Dock Talk: The New Vintage
- Published on Tuesday, 15 November 2011 15:23
- Written by Super User
- Hits: 115
Call it insanity, over confidence or downright madness - but there are anglers who own beaten up baits sporting numerous battle scars which are so closely guarded that they even go so far as storing them in a safe after a fishing trip! Are these baits really so special, or is it purely the confidence that anglers have instilled in their fish catching ability?
There have for many years been a local legend in bassing circles about a certain pro angler who owns one specific topwater bait that has proved so effective in his bassing career that the day he loses it - because no matter how he tried to retrieve it it was just not possible - is the day he hangs up his rods and gives up bass fishing all together! It does sound slightly strange (deranged?) but this is certainly not an isolated case - in his early days as an aspiring bass pro American shallow water crankbait specialist John Crews has admitted to spending more than $400 dollars at one time for 10 custom made Cedarwood crankbaits of which he threw 9 away trying to find the “sweet one” that triggered more strikes. The baits most anglers develop an affinity for are usually badly beaten up, missing an eye or two, and the chipped paint finish resembles a two year old kid’s creation at art class, but nevertheless they are considered prized possessions for their fish catching prowess.
But this is not only true for hardbaits -when Paul Elias broke B.AS.S.’s 4-day tournament record of 132lbs 8oz for 20 fish, he did it on baits that he had stowed in his inventory for more than 25years. He admits that his main bait - a 10-inch watermelon worm - was actually a bait which had been removed from the market 5 years prior to the event! Which of course gives credence to the statement that no bass has ever read a magazine or a bassing handbook!
Even buzzbaits couldn’t escape this mindset, and in the late 80’s when they were all the craze across the USA it was not uncommon to see tow vehicles parked at boat ramps with earring-like contraptions tied to the end of car aerials in an attempt to wear down the rivets attaching the blades. A ‘crazy’ action all in the name of capturing that coveted “squeak” of a nearly worn out buzz bait, which according to some anglers just couldn’t be beaten.
Things are far simpler in the year 2011, from ‘dirty look’ jeans that look aged straight off the shelf, to baits that can be true tackle box legends out of the box. Bill Norman of Norman Lures fame pioneered one of the most iconic colours of the previous decade with his ‘splatterback’ patterns, which essentially looked like a bass had got hold of a crankbait one too many times, and you could buy it straight off the shelf.
Modern bait development technology has in many respects overcome the need of discerning bass anglers for finding those one of a kind “jewels” among mass-produced baits; 10 out of 10 baits conform to exacting standards, and the only differences in finish or action - even after numerous catches - is if you customize them yourself.
What will really set a bait apart from its identical counterpart in today’s competitive bassing world, is how we as anglers learn to fish them – we must figure out the best setup to throw them on, and rig them according to the conditions we find on a particular day on our local dams.
