5 Lure Challenge
I was checking in on my buddy Rich Lindgren's website when I noticed he was asked to partake in the challenge, the 5 Lure Challenge. Basically, if you could only fish with 5 lures for the rest of your life, which 5 would it be? Easy enough right? Not really. I started thinking about it and honestly started to get a bit wigged out once I started thinking about it. I'm used to having basically whatever I need for any day no matter the circumstances, I got it covered. The thought of throwing it all out and working with just 5 straight freaks me out but hey I'm still a gamer so let's play.
1. I'd easily have to agree with Rich on this one and opt for a 1/2 oz. jig. I'd prefer tungsten if it's available and would go for a hand wrapped green pumpkin/brown skirt. I do use a lot of 3/8 oz. but I can always slow down the rate of fall by adding a larger chunk but really have no way to speed up the fall for deeper situations. So a 1/2 oz. is the deal.
3. A staple for me, the Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. I'd texas rig it with a Lazer Tungsten Weight and a Trokar 4/0 Magworm Hook. Color is well thought out and I'd opt for the Xmas Pumpkin, equally as deadly in clear water as it is in stained. The Beaver simply produces bites and is an excellent bait choice when probing relatively shallow water but should not be overlooked in deep water as it is equally as deadly on a flip shot rig.
4. The Biovex Deep Runner, easily my favorite deep water crankbait but one I choose carefully because of how perfectly balanced it is and how exact the bill placement is this bait rolls over every snag which means I can get away with fishing it in shallow areas as well. A great choice when fishing any of the rocky lakes throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas and absolutely ideal for fishing ledges throughout the entire Tennessee River System. Color is an easy pick, as long as it's blueback chartreuse.
5. For my final choice I find myself staring at my computer screen in an absolute daze. uhhh............... My brain says I need a topwater. Should I go with a spook? Perhaps a buzzbait? Or wait, how about a popper? What if there's vegetation around, it has to be a frog....right? Well in the end it looks like if the bite is on top then I'm in trouble, because even though every single bass angler better have a topwater I think I'm going with a Zoom Baby Brush Hog, a green pumpkin one to be exact. I need to have a carolina rig in my boat and nothing catches 'em better then a Baby Brush Hog! I just better hope I can wheel my swim jig fast just under the surface when the bass start schooling on topwaters!
When it comes to an honorable mention though I'm going to go with a single blade black buzzbait. A hog slayer of epic proportions!