Part 3

Top professional anglers sometimes wind up altering newly introduced lures or using them in ways their inventor hadn’t anticipated.   I know because I’ve shared a boat with some of the guys who did it. 

One such was the late Bobby Garland.  Bobby’s the bass pro who came up with the Gitzit style bass bait that has been so popular ever since he brought the first one to market.  I fished with Bobby several times.  I remember him telling me how he used a cigarette to fuse the tail off another plastic lure to a tube type lure to give him what he was after in first developing a Gitzit.

I don’t have to tell experienced bass fishermen how successful Bobby’s Gitzit turned out to be.  I doubt many other plastic bass baits have been copied as much as has the Gitzit.

In my last two columns I’ve detailed how professional walleye angler Paul Wright, of Indiana, used the new Mack’s Lure HummBait in a fashion different than it was designed for.  I’ve done similar things with that lure myself.  Some of them have paid off.

I recall my thoughts the first time I looked at the HummBait.  “Darnit,” I thought, “this is an interesting looking lure, but I sure wish it had a fixed single hook instead of that treble.”

Rigging a HummBait with a single hook, as has been done with the one in this photo, makes it possible to fish the lure in and around cover.  Having the single hook ride upright behind the body of the bait does much to prevent hangups.

My thinking went that way because these days I do more bass fishing than anything else.  I knew whenever I had a chance to use this new lure I was a cinch to want to throw it into and around cover.  If the HummBait could be fitted with a single hook rigged to ride upright, I’d get a lot more use out of it.

Thinking about revising a lure is one thing; actually getting the job done is something else.  I knew what I was after might require someone handier with tools than I am.  I also knew exactly who to turn to for help.

Mike Pedersen, of Longview, Washington, is one of my best friends.  I’ve fished with him more than anyone else over the past 30 years.  Besides being a darn good bass fisherman, Mike is also one of those fortunate guys who can fix or repair almost anything.  Being an experienced bassin’ man himself, Mike knew immediately what I had in mind where the HummBait was concerned.

But while a fixed single hook was what I talked to him about, Mike had some additional ideas of his own.  One of Mike’s ideas reminds me of how Paul Wright used the new Mack’s Lure product while he was after walleyes on Lake Erie. 

Mike did come up with a HummBait that now has a fixed single hook.   And the hook does right upright behind the body of the lure.  Not only does that cut way down on potential hang-ups, it also provides opportunity to use different colored skirts or a plastic or pork rind trailer along with it.  Please note the photos that accompany this column

Having that single hook on a HummBait also does something else.  It makes it easy to add a skirt, or a plastic or pork trailer.

But Mike didn’t stop there.  One of the HummBaits he altered will be of special interest to bass anglers who especially like to fish spinnerbaits or buzzbaits.  Among other things, Mike’s altered lures provide an opportunity to show those picky largemouths something they’ve not seen before.

What did Mike do?  You’ll have to stay tuned to find out.  I’ll provide all the details in my next column.  Watch for it beginning Jan. 1.

-end-

 

-To Be Continued-