No Pet Store Needed: Lures that Look Like Terrestrials and Varmints
I was thrilled to learn about how many custom lures exist that replicate all manners of rodents and other small mammals (in addition to rats and mice, which I’ve written about repeatedly). Whether you want a squirrel, a gerbil or some other pest that might otherwise belong in a trap, there’s a fishy option out there. Unfortunately, many of them are hard to obtain or downright pricey. If for some reason you can’t or won’t get one of the custom models, you’re in luck – plenty of larger manufacturers make their own versions. Here are some mammalian lures (both shapes and colors) that are widely available:
Matte Squirrel
Silver Mink
Colors include Baby Possum, Muskrat/Nutria/Skunk, Lab Possum and Pink Pig!
Black Bat
Harbor Seal
And while I’m not sure if he strictly falls into the mammal category, you can even get a Whopper Plopper in the “Yoda” color.
Of course, Wisconsin tackle manufacturer Mepps has made their reputation on using squirrel tails in their lures. They’ll even pay for quality fox, black, grey and red tails — in either cash or lure credit.
Longtime Oklahoma bass pro Jeff Kriet proudly wears the nickname “The Squirrel.” Even though his signature lures don’t look like mammals, we’ll include them in deference to his monicker.
Similarly, Florida’s past Forrest Wood Cup champ Randall Tharp is known as “The Honey Badger,” He too has some signature tools:
Other companies have also gotten on the badger bandwagon:
Finally, Berkley’s Frankenstein of a beaver-themed plopper/wakebait/varmint doesn’t seem to be available from Tackle Warehouse, but it’s too different to leave out of this analysis.
