Ed Latiano Jerkbaits

[BlueEye]

Hey guys -

Does anyone got a picture of this lure? I have heard many things (all good) about this lure but never seen one before. Infact, I believe (correct me if I am wrong Larry) that the winning fish for the Chautauqua tournament run by Larry Jones was won by a fella casting this lure. He boated two monsters that day up in the Mayville flats on a black 8" Ed Lationo jerkbait. Would love to get my hands on one.... anyone got any for sale and/or know where I could pick one up?

Thanks -

C

[NitroMusky]

Chad, yes that was the lure that Lance was throwing for the win in Sept.

ya better get in line....they aren't made anymore since he passed and I imagine that people keep a tight grasp on them as I've never seen one for sale...if I had, I would've snapped it up!

but you've given me an idea, I'm going to see if mr toothy can/will repro them or something similar. he showed me a 'special' latiano at his place that I think was the jerkbait.

[zach]

you can get them off ebay sometimes look for leo jerkbait not the ready eddy- they do sell them at some chaut baits shops as i have bought them by the one shop that is right off 81 after crossing the lake- you can order from his son i believe that has taken over production- i may be wrong though. similiar to you sledge but wood and non rattling. i have some that i cant sell but i have seen them on ebay lately. heck even pete mania uses them more than his own jerkbait. he has 2 styles but i know the one u are talking about, looks like a thinned out reef hawg. u would love them if you have been throwing sledges and they are easy to use and dont pull hard at all plus u can troll them too. they make 6" and 8". i am fond of the 6" rubber tailed one for good reason. good luck. google leo lures and see if they are still being made after leo died. somewhere i thought i heard his son was kicking them out. get the rubber tailed ones if u can.

[NitroMusky]

Chad-

here is a link to a site that has a picture of one of the latiano jerkbaits-you'll have to scroll down...keep in that Ed made lot of differentt lures in lots of styles...his estimate was several tens of thousands over the 70+ years of making them http://www.lurebuilding.nl/enggallery2.html I imagine from the looks of it, this is the one that was used in the tourney (the ready eddy)... but I will ping the guy and see if he can confirm.

Zack- just to be clear, the Ready Eddy was/is an actual Latiano, while Leo is a separate mfgr that is still in production: slightly different though based on Latiano's original design. http://www.leolures.com

I was told that Latiano did not want to sell/transfer the name or production of his exact lures (brand) to someone else.

quick bit of history i found: http://www.rozzolures.com/PostGazette.html

[NitroMusky]

found a better pic... here you go.

[BlueEye]

Ahhh yes - thanks Nitro! My favorite color - BLACK! I have a black LEO that looks similar but smaller in size. Also have some sledgehammers that are similar looking. This lure was made of wood I am assuming. I heard one of its unique characteristics was that it "backed up" when paused instead of simply floating straight up or forward. Thanks for sharing!

[ESOX31]

Just found this board searching the web and thought I'd join up . My Ready Eddie jerkbait is by far my best jerkbait for Chautauqua lake . They can be very hard to find but they are out there, most of his baits are signed but some of the older ones only have "EVL" stamped on the top of the bait . A Leo is the closest bait there is to the ready eddie I like the nine inch Leo better than the eight inch bait but i'm pretty sure Todd isn't making the nine icher anymore . I belive Mike Sperry also makes the same type of bait but I haven't seen that in action though so i can't comment on that . If you do find a good latiano bait fish it as fast and as hard as you can . Good luck in your search and hope I don't find them first .

Lance McFeely

[NitroMusky]

hey Lance

welcome aboard!

good to see you here! (you may recall we crossed paths at chaut a few years back and on M-1st)

glad to have another bona fide tournament winner and chautauqua expert 'round here to 'talk shop' with and hopefully give sage advice to us novices.

so...was it in fact the ready eddy model you were fishing in the sept tx?

NM

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[BlueEye]

Welcome aboard Lance! I have fished with Mike Sperry several times last year. He does make a great jerkbait. You can find some of this other lures here:

http://www.chautauquareeloutdoors.com/smiling-jack-lures/

His jerkbait lures are called "Smiling Jacks" and have a nice action to them. I will certainly be getting my hands on some this summer. I love his perch color and I believe he can do up custom colors if you request it. I spent some time on his boat last year for the filming of his spinner baits (see video on the web link above) and was very impressed with those as well. Mike also mentioned to me recently that he will be at the Butler show with all his lures.

[Nalod]

Welcome to the board Lance!

Chad: Will you be going to the show in Butler? I was thinking about taking the trip to see it, but not sure yet. I know Sperry will be there along with Larry. Might be a fun time!

--Joe

[BlueEye]

I'm sure I wouldn't be able to control my wallet at such a show...... I might go, but only if someone forces me to leave all purchasing power at home. I got a wedding to pay for this year and I am sure the future wife would be thrilled with me if I came home with a new tackle box full of toys.......

[ESOX31]

Thanks for the kind welcome here , And let's get things straight I am no expert on Chautauqua Lake I am just a guy that likes to fish hard and I get lucky sometimes . It just so happens that it worked out at the right time last year . And yes I was using a ready Eddie model last year during the tourney . This next tourney will be a good one with no prefishing done it will be anyones prize that day ! Oh and I do remember you Nitromusky I belive your were on your way out to jig a fuzzy duzzit in front of the bell tower the day we talked . Maybe I'll see some of you at the Butler show ?

Lance McFeely

"THE FERD"

[NitroMusky]

Ahh good memory Lance! except I was heading for home and you were putting in.

Dont be so modest on the skillz I ran across some of your pics when I was first starting out and searching archives for some insight on Chaut.

I was seriously considering hitting Butler on Saturday- there are a few seminars I'd love to hear there, but since most of those are saturday but RedOctober (the one I really want) is sunday I'm going to pass. My wife would kill me if I stayed over on Valentines weekend. she looses me enough to fishing in-season. time to pay it forward

Brad

[solgrande]

Welcome lance and nice job last year.As zach noted these can be found on ebay,I frequent ebay due to my collecting of lures and see them in the musky section and sometimes antique lures.More than likely you`ll be bidding high unless you get lucky I picked up a quiver fish and a musky special(not using them!).Quiver fish is like a suick but also has a front diving lip along with the back-pretty cool baits.

Bob S

[ESOX31]

I have bought a couple off of ebay in the past they normally go for at least 40 bucks and thats not bad for a bait that will never be made again . I have heard that Howard Wagner from the fish education center still has some for sale ,he normally has them on ebay . I once got a screaming deal from a guy that thought his bait was a reef hog and sold it to me for six bucks plus shipping on ebay . That was awsome !!!

Lance McFeely

" THE FERD"

[mostlymuskies]

Lance, I also would like to welcome you to LOU.I would bet that your Ready Eddie is one that has a great back up,I have two out of six that back up a good two feet in a straight line,they catch most of the fish.I hope to see you and others at the Butler Fishing Show.

This years Chautauqua Tourneys will be fun and will also support the bait fish purchase at a much needed higher level.

Capt. Larry

[Nalod]

Larry,

You should be back in buffalo by now...how was the trip south?

Could you tell us a little more about the Butler Show? I am trying to talk Chad (BlueEye) into taking the ride with me to the show.

How many vendors are usually there? Does it get a good turn out? ...

Thanks!

--Joe

[mostlymuskies]

Joe,The Butler Fishing Show is a very good show with lots of good vendors of muskie goodies.Legend Lure Co. will have lots of custom color Plow's,Perchbaits & Outcast's.Wiley Lure Co. will have the largest selection of Wiley crankbaits that you could imagine.Red October Baits will have lots of custom tubes.I will have Vince's Spinner Shop line and all kinds of custom painted crankbaits,jerkbaits,etc.Mike Sperry will have all of his lineup of lures.Many more local and out of state vendors will have muskie baits there as well.Plus a good lineup of seminar speakers.

Capt. Larry

[ESOX31]

Your right Larry my "chautauqua Latiano" Does have a nice back up ,well at the start of the day it does but as the morning goes on the more water collects the bait backs up less and goes a little deeper . I don't know if I want to seal it up or not over the winter I don't want it to loose the action it has right now . it's hard to belive how many fish I have caught on that one bait , it's just nuts . I won't let anyone else even touch the bait and If I see the slightest fray in the line I'll cut off some line and retie my leader . I have a few other Latianos in the box but they haven't seen much time in the water .

Lance McFeely

"THE FERD"

[mostlymuskies]

Lance,I got thinking about the Ready Eddie's,so I started digging through my tackle boxes,I have 9 of them,all Black!

Capt. Larry