was actually wondering if his success was due to fish seeing a bait that they more than likely have not seen in their life. I doubt it.

Actually old baits are "new" baits, there are more new anglers than there are old farts, newer anglers use more newer baits than old farts ( we old farts to a certain point are creatures of habit ) fishing the new baits so that 's what the fish see more oftenly, you come a long and throw an old school bait to the fish it 's "new."

[bigbill]

I'm still throwing the orginal 6" black creme worms on split shot rig??? The bass still like it.

I flashed the flashlite at the edge of the water one night when it got dark and seen freshwater eels at the waters edge. This is why the old black creme worm still works today.

Don't give up on the old stuff yet. ;D

[bilgerat]

There are MANY state bass records that are decades old. That tells you a lot right there. I'll bet more than a couple were caught on a worm.

[Blue Streak]

I have several old favorites that they don't make any more and I buy all I can find when I am lucky enough to find any at all.

[Scorcher214]

I caught my biggest fish of the year on an original jitterbug my grandpa gave me.

[mikeeasttn]

This spring my grandson and I were getting ready to go fishing.  He found an old plug in my junk tackle called a AC Shiner.  It was a black and silver deep diving crankbait with a metal lip.  Nothing would do him but to take it fishing.  He wore me out that day with that old plug.  He was catching 3-4 fish to my one. The best I remember is I purchased the plug in the late 80's.  He still fishes with the plug some and it still catches some fish when they are on a crankbait bite.

[timojohnD]

Well I tell you what, You know that guy with the bag of tricks we always talk about?  He was using some old school dry rotted culprit worms the other day and he didn't do jack.  He had a zip lock full of them.  I guess the original bag decomposed years ago.  The worm I was using was an old style though but still pretty common.  Went out there yesterday (monday) after work b/c a buddy of mine had heard the sac-a-lait were biting out there.  Well we didn't catch any sac-a-lait b/c neither of us knew what we are doing so I told him if he actually wanted to catch some fish lets tie on some t rigs and head for that grass bed.  Caught a lot of dinks but I had 5 or 6 pretty decent fish mixed in there.  It was better than it was on Saturday.

[Grey Wolf]

What goes around , comes around. Old , new , it doesn't matter , fish aren't the smartest .