Contributed by Doug Gibson
As bass anglers, we have plenty of locations to find a large variety of “mass produced” lure options. Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Wal-mart are just a few of the stores to walk in and find popular lure companies like Zoom, Rapala, Culprit, Lucky Craft. What I want to spend a few minutes to address is the other option for tackle choices, which are the custom lure companies. The lures provided by those companies can often offer advantages over the mass produced name brand companies. Here a few that I have found over the last few years.
Fluke style baits
Winco’s custom lures, at www.wincoscustomlures.com, offers two versions of the popular fluke bait that I have found to be great for chasing smallmouth in rivers. Two styles of the river darter softjerkbait series are offered in three different sizes; the regular belly slot style and solid body style for nose hooking. What sets these soft jerkbaits apart from the popular Zoom flukes, for example, are their slightly heavier weight. A slight weight difference may not seem like much, but it is when you want to get down a little deeper in current areas. Another benefit of the darter is the second option, the solid body style. The nose of the solid body style is re-enforced and tougher than many name brand styles. At times last year, I had a better hook-up percentage with the nose hooked option. I could catch multiple fish on the same solid body fluke without any modification.
Jigheads
Winco’s custom lures also offer a reduced snag jighead that excels in the ledge filled rivers that I fish. The design of the jighead allows it to slide up and over rocks and avoid the snags that are often the case with other popular style of jigheads. A simple banjo snap of the line or pop of the rod will often allow the jighead to pop free and avoid the time spent in retying jigheads and re-rigging plastic lures. I have been using these jigheads for the last four to five years and have had numerous outings where I have used the same jighead. That saves me money throughout the year and gives me more time spent fishing when on the water.
Tubes
Powerteam lures, at www.powerteamlures.com, offers a tube lure that has a unique twist that sets it apart from other name brand tubes. Their food chain tubes are made with a re-enforced head that gives it a rigging option not found in other popular tubes. The reduced snag jighead I mentioned earlier has a screw lock to attach plastic lures, which allows the tube to be screwed onto the jighead. This custom setup provides me a snag free option for chasing smallmouth. Powerteam lures also developed a jighead specifically for the food chain tube that puts the jighead inside of the tube. That reduces snags in rocky areas with the weight inside of the tube.
There you have it, a few custom made lures and their benefits from two lure companies that I have dealt with. There are other custom lure companies out there, so I encourage you to look around and see what benefits you can find. You just mind find that custom lure set-up that gives you some great fish.