(05-11-2023, 11:50 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Glad at least a wiper decided to play, crazy the cats weren't willing to give one of your offerings a try, especially with the water temp getting up to 58. What kind of lure was that, kind of looks like a hot-n-tot?
I suspect that the cats might be locating in warmer areas of the lake...and moving in closer to the rocks as their spawning time gets closer. There will always be cats scattered all over the lake but like most of the other species they tend to seek out more favorable conditions...especially during times of transition like our current rising water and variable temperature situation.
That lure is a "Hot Shot"...still made by Luhr Jensen. Haven't used one in years. Still had a few left over from when I lived in Sacramento and fished them for steelhead and salmon...back-trolling them on the Smith and Klamath. Dug them out, repainted a few in "Willard colors" and rigged them with crawler harnesses. Looking forward to more tests on them.
Actually, I have recently made "crawler conversions" on several other billed diving lures that I anticipate will get some love in the near future. These include some lipless cranks and some small "Wally Diver" type lures. I plan to do a lot of experimenting on them and I have already started a writeup on "Hybrid Lures". I call them hybrids because they combine the basic attraction of one lure...and then add a second lure or modification to create something new and even more attractive.
Actually, anyone who has ever used pop gear, flashers or even walleye spinners has been using some form of "hybrid" lure. I got my start by adding my own hand-tied flies to plain old Colorado spinners when I was still a kid in Idaho. But I have tried a lot more rash and foolish models since...and some of them even work.
Here is the introduction from my "work in progress" on "Hybrid Lures":
[b][font=Times New Roman", "serif] [/b][/font][b] Over the years there have been countless new lure designs developed. These include a bewildering array of hardbaits, plastics and spinners…in every conceivable color and color combinations. Most of them work. The ones that don’t catch fish will catch a few fishermen initially and then disappear…to be replaced by other newer lure inventions.
[/b]
Like most anglers, I am always on the lookout for the next great lure. And I plead guilty to spending money on lures that looked purty but didn’t work worth a hoot on the water.
[b] However, unlike most other fishermen, I have also spent a lot of time in making my own lures…and in coming up with some of my own unique creations. I readily admit that many of my potential world-beating lure designs have not lived up to my initial expectations. But there have been a few that have really worked well…both for me and for a few of my angling buddies.[/b]
(05-12-2023, 12:04 PM)RockyRaab2 Wrote: Don't tell anybody, but a Flatfish dressed with half a crawler on the belly treble behind a rubber-core or Lindy sinker and pulled at "bottom bouncer" speed will catch walleye, too.
Right ye be. Actually, you can dress almost any diving/wobbling lure with "sweetener" and they will work. But on some diving crankbaits you have to put the bait on the middle hook, rather than the tail hook, or it kills the action.
I have used some of my old Flatfish lures for years to rig with a trailer fly...or bait. They really do have a great wobbling "come hither" action.
But there are several things you usually have to address when rigging such a "hybrid lure". First, as you pointed out, you gotta add some weight to help get it down...due to the increased drag of the addition. Next you have to figure out the right speed and the length of line to let out to get the lure down to the depth you want to present it. There are no charts as there are with some other lures and lines so it takes some experimentation.