In-Line and French Spinners-these have been around forever, and all
that has changed are the colors. They are basically a weighted body
with a spinner attached to the center wire by a clevis, or directly.
They are very successful lures. The major types are Mepps, Rooster
Tail, Panther Martin, and Blue Fox.
They all work about the same, and no type one seems to have the edge
over the other. They come in all sizes and colors you can think of, and
like soft baits, they catch all predator fish, everywhere. They run a
close second to soft baits as the best lures to have.
Spinnerbaits, or Buzzbaits-these are mainly largemouth and smallmouth
bass lures, although in smaller sizes they can be very productive on
crappie. The consist of a colored jighead with a skirt, usually of
rubber, but also of marabou and bucktail, at the rear, and an offset
wire arm with one or more spinner blades, or propellers at the end.
These are best used near the surface, and around heavy cover. They are
very productive at times, usually in spring and summer. Major types are
the Strike King family, Bushwhacker, and various other types, some with
soft plastic bodies. These are effective on redfish, stripers and white
bass.
Jigs-one of the oldest fishing lures, and still one of the best. They
consist of a weighted head molded to the hook shank, with a skirt made
of rubber, marabou, or bucktail tied to the rear, or sometimes tipped
with soft plastic bodies, or even live bait. Sometimes, they will have
a skirt, and be tipped with colored pork rinds in what is known as a
Jig-N-Pig combination. Some
Tournament bass aglers swear by them. They are usually fished slowly in
deep water, or along the bottom near cover in shallower water. Since
they ride hook-up, they seldom snag.
Beware of new off-brand copies of standard designs coming out of China.
They are cheap imitations, not made correctly and will not have the
correct action. They will cause you much grief, as well as lost fish.
Happy Fishing!
To get the full "New Bass Fishing Lures On The Market" article you'll need to download it here.
