Fishtales
February 2, 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 first part of his tale ran last week.
Crazy Baits, Part 2
Jim Pope
On another occasion, with the same fishing partner, I pulled out a huge spider bait I had fabricated. This time he was a little less taunting.
This big spider was something my son had won at the fair. It was made out of foam rubber, it was about four inches in diameter (with outstretched legs); and it looked like a tarantula. I supposed that was the intention.
I had taken a 5/0 or 6/0 weedless hook and simply tied it to the bottom the spider with some small nylon twine. My plan was to try it in the middle of some of the big treetops on the river bank.
We fished several of our hot spots (which were not so hot) during the morning hours. We then made the choice to crank the river bank in areas of eddy water. The first spot we stopped looked great. There was a huge tree which had fallen into the water, and it was angled about 45 degrees with the current.
I quickly tied on my big spider. My partner could not hold it any longer. "I thought you were kidding! You are really going to throw that thing, aren't you?" He could not hold back his true nature. I answered in the affirmative, and I could not help but remind him of the "snake bait" I had burned him with earlier that year.
In order to appreciate this bait, just try to picture it. The black body was about 1 1/2" wide and about 3" long. The legs were approximately five inches long, and they angled up and away from the body then back down to the plane of the belly of the creature. The only anomaly about this mini-monster was that it had big red eyes, and, to say the least, it looked rather intimidating.
I had already tried the spider out in our bathtub at home. It floated high and remained fairly balanced on the water. The weight of the big weedless hook on the belly side seemed to keep it from turning over. I had tied it on one of my worm rigs spooled with twenty-five pound test line, so it was easy to cast.
After casting it in the middle of the massive limb structure of the tree, I hopped it over two or three limbs. "Hey, that things looks like a real spider. If it were about half that big, one might have the nerve to hit it." My friend and partner stated that in a tone which fully described his true feelings. To be honest, it did look pretty good, but it was so big that even I had my doubts.
I continued to hop the big spider over the limbs until I had worked it to within about six feet of the boat. All of a sudden there she was. It was a vicious strike similar to the way the fish had hit the modified Diamond Jim. I didn't have time to set the hook. The fish took the spider then turned hard back toward the tree, and the force generated by her acceleration did the hook setting for me. All I had to do was to hold on.
No, it was not a huge fish, but it was a solid 3 1/2 pounder. It amazed me how the fish had managed to totally engulf the big spider. Needless to say, the tables were now turned. I offered the spider to my friend for an exorbitant price. I even offered to rent it to him for several dollars an hour. He refused, but that was the last time he made fun of my crazy baits.
It is now almost twenty years later, and this same friend often mentions those two baits. Exciting moments are always remembered. By the way, I never caught another fish on that crazy spider, but the modified Diamond Jim worked for years.
