Meandering

Legendary Lures - Lime Spinnerbait

Fri, February 10, 2012

Note: Unfortunately, there are no known photos of these lures or any of the fish that were fooled during the lifetimes of the baits.

My fishing log indicates that from 1987-89 I landed a couple dozen rather unremarkable bass with a lime spinnerbait. 

That’s why this posting isn’t just about that lure. 

My brother, Brent, also had a few similar lures that he wielded with much more success, consistency and longevity but this posting isn’t just about those lures either.

Actually, this posting is just as much about the beginnings of bass fishing and the good old lime spinnerbait was one of our original weapons. 

Despite its roughly fifteen years of service for Brent, the lime spinnerbait does not have any entries in my family and friends’ record book, indicating that it either never caught a bass that met the criteria or some catches have been lost in the passage of time.  I’m sure that a few Little John bass met the 1-8 minimum, but they were caught prior to owning a digital scale and gravity must not have worked so well on our DeLiar.  Instead, we often applied the unofficial Virgil Ward method of estimating a fish’s weight and therefore, they did not officially qualify when I later decided to create a record book.

These baits that Brent made are as close as I could find, rotten skirts and all having been tucked away in one of my tackleboxes for who knows how long.

These baits entered the scene when Brent and I first thought we were bass fishermen.  Previously, we had experienced panfishing, creek fishing and bankpole fishing, but bass fishing would open up amazing new (and expensive) horizons.  I’d seen the photo albums with the shots of Dad and some big bass or had listened to Dad and Uncle Dick telling farm pond stories but most of the time I was pretty busy and really wasn’t much interested in fishing anyway.  I guess when you’re sixteen or seventeen some things like sports and girlfriends just seem more important. 

But for whatever reason, 1984 and 1985 brought about a family awakening to bass fishing.  I subscribed to InFisherman and Bassmaster and later bought my first baitcaster after Al Hayden from Al’s Sporting Goods showed us the ropes and then left John Junk and I out in the parking lot to get the touch (I remember not only being intimidated by a baitcaster but also surprised that Al let a couple teenagers loose with a $50 fishing combo just to practice).  Dad, Brent and I also ordered a lure pack from Virgil Ward, as advertised on his Championship Fishing program.  Many of the lures never hit the water, are still somewhere in my garage and I suppose would be considered antiques by now.  However, the best was yet to come.

About this time we caught wind of a place to buy fishing stuff called Bass Pro Shops and, lo and behold, one day a catalog showed up in Mom and Dad’s mailbox.  The rest is history.  I still receive this catalog.  I frequently use Dad’s boat that he purchased from Bass Pro Shops in the late 80’s and fill it with my tackle, some of which I have purchased from Bass Pro Shops.  I have visited Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO and Gurnee, Bolingbrook and now, East Peoria, IL and spent more money than I probably should have.  Anyway, this is the lime spinnerbait story.

Brent’s lime spinnerbait was a tandem spin with lime Colorado blades and a lime skirt that was among our first mail order purchases.  This bait was a top producer at Little John Conservation Club, particularly Muskrat Lake, and Green Oaks (Knox College’s biological field station lake) during our early journeys.  One highlight I recall on Muskrat Lake was Brent hooking a northern pike on the bait.  Neither of us had ever seen, much less caught a northern back when Brent hooked a snake (fishing terminology for a small pike) near a goose island.  Our initial excitement was tempered by the dilemma of how we were going to release a fish that had teeth.  Fortunately, the fish released itself, saving Brent the embarrassment of having to ask his big brother to take his fish off (and me the dilemma of what to do if he really asked). 

The last lime spinnerbait was inadvertently donated to Emstrom’s Pond on May 23, 2002, nearly fifteen years after its initial appearance in our fishing arsenal.  I wrote the following about the incident as part of a posting to family and friends back on May 25, 2002:

“Later, during the same trip, Brent busted the first eye on one of his poles as he turned in the boat seat.  Unfortunately, the rod would still cast and his line caught on the damaged eye, launching the legendary lime-bladed spinnerbait into the pond.  A search was conducted but the water was too deep and weedy to find the lure.  An unfortunate end to a potential Hall-Of-Fame bait.”  

The bait currently lies in the southwest corner of Emstrom’s Pond in roughly four feet of water.  No future attempts at salvage are planned as we no longer have permission to fish the pond. 

Brent also passed along the following e-mail when I recently inquired about getting a photo: “I don’t think I have one of the old lime spinnerbaits. I think I lost it at Muskrat Lake. Something hit it and just kept going.”  And on that note, I’ll be going too.  Talk to you later.  Troy

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