Devils Horse vs Cordell

[GReb]

I just watched a video Jacob Wheeler posted on YouTube about prop baits. I must admit I’ve never given one much thought. I have owned several for over a decade though. Now I’m starting to think I should tie one on and give it a go. 

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I have a half dozen or so new Bomber Prop A's still in the box and several more in my top water box  They are simply a Long A with a prop  like in the photo above . Other than a  buzzbait they are my premier top-water lure . When I saw them in the clearance bin I snagged a life-time supply . They are deadly post-spawn lures . My biggest six fish limit ever of around thirty lbs was caught with one . I caught 24 keepers over 15 inches that day . A person should be able to add a prop to a Long A to make one . 

Agree completely - post spawn for sure. A few of us have been using them for well over 25 years, long before they kind of became “popular” again. Have never gone out of style around here because not enough guys throw them.

[Mobasser]

On 2/25/2019 at 6:12 AM, scaleface said:

Thats a Dalton Special . I just acquired that one . 

I like that Dalton Special. I've thought about getting one for years, but never have

[Mobasser]

These are some of the oldest baits you can use. They'll always be popular. I've caught most fish on the Devils Horse by moving the bait almost in place, for a very short distance. I've never caught them whith a steady retrieve. As J Francho points out, the Heddon Dying Flutter can be good also. 

[NYWayfarer]

12 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

I've caught most fish on the Devils Horse by moving the bait almost in place, for a very short distance.

Very effective technique.

[Woody B]

Old thread resurrection.    I like to fish a Devils Horse and have several that are 30+ years old.   They're fragile, and I don't like the original hooks.  I recently bought a couple "Boy Howdy's "    They're plastic (I think) so they'd probably be more durable than a ' Horse.   I tried 1 today.  It "will" twist your line but so will a Devils Horse.   Doesn't seem any different to me in that respect.  Every couple casts I hold my rod tip up with the lure almost touching the water and let it unwind.    The hooks were....OK I guess.  I sharpened them.   They're 6's, or at least look like it to me.   I put a EWG short #4 on the rear of a 'Horse, with a split ring.  This makes it sit a little lower on the rear.  The Boy Howdy sits like that with no mods,  but has a #6 hook.  I suppose a #4 would make the rear sink more.   

 

For me it cast and fishes like a Devils Horse (with the bigger rear hook)   However, it didn't get bit.   It could be the color.  All I could find was shiny silver.   I've been having success with darker colored ' Horses.  I fished the "howdy" along with a flatside crankbait, and swim bait.  The crankbait and swim bait were getting bit but the ' Howdy wasn't.    I switched to a Devils Horse later, but only caught 1 on it.   I either switched to the 'Horse too late, or it just wasn't a top water day.  

 

I've been told that bass...fish don't see the Devils Horse, just the disturbance.    Perhaps the glossy silver finish on the Boy Howdy was a turn off.   I painted one flat black.  I'll try it tomorrow morning.   

[Deleted account]

On 2/24/2019 at 1:32 PM, MIbassyaker said:

 

Here's what I don't understand:  A whopper plopper is a propbait.  It is a floating topwater with a propeller. There is no clear definition of "propbait" that wouldn't include a whopper plopper.  It is certainly more a propbait than it is a buzzbait..

 

Yet nobody ever calls it a propbait.

 

Why is this?

Are we trying to categorize lures or catch fish? A WP is much more buzzbait than Devil's horse or the like, "technique" strikes again to the peril of a basshead...

[Captain Phil]

It's not so much which top water lure you use, it's how and where you fish it.  When you pull a top water lure steadily, you turn it into a buzz bait.   Most of today's bass anglers are impatient.  They cast and crank, cast and crank, cast and crank...repeat as necessary hoping to catch a bass.  You can't count on the lure to do all the work by itself! 

 

Here in Florida, the Devil's Horse is by far the best bass top water lure.    This lure works best when thrown close to cover.  It takes accuracy and guts to do this, but nothing that rewarding is easy.  Fishing it in short intermittent jerks works best for me.  What you are doing is mimicking a dying fish or creature struggling in the water.  This turns lazy big bass into angry predators.  Keep your eyes on the calm water around the bait as a bass will follow this bait for some distance.  If you are doing this right, bass will often blow this lure out of the water.  Sometimes they will just suck it down like a flushing toilet.  Another great top water lure in Florida is a gold Bang-O-Lure with a tail spinner.  You fish it the same way.   It's killer in Okeechobee. 

[Woody B]

So, a short trip this morning after the thunder storms passed.   I caught 7 mostly small.   3 on a flatside crankbait, 2 on a t rigged worm and 2 on a Devils Horse.    It's either luck, or the Cordell isn't working for me.  I even painted a Devils Horse flat black to match my painted Boy Howdy.   I did catch a couple tiny bluegill on the Cordell.   

 

Regarding "working" a Devils Horse.  Most of the time I work in real slow.  When twitching it I think of it like I'm trying to twitch my line.  This barely moves the props.  This method looks just like a couple mayflies in the water.   I'd estimate that in calm conditions 1/3 of the strikes come before moving the lure.   You have to be able to cast it in a manner where it lands like a butterfly.   I try to cast a "low line drive" and thumb it down at my target.   Casting under trees overhanging the bank works great during the mayfly hatch.   Don't get excited and set the hook if bluegill spit at it.  (it sounds like a spit when they hit it)   I've had bass hit it after bluegill have been messing with it.   

 

If there's some wind/chop on the water I'll kinda walk it like a spook.   I've brought bass up that were suspended over ledges this way.   I've never had any luck with a spook.  I simply can't cast a spook without it sounding like someone threw a concrete block into the water when it lands.   

 

 

Smithwick says the Devils Horse is supposed to imitate an injured, fleeing shad.  However, a real Devils Horse is some kind of grasshopper.   

 

If you want a guaranteed catch on a Devils Horse throw one out next to a bank where someone is mowing grass.   

[WRB]

Berkley Spin Rocket is available since this thread started in 2019.

Tom 

[Captain Phil]

I learned to fish a Devil's Horse from the best in the business.  I fished against Top Water Charlie for many years and was fortunate enough to observe how he fished.  Top Water Charlie (Charlie Orme) was a Florida Wildlife officer who fished bass tournaments as a side gig.  He reportedly made over 100K a year doing this.  He was written up in many magazines and articles.  He never fished anything but a Devil's Horse.  I have stood in line at weigh-ins with 20 pounds of bass when he had a limit of 5-8 pounders.  One tournament in Kissimmee I helped him to the scales when he had so many big bass that his bag broke open!

 

Charlie had many different techniques depending upon the season and conditions.  He was so experienced, he could sense what the fish wanted.  He often fished a lot faster than you would think.  Something that most people don't know is he sought out places that others ignored.  Residential canals were one of his favorites. Those back water canals hold big bass that never see a lure.  

[the reel ess]

On 2/24/2019 at 2:03 PM, Log Catcher said:

I have a couple of Devils Horse lures and I can't get a fish to look at them.

I had one good postspawn about 4 years ago with the Devil's Horse and nothing since.

[the reel ess]

21 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Another great top water lure in Florida is a gold Bang-O-Lure with a tail spinner.  You fish it the same way.   It's killer in Okeechobee. 

I bought one of these after seeing someone on YouTube wearing bass out with it around spawn. I've caught a grand total of one fish and that was at a pond where you can catch them on Gummi Worms.

[Captain Phil]

21 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I bought one of these after seeing someone on YouTube wearing bass out with it around spawn. I've caught a grand total of one fish and that was at a pond where you can catch them on Gummi Worms.

 

Every lure has a time and place where it works best.   If you are looking for a lure that works everywhere all the time, you won't find one unless it's sold in an infomercial.  ☺️

[the reel ess]

55 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Every lure has a time and place where it works best.   If you are looking for a lure that works everywhere all the time, you won't find one unless it's sold in an infomercial.  ☺️

Oh, I have some topwaters that work.

 

I've lately become a believer in the supernatural powers of the stick worm. In fact, I've been pitching it instead of a jig lately. Saturday I fished 4 hours for 2 bites, both on a SK Ocho. Not my favorite technique, though I got an 8 pounder on it about a month ago.

[CrashVector]

On 2/24/2019 at 12:23 PM, BoatSquirrel said:

The reason nobody has replied to your thread is nobody fishes prop baits anymore.  Good for us as they surely catch fish.  Covering water with a whopper plopper or a buzzbait has become much more popular— at least until somebody wins a big tournament on a prop bait. 

I prefer longer baits like a Devils Horse in prespawn then once summer gets here, smaller baits like a Crazy Shad.  

 

I fish a devil horse often.

 

I didn't reply bc I can't compare the two as I only use the devil horse.

[Captain Phil]

The Crazy Shad is a great bait as well.  It's somewhat smaller and fatter than a Devil's Horse and I seem to catch smaller bass with the CS.  Some other notable prop baits from the past are the Creek Chub Injured minnow and the Dalton Special.   The Heddon Tiny Torpedo will catch bass even in the toughest conditions.  For some reason unknown to me I seem catch bigger bass on the Devil's Horse. There are dozens of great old bass lures than are never used these days.  All the more reason to use them.  ☺️

[Cory20]

I've been throwing Old School Balsa Baits thin spin this season. It has split rings and decent hooks. Overall, a higher build quality than the 2 you've mentioned. 

[LrgmouthShad]

On 8/21/2022 at 7:21 AM, Deleted account said:

Are we trying to categorize lures or catch fish? A WP is much more buzzbait than Devil's horse or the like, "technique" strikes again to the peril of a basshead...

You just couldn’t let that three year old comment get away could you? ?