One lure to rule them all

[brooowntrout]

If you could only use one lure for the rest of your life, what would it be? Assume you will be fishing here in the Mountain West.

Mine would be a gold kastmaster. It can be used to catch almost any game fish and it can be used to cast/retrieve or jig vertically. The way it flashes in the light and dances when retrieved slowly is irresistible to most fish. You can tip it with a wax worm or a piece of chub meat and use that dancing action vertically to attract fish from a boat or through the ice.

This simple piece of metal has been responsible for a huge percentage of my catches over the years.

Now you know my favorite. What's yours?

[Kent]

A baited hook. Catching sturgeon on any type of lure would be extremely difficult and with a baited hook I can catch any fish that I fish for.

[Cowboypirate]

My Bride said - Jake's. Silver with red dots for a lot of the same reason.

I would go with a jig. Marabou feathers. Dark. I really should use it more

[brooowntrout]

My Bride said - Jake's. Silver with red dots for a lot of the same reason.

I would go with a jig. Marabou feathers. Dark. I really should use it more

Yes! I love the way a marabou "breathes". Jake's is a good choice too. That's awesome your wife fishes enough to have a favorite.

[gofish435]

The thing about the Jakes and the Kastmaster that makes them so great is the weight.  You can chuck them a mile, which really helps if you're fishing from shore.

[brooowntrout]

A baited hook.  Catching sturgeon on any type of lure would be extremely difficult and with a baited hook I can catch any fish that I fish for.

I like it. How about you choose one bait. What would it be?

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The thing about the Jakes and the Kastmaster that makes them so great is the weight.  You can chuck them a mile, which really helps if you're fishing from shore.

True.

[Bubman1]

Black and silver Rapala CD 7 is my go to from trout to catfish and everything in between

[Kent]

A baited hook.  Catching sturgeon on any type of lure would be extremely difficult and with a baited hook I can catch any fish that I fish for.

I like it. How about you choose one bait. What would it be?

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The thing about the Jakes and the Kastmaster that makes them so great is the weight.  You can chuck them a mile, which really helps if you're fishing from shore.

True.

If I could only choose one bait it would be cut-bait chub.  My second choice would be a nightcrawler.

[wormandbobber]

Wooly Bugger...I like olive green and black with a bead head.

[PBH]

I'd take a bugger too. Stripers, trout, catfish, bluegill, lake, stream, beaver pond, ice fishing, trolling....it doesn't matter with a bugger.

[gofish435]

I didn't know that woolly buggers qualified as a lure.

Mine would be a bead head crystal buggers in black/orange/pearl or tan/olive/pearl for still water fishing and either a brown hare's ear or Montana nymphs for the stream.

[filletedalive]

I’m on the wooly bugger train. They are deadly in all sizes. For ice fishing, maribou jig.

[wiperhunter2]

I’m on the wooly bugger train. They are deadly in all sizes. For ice fishing, maribou jig.

Question for those of you that use wooly buggers while ice fishing, do you use any kind of bait with them?

[TubeDude]

I never sneeze to be demazed at the number of anglers who fish the same lures, the same way, in the same waters all year long...just because they caught fish on them one time.  ...or, that is the only lure they know how to fish.

Much better to accumulate a good mental database of info on the various waters you fish...for the species you target most...at different times of the year under different weather and water conditions.  And then go prepared with a range of lures that should produce under the prevailing conditions...and be prepared to go to plan B or C if plan A doesn't work.

But whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the experience.  The success of a fishing trip is not always measured by the number of fish you catch.  At least it shouldn't be.

[Cowboypirate]

I never sneeze to be demazed at the number of anglers who fish the same lures, the same way, in the same waters all year long...just because they caught fish on them one time.  ...or, that is the only lure they know how to fish.

Much better to accumulate a good mental database of info on the various waters you fish...for the species you target most...at different times of the year under different weather and water conditions.  And then go prepared with a range of lures that should produce under the prevailing conditions...and be prepared to go to plan B or C if plan A doesn't work.

But whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the experience.  The success of a fishing trip is not always measured by the number of fish you catch.  At least it shouldn't be.

So true. Guilty as charged. I love playing with our little homemade pugly bugs so much that I try to fish them in every situation. I will go home patting myself on the back cause I got a red- headed snort blat to bite it once when I am packing a bunch of items in my pack that fit the situation better and would have gotten more bites.

I always order pepperoni pizza too. Creature of hard earned habits I guess.

[Saltslam]

Brown wooly bugger with black tail and hackle. I've caught more variety of fish on brown and black than I can believe. This would cover both colors in one lure. A fly is indeed a lure, as you're trying to "lure" a fish into biting.

[brooowntrout]

I never sneeze to be demazed at the number of anglers who fish the same lures, the same way, in the same waters all year long...just because they caught fish on them one time.  ...or, that is the only lure they know how to fish.

Much better to accumulate a good mental database of info on the various waters you fish...for the species you target most...at different times of the year under different weather and water conditions.  And then go prepared with a range of lures that should produce under the prevailing conditions...and be prepared to go to plan B or C if plan A doesn't work.

But whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the experience.  The success of a fishing trip is not always measured by the number of fish you catch.  At least it shouldn't be.

So true. Guilty as charged. I love playing with our little homemade pugly bugs so much that I try to fish them in every situation. I will go home patting myself on the back cause I got a red- headed snort blat to bite it once when I am packing a bunch of items in my pack that fit the situation better and would have gotten more bites.

I always order pepperoni pizza too. Creature of hard earned habits I guess.

I am usually carrying a wide variety of lures and I am always quick to change if something isn't working. That is what actually got me thinking about this question in the first place. IF I had to pick just one, which one would I grab? Most of the lures people have mentioned on this thread are on my list of favorites too, but a couple surprised me. 

One of my favorites that nobody has mentioned yet is a Gold Panther Martin spinner. If I am on a river, it is probably going to make an appearance.

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Black and silver Rapala CD 7 is my go to from trout to catfish  and everything in between

CD Rapala is a great lure! I always carry a variety of colors, but if I had to choose one it would be black and silver. It mimics so many different baitfish and I am a raiders fan.

[PBH]

I’m on the wooly bugger train. They are deadly in all sizes. For ice fishing, maribou jig.

Question for those of you that use wooly buggers while ice fishing, do you use any kind of bait with them?

This year up at Fish Lake over New Year's, my rig had a tub jig as the bottom lure, with a loop about 24" above it.  I had a small bugger attached to the loop.  Sometimes I had that bugger tipped with bait (cut bait, or meal worm), and sometimes I didn't -- those perch are pretty good at stealing bait!.  I got fish both with and without.


Honestly, what's the difference between a bead / cone bugger and a crappie jig under the ice??

[wiperhunter2]

Question for those of you that use wooly buggers while ice fishing, do you use any kind of bait with them?

This year up at Fish Lake over New Year's, my rig had a tub jig as the bottom lure, with a loop about 24" above it.  I had a small bugger attached to the loop.  Sometimes I had that bugger tipped with bait (cut bait, or meal worm), and sometimes I didn't -- those perch are pretty good at stealing bait!.  I got fish both with and without.


Honestly, what's the difference between a bead / cone bugger and a crappie jig under the ice??

Interesting, sounds like I should give that a try because even if they steel the bait, fish can still be caught without it, I like that.

[wormandbobber]

I never sneeze to be demazed at the number of anglers who fish the same lures, the same way, in the same waters all year long...just because they caught fish on them one time.  ...or, that is the only lure they know how to fish.

Much better to accumulate a good mental database of info on the various waters you fish...for the species you target most...at different times of the year under different weather and water conditions.  And then go prepared with a range of lures that should produce under the prevailing conditions...and be prepared to go to plan B or C if plan A doesn't work.

But whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the experience.  The success of a fishing trip is not always measured by the number of fish you catch.  At least it shouldn't be.

Actually, I've found the exact opposite to be true...I think too many anglers have too many options, too many plans, and are never confident enough in plan A to figure out how to make it work. Personally, I believe the same lures will work throughout the year with the right locations and presentation mixed in. I believe too many anglers complicate fishing way too much with having too large of a tackle box. Learn a method, master it, and most fishermen will have more success.