THE TEN TOP TEXAS FISHING LURES

...THAT PRODUCE FOR ME, ANYWAY. I made a post sometime ago about one of the all-time fish catching freshwater flys that catches fish for me in Texas, the Green Rubber Spider, here at Homer Circle and the Green Sponge Rubber Spider fl.... SO that's LURE #1.

Lure #2 has got to be the plastic worm, rigged Texas Style or Carolina Style. I've had the best luck with grape, black and watermelon colors over the years, but I know that your milage may vary depending on where you fish.

Lure #3 is a fly called Dave's Hopper, made to resemble the grasshopper. They catch better when the grasshoppers are in season and are everywhere, but I've caught lots of bass and trout on them even in winter when there was nary a grasshopper to be found.

Lure #3 would be a subset of Dave's Hopper and would include those flies and streamers that resemble blackflies, small frogs, mosquitos or crickets. Match the hatch, baby.

Lure #4 would be variants of topwater plugs that have green or yellow as the predominant colors. I've had the best luck with the popping variety like the ones Heddon makes that have the concave nose in the front of the lure. I have not caught as many fish on the Fred Arbogast classics like the Hula Popper or the Jitterbug or on the lures that have propellers as I have on Heddon topwater plugs.

Lure#5 is spinners. I've had extraordinary good luck with various Mepps spinners in gold and silver for many types of fishing. During the day, when fish are deeper and nothing else is catching fish, I catch with spinners. The ABU spinners in the classic yellow or red or white bodies with black or white dots and a silver spinner blade are also exceptional producers for me.

The silver Mepps type spinner, the yellow with black spots and silver blade ABU spinner and a teeny tiny green body with yellow spots and gold blade (for rainbows) have been consistent producers for me over the last 4 decades.

Lure #6 is the soft bodied weedless frog type lures that several manufacturers now make. These lures are good for slogging through weedbeds, lily pads or whatever topwater jungle that you know big bass are lurking underneath or within. Rarely do they snag. I use these all the time in brown, yellow and lime green.

Lure #7 would have to be the plain and simple spoon in gold or silver. I've had much luck with spoons, particularly in the surf. I've never had much luck with the colored spoons that are on the market, having tried the red/white Dardevil and a yellow and black one from Canada.

Lure #8 is the mid-depth running Rattle-traps, a slab sided lure that goes from side to side in a zig-zagging pattern like a wounded baitfish. Filled with bb's or something else that rattles, I've caught lots of fish on these as well. The best color for me is the green and white (with a hint of orange on the bottom and side).

Lure #9 is the jig. When one of my late uncles retired from his life as a farmer and rancher, he turned to crappie fishing on Lake Palestine for his enjoyment and a large part of his food supply for he and my grandmother. Of course, he'd catch bass as well, and he'd often run a small trotline while he'd be out jigging brushpiles. He favored the Fle-Fly jigs in yellow or white with the lightly feathered tails. If the store (Gibson's Discount Center back then) didn't have the Fle-Fly's with black eyes, he buy some Testor's black model paint and put eyes on them with a toothpick.

I used to fish with him a lot in my teens. We'd always catch tons of crappie and perch with the Fle-Fly, jigged in brushpiles dotting the shorelines of Lake Palestine. He had a small boat and a depthfinder and knew all the good spots on his part of that lake. Having grown up in that area, he had fished the Neches River that forms Palestine extensively as a youth, and knew the area backwards and forwards.

I have to admit that I don't do much jig fishing, unless I'm at a saltwater pier or during crappie season. I know many fisherman swear by them, and I can say that in the proper area they will catch lots of fish.

Lure #10 is a hard choice. I had to go take a peek in my tackle boxes to see what Lure #10 would be. And since most of the above suggestions were freshwater lures, I'll have to go with the Tout Tail for this last suggestion. These are simply short bodied plastic worms that are affixed to a lead jig head. They can be fished on the bottom or under a popping cork, my usual method. I've had the best luck with orange heads with light brown, root beer or creme colored bodies.

I call them Tout Tails because back in the 70's, when I first began using these lures, that's what the brand name was. Many, many companies make them now, in countless varieties. I have some of those as well, but still have many tout tails which have been proven producers for bay and surf fishing for reds and specks.

Lure #11 I know there are a lot more good lures for fishing in Texas. I have not spoken about the GULP! type lures yet, because I believe they are in a catagory all their own. I'll post about them later, as I've had some good luck with them fishing in the Pacific Ocean this past year for surf perch and halibut and caught fish with them both on several piers (Santa Monica and Malibu) and on the beach at Malibu. But I know lots of salt and freshwater Texas fisherman who love these scented plastic lures that often resemble baitfish or worms or the like.

Come to think of it, maybe that's a good excuse for another California fishing trip. There is nothing quite as beautiful as Malibu at dawn or sunset, when it's just windy and cloudy enough to keep the sunworshippers off the beach. You can be on the beach all by yourself, casting out to sea. And based on my last trips out west, I'll be using the GULP! sandcrabs, shrimp and worms because they do catch fish.