There will be something about the particular way a bang o lure sits on the water that just screams "eat me" to a hungry largemouth. As the modern fishing globe is currently obsessed with high-tech electronics and fancy plastic baits with inner weight-transfer systems, this old-school balsa wooden minnow keeps best on catching seafood. It's a vintage for any reason. When you haven't spent much time tossing one, you're losing out on a bait that has a buoyancy and the "twitch" that plastic material just can't very replicate.
The Magic of Balsa Wood
To understand why the particular bang o lure is so effective, you have to look with what it's produced of. Most jerkbaits you find within the big-box shops today are injection-molded plastic. They're durable, they cast a mile, and so they appear great, but they will lack the spirit of balsa wood. Balsa is extremely buoyant—way more so than plastic. When you jerk the plastic lure down, it slowly struggles back to the particular surface or suspends there. Once you twitch a balsa lure, it desires to explode back to the top.
That aggressive buoyancy creates the specific vibration plus a "hunt" that triggers a deceptive response in bass. It's a really natural, life-like motion. If you stop the particular lure, it doesn't just sit presently there; it shudders because it rises. To a bass, that will looks like a dying minnow or even a panicked baitfish trying to get returning to cover. It's that split following of upward movement that usually has got the strike.
Understanding the Surface Twitch
Most individuals use the bang o lure like a shallow-water jerkbait, and for good reason. It's killer in the spring and earlier summer when fish are getting into the shallows or guarding fry. The simplest way to angling it is having a "twitch, twitch, pause" rhythm, but the particular secret is in the length of that pause.
If you cast this out, allow ripples disappear prior to you even touch your reel. Occasionally a bass may track the lure from the time it hits the particular water, and any kind of sudden movement may spook them. Yet once those bands fade, give the pole tip a sharp downwards snap. The lure will dive, wiggle erratically, then start its journey back to the surface area.
A person want to test out the cadence. A few days they want it moving fast with very little pause, creating a frantic "V" wake on the surface. Other days, you have to be individual. I've had times where the only way to get a bite has been to twitch this once and allow it sit regarding ten full seconds. It's agonizingly gradual, but when that will water explodes, it's all worth it.
The Spintail Variation
You can't talk about this bait and not mention the version with the little propeller on the back again. The spintail bang o lure is usually a legendary topwater weapon, especially within the South. The prop adds a tiny bit associated with splash along with a material "clacking" sound that will seems to generate fish crazy.
When you're fishing the spintail version, you aren't really trying to jump the lure. Instead, you're looking to "rip" it across the surface. A short, quick snap of the rod makes that will prop spin plus throw a small spray of water. It mimics the wounded baitfish moving its tail upon the surface. This can be a phenomenal choice about cypress knees, laydowns, or the edges of lily parts. It's a little bit more "calling" than the original version, making it great for somewhat stained water exactly where the fish need a little additional noise to discover the bait.
When to Choose the Spintail
- Lower Light Conditions: Early morning or even late evening whenever the fish are searching up.
- Stained Water: When visibility is less than two feet.
- Active Feeders: When you see shad "flicking" on the particular surface.
Selecting the Right Equipment
Because balsa is really light, a person can't just toss a bang o lure on any kind of old rod and reel setup. When you try to hurl a 3/8-ounce balsa bait on a heavy-action flippin' stick with 20-pound fluorocarbon, you're going to have a poor time. You'll finish up with a professional-grade backlash and also a lure that just went ten feet.
For the best results, you want a medium or medium-light casting rod with a relatively gentle tip. This "parabolic" bend acts such as a catapult, helping you load up the rod and affair that light lure further than you'd believe. In case you prefer spinning gear, that works too, specifically for the particular smaller sizes.
As with regard to line, I almost always stick with monofilament for this lure. Why? Because monofilament floats. Fluorocarbon basins, and if a person use it with a floating balsa bait, the settling line will in fact pull the nose of the lure down, ruining that will beautiful surface action. An excellent 10-to-12-pound mono offers you enough power to pull a fish from the weeds while keeping the lure's action exactly where it needs to become.
Target Locations and Timing
The bang o lure is a "target" bait. It's not necessarily something a person use to hide vast flats of open water. You wish to be operative with it. Look for isolated cover—an individual stump, a pier piling, or a break in the grass series.
Within the spring, focus on the "pockets" within the back associated with creeks. Bass are looking for warm water and easy foods before they spawn. A gold bang o lure with a black back is a traditional choice here, because it mimics a variety of different forage.
Within the heat associated with the summer, don't put it away. While many individuals go deep with big worms plus crankbaits, there are usually always "resident" fish that stay shallow under thick cover up. If you can skip or toss that lure best into the tone of an overhanging willow tree, become ready. Those fish aren't used to viewing a subtle, suspended presentation in the center of a July afternoon, and it can usually trigger a "reaction" bite from a fish that isn't even particularly starving.
Maintenance and Care
One thing to keep in mind is the fact that balsa is smooth. If you punch your bang o lure against a concrete bridge piling or even a rocky coastline, you're likely going to crack the particular finish. Once the particular finish is damaged, the wood can absorb water, which ruins the buoyancy and makes the particular bait run true-to-the-side or not whatsoever.
I always keep a little bit of bottle of apparent nail polish or waterproof epoxy within my tackle box. If I observe a chip or even a crack, I'll dry the lure out and dab a bit of sealant on this. It's a small cost to pay for a bait that catches so numerous fish. Also, maintain an eye upon the hooks. These lures usually come with decent trebles, but after the few big seafood or even a season associated with hard use, these people can get dull. Swapping them away for some high-quality, thin-wire hooks will significantly improve your own hook-up ratio with no deadening the lure's action.
Exactly why This Lure Nevertheless Matters
Within an era of $25 Japanese jerkbaits and lures that will look like these were designed by NASA, the bang o lure is a reminder that a few things just work. It's simple, it's effective, and it's a blast to fish. There's simply no feeling quite like watching your lure sit motionless on a glassy fish pond, giving it that first little twitch, and seeing a five-pounder inhale this before you may even have a breath.
It's a confidence bait. As soon as you catch several on it, you'll start to see the particular potential in most little piece of coastline cover. It teaches you patience and the particular importance of "reading" exactly how the fish are usually reacting to rate and rhythm. Therefore, the next period you're headed out, leave the great plastics in the particular bag for some time. Tie up on a traditional, find some shallow cover, and let that balsa wooden do what this does best. A person might just discover that the "old way" is still the ultimate way to put a trophy in the boat.