Click or Clack on your slow sinking twitch baits?

[JimD]

It is that time of year Where a lot of people are throwing corkys, Catch 2000, 2000 jr, or Catch 5's.

These baits seem to have quite a difference in the type of rattles that they have in them. Corky's click, Catch 2000's click and slightly clack and the Catch 5's have the clack like a spook jr.

Fatboys and Catch 5's look similar.

The hooks can be changed on any of the catch baits to make them sink like a corky or 51.

What has been your most productive bait of the 4 and why?


Capt Steve had a good post last year on when and were he used the different baits.

[kenny]

WTH I have never listened to the rattles, they all do and that's good enough for me!
I throw hard plugs the most because i grew up throwing Mirrolures. I do fish Corky's but am far from an expert at it. With Corky's I like the regular floater and the Devil, probably because I usually fish a ML rod and Fatboys just seem too heavy.
I really like 51's and Catch jr's in the winter. Catch 5's like Fatboys are an acquired taste......

[FlatoutFishin]

WTH I have never listened to the rattles, they all do and that's good enough for me!
I throw hard plugs the most because i grew up throwing Mirrolures. I do fish Corky's but am far from an expert at it. With Corky's I like the regular floater and the Devil, probably because I usually fish a ML rod and Fatboys just seem too heavy.
I really like 51's and Catch jr's in the winter. Catch 5's like Fatboys are an acquired taste......

I just acquired a big taste I feel!

[kenny]

Yeah, I may have to break out the Kistler H2 medium for some of those heavy plugs. It's an extremely light rod, just feels like a pool cue to me. Guess I just need to fish with it more.

[FlatoutFishin]

Yeah, I may have to break out the Kistler H2 medium for some of those heavy plugs. It's an extremely light rod, just feels like a pool cue to me. Guess I just need to fish with it more.

I use my 6'3'' laguna extreme all the time...don't be afraid!

[imhammer]

I like the Devils and corky originals, but also throw catch 2000, jrs and 51s. I just got some broken back fat boys so I will be trying them for the next couple of months.

[Sneekypete]

Big Corky Devil and Corky Fatboy Floater

[shallowist]

Gonna have a lot to do with the water that you are fishing. An original Corky will sink faster than a Fat Boy and a Devil will sink faster than either. The Super Devil on the other hand will sink very slow. I don't fish the Floaters much but they are very effective. You can make any of them sink faster or slower but changing the size of the hooks, or using lead or other metal wire, inserted in the body.

As for the rattles, I don't really think that any of the sub surface lures make as much noise as we would like to think they do. The rattles are designed to move front to back on these lures, yet the lures are designed to move side to side. When you shake the lure to understand the rattle, you would need to rock it side to side to hear what it sounds like when retrieved. Here's where the 51 MR series excels. These lures will move in more of a forward darting motion and with multiple rattles, tend to make sounds more frequently.

As much as anything, I believe that the sound making is a general aid to getting the attention of the fish. They most likely extend teh range from which a fish can locate your bait. I rarely buy lures that don't have rattles, but the fish can feel the lure without them, just like they would sense a mullet in the water from the vibration or water pulse form their movement. Fish feel through their lateral lines. Keep in mund that their whole environment moves in a perceptable manner. They can feel anything that moves, and most likely identify a fish from a specific pulse pattern of the tail or body movement.

Fish them all, try different retrieves, all the time. You never know which one will work, until they tell you it's working. Don't limit yourself to just one retrieve style, spend the time to identify a retrieve that works for various conditions, then you have something that you can repeat. It's always right about the time that I think I know the exact retrieve the conditions, that something different works. Bottom line is that if you aren't getting bit, your technique is more likely the cause than color or lure selection.

[Havens]

It is hard to beat a Corky fatboy this time of year, close behind is the devil and super devil. I've thrown quite a few catch 5's and catch 2000's over the years, but have never gained the confidence like I have in a corky. They all work, some just better than others.

[Curmudgeon]

Bottom line is that if you aren't getting bit, your technique is more likely the cause than color or lure selection.

C'mon, Cap'n Steve! We all know that the only problems lie with the lures, not the fisherman!

[dbarham]

I count mine down to the bottom then twitch count twitch twitch I went to sneekys corky school!

[JimD]

Steve,

You had put up a really good post last year on when and where you use the different twitch baits.

Seems the one problem I see with the Catch 2000, jr, and 5 is they sink slower and tend to suspend a ft or two down rather than sink at a set rate. ~1 ft per second

Do you think this causes you to miss out on the fish when they are cold and sitting on the bottom in 3 or 4 ft of water more that the corky bait that sinks to the bottom if you let it go.

I am wondering if changing out the hooks on Catch family to cause them to be a sinking instead of a suspended twitch bait might help during the winter season?

[shallowist]

I count mine down to the bottom then twitch count twitch twitch I went to sneekys corky school!

I am definitely a fan of the ultra slow retrieve when the bite is way off or the water very cold. I have seen them change from that agonizingly slow bite on the bottom, over shell and mud, to coming up and smashing stuff on top when the bite kicks in. I can't think of one perfect retrieve to use at all times. Again, I believe in variation of the retrieve, even better to have a second person fishing who is trying different things than you, so that you can pattern them out.

[OR19]

I throw them all. My favorites are the C2000 and the Fatboy. C2000 can be worked REALLY slow and higher in the water column, Fatboy is best for me when bouncing off of shell...C2000 is the first slow sinker I gained any confidence in, but I think a trout in very cold water will hang on to a Fatboy longer....try them all, they all work and are a blast in the winter...dont think the rattles matter that much, I've had some that the rattles went out in and still catch fish on them.

[dPop]

In the past couple years I have found myself throwing more and more of the Corky Floaters. The floaters do not have rattles in them and I don't hesitate to throw them when its very cold.