I’m Here to Catch Big Fish and Chew Bubblegum
Bright pink lures have long had a place in bass fishing. In my neck of the woods, that’s primarily come down to “floating worms” and the Super Fluke, with occasional dabbling in other genres. It’s worth noting that a War Eagle cotton candy spinnerbait has been one of my staples for years, and I’ve stockpiled a bunch of them, but I don’t think of that hue as being bright enough to fall into the “bubblegum” category. I have used some true hot pink model spinnerbaits successfully on northern smallmouth waters, especially Lake Winnipesaukee.
Then one of our favorite El Salto guides told us that he’d had a family with two young boys come to the lake and absolutely wear out the big bass with a 5” bubblegum Senko. The kid was in such a zone that he sat there and babbled “bubblegumbubblegumbubblegumbubblegum” nonstop, interrupting his patter only occasionally to whack another 9-pounder.
Yes, of course there are plenty of bass-targeting traditional soft plastics that come in shades of bubblegum pink, but if you look you’ll find that the color extends into other categories, too. Here are a smattering of varied options.
Obviously, this isn’t an exclusive list. There are plenty of other hard baits, frogs and wire baits that resemble them. If your favorite lure doesn’t come in bubblegum pink, consider a Spike It product to make things right.
For your listening pleasure, here’s Aerosmith’s tribute to bubblegum lures: