Introduction: Prop baits are nothing new to US anglers. Baits like the Devil's Horse, Boy Howdy, and Dying Flutter have been popular topwater baits for quite some time. But in Japan, prop baits are not just for topwater anymore. Always looking to change things up, Japanese bait manufacturers are now making prop baits that flash and create turbulence underwater. These new baits are gaining in popularity year by year and represent one of the newest trends in the Japanese tackle market.
The talon lures yana swim jig was not mentioned but its probably the first subsurface prop bait in the US. Its nice to see it so available. These baits should be hot this year. Next year they will be hot and Bassmaster will write and article on them and they will die down some as fish see more, maybe sooner if somebody finishes high in a tournament on them at the national level. Hopefully they stay on the down low for a while.
JerryC wrote:i really like those prop hooks.. are there anything like that on the us market now.. i could use them this weekend!
In smallmouth country people have been using little jig heads with a prop like that for a long time. I can remember catching a bunch of smallies on Dale Hollow on jig head with a spinner and grub over 10 years ago.
JerryC wrote:i really like those prop hooks.. are there anything like that on the us market now.. i could use them this weekend!
In smallmouth country people have been using little jig heads with a prop like that for a long time. I can remember catching a bunch of smallies on Dale Hollow on jig head with a spinner and grub over 10 years ago.
i have the prop to make it.. im gonan try this weekend.
I was goingto try and find the name of the darter style jig with the prop. There was a paragraph on it in the front of a bassmaster magazine a few years ago (May 2004). Then it just popped into my head Screaming Demon. I have a terrible memory but you show me a lure and I can read about it and years later recall it. If I had this type of memory for everything college would have been much easier, I would probably be a doctor now.
They are pretty cheap only $6 for a card of five lures. Supposed to be a killer finesse lure but I don't have any yet. It looks like it would be killer with a Yamamoto shad shape worm behind it.
Underwater prop plug baits have been around since the late 1800's. Heddon became a famous lure company through their No 100 (3 hook) and 150 (5 hook) underwater minnows. Many of the biggest collections of early US lures are found in Japan. I'm sure that Japanese lure makers are well aware of the history of these lures and know that they are not "new".
This type bait had some ups and downs over the 1st half of the 20th century. I was still catching bass on smaller underwater minnows with props on the front and rear in the 1950s, until I finally couldn't find them anymore. They were good fish catchers in the old days and should be now.
For some reason the Dalton Special sticks out in my mind as a sub-surface rear propeller bait. I think it was something the late Billy Westmoreland used quite successfully for smallmouth back in the day. If that's not the one, perhaps I jogged somebody's memory.
After exhaustive research, the actual bait I was referring to was the Hub's Chub Rattlure ...
Johnny A wrote:For some reason the Dalton Special sticks out in my mind as a sub-surface rear propeller bait. I think it was something the late Billy Westmoreland used quite successfully for smallmouth back in the day. If that's not the one, perhaps I jogged somebody's memory.
After exhaustive research, the actual bait I was referring to was the Hub's Chub Rattlure ...
Anyone familiar with Northland Whistler jigs? They are basically a darter head with a prop on them. I don't know if they are still producing them, but they used to be availible in a kit that had several different colors and sizes.
bassbandit wrote:Anyone familiar with Northland Whistler jigs? They are basically a darter head with a prop on them. I don't know if they are still producing them, but they used to be availible in a kit that had several different colors and sizes.
Yep, I fished Whistler Jigs for smallmouth in lakes and did OK. I still have one of those "kits" you mention.
Johnny A wrote:For some reason the Dalton Special sticks out in my mind as a sub-surface rear propeller bait. I think it was something the late Billy Westmoreland used quite successfully for smallmouth back in the day. If that's not the one, perhaps I jogged somebody's memory.
After exhaustive research, the actual bait I was referring to was the Hub's Chub Rattlure ...
Both the Dalton Special and the Rattlure float.
The Rattlure floated but it had a different positional attitude in the water. It wasn't completely horizontal on the surface, if I recall correctly.
It looks like it would be killer with a Yamamoto shad shape worm behind it. 
