F.L.Y. Fishing (Favorite Lures of Youth)
Do you remember your favorite fishing lure as a kid?
BassMaster Elite angler, Alton Jones said his favorite as a youth was to topwater lure, a Heddon Spook.
Topwater lures are a great lure for kids because of the visual appeal. With most submerged lures, we are left to imagine the lure action and movement until it returns and we catch a glimpse. With a topwater lure, you always know what it is doing. Twitch, or rest it at the right time and the resulting explosion from underneath by a bass certainly reinforces that action.
Young Greg Hackney’s favorite lure was the spinnerbait. In fact, he said, “for a long time, I didn’t even know any other lures existed. Threw it year round and caught everything.”
This spinnerbait has a complex look to it and the distinctive wobble of the blade helps young anglers know if the speed is right, or if it maybe needs a quick jerk to clear any vegetation that might have tangled the blade.
For many, that first lure was a “rubber” worm. Gerald Swindle threw a black, pink-tailed worm. Bill Lowen used a plain, purple, soft-plastic worm; while Edwin Evers’ purple worm had a white tail.
The rubber worm requires a bit of initial kid patience because they are worked slowly. However, during the summer especially, it does not take long for actively feeding bass to be convinced it is a deluxe meal. Plus, rubber worms are some of the coolest things on the planet and kids love to play with them.
Mine, in case you were wondering, was the Mepp’s Black Fury in-line spinner. It was black except for a red bead and the gold spots on the blade and tip of the tail. In farm ponds of Oklahoma, it was a 5-year-old’s confidence builder. It caught bass, crappie, and sunfish of all sizes.
Strangely, I would have to exhaust many other possibilities before I’d cast one today. Might not even be able to find one in the tackle box. Oh, the Mepp’s Black Fury will still catch fish, but my favorite lure collection seems to have evolved. Maybe it is time to come full circle and try it again.
Do you still use your favorite lure as a kid?
Andy Whitcomb
Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.