Speckled Trout(?) Baits…
In parts of the South, fishermen call crappies “speckled trout,” probably through wishful thinking that these tasty panfish were really trout.
Whatever the reason, crappies are a big deal in much of the country, and like bass, they have a wealth of lures designed to catch them. Johnson, makers of a line of iconic spin-cast reels, has its own netful of crappie lures. And, why you ask, is a salmon-trout-steelhead magazine covering such? The answer is obvious if you think about it: these lures are deadly for trout just as they are for the “speckled trout” of the South.
It is no secret that mini-jigs catch trout. Thread a small, soft-plastic tube on a lead-head jig and hang it under a bobber, and you’ll catch fish. Or you can cast the jig, working it near weeds or close to the surface when trout are rising, and you’ll get ‘em that way, too. There is something about this small piece of plastic that looks enough like food to fool a fish.
Johnson’s Crappie Buster Tubes are a good fit for casting small jigs for trout any time you want a fish dinner. Like all mini jig tubes, the big attraction for trout, in my opinion, is the color followed closely by size. Unlike most tubes, though, the new Johnson tubes have longer tentacles, and that provides more movement, which may represent the movement of food items to a trout.
Two other Johnson soft-plastic bodies are new this year. While I’ve not tested them, I can’t say they’ll work, but chances are pretty good they will. The two other newbies are the Shad Tails and Shad Tubes. Both have a minnow-shaped body. The Shad Tail has a long, thin tail. The tube version has a cluster of long tentacles for a tail, similar to the Tube.
The Tube comes in 24 color combinations, and both the Shad Tail and Shad Tube are available in 12 colors each. Another new lure worth mentioning in the Crappie Buster line is the Spin’R Grub. This does work well for trout, as I can attest through personal experience.
The Spin’R Grub is a jig with a spinner blade under the head of the jig and a soft-plastic grub body. It comes in eight colors and in weights from 1/32 to 1/8 ounce. And the colors are good for trout.
For more information, go to: www.johnsonfishing.com.