PH Custom Lures Squeaky P prop bait a great choice for topwater bream beds

It’s easy for us to fall into a routine of recommending to our fishing friends only those lures that are readily accessible, either at your local tackle shop or through online retailers like Tackle Warehouse. After all, we expect that products from companies like Yamamoto, Strike King, Daiwa and Megabass will be thoroughly tested to be consistent out of the package. Furthermore, if you’re headed to El Salto, Picachos or some other incredible destination in the short-term, we don’t want to recommend products that may consistently be out of stock or that require you to wait for a bait drop to obtain. In normal times, you can have just about anything you want overnight or (often even better) cut-rate two-day shipping.

Nevertheless, there’s something fun about finding a regional or little-known product that few of your peers or fishing partners have bought, used or even heard about. The opportunity for that exists much less frequently than when I started club fishing back in the mid-1990s, mostly because of the rise of the internet and media like B.A.S.S. Live. Now we can learn about a new bait well before their production capacity is up to snuff.

There’s something still particularly gratifying in learning about a lure’s effectiveness from a trusted friend or confidante. Much of what we’ve lost in the decline of club-oriented fishing is the role of mentorship, and simple bait recommendations are one way in which that occurs—so I value it greatly when someone I know tells me “You really need to buy some of these as soon as possible.”

Here are three such lures that I depend on regularly whenever I’m bass fishing, at home or away.

Delta Lures Thunder Jig

How I Heard About Them: My friend Bill Roberts went down to Toledo Bend to pre-practice with our mutual friend Lee Byrd for an event several years ago. While at one of the local stores, he purchased a handful of these Louisiana-made vibrating jigs. Subsequently, he did really well in a tournament on the Chickahominy River in Virginia and told me that while he was able to get some strikes on the uber-popular Evergreen Jack Hammer, he culled them all out with the Thunder Jig. Because I have a steel trap of a memory when it comes to fishing tackle, I remembered that on a subsequent trip to Venice, Louisiana. As Hanna and I drove back to the New Orleans airport, we stopped at Puglia’s Sporting Goods and I purchased a handful of Delta Lures products.

What Makes Them Good: I really don’t know, but there are times – many times – when fish hit this harder than anything I’ve ever thrown. Several knowledgeable pros have told me that the best vibrating jigs are the ones where the black connects directly to the jig head. On this one, it’s connected by a split ring. Maybe that’s the difference, but I’m really not sure. They “hunt” erratically, so perhaps that plays a role. I really like the ones with the flat rubber skirts, particularly on river systems, but I’ve also done well with silicone skirted models.

Where to Get Them: As noted above, Bill and I both bought them in Louisiana, but our friend Lin Bell at Fishing Pro Tech now has a great selection.

Go-To Colors: Gold blade with white/blue/chartreuse flat rubber skirt; black blade with black/blue silicone skirt; Green Pumpkin blade with Blue Magic Craw skirt (Potomac killer)

Colors to Try: I’ve already purchased orange blade with a coleslaw skirt and red blade with black/red skirt, but have yet to try them.

Other Products: I’ve purchased some of the company’s flat rubber skirted finesse spinnerbaits for local rivers, but have not yet thrown them.

PH Custom Lures Prop Baits

How I Heard About Them: Veteran Elite Series pro Bill Lowen has long been one of my most trusted sources and a valued shallow cranking guru. I cannot begin to estimate how many articles we’ve collaborated on over the years. One evening I called him on deadline and after finishing the interview he asked if I wanted to talk to the guy making the best balsa crankbaits in his area. Of course I did. He introduced me to his close friend Phil Hunt and we all combined on an article on Hunt’s “Crazy Ace” topwater for Bassmaster Magazine. A few years later Hunt left his day job to become a full-time baitmaker.

What Makes Them Good: There are lots of good topwater prop baits on the market, and they especially excel around the bluegill spawn. Hunt’s “Crazy Ace” is different because it has a carved-out mouth that causes it to react erratically. The Squeaky P, a dual-propeller lure which resembles many other bluegill imitators, is also distinguished from the competition by its construction. After a number of fish catches or hard use, many of its predecessors would have the thin tail balsa section break off, effectively ruining the bait. Hunt fixed that by running an aluminum tube through the body to ensure structural integrity. The Squeaky P comes in four sizes, from 2-inches and ¼ ounce, all the way up to 3 ½-inches and ¾ ounce.

Where to Get Them: This is the only one of the three brands that you can currently buy through Tackle Warehouse. They’re also available at many specialty tackle stores and online retailers.

Go-To Colors: Baby Bream, Lime Gill, Black Herringbone.

Colors to Try: I own several of the shad patterns, but haven’t fished them much. That’s partially because I fish these lures around bluegill beds at home and for tilapia-feeders in Mexico, where I think the panfish colors still do better. I’ll try to branch out next time I am on a good shad-based topwater bite.

Other Products: Hunt makes a number of balsa topwaters and crankbaits, including some designed by Tour-level pros (e.g., Matt Herren’s Fudd, and Wesley’s Secret) and some that are replicas of old-school Ohio River lures, including Lowen’s Cyber Craw and Lowen’s Dollar Bill Craw.

Brovarney Baits Swim Jigs

How I Heard About Them: It’s hard for me to believe, but 15 years ago I’d never really fished a swim jig. Then on a trip to Falcon in 2009, my friend Lee Byrd (a continuing presence in this blog) kicked my butt with one in the flooded brush while I used a spinnerbait. I still didn’t take the bait. Then TJ Maglio moved to Virginia from Wisconsin and showed me how to use them out on the Potomac. He went seriously old-school Cheesehead on me, using a specially-poured flapping tail grub as a trailer. I was surprised not only at how well the lures came through the thick grass, but how hard fish hit them. He gave me a few and now it’s my absolute go-to on the river from April through October and has had success in Florida and Texas as well. I also find it to be deadly at places like El Salto and Picachos when a good Chatterbait bite starts to slow down.

What Makes Them Good: There’s something about Brovarney’s weedguard design that makes it rock the lure side-to-side, not only keeping it remarkably free in the veggies, but also giving it a tempting action. He also has a proprietary hook. It looks thin, as is standard on the Wisconsin-style jigs, but I’ve had it hold up to big snakeheads and massive catfish, along with hard-pulling bass, with exactly zero failures (and that’s on braid).

Where to Get Them: I buy all of nine directly from Brovarney, except the few I’ve managed to grab from TJ.

Go-To Colors: Gringo, Lite Brite, Ambulance Chaser (what would you expect from a lawyer?)

Colors to Try: Blue crab should be a good color on our local tidal rivers, and I own some, but just haven’t fished it much. I know they work, but for some reason I don’t fish as many brown- and green-based patterns as I should.

Other Products: If you want to try that big-tailed Mag or Kicker grub on the back, Brovarney carries those, too.

A Final Note

There’s nothing wrong with buying products from large retail stores and from mainstream manufacturers, but a lot of innovation and the information we get comes at ground level. Support your local baitmakers, and introduce a younger or less-experienced angler to a lesser-known product (unless you expect them to kick your ass with it, then be a little bit careful).