THE BEST FISHING LURES? (FOR BAJA)

Couldn't agree more, Igor. Lee Wulff is legend amongst flyfishermen, although some historical controversy always arises amongst 'fishermen.'

Along with Len Thompson, Lou Eppinger, Gregg Rapala, Luhr's, and many other lure expert innovators..they narrowed the field for the rest of us to follow. Good lures and flies will always be made better..thanks ot Wulff and other pioneers.



Gray Wulff
Wings-brown bucktail
Tail-brown bucktail
Body-rabbit wool or angora yarn
Hackle-blue dun

White Wulff
Wings-white bucktail
Tail-white bucktail
Body-cream colored an-gora yarn-or the light under fur of the red fox
Hackle-badger





[Edited on 8-28-2009 by Pompano]

Close he seemed like a great guy

Took a picture of the Streamline Dodger lure from the 1950's that I think is one of the best lures of all time. They came in two sizes 2.4 inches and ~1/2 ounce for the little one and 4.3 inches and 2 ounces for the big one. The back side is a mirror image of the front which gives it a very nice swimming action. And then there's that bit of red coloring too....

That Dodger was our go to corvina bait for years early 60,s on until we discovered the K/M.........and that bit of red
Rob
But if you really want some fishing fun try topwaters for corvina no.1 Zara Spooks and the Pop R by Rebel.

Quote:

Originally posted by Taco de Baja Took a picture of the Streamline Dodger lure from the 1950's that I think is one of the best lures of all time. They came in two sizes 2.4 inches and ~1/2 ounce for the little one and 4.3 inches and 2 ounces for the big one. The back side is a mirror image of the front which gives it a very nice swimming action. And then there's that bit of red coloring too....

Taco de Baja,

That Streamline Dodger looks like a real killer lure and I wish I had one in my classics collection.

In looks it appears very much like a crocodile married to a kastmaster. Great stuff!

Here is one of my "all time" favorite lures..
Always seems to find the fish

Streamline Dodger

Quote:

Originally posted by LaTijereta Here is one of my "all time" favorite lures.. Always seems to find the fish

Yes, indeed...you found one...a Pacific Pompano.

What are your best BAJA lures?

What's Best? ?

Okay, we've all been to the big tackle stores. You know that trying to choose a lure there is like trying to pick Miss Universe out of 1000 beautiful gals. So many great colors, shapes, and sizes.....Whatever happened to a straightforward choice between a Kastmaster and a Crocodile? Or a Rapala or a Mirrolure? A Grey Wulff or a Royal Coachman? And how do you pronounce Ahi-Yo-Zuri-Moto-shuri anyway? I can barely say lin-ol-ee-yum.

So in the end, you'll buy up a boatload of spoons, darts, yo-yos, plugs, jigs and fill up a giant multi-trayed tackle box with your arsenal of lures. This thirty-pound monster gets hauled around for years.. until the hinges rust away ....OR... you get the idea of a smaller, lighter tackle bag.

Eureka!! Want something so much easier than carrying that big box around all the time? Would you like to take just a few of your very best lures, throw the bag on your shoulder for a walk down the beach, and/or take a quick run out to look for breaking fish?

You can. But first you must ask yourself, which lures are your BEST? Think about it. What's been your experience? If you had known this years ago, you wouldn't have all those other spendy gimmicks in the big box.

This is a question on a par with who would you want to be stranded with on a desert island? But, of course, this is much more important. As in, "Should I call or raise on two pair when he has kings showing?"

My thinking,..lots of us have only so much time on the water to figure out what lures work best and the best way to work them. Many fishermen don't have enough time at fish when they're biting to play around with different lures and techniques. Thier time is precious on that rented panga. Making use of that time is paramont.

So I learned this over the years...I pared my lure selections down quite a bit. If we could bring our lure choices down to, say, six or so, then we can learn to get the best from each lure. Carry spares for each and still have enough room left in the bag for all the other stuff we might need. If going on a friend's boat or on a hike..I now take just one small tackle bag with all the stuff I will need for that day. I leave the lure 'collections' at home. Time enough later to marvel at thier beauty.

So let's make this thread fun..and informative..a challenge even. Take a good hard look at your big box and shoulder bag, if you have one, and be honest about what you actually use in there. Lay them out in front of you. Of all those lures, try to narrow your choices down to just six (6) lure types.

And, because this is a Baja forum after all, keep it to what you would use on the Cortez or Baja Pacific. Think about how to cover most of your usual Baja fishing possibilities using just those six lures.

Take into consideration the different waters and ways you fish. Are you a shorefisherman or mostly in a boat? Cast..drift...troll? Do you use mostly topwaters? Are plugs the backbone of your success? Do you rely on jigs when the going gets tough?

Next, refine your selection to the weight and color of each that works best for you. Sure, its nice to have choices but you probably use and catch on one combo more than all the rest combined. I know I do. ('Think Pink' is my dorado and cabrilla motto.) If you do this, I think you'll realize that you really do most of your catching (not fishing..but catching) on just a handful of lures from your box.

Now that you've narrowed the field, you can refine your fishing techniques for each of your best lures. You'll know what speed to troll that Mirrolure...or how far back you should be to get it to it's optimum depth..or what's the best way to attach the lure to line. Some lures will not work best with any terminal tackle and should be just line-tied. You will know if your spoon choice is suitable for ripping through the bird boils, the plug swimming in mid-depths and jigging the yo-yos in deeper water? Can you cast, troll and jig your leadheads? Is there one lure you own and know so well that you use it almost exclusively as your search lure because of it's success rate in most waters?

Okay, so now you've made your choices... and commited to using them for a month or so. This won't be as hard as it sounds. By narrowing the field and concentrating on just a handful of lures you give yourself the opportunity to become the master of those personal approaches. You more quickly reach a higher level of expertise that allows you to fall back on the "sure thing" of these lures when you are done experimenting with other tackle. And you can more determine with more confidence that the fish "just aren't there" and move on more quickly. You will also discover more satisfaction in your fishing once you break away from the constant lure changing and searching for what's "right". Now when you use something else, you have a yardstick to hold it up against.

So now comes the info we all want..old vets and newbies alike....your input on what you believe to be your best 6 Baja lures. I encourage all to submit just your favorite six and if you would care to, a brief description of how, when, and where you use them. We want your core lures of your fishing success.

Of course you may want to keep your hard won information to yourself. No one could fault you there, it takes hundreds of hours to figure out the very best. But if you are feeling generous, we'll all benefit from your experience...and..it's just damn fun talking tackle and fishing!

I alos figure this information will be the rough equivalent in value to spending as many years on the Cortez as Skeet-Loreto!.


My six picks:

(In Baja I fish mostly my home waters around Mulege ..from Sta. Rosalia to San Nicolas and offshore to 50 miles...but do make trips to the East Cape, Mag Bay, and all of Baja's Pacific side.)

1. Mirrolure 111R (fire tiger or pink color)
these floater-divers can get to depths of 25 or more. I've banged them on rocks at 28 feet on sonar. Has a light wiggliing action up to 7 knots. Best trolled at 3-4 knots with 125 to 150 feet of line.

2. green 4-oz Pt. Wilson dart (good for jigging over deep rockpiles..pickups on drop are common. )

3. Williamson feathers ('bleeding dorado' color..also larger in 'pink') vary your troll speed from slow at 6-7 to skipping it on the surface, direction changes often-make S turns now and then, and vary lure distance from boat.

4. Crocodile - simply cast and hold on!

5. Yo-Zuri crankbait (green mack - will change color) cast to surface schools, fish boils. Cast, troll. Cast it to boil, crank and jerk back, let drift, then repeat.

6. feathered 1-1/2oz jig mex-flag - (will catch it all..jigged, cast, trolled, baited...a meat and potatos lure)

Here's a collage I made of my particular current day choices:


My lure choices have not changed too much from these top choices 6-7 years ago...which are always in the boat, too.



..those work for me..Now, WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?
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Pompano, Tossed my tackle box way back when. Now use a 5-gallon bucket. It'll hold all you need in the tackle/bait dept. and can be used for other things when the urge hits you. Keep the tackle box at the house, use the bucket.

Yup, Cypress...been using one of those since..well, a long time ago. Also doubles as the first mates bathroom when needed.

p.s. I keep a padded 'seat' in the boat to put on top of the bucket.

[Edited on 8-29-2009 by Pompano]

Tackle Junkie

Jeeze... I just spent two days trying to get down to bare bones tackle for the new boat "Got Soap?" This shows most of what I'll need.

Rest of the stuff goes under the seat this box is the very basic. But I'm not leaving the rest on the beach...

Guys & Gals..please just pick your SIX best, okay?