Big Indiana Bass

Do you believe in "magic" baits? For a little while this year, Asshat had me wondering. We've been making it a point to chuck Spooks on most of our trips, and I got to noticing how consistently he was getting bites. He had bought a brand new Spook Jr. this spring after the Sammy mishap, and ever since he's been whacking fish. Didn't matter where we went, a river or a lake, green fish or brown, his Spook was flat catching 'em. Yeah, I'd catch some on my versions, but his was like magic. Was it the fancy new color scheme?

After paying a lot of attention, I realized the deal was in the effortless start-up, right now. He'd make a cast tight to shore, and with a single slow twitch his bait was working its magic. Mine was OK, and I caught fish with them, but there was something special about his. It was just one of those little things that eats at you after a while. Most anglers probably wouldn't have even noticed the difference - but I did...and it bugged me!

So when I found myself in a Dick's Sporting Goods store this weekend, and I came across the rack of Spook Jrs. including one in his exact color pattern, I couldn't help myself - I had to buy one. Of course, I then had to take it home and tear it apart and see what made it tic. Not literally, mind you. So here's where I'm going with this.

Outside of color and a slight difference here or there with hook type, what is the difference in the following Spooks Jrs.? Which ones are the new version and which ones are the old. There is nothing blatantly obvious that I could see, so it was on to the digital jewlers scale.

Ah-ha! The newer baits weigh nearly 20% lighter, about a 2.3 g difference per bait compared to the older versions. But why would that little bit of weight make such a big difference in catch rates? So off the scales and into the water bath they go.

You'll need to look close, but the difference is striking. The "heavier" older versions (the blue shad and the baby bass in front) sit tail down much further in the water than the newer versions. The two newer (lighter) versions in the back sit much more horizontally in the water with a majority of the bait above the waterline. In the older verisons, you have a get a couple 2 or 3 twitches in to get them working right. Those first few twitches actually have to pull the bait back up horizontal and higher onto the waters surface before it will start walking well. And if you use a very slow retrieve with frequent pauses, you'll again lose that immediate response in the first few twitches. The newer baits, since they sit high and horizontal, start walking immediately with the first twitch.

You wouldn't think that this would be such a big deal, as I've caught plenty of fish over the years on my older version of Spook Jrs., but in cases where you have a very limited strike zone, or that require a very slow "teasing" retrieve (twitch 2-3 X's, pause, twich twice, pause again, etc.), the newer versions will flat smoke your ass. Trust me - I've seen it happen, several times now courtesy of Asshat.

That said, if you're out on a particularly breezy day with a good chop fishing expansive weed flats, the older version that sits down "in" the water will have much greater presence and not bob, float and get blown around like my tin boat. Way more effective in those circumstances, so you really need both if you're serious about it.

Needless to say I'm now thoroughly stocked on both fronts. Perhaps it is a cost cutting measure, making a thinner bait with less plastic to save costs. I can't say for certain without cutting up a couple, and I won't do that until my old ones crack or spring a leak. Maybe it was intentional. Just don't know. Whatever the reason, they've actually created a "better" version Spook Jr. for certain circumstances. Hey, cheap is good.