Going back to an old friend

[Preytorien]

Back when I first got into fishing as a carefree 8-year old, my grandfather would often tie me on an in-line spinner. He said it was due in part to the fact that a spinner is a good lure for a kid with a not-so-tuned level of attention, and provided an easy way to catch fish. It was a lure that had been around for many many years and had a proven track record.

 

Now my boxes are full of the latest offerings from various manufacturers. The tackle industry has exploded in the decades that have passed since I first went fishing with papaw, and the baitmonkey has bitten me more than I care to share.

 

Fast forward to this past year and beginning this spring I started to see a trend where many of my normal lures just weren't having the same effect as usual. I was catching fish, just not nearly in the quantities I had caught in years before. I'm not sure if they were getting acclimated to my normal row of suspects or just wanting something different, but I had come up against a wall and couldn't get past it. Then, one outing, while rummaging through my tackle boxes, I thought I'd give a spinner a shot, I mean, what could it hurt? I tied on a #3 Mepps gold bladed undressed spinner....and had one of the best outings I've had in years.....using what was very likely the oldest lure in my arsenal.

 

The Mepps was (and still is, I kept it for sentimental reasons) pretty worn out. For quite a while it was my main go-to lure, so it had some corrosion on it. The hooks were originally dressed but lost the dressing, and the hooks themselves were pretty worn and dulled. I didn't want to chance hooking a good sized fish and losing it and my old friend due to worn components. I took a look at some others at Cabela's and ended up with 2 Blue Fox Super Vibrax #2 both dressed and undressed. The concept of the free spinning shaft appealed to me since I had frequently had line twist issues. I have to say, although my old friend was a Mepps, this Blue Fox has absolutely WHACKED them for me this year. Even on big lakes with big fish, it doesn't seem to matter, it's just outperformed everything else I threw. Sure it catches all the little guys, but who's going to complain about catching TOO MANY fish? 

Just a quick fun story about re-connection with an old friend of mine.....you might give it a try too! 

[Bluebasser86]

I still carry some inline spinners with me, mainly for the linesides, but I still fish them for bass on occasion. A #2 or #3 Mepp's is still a bass slayer. 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

Yes.  Inline spinners just catch fish - every kind.  If I had to choose just one lure to catch fish - any fish, it would be an inline spinner, specifically a Panther Martin -  silver blade with yellow body and red dots. It's good to go back and revisit what works, thanks for the reminder.

[Troy85]

My PB Rainbow trout was caught on an inline spinner while on a family vacation in Gatlinburg when I was 8.  I remember I cried when my dad made me release it.

[NYWayfarer]

1 hour ago, Preytorien said:

Just a quick fun story about re-connection with an old friend of mine.....you might give it a try too! 

Awesome story and thread.

 

I have been re-connecting with old classic lures as well this year. On Saturday I tied on a Johnson Beetle Spin. I caught over a dozen Rock Bass with it. I forgot how much fun this lure can be.

 

[Junger]

I took a long hiatus from angling until recently, and one of the first things I did was buy a couple of the Mepp's combo kits. I grew up fishing those, but I never really recall catching anything with them. I bought them mostly out of nostalgia, but when the bite is tough, I throw one on and I can get something to bite nowadays.

 

I also remember my dad having a bunch of spinnerbaits, the jig/bass sized ones. When I was a kid, I always thought that there was no way something would bite that, it was just too big and didn't look like a minnow or worm. 

 

I need to visit my dad and rummage through his tackle, I'm sure he has some oldies but goodies hidden away.

[Jaderose]

They look like something a kid would design but I have caught a TON of fish on the Mepps Comet Mino's.  In fact, it's the lure that got me going in bass fishing a bunch of years ago.  I was a standard hook and bobber guy until I found one in a parking lot.  I tied it on and gave it a try.  Boom!  2 lb'er.  Immediately hooked.  Don't throw them that often but they are still in rotation and they do come out occasionally.

 

[lo n slo]

when i was a young teen, walking the banks of ponds and the state park trails of Lake Norman, a Shyster was my lure of choice. white w/black dots/silver blade or yellow w/black dots/gold blade got the job done. i’d cast down the bank and wake it back, waiting for that boil on my offering.

[Gundog]

2 hours ago, Jaderose said:

They look like something a kid would design but I have caught a TON of fish on the Mepps Comet Mino's.  In fact, it's the lure that got me going in bass fishing a bunch of years ago.  I was a standard hook and bobber guy until I found one in a parking lot.  I tied it on and gave it a try.  Boom!  2 lb'er.  Immediately hooked.  Don't throw them that often but they are still in rotation and they do come out occasionally.

 

Great for river smallmouths. I always make sure I have one in my vest when I go out. Especially when the water is clear. 

[greentrout]

Use it when fishing in Desoto National Forest waters...

 

Blue Fox...

 

[Preytorien]

I may have to give a try to the ones with minnow bodies. I do a LOT of shallow river smallmouth fishing, those look like they'd do very well

[Eric J]

What a great post! I also caught my best trout on an inline. The only fish I ever mounted some 30 years ago. A Golden Trout.

 

I have several I. My box and I am excited to use them again.

 

Thanks for the post!

[Tucson]

These were my go-to baits for many years.  I've recently started using them again but for me they absolutely require a swivel to attenuate the line twist.

[WRB]

A few years ago fishing with my son he found a 1/4 oz Fire Tiger Panther Martin in my trout tackle box and started using it on a lake with white bass, smallmouth, Spots and LMB and caught all 4 species plus a big crappie in the area we were fishing. You forget how effective the inline spinner canbe.

Tom

[Preytorien]

16 minutes ago, WRB said:

A few years ago fishing with my son he found a 1/4 oz Fire Tiger Panther Martin in my trout tackle box and started using it on a lake with white bass, smallmouth, Spots and LMB and caught all 4 species plus a big crappie in the area we were fishing. You forget how effective the inline spinner canbe.

Tom

Exactly Tom, the great thing about them is even if you're having a tough time with the bass, most other species will hit it too, so rarely do you ever have a totally skunked day (as I knock on wood).

[jbmaine]

What a great post!! Sure brings back a lot of memories.

[Lottabass]

This is great!  I have a story to share.....years ago (early 70's) I was a member of a bass club.  It was as much social as fishing but at one of our "tournaments" a young, inexperienced, new guy fished a spincast outfit with a Lazy Ike and caught the fire out of them while us old "pro's" chunkin' our fancy lures caught little!  Lazy Ike was in Fort Dodge, Iowa and my buddy's mom worked there.  She would bring home the rejects and after the whuppin' we got from the new kid we all took to cleaning up the rejects and filling our tackle boxes with them.

The new guy never did come back to fish with us.  I reckon he figured we weren't much of a challenge!