LURES
All throughout the past season, lures, tackle, and miscellaneous items have made their way out of their normal storage bins and into a rod locker, glove compartment, or onto the floor. Get organized and you’ll be able to fish more efficiently and not waste time trying to remember where you put a lure or some bait. It also keeps you from purchasing more lures only to find three packs of them you forgot about.

Some lures are really getting up there price-wise, so finding your secret stash can save you a lot of extra money.

I wanted to let you in on a few lures that produced greatly for some of the top pros and big-fish hunters as well. We all know how much swimbaits have caught on, and some of the new ones are simply amazing.

Basstrix has come out with a Paddle-tail swim bait that has been all the rage of many tournament trails catching giant stringers of fish.

Black Dog Baits’ new Lunker Punker, a spook-type bait, is flying off the shelves of tackle stores -- and selling on eBay for amazing prices. No one can keep them in stock!

Black Dog Baits’ new Shell Cracker surface lure is also new, hot bait that both the pros and the big-fish hunters are using to score. Stores can’t get enough of them.

Rago Baits also has added a new line to their baits.

“Rago has now jointed their baits in three places, instead of two,” said big-fish hunter David Conway. “The four body parts give the baits the most realistic action.”

Already one of the top baits around, Rago Baits have really caught on strong. It really matters what the spring weather does and what the rains do for our lakes. We all know that if the lakes rise, so do the bass, in a sense, gravitating to the shoreline structure and brush. Spinnerbaits, Senkos, soft jerkbaits, and all those shallow-water lures you love should be in the boat along with you.

The largemouths will have a better spawn and produce more fish for you to catch. They will survive longer with more brush for the fry to hide in. This will help the fishing this year and for many more to come.

Southern California will still keep producing giant bass for those who learn to fish for them with all the new baits out there. Those who want to catch bigger and better bass need to read more articles, attend more seminars, and just get out and fish.

I wish you all a great year and hope that your personal best bass weight is broken several times -- and pounds -- over!