Favorite lures produce best catches in local fishing spots

Most would agree, I believe, that it would have been nice, when we all first got into fishing, if someone had given us a list of the top producing lures for the major lakes, streams and rivers in Nevada and along the east slope of the Sierra in California.  Besides saving a lot of time and aggravation, we would have saved a lot of money, based on the number of lures that sit idle in most of our tackle boxes.

It seems after a while, most anglers develop favorite lures that they always go to when a day of fishing begins.  These are probably the ones we all should have, and maybe all we really need, at least for trout.  So with no intent to affect the business of the many stores and catalogs selling tackle these days, I offer the following advice.  Hopefully this information will be of use and interest to new anglers as well as to the seasoned fisherman.

On the Truckee River, I have three favorites; the Mepps, Roostertail, in gold or silver, and a small red and white Daredevle.  Similar to the Roostertail is the Shyster.  This is a great standby for any waters.  I usually use the white or yellow, both with small black spots.  At most eastern California Sierra reservoirs, including Frenchman, Davis and Stampede, the original floating black and silver Rapala, trolled just below the reservoir’s surface in the spring and early summer, catches all kinds of trout, as well as kokanee salmon.

I also like the gold and black as a second choice.  Specifically at Davis, I like the Crocodile size #3 in Fire Tiger or Perch patterns.  And at Frenchman, I really like the Dick Nite in copper with a red head.  The one-inch size seems to work the best.

When dealing with cutthroat, trout, or cutthroat hybrids like the cutbow or bowcut, I have found chartreuse with red spots work the best for me.  There are a number of different lures that come in this particular paint pattern, but my all time favorite is the Z-Ray, which I understand is no longer produced.  In an attempt to find something similar, I came across the Super Duper in this paint pattern, and they work just as well I have found.  This lure also works very well at Frenchman Reservoir.

Although I rarely use lures at Lake Tahoe, there was a time that that was all I used at the big lake.  The three main lures I use are the silver J-Plug, Hot-Spot Apex 6.25 inches in silver and blue, and rubber minnows, behind an Ab and Als rotating flasher.

So there you have it – what I find are the best lures in our area.  Yes, there are many more in my box, but again, the above list gets used more than any others.  Someone once told me a person’s favorite lure may not really catch more fish–it’s just that he or she probably had a great day of fishing once with a particular type, and because of that, we continually go back and back.  So naturally, that lure is going to catch more fish than another that is never used.  Well…maybe, but who wants to believe that philosophy.  We are anglers, and anglers don’t philosophize about their sport.  We are too busy fishing.

Source: Galena Times