Devil's Horse

[the reel ess]

I have one of these and I have lost confidence in them over the years. What are the right conditions for a Devil's Horse propbait?

 

Thanks.

[papajoe222]

My best results with them are on days when there is a good ripple on the surface. A lot of guys like to rip them 8-12in. a rip, but I only use that retrieve when there is more of a chop on the surface.  My normal retrieve is similar to using a PopR, just a little more aggressively.  If it's more on the calm side, I'll let it sit after a few pops of the rod.  Then again, I work topwaters a lot slower than you see the pros doing. I have more confidence in the fish actually getting the bait in their mouth that way.

[Bluebasser86]

Fish them with short rips. Like papajoe said, pretty much like a PopR. I don't fish them often for some reason, but when I do they seem to attract bigger fish than a popper. 

[WRB]

Light wind and retreive it like atop water jerk bait.

Tom

[Catt]

Just like I would a Baby or Tiny Torpedo!

I like 3 short jerks, pause, 2 short jerks, pause, repeat

Water conditions vary from calm to moderate chop

[Random Tackle]

Great lure once you get it tuned right.  I've not had one that hasn't needed the props dialed in, normally loosened.  Can be a killer river lure in eddy water.  Old School!

[smalljaw67]

I think prop baits aren't used enough, I really like my old discontinued Heddon Dying Flutter prop baits but the Devils Horse is a good one. As it was already mentioned, calm to a little chop, I will go to the prop bait first if I see minnows scattering on top, the sound and vibration they cause mimics fleeing or injured minnows really well.

[scaleface]

Great lure once you get it tuned right.  I've not had one that hasn't needed the props dialed in, normally loosened.  Can be a killer river lure in eddy water.  Old School!

Elaborate, I have an old one that I dont recall ever catching a fish with . How do you get them tuned right ? Just loosen the blades so they turn freely ?

[jdw174]

When there's a good chop on the water, it's Devil's Horse time!  I usually give it 2-3 sharp jerks, then pause.  Those twin blades make a heck of a racket.

[tholmes]

Essentially what everyone else said. Light to moderate chop, short twitches and jerks, SPLOOSH!

 

One of my all-time favorite topwater baits!

 

Tom

[Random Tackle]

Elaborate, I have an old one that I dont recall ever catching a fish with . How do you get them tuned right ? Just loosen the blades so they turn freely ?

On the newer ones I've had to loosen the eye and back treble that the props are attached to.  Out of the box they were so tight that the props did nothing for me.

[NathanW]

Interesting that a couple of you guys are mentioning to wait until there is chop on the water... I have not had any luck with Devil Horse but really have not given it a chance. I usually shut the top water down when there is chop on the water. I would be interested to know why it is different with this bait? Obviously sounds like it works so I will have to give it a shot. I wish the thing cast better usually chop comes with a little breeze or wind. You guys throwing it on spinning gear? 

[papajoe222]

There are a couple of things you can do to 'tune' them.  As mentioned, make sure the blades spin freely. You can also bend the blades slightly back or forward to get less or more commotion.  Heavier mono works best as it is stiff enough to stay out of the way of the front hooks. 

Nate, you're missing out on some great topwater action if you shut down using them when there's a chop on the water.  Just as with spinnerbaits, a good ripple to a moderate chop seems to turn the bite on for prop baits and others like a Torpedo, or Lucky13 that make a lot of disturbance on the surface. The diffused light makes it more difficult for the fish to make out exactly what is causing the commotion and they seem to strike with more authority.

[bigbill]

Prop baits 1-rip,2-rip,3-rip pause.

Or reel it just fast enough to make the props churn.

Slow reel, reel fast enough so the props churn.

I live and breathe by the 1 2 3 pause.