Famous/Popular/Mainstay lures that you have stopped using and what you have replaced them with and why did you change?

[tcbass]

There are some lures that are just fish catchers for most everyone, lures like Senkos, Zoom Super Flukes, Zara Spooks, and others. Because they are so successful almost everywhere they are used they become mainstays in many people's tackle boxes. I've used and owned most of these but for various reasons stopped using them and replaced them with other lures. Here's the famous lures I've used and what I replaced them with.

 

 

1.)  Original:  Senko  -  The Senko is well known as one of the best bass fishing baits of all time. However, they are a disposable lure that you can lose quickly, even on just a cast and a pack of Senkos isn't cheap. After getting advice from folks on here I was able to use rubber tubing to keep Senkos lasting much longer, even up to 8-10 trips. If you can catch 20-50 fish on 1 Senko (around 10 fish a trip and 10 trips is my max), it's more than paid for itself. I Wacky rig them with the tubing and it has been a great bait. 

 

Replacement:  Zoom Super Fluke  -  The Zoom is another famous lure that just catches fish for people. I've used both the Fluke and Senko in open water successfully but usually I really like throwing either under docks. The problem with the Fluke is the same problem I've had with Ragetail Toads though and that is when weightless Texas Rigged you need to skin the lure to make it weedless but after a fish or 2 usually you can't successfully skin them anymore and they lose their weedlessness. I've solved this problem by following advice on here and using an Owner Twistlock CPS and nose-hooking the Fluke which works great and is surprisingly pretty weedless. I did add a piece of shrink tubing to keep the CPS from falling off of the hook. 

 

I like the Fluke because they are a lot cheaper than the Senkos, normally just as effective, and skip better which is good for dock fishing. I will say that a weightless T-Rigged Senko skips great, I just don't like T-Rigging Senkos because of the same skinning problem that you have with most plastics after a few fish. 

 

I normally use a Fluke and my brother uses a Senko and I will say that if fish are biting on Senkos they will also bite a Fluke and vice versa, and because of this, I will most likely use a Fluke. If they wouldn't bite a Fluke, I'd try a Senko or vice versa but if they won't bite one, then they most likely won't bite the other either I've found. 

 

 

2.)  Original:  Ragetail Toad  -  The Ragetail Toad was my first successful topwater frog (I never learned how to properly walk a hollow body frog sadly) and it was a killer for my first 8 years of fishing. Each lure lasted a long time and you could catch them on the retrieve or just let them sink on the landing. However, like most plastics they suffered the same problem, after a fish or two the hook hole got too big and you couldn't properly skin them anymore causing them to lose their weedlessness. 

 

Replacement:  Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog  -  This hit the market this year and took the bass world by storm, every store and online shop quickly became sold out and you can only find them if you are willing to pay an exorbitant amount on Ebay. Since I'm not rich and not inclined to overpay for something I did what many people on youtube did and that was watch a video on how to make your own. So after trial and error I eventually broke down and ordered some actual Teckel Sprinker Frog replacement Tails (I figured if they don't work on the homemade lure, they can be kept for the real Teckel frogs I eventually get) and using them with a Spro Frog (for some reason this tail and a Snagproof Phat Frog don't work well) and size 4 VMC 3 way swivel has been super successful. Like a normal hollowbody frog it is almost 100% weedless and unlike the Ragetail Toad does not lose it's weedlessness after a few fish. 

 

The benefit to the Sprinker Frog is it's Whopper Plopper style action which makes it not only effective in cover like lilypads, topwater weeds, and other hard to fish locations it also works well in open water and even rough, wavy water where a hollowbody frog may traditionally not work so well. It can also be fished faster than a regular hollowbody frog and it's walk the dog style which allows you to cover so much more water effectively. I can't wait to get my hands on a real Sprinker frog, but until then the DIY one will have to keep catching them. Ironically I bought about 8 packs of Ragetail Toads when Gander went out of business and now I don't know what I'll do with them. 

 

 

3.)  Original:  KVD Sexy Dawg/Zara Spook  -  The KVD Sexy Dawg is basically Strike King's version of the Zara Spook which is a walk the dog topwater bait. This is a great bait that catches tons of fish. I used to use the KVD Sexy Dawg exclusively as my open water topwater bait although I did try some other topwater baits such as the Ima Roumba and Ima Skimmer with mediocre results. 

 

Replacement:  River2Sea Whopper Plopper  -  Started using this lure and it has been phenomenal. You can cover so much more water effectively with it faster than you can with a walk the dog type lure. As much as I love walking the dog it is a slow, methodical process. You can fish the WP slow, fast, stop and go, or any variation of such, but a fast, steady retrieve will usually catch you fish and you can cover a lot of water quickly and the 2 treble hooks are some of the sharpest I've ever used. If a fish hits the Whopper Plopper, you're probably gonna land it. 

 

 

 

 

So, what famous/popular/mainstay lures have you stopped using and what did you replace them with and why did you change?

[Raul]

Well, I replaced Mann's Jelly Worm with Zoom Trickworm because they are easier to find.

 

[camman]

Yamamoto Senko to a Yum Dinger...a lot cheaper

[Jar11591]

Original: Heddon Zara Spook

 

Replacement: Rapala Skitter Walk. The Skitter Walk has much better stock hooks, a lot better color patterns, it casts further and walks a lot easier. All around better lure. 

 

 

[Jigfishn10]

Can't agree more @Jar11591, As soon as I fished the Skitter Walk, there was no turning back.

 

For me it was a Spinnerbait to a lipless crank. I really think a lipless is more versatile and will catch more species.

[A-Jay]

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap with SK Red Eye Shad.

Fred Arbogast Mud Bug with SPRO Mike McClelland RKCRAWLER 55 

Rebel minnow with Rapala Minnow

A-Jay

[NHBull]

Brunette for a Blond!.......just kidding, I like the original version.  I could not afford the Blond

[scaleface]

I still use my old lures , never seen any reason to replace  something that works . 

[WRB]

Mann's A-rig, feel apart the time I used it.

Rebel lures, could never get them to run right.

Haven't bought a Rapala lure in 20 years, still use the original minnows and Fat Rap.

AC swimbaits, replaced by Hudds, Rats, Wake and Glide baits.

Injection molded soft plastics worms, replaced by hand pours.

Hair jigs with pork rind....still use them and haven't found replacements!

Tom

[CroakHunter]

Z-man chatterbait. Replaced with seibert fogy.

Senko. Replaced with bps stick-o.

Strike king 1/2 oz spinnerbait. Replaced with northland tackle reed runner. 

Lead worm weights. Replaced with tungsten. 

 

I'm sure there is more but Thats the most popular baits I've replaced with less popular ones. 

 

[Russ E]

back in the late 80s and early 90s the Lunker City Sluggo was my go to bait. Won several local tournaments with it.

at the time it was something different and caught a lot of fish.

over time I started using the Fluke in its place, because I felt it had a better action, and was easier to rig.

[tcbass]

1 hour ago, CroakHunter said:

Z-man chatterbait. Replaced with seibert fogy.

Senko. Replaced with bps stick-o.

Strike king 1/2 oz spinnerbait. Replaced with northland tackle reed runner. 

Lead worm weights. Replaced with tungsten. 

 

I'm sure there is more but Thats the most popular baits I've replaced with less popular ones. 

 

 

Is the Northland Reed Runner cheaper than the Terminator?

[craww]

Been on a chatterbait kick for close to a decade. The feast or famine nature some have noticed with them has been famine in my hands this year. Flash back a few years and Id gotten to the point I rarely threw a spinnerbait. Maybe the lake bass had seen them a ton. But the chatterbait, and a few others served me well. Ive switched up to fishing the river more this year, and the old bladed jig just isnt getting bit on this river Ive pretty much lived on this year. Meanwhile the increasingly overlooked spinnerbait  has absolutely slayed big fish for me. They really can draw fish and the flash in the current just works.

[CroakHunter]

33 minutes ago, tcbass said:

 

Is the Northland Reed Runner cheaper than the Terminator?

Yeah I found them on sale for under 5 dollars from cabelas I believe. 

[Bluebasser86]

I traded a lot of store bought jigs, bladed jigs, and jigheads for my own homemade ones.

 

Senko- BPS stick O

Zoom Trick worm-Netbait T-Mac

Expensive Gammies and Owner hooks-Eagle Claw Black Platinum hooks.

Sufix 832-KastKing super braid

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Yeah I found them on sale for under 5 dollars from cabelas I believe. 

 

 

Cool. Thanks. 

[Chance_Taker4]

for me it isn't exactly baits but presentation I replaced. For about 3 years I always had a shakey head tied on and no other plastic baits other than Zoom Mag Shakey Worms. However the last 2 seasons I have not even put shakey head jigs in the boat with me. I couldn't even tell you why that is because it is my number 1 confidence bait.

[bx.versatile]

Replaced Keitech Swing Impact Fat with Eco Pro Swing Shad.

• 10x more durable
• Same great action
• Lower cost
• Has the popular colors
• Who needs stinking squid scent

[Columbia Craw]

Bandit 100's.  I can't explain why I moved away from them other than it was hard to get a hook that didn't inhibit the action and would hold up. They are great baits and I have about two dozen and haven't thrown one in years.  I have Crush 50's and KVD 1.5's ties on all the time now.

 

 

[the reel ess]

The old Do-Nothing Worm-->Zoom Finesse Worm. Offers weedless rigging.

Rat L Trap-------------------->Cordell Super Spot. My buddy outfished me a couple times.

Hollow body frog------------>Poppin' Pad Crasher. Walks more easily and "upsets" the pads more. Just gets more bites.

Beetle Spin------------------> Rooster Tail. Again, more bites.

On 8/18/2017 at 1:36 PM, Raul said:

Well, I replaced Mann's Jelly Worm with Zoom Trickworm because they are easier to find.

 

I replaced almost all my worms with Trick Worms or Finesse Worms.

[Cgolf]

A few

 

worm weight and hook replaced by slider heads. Use them for everything, from tubes to power worms. I haven't fished a proper Texas rig in 20 years. If I need something heavy I will use a bass style jig.

 

Zoom finesse worms replaced by netbait finesse worms. I feel it is both a cheaper and better worm. Only downside is that netbait has cut down on colors recently. They also really ticked me off by getting rid of the slim shake worm, which I found out was an incredible bait too late. If anyone knows of a legit place to order them from, please pm me. 

 

Zman baits with anything similar. While I will still use them, some recent issues have me backing away from them. I have enough plastics that durability is not a concern for me right now, so these have been benched for a majority of the season. Also just hate dealing with both types of plastics on the same trip. 

[thinkingredneck]

EWG hooks, changed to round bend offset hook.  Seems to hook more fish

lead to tunsten weights, especially heavier sizes

mono to braid for most soft baits

I found some Mustad mono that I like better than trilene.  I really like the Mustad

FC leader to yozuri hybrid leader.  Alberto knot from double surgeon or blood knot for joining leader

improved clinch knot to palomar or Duncan

[gilkeybr]

After last night i'll be replacing flukes, which never caught me much, with caffeine shads.  Very first cast with a KVD magic caffeine shad and I caught a 3.5lber.  Second cast caught another 1.5.  This was after a pretty rough day of fishing to that point.  

 

Only downside is the KVD CS tore badly on the first fish.  I cut 1/4" of the nose off and rerigged.  It didn't seem to kill the action.

[kickerfish1]

Banjo minnow - replaced with flying lure

[MassYak85]

On 8/19/2017 at 2:31 PM, AnotherSenkoQuestion said:

Replaced Keitech Swing Impact Fat with Eco Pro Swing Shad.

• 10x more durable
• Same great action
• Lower cost
• Has the popular colors
• Who needs stinking squid scent

x2, although I haven't completely replaced the swing impact because of their larger variety in size and color (if Eco Pro came out with some 2.8's and 5.8's and a few more colors I would completely switch), I do think the Exo Pro's are just as good for a much better price.