Fishtales
January 26, 1998
Jim Pope makes some of his own lures for Tennessee bass. If you ever go fishing with him, don't make fun of them! The second part of his tale will run next week.
Crazy Baits, Part 1
Jim Pope
A hobby of mine is to fabricate new baits. For years I have altered existing baits or made new ones which have resembled absolutely nothing on the lure market. There are several great memories of the times I have caught fish on my unorthodox concoctions. It is a great feeling to hold a solid bass in the face of the very partner who, minutes earlier, laughed at the ugliness of the lure on the terminal end of my fishing rig.
Several years ago, I was paired with a friend in one of our local club tournaments. It was early May, and I had been catching a few fish on top. On one of my rods, I had an old Diamond Jim topwater bait. I had removed the rear trebles and added a 5/0 open hook. On that hook, I had strung a 7" or 8" black Fliptail worm. When my partner saw this bait, he began to laugh and taunt. The only comeback I could think of was to tell him that he had better hope that I had another one just like it in my box. That didn't deter the ridicule.
Our first stop was on a rock bank. Above that 1/4 mile stretch of bank was an old rock quarry. The bank is on the north side of the river, and in the spring and early summer, I had always been able to catch a few fish basking there. Topwater baits were usually good early in the morning. That is why I had the modified Diamond Jim tied on.
They are now gone, but at that time, there were still a few huge utility pole size piers at one section of this rock bank. I suppose that is where the barges tied up for loading purposes. The bank was apparently dredged in order to facilitate the barges, for the water quickly drops to about 20 feet.
When we got to the pilings, neither of us had a strike. My partner was still making unnecessary comments about my "alligator" plug. Being on the front of the boat, I was able to make the first cast into the pilings. The slightest twitch of the rod tip made this foot long bait curl up as if it wanted to jump out of the water. I did that a couple of times, and "WHOOSH!". The strike was massive. Both my partner and I thought it was a seven or eight pounder. It turned out to be a little over four. Apparently the size and action of the ugly bait made the fish go at it with a little extra energy.
For the next few minutes, my partner was more than redundant. He sounded like a broken record. He probably said, "You lucky dog!", thirty times. "You may never catch another fish on that silly bait.", he said. "Maybe not," I replied, "but I am going to keep throwing it." About fifty yards down the bank, another fish absolutely smashed the synthetic snake-looking creature. It only weighed about two pounds, but it was mad.
Those were the only two fish I caught on that bait that day, but they were enough to keep me ahead of my partner. Sweet revenge.
Part 2 next week!
