Fishing the Classics
by Adam Johnson

The Dardevle spoon turned 100 years old recently which brought back some fond memories about all the fish I’ve caught on this trusty piece of painted metal.  There is a reason this spoon is as productive as it is.  The wobble.

The Dardevle has a tremendous action associated with it and fish simply can’t resist that motion.  Many anglers believe the Dardevle just gets casted out and reeled back and is basically one of the simplest lures to use.  They are correct in their assumption, but of course there are some minor variations to the retrieve, when incorporated, that can make the lure even more effective.

One of my favorite variations to the Dardevle is what I call the Dredgedevle.  Since the lure will work on all of the bigger gamefish species this technique works on any fish that are tight to the bottom.  Cast out your favorite red/white or five-of-diamonds Dardevle and let it sink to the bottom.  Sometimes as this lure is fluttering down a fish will grab it, so pay attention as it sinks.

Once the Dardevle has touched down keep your rod tip low and begin a very slow retrieve.  Your goal is to keep the lure just barely off the bottom.  You can dredge a lot of bottom using this approach and catch walleye, bass and pike.  The only  rule here is that you let the lure sink until it’s resting on the bottom and bring it back very slowly, just fast enough to create that trademark wobbling affect.

Let’s look at another classic lure; the Jitterbug.  This is another lure that you simply cast out and retrieve.  The topwater action is too much for bass to resist.  Where anglers can improve their success ratio with “The Bug” is to play with it in heavier cover.

For heavier cover with a topwater lure that has exposed treble hooks you need a stout rod with heavy line.  You’re going to have to rip the lure out of some pads or other floating vegetation and for that you need to think strong equipment.

Now I’m not recommending that you pitch a Jitterbug into thick mats of milfoil or dense patches of lily pads, but there are always spots where you can find surface cover that is less dense and allows some exploration with a lure that has exposed hooks.

I look for pockets in the pads where I can use the rod tip to “steer” the lure through narrow slots between pads.  I look for openings in weed beds where there is something on the bottom keeping those weeds from reaching the surface.  There is always the possibility you will get hung up, but if you’re careful you can work a topwater with a wobble, the Jitterbug in this case, right over the top of some hungry bass.  These fish are conditioned to floating frogs, but will always hit a Jitterbug when it wobbles by.

Another classic lure I love fishing is the plastic worm.  Those early worms were pre-rigged with a two-foot snell on them and three hooks imbedded in the body.  Now we rig our own with special hooks, custom weights and everyone touts some kind of scent impregnated into the plastic.

The beauty of the plastic worm is that it can be rigged totally weedless and since bass love heavy vegetation for covering their ambush point, getting a weedless worm into their zone is sure to generate a positive response.

One of my plastic worm techniques I’ll share with you is the classic approach.  The original plastic worm was meant to cast out and reel back.  These days we use all kinds of erratic retrieves to get a reaction with our plastic, except for the simple cast it out and reel it back retrieve.

The classic worm retrieve works well with a basic seven-inch worm with a twister tail to give it some action.  My preferred rod is a medium-light action spinning rod spooled with eight-pound test monofilament line.

You rig the worm weedless and just cast it out as far as you can, let it sink to the bottom and reel it back in with no variation to the speed.  It’s simple.

You won’t feel the fish on this retrieve until it is hooked.  With a soft-tipped spinning rod the fish grabs the worm and the rod loads up and you just reel it in.  I don’t even set the hook with this retrieve, you don’t need to.  The fish hooks itself.

Another classic is the trusty spinnerbait.  I seldom see anyone using a retrieve other than a “cast it out, reel it back” presentation.  One of my favorites for this lure is the flutter down on the edge of the vegetation.  I use a half-ounce spinnerbait with a number-five Colorado blade.  I make short casts right up to the edge of the vegetation and let the lure settle to the bottom on a slack line.  When the fish grab the skirted hook you can see the line twitch or start moving off to the side.  This calls for a hook set.

There are a lot of classic lures out there that get ignored, which is a big mistake.  There’s a reason these lures are classics.  They caught, and still catch lots of fish.

Adam Johnson is an Aquatic Biologist and full-time outdoor communicator.  To contact Johnson visit his web site at www.adamjohnonsoutdors.com .