By Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Had something curious that happened on the water late this spring. . . .
I have a ton of fishing gear handed down from my Grandpa Bauer and my Dad. Miss the time we spent fishing together, but it is really cool being able to fish with some of their equipment. Nope, I am not so sentimental that I am going to put that fishing equipment in a corner and not use it. I have boxes full of their baits, and on occasion sort through and pick out some I could use at the time.
In the past year or two, that has included some topwater baits. By the way, yes, fishing gets tougher during the heat of summer, but it is definitely topwater time! If you ain’t throwing topwater baits at least part of the time right now, you are not using some of the most productive presentations. That is a topic I have blogged about before, might have to again. . . .
I digress.
One of those baits from my Grandpa’s collection, was an old Zara Spook. Spooks are great topwater baits and are very much still available. But, I needed one and there was an old one in one of Grandpa’s tackle boxes. So, it got some use on the end of my line over the last couple years.
Now, this old Zara Spook was not like the ones currently on the market. It was a plastic, molded bait, but the hook hangers were not molded into the bait. No, the hook hangers were screwed onto the bait after molding. Do not know that made it any different than the current models, just that there were two instead of three treble hooks and they were screwed into the bait.
Anywho, had been using that bait late this spring to catch some wipers. Nothing better than watching wipers blow up on topwater baits!
One evening, on my third cast, a long cast, a big fish blew up on the Spook. Hooked up! Fought the fish for quite a bit and as wipers are prone to do, it had run off a bunch of line for the middle of the “lake”. I had played it long enough that I figured I was going to put it in the net. Then the hooks pulled.
AAAAArrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Oh well. There is only one thing to do after losing a nice fish. . . get your line back in the water!
Made another cast, started retrieving the bait. It was not working right.
Thought maybe the line was tangled in the hooks, so I reeled it in to check it. Nope, looked fine.
Tossed it out again. Still would not work.
Reeled it in again, then paused with the bait still in the water.
It sank like a rock.
One thing I know for sure: Topwater baits do not work if they sink.
The next day, in brighter light, I took a close look at the bait. Sure enough it was cracked. Nearly cracked completely in two. Surprised I did not lose the fish because the bait broke.
Here is what is curious about that: Had the exact same thing happen a year ago with a Chug Bug.
Thinking back a few years, can remember another fish, likely a wiper, that literally busted a Red Fin clean in two!
Now, if that happened once, I would think nothing of it. But, it has happened to me three times now. That ain’t no coincidence!
Which has me wondering, how????? How in the world are wipers breaking those baits? Cast ’em onto the rocks and they will crack. If I was busting big pike or muskies with them, or even flatties, I would not be surprised. But wipers???? How are they doing that?
Have heard credible accounts of wipers slashing through shad schools swinging their heads, and gill covers, back and forth to cut and cripple shad. Then, they turn and pick off the cripples. Would that contact be powerful enough to crack a molded plastic lure? In addition, these fish hit, ate my baits?
Could they hit them so hard that they cracked the plastic?
Were the baits wedging in their mouths on the hookset creating enough torque to crack the bait?
I have no idea.
I do know this, I want it to happen again!
For now, will hold off pursuing big wipers with water temps. at their summer peak. Big wipers are definitely coolwater fish and fight so hard that catching them now can stress them to the point that they perish. However, with cooling late this summer into fall I will be back at ’em.
And, I have tackled up to some saltwater baits!