Lures For 2009

Now's the ideal time to update your tackle box with the latest lures and baits for fishing in the Northeast.

Creme Lures
(www.cremelure.com)
"Our bait called the Lit'l Fishie is the most universal bait we've got because it'll catch any species," according to Wayne Kent of Creme Lures.

What makes this bait unusual are two small slices in the body, one slightly forward of the other.

"Instead of a shake or a vibration, you actually get a swim!" Kent said.

The lure is available in three sizes -- 1 inch, 2 inches and 3 inches, and in about eight colors.

"If you can throw it out and reel it in you can catch fish," Kent said, noting that the lure is effective on anything from crappies to bass and trout as well as saltwater species.

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Yakima Bait Company
(www.yakimabait.com)
The Yakima Bait Company has some new colors in its line of Roostertail spinners. Trout, steelhead, walleye, bass and pike anglers will be taking a good look at the new tinsel Roostertails.

"I think that's going to be real popular," according to Rob Phillips.

This flashy new spinner has tinsel mixed with the hackle and decals over paint that has the appearance of eyes, gills or scales on the blades.

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Pautzke Bait Company
(www.pautzke.com)
"The hottest product we've had the last year or two is called the Fire Cure and the Borx O' Fire," said Casey Kelly of Pautzke Bait Company.

These are cures for salmon eggs to prepare them for steelhead or standard stream trout fishing.

"The Fire Cure is a sulfite-based cream while the Borx O' Fire is borax-based and milder.

"Our newest claim to fame is our krill attractant. There's a minimal amount that penetrates the eggs," Kelly said.

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Pradco
(www.lurenet.com)
PRADCO has a new lipless rattle bait. Rather than standard rattles, the Xcalibur lure has a single tungsten rattle with a specially designed shape. Standard lead rattles eventually lose their shape and sound. The tungsten rattle maintains its shape and sound.

"It can be used a couple of different ways," said Jeff Samsel, a PRADCO spokesman. "One is just cast and retrieve. It's a terrific bait for finding fish because you can fish it very quickly. The other application is going to be a lift-and-drop sort of technique. It's really effective in early spring."

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Fishbites
(www.fishbites.com)
New from Fishbites is Fish Bites Xtreme. "It's a scent-releasing bait," said Mike Carr, a company spokesman. "You would work them any way you would work a soft bait. You could also dead-stick them and they still would be effective."

While these lures are designed to catch most estuary-based fish, there will be a freshwater version of Xtreme coming out this year as well. These will be a 6-inch finesse worm, a 5-inch trick worm and a 5-inch jerkbait.

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Bandit Lures
(www.banditlures.com)
"If we put any effort into anything, it's to get a bait to run true," said Chris Ross of Bandit Lures.

Bandit Lures' line of Walleye Bandits comes in two versions, the Shallow Walleye Bandit and the Deep Walleye Bandit, which runs 8 to 12 feet deep. Walleye Bandits are available in a relatively narrow choice of colors that were chosen for serious walleye fishermen.

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Eagle Claw
(www.eagleclaw.com)
New from Eagle Claw is Nitro Grease, a fish-attracting scent that stays on lures longer than sprays or liquids because it is a paste.

"Applied to any lure it makes it better," according to Doug Long.

"It contains a combination of scent with pheromones, so it stimulates not only a feeding instinct but the instinct for the opposite sex to investigate the lure."

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Bass Pro Shops
(www.basspro.com)
"The Holographic Bucktail Jig is just a good all-around lure because it crosses over well from salt water to fresh water," according to Brent Lawrence of Bass Pro Shops. "It's a jack-of-all-trades lure even though it was built initially just for stripers. But it's also being used in Florida to catch snappers and grouper."

This jig comes in five sizes from 3/8 ounce to 2 ounces.

"The green and the red and the chartreuse are doing really well," he said.

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Acme Lures
(www.acmetackle.com)
Among Acme Lures' popular spoons, perhaps best known is the Little Cleo with its hump-backed shape that is recognized by all serious Great Lakes steelhead and salmon anglers.

Little Cleos are available in several sizes from 1/6 ounce, a favorite along trout streams, to 1 ounce, which is perfect for chinook salmon or pike. Blue and silver is a standard along the Great Lakes. Glow colors are catching on for low-light conditions.

--------------------------------Daiwa
(www.daiwa.com)
Daiwa has a new crankbait called the DB Minnow SP that is designed to trigger the predatory instincts of largemouth and smallmouth bass, as well as other game fish.

"It imitates an injured bait minnow," said company spokesman Mark Malkin. "It initially starts at the surface, and then it'll dive down to about 3 feet."

"What's really nice about this is they have a life-like scale finish and 3-D eyes, and they have great swimming action, too," Malkin added.