Lure "Fads" on Lake O

[PeltHunter]

Why exactly are there all these fads on what to use to catch fish on Lake Ontario. I've been fishing up in Oswego for 10 years with my uncle and dad and its just something I've noticed. 10 years ago it was J Plugs it seemed, people swore by spoons for a while, then it went to meat rigs for a few years and now its all flasher fly combos. It just seems odd to me how people will laugh at you for running a J plug or spoon now when they catch the same amount of fish as they did 10 years ago or when you have a good day on a certain spoon and people think your bullsh*tting them because flys are the new thing. Is it something to do with a kind of good ole boy system of charter guys and local lure manufacturers? It's just something I've been thinking about for some reason I cant seem to figure out lol

[bandrus1]

When did spoons go out of style?

[fishfearme]

I remember mid eighties when it was glow dodger and glow squid.

[Sk8man]

You have some good points there.....Dodgers and squid have worked for decades here and in the northwest U.S as well for Pacific salmon. When you boil it all down it is much like the technology thing in general "the latest greatest new thing"...everyone has to have  it but do they really NEED it? These things attract many more fishermen than fish (e.g. latest spoon colors and names for them...do they resemble anything in the fishes environment?). It is big business and all of us "bite" on it but many of the old standbys do still work (despite folks selling the older stuff off on here for next to nothing). It's all part of the excitement of the sport though.....but some of us dinosaurs still roam the seas and hold on to our antiques ...just in case....kinda like holding on to your old suit with the narrow or wide lapels with the thought that they will come back into style someday

Edited August 27, 2013 by Sk8man

[Adk1]

well, wasent it that when the minnow imitator came out..i.e.e Rapala/Rebel etc that was the got to bait?

[on the lam]

Why exactly are there all these fads on what to use to catch fish on Lake Ontario. I've been fishing up in Oswego for 10 years with my uncle and dad and its just something I've noticed. 10 years ago it was J Plugs it seemed, people swore by spoons for a while, then it went to meat rigs for a few years and now its all flasher fly combos. It just seems odd to me how people will laugh at you for running a J plug or spoon now when they catch the same amount of fish as they did 10 years ago or when you have a good day on a certain spoon and people think your bullsh*tting them because flys are the new thing. Is it something to do with a kind of good ole boy system of charter guys and local lure manufacturers? It's just something I've been thinking about for some reason I cant seem to figure out lol

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I can assure you that the "good ol boy" local charter guys all run spoons meat plugs n flasher flys. I never knew a Oswego charter captain who wouldn't do whatever it takes to put fish in the cooler for clients or to win a tournament.

I for one run it all. Including dodgers when the time is right...

[PeltHunter]

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I can assure you that the "good ol boy" local charter guys all run spoons meat plugs n flasher flys. I never knew a Oswego charter captain who wouldn't do whatever it takes to put fish in the cooler for clients or to win a tournament.

I for one run it all. Including dodgers when the time is right...

I'm not saying they don't use that sort of thing its just I find it odd that certain years they "push" certain rigs that are usually new thing thats out. I guess its hard to explain 5 years ago everyone from charter captains to shop owners we're pushing meat rigs. Now its flasher fly combos they try to push when the meat rigs that are being used are still catching quality number of fish.

[PeltHunter]

You have some good points there.....Dodgers and squid have worked for decades here and in the northwest U.S as well for Pacific salmon. When you boil it all down it is much like the technology thing in general "the latest greatest new thing"...everyone has to have  it but do they really NEED it? These things attract many more fishermen than fish (e.g. latest spoon colors and names for them...do they resemble anything in the fishes environment?). It is big business and all of us "bite" on it but many of the old standbys do still work (despite folks selling the older stuff off on here for next to nothing). It's all part of the excitement of the sport though.....but some of us dinosaurs still roam the seas and hold on to our antiques ...just in case....kinda like holding on to your old suit with the narrow or wide lapels with the thought that they will come back into style someday

This was more of my point. People will look at you funny now if you have a good day on a J plug or bring in a nice fish on a hotshot. But at one point it time, I guess "Their years" they were all the rage. 

[rustyrat]

I'm running the old silver glow and trash can Jensen dodgers. They worked just fine with a straight white, green, or blue flies this past weekend.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Adk1]

I ran spoons and FF and never got a hit on any spoon.

[Meatman jr.]

It's got to be a mood thing. Fish bite what they want to bite when to bite, where they want to bite. Some time you got to do the work or get a little dirty. Also some tribal knowledge goes along ways.

[Meatman jr.]

Meat and FF was good to me this passed weekend. Greens and blue. Can't wait to hear what's next. J plugs are coming out soon, I'm sure.

[Adk1]

I have one j plug..the wonderbread one. that is it! do you troll these on riggers and dipseys?

[J.D.]

I my opinion, the advent of the internet has a lot to do with it.

 

For example, we've all had days when every lure we put down gets hit, other days, nothing gets touched. .. So i go out one sunny Saturday and pound the snot out of the kings on a glow frog spoon. Chances are, if the bite was hot, most any green spoon in the zone would draw strikes, but I ran the frogs.. I post pics here and tell you the glow frogs are hot, a ton of members read my post, Sunday morning, 50 boats are out running glow frogs...... they catch fish, post pics here, and the "hot glow frog saga" continues... By Monday afternoon, the local tackle stores are sold out of glow frog spoons..

 

 Funny thing is, the guys running other spoons, flashers, dodgers, j plugs, and meat rigs caught fish too.......

 

welcome to " the age of information overload"

 

[Meatman jr.]

Amen.

[Sk8man]

It could just be possible that none of it matters to the fish it is just the closest thing that looks vulnerable at the right time and nearby

[on the lam]

I my opinion, the advent of the internet has a lot to do with it.

For example, we've all had days when every lure we put down gets hit, other days, nothing gets touched. .. So i go out one sunny Saturday and pound the snot out of the kings on a glow frog spoon. Chances are, if the bite was hot, most any green spoon in the zone would draw strikes, but I ran the frogs.. I post pics here and tell you the glow frogs are hot, a ton of members read my post, Sunday morning, 50 boats are out running glow frogs...... they catch fish, post pics here, and the "hot glow frog saga" continues... By Monday afternoon, the local tackle stores are sold out of glow frog spoons..

Funny thing is, the guys running other spoons, flashers, dodgers, j plugs, and meat rigs caught fish too.......

welcome to " the age of information overload"

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Exactly right !

Also guys get stuck running the same stuff all the time.but when the conditions and their program collide in a positive way... bingo! A great day.

The next time out maybe not so much..

[TOP SECRET]

I know I switched from flashers to spinnys because of the amount of drag when fighting a fish. I never understood why squids went out of favor... you can catch 100 fish on a squid unlike the cheap tinsel flies we use today.

One of the kings we caught today was on an orange squid with a fly skirt over it, makes me wonder if the squid would work just as well without the fly!

[Fish Hunter]

I have one j plug..the wonderbread one. that is it! do you troll these on riggers and dipseys?

 

A silver/red nose, and green ladderback/yellow belly seem to work well on the riggers, or flatlined, 100, 150 back.

We've ran them flatlined off the big boards when they are in close, 40-50 fow or so..............but not in traffic.

We'll have at least 1 out this weekend.

[christrouthunter988]

Back in the 80s my buddy ran evil eyes all the time. The black n purple was deadly. I remember pulling dipsey rigs with 30 lbs mono too...no fun

[Xxx]

I my opinion, the advent of the internet has a lot to do with it.

 

For example, we've all had days when every lure we put down gets hit, other days, nothing gets touched. .. So i go out one sunny Saturday and pound the snot out of the kings on a glow frog spoon. Chances are, if the bite was hot, most any green spoon in the zone would draw strikes, but I ran the frogs.. I post pics here and tell you the glow frogs are hot, a ton of members read my post, Sunday morning, 50 boats are out running glow frogs...... they catch fish, post pics here, and the "hot glow frog saga" continues... By Monday afternoon, the local tackle stores are sold out of glow frog spoons..

 

 Funny thing is, the guys running other spoons, flashers, dodgers, j plugs, and meat rigs caught fish too.......

 

welcome to " the age of information overload"

Here's a scenario, we were off the northern side of Galloo Isl. found a school of smallies, first we fished off all our live minnows, next all our night crawlers ripped into 3rds. with a 1/4oz jig head, then all our yellow twister tails 2" then just a yellow jig with nothing, all in a hour with the yellow jig still producing when we said enough of this!! Best day of fishing for bass I ever had on the lake. All were released for another day with absolutely no injuries to the fish. So I think right place right time, active fish will hit an just about anything that resembles what they are looking for regardless of color?? Just my 2 cents. 

[PeltHunter]

Back in the 80s my buddy ran evil eyes all the time. The black n purple was deadly. I remember pulling dipsey rigs with 30 lbs mono too...no fun

We run a black and purple Evil Eyes all the time haha they still work

[A-TOM-MIK]

Lots of variables as to why, ever changing conditions, fads, new go-to's, Pro Staff guys promoting those who are helping them, the list goes on and on as to why we are running what. A few weeks ago a local captain out of Oswego was having a bad day or two, he claimed he was going to go home and hop in the cellar and dig out what he ran years and years ago. He went out with a whole new agenda the next few days and had much in the same amount of luck as he had the past few days.

 

Catching fish consistently does not come easy, and that goes for all of us. Even the local hot shots who seem to put fish in the boat on a regular basis are doing much homework behind the scenes to keep the rods moving daily. Talking to others, reading the conditions like watching weather the night before and recognizing fronts and wind patters, needless to say having an arsenal of many items readily available all the time. There really is a lot to this game that many of us love.

 

Flashers and flies are the "in thing" around the lake currently and consuming a lions share of use over other items (when talking chasing Kings and especially starting in the summer and into the remainder of the season) this doesn't mean all other items won't put fish in the boat for you at any given time. I was pre-fshing the Niagara Pro/Am this year and asked a long time friend to spend a morning with me as he is a big spoon guy, we fished about 6 hours one morning and our bites were around the same numbers as I was achieving with my usual fly spreads. Hence: Experience will most always prevail. (I would hate to have to compete against the "Royal Flush" team if we had to run meat program against meat program) !!!!

 

Keep in mind when choosing lure options the amount of info circulating these days, like mentioned the advent of the internet, you can easily access info from reports from those anglers out fishing daily and exactly what items they are using and where they are running them (depth of water, where in the column, east or west of a given port, speeds, etc) don't be so fast to think "something is up" when a "newer" art or a continued art of 13 years now is pulling fish for many. Its great to be able to run to a local tackle shop or shop online and grab a white attractor and a hammer fly, and head out onto the lake knowing your chances of catching a few fish is good.

 

I am sure for whatever reason if, dodgers/squid, j-plugs, Twinkie and/or meat rigs, spoons like NK's or etc. if they were to acquire a renown birth of popularity, then its possible the colors and tactics that go along with running them could be tweaked to a T and could become the next best thing "again". For now more than worrying why what is popular is popular my advice is to consume the knowledge or a part of it and head out and put it to use, the hard work and time spent that is needed to tweak these colors and items is there for you to capitalize on. This versus eating up a weekend or a season figuring it out for yourself.  (:

 

Just a side note when the art of running attractor/flies was introduced to Lake Ontario around the year 2000 (to the level and knowledge of today anyway) a few key benefits were as such:

-Only having to attain a small number of item colors or combos (even though that has been brought to a staggering level of a high multitude of colors) the fact stands we could easily be able to pick a handful and be successful

-To cover higher speeds with more commotion in the water and to cover much more area of water and area of water in the column (versus a spoon or a plug or a slow trolled dodger from the 80's)

 

When any "new fad" is introduced and you still see it around after 10 years it's no longer a fad, no matter the reason its still here for a reason. (:

 

Tom

[PeltHunter]

Lots of variables as to why, ever changing conditions, fads, new go-to's, Pro Staff guys promoting those who are helping them, the list goes on and on as to why we are running what. A few weeks ago a local captain out of Oswego was having a bad day or two, he claimed he was going to go home and hop in the cellar and dig out what he ran years and years ago. He went out with a whole new agenda the next few days and had much in the same amount of luck as he had the past few days.

 

Catching fish consistently does not come easy, and that goes for all of us. Even the local hot shots who seem to put fish in the boat on a regular basis are doing much homework behind the scenes to keep the rods moving daily. Talking to others, reading the conditions like watching weather the night before and recognizing fronts and wind patters, needless to say having an arsenal of many items readily available all the time. There really is a lot to this game that many of us love.

 

Flashers and flies are the "in thing" around the lake currently and consuming a lions share of use over other items (when talking chasing Kings and especially starting in the summer and into the remainder of the season) this doesn't mean all other items won't put fish in the boat for you at any given time. I was pre-fshing the Niagara Pro/Am this year and asked a long time friend to spend a morning with me as he is a big spoon guy, we fished about 6 hours one morning and our bites were around the same numbers as I was achieving with my usual fly spreads. Hence: Experience will most always prevail. (I would hate to have to compete against the "Royal Flush" team if we had to run meat program against meat program) !!!!

 

Keep in mind when choosing lure options the amount of info circulating these days, like mentioned the advent of the internet, you can easily access info from reports from those anglers out fishing daily and exactly what items they are using and where they are running them (depth of water, where in the column, east or west of a given port, speeds, etc) don't be so fast to think "something is up" when a "newer" art or a continued art of 13 years now is pulling fish for many. Its great to be able to run to a local tackle shop or shop online and grab a white attractor and a hammer fly, and head out onto the lake knowing your chances of catching a few fish is good.

 

I am sure for whatever reason if, dodgers/squid, j-plugs, Twinkie and/or meat rigs, spoons like NK's or etc. if they were to acquire a renown birth of popularity, then its possible the colors and tactics that go along with running them could be tweaked to a T and could become the next best thing "again". For now more than worrying why what is popular is popular my advice is to consume the knowledge or a part of it and head out and put it to use, the hard work and time spent that is needed to tweak these colors and items is there for you to capitalize on. This versus eating up a weekend or a season figuring it out for yourself.  (:

 

Just a side note when the art of running attractor/flies was introduced to Lake Ontario around the year 2000 (to the level and knowledge of today anyway) a few key benefits were as such:

-Only having to attain a small number of item colors or combos (even though that has been brought to a staggering level of a high multitude of colors) the fact stands we could easily be able to pick a handful and be successful

-To cover higher speeds with more commotion in the water and to cover much more area of water and area of water in the column (versus a spoon or a plug or a slow trolled dodger from the 80's)

 

When any "new fad" is introduced and you still see it around after 10 years it's no longer a fad, no matter the reason its still here for a reason. (:

 

Tom

Awesome post Tom! We pay a lot of attention to what people are running and other variables, but we still run the old trusty set ups too. And on the bold I agree with that as well as many of the old stuff that works probably had its day when my dad and uncle started fishing out before I was born. It's just weird to me how something just gets so big so fast out there and a lot of the less experienced weekend warriors really preach on that stuff without trying the old tried and true methods as well. We always have a flasher and an A-TOM-MIK Fly out in the spread, Great product!

[DJ 17]

You can also attribute the new "fads" to the lure companies marketing "the next best thing!"  Which in reality is meant to catch the fisherman as much or more than the fish.  When the lure has been purchased their job is 98% done!