Arbogast Jitterbug

[5/0]

I came across a couple of these stuffed away in a garage cabinet, one in the original package.

Were the original hooks on these lures good or should they be replaced?

I see that the hook to body connection is a harness like piece that prevents the hook from rotating forward and has two small screws that hold it in place.

If the hooks need to be replaced are those harness screws easily removed and put back in without striping them out? Do I need to add a split ring or should the new hooks be put back in the original configuration?

 

Thanks....Joe

 

[MickD]

I don't think the hooks on any of the old favorites can compare with the hooks of today, so I would replace them.  If you don't want to chance it, sharpen them.

 

I think the little screws should come out OK, but I would put a drop of fingernail polish hard coat on them when reinstalling them.  Careful on torquing them.

 

The line tie on the Jitterbug is a special pin with the opening below the "bill."  it is designed that way to keep the nose of the lure up.  I would not tamper with that and would not use a split ring.

[smalljaw67]

The hook hangers on that bait are fine to remove to change out the hooks. I've done the same to old Zara Spooks, what I do is I use a small amount of Loctite threadlocker blue on each tiny screw when I'm putting them back in. I can say that I've never had any fail after countless bass and even a 37" tiger musky. 

[Log Catcher]

You can change out the hooks without any problem. I have changed out the hooks on my Jitterbugs and I do use a split ring. I think it helps with hook up since the hooks can move more. Be careful not to over tighten the screws when you put them back in. I never thought about using thread locker but it might help.

[5/0]

Thank you for the tips! The hooks appear sharp, so I’ll leave them alone for now. If I think I need to switch them out I at least have an extra to experiment with.

 

Joe

[frogflogger]

split rings can help - great lure doesn't get a lot of press these days -

Have a friend that trolls them over flats and has several over 6 -

you never know what will work until you try it.

[Jermination]

Throw them at night on mountain lakes(hiwasee, fontana, chilhowee) and parallel the banks close enough to not catch tree limbs. no blacklights, liable to get your arm broke

[deadadrift89]

On 10/23/2019 at 7:27 PM, 5/0 said:

Thank you for the tips! The hooks appear sharp, so I’ll leave them alone for now. If I think I need to switch them out I at least have an extra to experiment with.

 

Joe

We use to throw them all the time at night after sunset when living in Florida over 20yrs ago. Love that sound and never had any issues with hookups on original hardware. At night they seem to fully commit ?

[DanielG]

I was looking at this thread and realized I had two of these in my tackle box. I acquired them when I was about 10 yrs old... let's see. That would be in 1965. The one that really worked good though, and I lost it in a fish fight was the red and white. This was when the choices for fishing pretty much boiled down to jitterbugs, Red devil spoons and mooselook warblers. Later on the swedish pimple hit the market and that was a big deal. Of course there were all manner of odd looking skirted things but no soft plastics that I remember. Spinners too but not that commonly used as much I think. Streamer flies were popular and effective though.

I used to love to drift into a shallow lagoon on the lake and cast and just let it plop near the shore. Then reel it in slowly hearing the pop, pop, pop sound and looking at that little wake on either side of it as it came forward. Fish loved it too.

I just looked on Amazon and that front one is called a 'coach dog'. They're still selling it and the side markings are identical to what they were fifty years ago. Wow...

 

[WRB]

Jitterbugs have a cult like following unlike most bass lures. The 2 1/2" sfize is the most popular and wooden models are sought after. Most wooden models are the larger Musky size with 3 treble hooks. Changing out the old hooks if plan to fish the lure, however original lures in the box have a higher value with stock hooks.

Jitterbugs excel during summer twilight nights, the transition between dusk and dark, slow steady retrieve...bloop, bloop, bloop.

Tom

[Raul]

- Change the original hooks since they are TRASH !

- Unscrew the hook hanger, put a drop of 5 min epoxy glue in the hole and screw them back in

- Place split rings on the hook hanger to attach your hooks

- Modify the lip by bending the hook eye a little bit up.