For the fishermen in here...Lure Prices...Ka-Ching!! Yikes

[gnappi]

Up here in MN it isn't rocks and trees that steal our bass cranks, it is those toothy critters called Northern Pike. They will snatch and grab your lure and cut your line and swim away with it never to be seen again. I have resorted to tying light wire leaders in front of everything that gets cast and retrieved. I was looking around Scheels the other day and was also shocked at the prices

Try a black 6"-12" steel leader.

 

[RC44Mag]

I haven't fresh water fished in decades. All my fish are caught in the salt. I have a good selection of lures, jigs, spoons also use life bait, cut bait. Lose some on occasion but goes with the territory with catching large, powerful, toothy fish. Price of admission is worth it for me.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Everything you need to know right here on one chart.

 

[RC44Mag]

They forgot to put up lead weights for walleye chow.

 

[redhawker]

As a kid,, a buddy of mine (Scotty,, may he RIP) & I would spend a lot of time in his homemade boat,, running all over the lake. One day,, we each had $1 to spend. We went to the local hardware/fishing store. We asked the man there about a lure for white bass. Sidney was a true fisherman,, and we all respected his advice. He pulled down a lure,, that cost us .78 cents each. That day,, Scotty & I caught a BUNCH of white bass,, a few largemouths, a few bream, until we both had broken off the hooks. The next day,, with $5 in my pocket,, I went back & bought 1/2 dozen of those lures. I've never been without them since. And I've caught many varieties of fish with them. It's been a "secret weapon" in my tackle box for well over 50 years. And now,, they cost about $6-$7 each,, and I still grab a few new ones annually to stick in my tackle box for when I lose one, break hooks, or whatever.

Care to share with us what the secret lure is? I promise I won't fish your lake.

 

[redhawker]

I have a tackle box full of lures.
If anyone wants it they can have it.
It is on the bottom of San Carlos Lake Arizona where the Gila River runs into the lake.
I threw it in there 44 years ago . That was the last time I went fishing.
There is two fishing poles there also.

Ok, there has to be a story that goes along with this. Care to tell us?

 

[KIR]

I am not a fisherman, but always thought lures were made by the fisherman, used live bait, speared or netted them? But what do I know...absolutely nuthin'!

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Used a lure on these

I didn't use a lure but a stupid little fly thingie

 

[Vern142]

Probably way off topic, but Contender, what has happened to Lake Lure fishing since the storm? So much shoreline changed as well as debris.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Ok, there has to be a story that goes along with this. Care to tell us?

My wife and I were coming home from our honeymoon.
We decided to stop by the lake on the way home and do a little fishing.
We were fishing of the bank.
I was trying lures , worms , corn , whatever we had.
I couldn't get a bite . Couldn't get a nibble , not even a slight tug on the line.
There was this old black gentleman ( reminds me of a song ) on the bank dragging in the biggest catfish I have ever seen.
He had a few.
I ask him what he was using for bait. He said " chicken livers ".
So my wife and I go to the marina and buy some chicken livers.
When we came back , he was gone. So I load up the hook with liver and toss it into the lake.
Nothing , not even a nibble. Nothing I did worked.
There was a little island about 40 to 50 feet off the bank.
I thought I would wade over to the island and fish off of it.
I wade over there , get soaked and realize I forgot my chicken livers.
I told my wife to toss me the container of liver.
When she tossed it to me , the cover came off. It spread chicken liver all over the lake.
When that happened , the lake just erupted. It looked like the water was boiling.
I think every fish in the lake was waiting for that moment.
Then my wife say's " I guess fishing isn't your thing ".
Needles to say , that was the last straw.
I never fished again.

 

[contender]

Again,, my secret lure remains my secret.

But since the question has been asked about the lake here I'll answer that.

We are over 5 months past the flood & debris entry into the lake. They are still removing surface debris,,and going along the shoreline removing a lot of stuff. They still have a lot to go. Next,, there was already a silt fill-in problem on the north/west end of the lake, as well as a few other places where rivers & creeks feed the lake. Well,, now we have a MUCH bigger problem of not just silt,, but man-made debris sunken into the water.

Fishing.

I expected a bit of a fish kill because of the turbidity and all that filled the lake. And while the lake is STILL not back to normal color,, and still has a lot of suspended "stuff" in the water,, surprisingly we have not had a big fish kill. The lake is still restricted & nobody is allowed to use it. And it's to be considered "closed" for the 2025 season. No boating, no fishing, no swimming. So,, I don't exactly know what the fishing will be like for a while. But I do know I'm not going to even attempt it or anything for a few years.

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

I agree with the adage about the speed you lose a lure is proportional to how much it cost. I never did much good with lures and usually lost them on snags. I did better with bait and flies. The catfish story was funny because me and my dad used chicken livers for night fishing for catfish out in the eastern Colorado reservoirs, and we also made some god-awful stinky cheese ball catfish baits. Then I went through two phases of tying flies, once as a kid with a kit that came with some cheap materials, a poor manual, and a vice made from unhardened plain steel that would dent and deform when tightening it on a fishhook. Never had any luck with anything I made with that stuff. Then years later, I went to work at a big company and there was a guy there named Ed Buchannan who was an expert fly fisherman, fly tier, author, etc. He taught a class on fly tying in the evening, and we even had to sign NDA's before he would give us the printed materials that he handed out each week since it was all destined for a book. A friend and I both took that class. We spent a lot of money on equipment and materials, but we really learned how to tie flies that worked. At least for trout in the Colorado streams and rivers. I still have all that stuff and some flies, but I haven't fly fished since leaving Colorado in 1984. I taught my son to fish, but only using worms and other bait. I suppose if I am still living here when they get old enough, I will do the same with my grandsons. The oldest will be 4 this summer, so maybe it is about time to get him started and maybe his dad will join us. His younger brother is not even 4 months yet, so he won't be fishing for a while.

 

[jules]

I have to agree with "Lures are for the fisherman" My go to lure for pan fish, all species of Bass, Walleye and Pike is a 2, 3 or 4" Single or Double tail Mister Twister "White, Black or Chartreuse" with a 1/16 - 1/4 oz. red or white Jig head. Back in the late 70s early 80s I was very fond of a Bagley Fingerling Small fry Crappie that caught lots of smallmouth and Walleye on in the rivers I fished.
Live bait has never failed. Nightcrawlers, Crawfish or minnows are all free and easy to get. I carry a 3x3 dip net and some bread so I can get the minnows from the body of water I'm fishing.

 

[contender]

As many have noted,, you can't beat a live bait for catching fish. Many is the time I've used a seine net to catch minnows,, or used a crawfish trap,, dug worms, went nightcrawler hunting with a soft light, gotten catawba worms out of their nest, dug grubs, etc all just to fish with.

 

[krw]

Technology has really changed fishn. Yesterday I was catchn Slab Crappie in 85-100ft water. They were suspended anywhere from 12-26ft down. With Live FFS, You get to see how the Fish react to diff colors and styles of bait. I will be the first to admit mabe this technology aint for the best. Has really changed Bass an Crappie fishn!!

 

[Ranger]

I've never seen it; but a person I know has two $2k+ FFS rigs on his $60k+ boat. He talks about how using them almost isn't fair.

 

[Colonialgirl]

We were camping up a canyon in Calif; the camp ground was at the end of the road and next to a river that was NOT stocked (river name escapes me). One day I had been down the river fishing and catching NOTHING using all sorts of bait; as I pulled back into the campground Ranger there checked to make sure I already had a camp site and then asked if I had caught anything ; Answer: NOPE !!!!, he then asked about the baits I had been using and asked if I had tried Helgramites (They are the larva of I think of dragon flies); I said NO but I had heard of them when we fished in PA ( The Helgamites live under rocks in the shallow edge of the river) but didn't know they were in Calif. SO that evening up the river to a shallow area and collected about 8 of them things and the next day down to the SAME spot, put one on the hook and cast it into the river; WHAM and instant hit and catch of a NICE size trout. I came back to camp with 4 nice size trout and I think I was the only person in camp catching fish.

 

[mr.deerstalker]

here's some help for you!

 

[protoolman]

In my observation a 10 year old with a $10 zebco fishing angle worms and ared bobber with a split shot maybe is the #1 fisherman on any lake. Sometimes a guy with a $35,000 bass boat with a fish finder and trolling motor can do almost as well, but usually not!