Gone but not forgotten............

[ww2farmer]

For whatever reason, we are all guilty of this...........probably at some point in the past, we have had baits/lures that were mainstays in our rotations, but we have moved on from them for one reason or another, with the exception being they never stopped catching fish. Here is a list of mine, in no particular order:

 

Bandit crankbaits: Especially the 100............it was my "go to" shallow crankbait for ages, the chart. rootbeer colored 100 used to do some major work for me. Then the SK KVD's burst onto the scene and for no good reason, I haven't used or bought a bandit since.

 

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps............there was a time that in the spring a red craw Rat-L-Trap was money, followed closely by a gold/black back, and chrome blue/back. I strayed away from them to try a whole bunch of other lipless cranks, before settling on the SK Redeye shad as my new "go-to". And much the same as the Bandit's haven't bought or used a Rat-L-Trap since.

 

Spinnerbaits: No matter the brand. I don't even own one anymore, the swimjig and chatterbait have replaced them.

 

Mann's jelly worms: There was a long period of time, from the late 80's to the early 2000's that if I needed or wanted to throw a straight tail worm, it was a jelly worm. I ran out once, and tried something else, and have never gone back for really no good reason. They worked on t-rigs, c-rigs, weightless, on jig heads (back when we called it a jig worm instead of a shaky head)

 

Culprit Ribbon tail worms: Like the jelly worm, this was my go-to action tail worm in the late 80's  until at least the late 90's. Then I found myself out of them one trip and bought some Berkley Power worms. I have used Power Worms ever since, but have never thought them to be superior to the Culprit, I just never went back to them. The Power worm is, or should I say was, in the same boat. From about 2006 -2014 or so, I am not sure I ever threw one. I have gone back to them the last few years however, and they work as well if not better than they ever did.

 

I am sure I will think of a few more....but those are just off the top of my head for right now.

 

 

[Blackhawk83]

Bandit 100 series cranks are a long time favorite of mine but seem to have been replaced by bagleys honey b.   I do find balsa wood lures to be superior to the plastic bandits but in their defense they never stopped catching fish

[scaleface]

Beetle spins . 

[A-Jay]

Rapala Husky Jerk & Deep Down Husky Jerk ~ Many of them have almost no paint left on them - because they are/were that good.  Don't know why I stopped throwing them, but as the "New" jerkbaits came out - these stopped getting wet.  May fix that.

 

Berkley Chigger Craw - must have ten pounds of these - Been completely replaced by the Rage Lobster & Craw -

 

Whopper Stopper Hellbender and the Fred Arbogast Mud Bug ~ only have a few of each of these left - but back in the infancy of my bass fishing life, these baits accounted for the few 5 lb plus bass I was able to catch.  I used to throw them on a fiberglass spinning rod & reel what weighed 8 pounds and was armed with less than half a spool of Gumby Mono; which was actually not that fun now that I think about it.

A-Jay

[WRB]

A-Jay, Put the Chigger craws in the flea market!

Tom

[A-Jay]

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

A-Jay, Put the Chigger craws in the flea market!

Tom

 

Not a bad plan Tom.

However, I neglected to mention that the Chigger Craw is the first & only craw / trailer my fishing partner (insert wife) will use.

So if I were to in fact, liquidate that particular inventory, there would most likely be a bit of trouble in paradise   ..  ..  ..  ..

 

A-Jay

[dwh4784]

White Slug-Go used to be my mainstay, but haven't used one in years now. Fishing from a kayak I don't know that I'd go back to it anyway, so many of the fish I caught were on bites that I saw rather than felt. Nothing quite like watching that bright white bait twitch all over the place and all of a sudden it just disappears and you set the hook instantly.

[Gundog]

Berkley 4" worms: T-rigged they would produce in the small pond I started fishing for bass in. 

 

Charlie Brewer Slider Spider Head: Caught a lot of good bass putting a worm on those heads but just stopped using them. Still have some lying around somewhere. 

 

Original Floating Rapala in the classic black back/white sides: This was one of the first lures I started fishing for bass with, but slowly turned to more "flashy" substitutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MassYak85]

Berkley Powerbait 10" ribbontails 

[smalljaw67]

Poe's Cedar crankbaits. The flat sided models were always a killer in cold water!!!

[Cgolf]

Yum Crawbug, with the Ned rig the last couple of years my number 1 all time river bait has been on the shelf. Learning from others, I won't allow myself to bench the Bandit 100, it is my number 2 river bait and might move up to number one if the crawbug stays on the bench, also has done well on the lakes too.

[Spankey]

I love fishing soft plastics. The most disappointing thing for me, gone but not forgotten are a few items I just can't get anymore. 

 

Mr. Twister Silk Worm 4.5

 

Mr. Twister Exude Worms

 

Culprit 4" ribbon tail worms

 

Guido Bugs (craws)

 

Don't exist anymore. I'd like to have $1.00 for every Smallie I caught on a Silk Worm 4.5 alone. Have just a few of these left and time is not helping them. Oldies but goodies. 

[edfitzvb]

Mepps spinners. Used to throw them all the time when I was young. NEVER tie one on now, but I imagine that they still catch fish.

 

Hellbender lure used to catch some real nice smallmouth for me when they were scratching the rock bottom

 

Still fish Jellyworms, Rapala floating minnows, and Jitterbugs. Great producers for me

[Catt]

Gene Larew 7 ½” Salty Ring Worm Cinnamon Pepper Neon/June Bug Laminated (Camouflage).

 

Discontinued 

[2tall79]

Anything Uncle Josh, Twister Slither worms, Hawg Boss Super Toads, original Power Lizards

[kbeeb374]

hmm I would say I used to fish the Strike King Grass frog a lot but have since switched to hollow bodies.. I have also caught a bunch of river smallies on a white mister twister and the rapala floating minnow but neither see any action really any more..  might have to fix the floating minnow situation,  those are fun to catch em on.

[Mumbly]

I used to throw grubs a lot but just got away from them I guess. Floating rapala and husky jerks have taken a back seat as well for some reason. I enjoy topwater most and used to throw a hubs chubs a ton and also a heddon crazy shad. I haven't thrown those in years.

I should try to get those out this year along with the old heddon crazy crawlers. Might be fun.

[scaleface]

The Dalton Special . I only have one and its in my display case .  I need a couple for using and keep my eyes open for them .

[WRB]

Forgotten lures like Stocker Trout, Basstrix 8" swimbait, Osprey swimbaits....since they stopped stocking trout my older trout swimmers and dozens of newer swimbaits get little use.

Gone lures like Black Dog wooden Shell Cracker swimbaits baits, LA Slider swimbait, Megabait 3/4 oz jigging spoons, Pupfish, original cedar Poes 300, wooden musky Jitterbug, Schurmy Shad spoon and several others I keep in the boat and used sparingly.

Super Pork rind....miss you Robin!

Soft plastics, that is a long list!

Tom

[lo n slo]

Diamond Back Lizards exist only in my memories now.

each Spring when they would close the gates to the spillway at the state park, we'd throw a Lil Cleo across the froth and catch a stringer full of white bass. we'd spend all day walking those banks as teenagers.

burning a Shyster parallel to the bank at the pond drew boiling strikes from fiesty largemouth bass, so would a chrome Tiny Torpedo, worked at an erratic pace. all on my old Mitchell "open face" reel. 

[RoLo]

Deps 7" Deathadder Grub - scuppernong   (Discontinued)

 

Roger

[blckshirt98]

When I was a kid (11-14 years old) and looking at tackle aisles I was always in awe of Rooster Tail spinners and Mister Twister plastics (anything chartreuse in particular).  When someone I knew showed up at the local lake with a Rooster Tail, that was a big-time bait that I always watched them fish with envy.  When I started fishing again 25 years later, Rooster Tails, Mister Twister, and any chartreuse plastics never caught my attention the same way because of the other options available.

[Stuckinthetrees]

I used snagless sallys up until just a few years ago.  caught plenty of fish on them for years.   the bandit 100 and the culprit 7.5s both still catch tons of fish but i dont use them much anymore. replaced the bandit with a good square bill

[Choporoz]

hula grubs...not sure why....for no good reason, they've slipped from my consciousness last couple years

[scaleface]

47 minutes ago, Stuckinthetrees said:

I used snagless sallys up until just a few years ago.   

That is one lure I never had but planned on getting one .