And Thats Why I Use A Corky Fat Boy!

Just for a moment, put yourself in the shoes (OK, OK - fins) of a big speckled trout. You've been relaxing in a mud flat in the East Matagorda bay. Finally, what you've been waiting for comes to pass; the light starts to peek through winter cloud cover, warming the shallows where you've been waiting out the winter.

You move through the waters of the mud flat looking for a familiar landmark; you soon come across that mud patch abutting a shell pad where you've spent some good times in your life, eating your fill of big shrimp and finger mullet by the hundreds.

You take up your favored feeding spot right where the mud meets the shell bed, watching the water above you for signs of a meal. You spot a delicious looking six inch mullet at two o' clock and get ready to spring into action.

Before the mullet even knows what happened, you're drifting back to the bottom feasting on your first catch of the season.

Only a moment later you see another one; this one looks like it's wounded. An easy catch, you chuckle to yourself as you prepare to pounce.

Like a flash of lightning you're on the mullet and it's in your jaws - but this one seems to be stronger than you!

A fierce head shake hurls the previous 6-inch mullet from your jaws; but the invisible, pulling force never ceases. You grow tired and succumb to the grip of a Boga at your lip.

"Ten pounds at least!" a man yells.

Two other men approach, admiringly looking you over. Is that a camera flash you see?

Finally they unhook you and pit you back in the water, exhausted but relieved to have survived the ordeal.

As you swim away, you hear a voice in the distance exclaiming "That's a Corky Fat Boy For You." Are they talking about you? You haven't even started to bulk up for the year; but you resolve to look closer at your prey next time around.

Of course, trophy trout don't actually understand what we're saying (do they?). Otherwise, they'd be well aware that being fooled by that lure was the fulfillment of an angler's fondest wish.

Once word of James Wallace's record breaking speckled trout got out with the fishing reports, fishermen immediately adopted Wallace's saltwater fishing lures of choice: Corky slow sinking soft baits. With a size roughly that of a topwater and imitating the wobbly motion of a broken-back, a Corky with a slow retrieve in the winter is nearly irresistible to a big speck.

"It got crazy when Wallace caught that fish," states B&L Corky founder, Paul Brown. "Anglers poured into our shop and literally bought every single Corky off the shelf." Even after so many years, this Corky craze hasn't slowed in the Brown family's Houston-based shop.

One of the many experts who counts himself as a Corky fan is Port Mansfield guide Captain Mike McBride. These are one his favorite lures for specks on Texas' lower coast and along with a unique retrieval style, work wonders for this angler.

"You'll definite work Corkys a little different depending where you are on the coast, but personally I pop the knot off when I'm trying to keep the slack under control." Against the common wisdom and frequent mentions in fishing reports, McBride doesn't use the ultra slow technique, preferring to work his lure vigorously. "The point of a Corky is that it makes those unpredictable movements that realistically imitate prey," McBride states.

Matagorda trophy trout guide Captain Jesse Arsola tells us that he has a specific technique for working Corkys saltwater fishing lures.

"When trout are aggressive they will nail anything; but when you have to work for them to bite, technique really comes into play."

"I use a counting system nearly every time I work a Corky. Count how long it takes for the Corky to reach the bottom. Vary how many seconds you let the Corky fall before yanking the slack out of the line. Find out which count you are catching your fish on. This gives major insight in knowing which part of the water column the trout are feeding on best."

Clear Lake tournament angler Captain John Havens prefers the Corky Devil in white, chartreuse or gold and uses a more or less standard retrieve.

"Make sure to stay in contact with the lure at all times to feel the most subtle of bites." When working a Corky Devil, Havens retrieves with a lift of the rod with one or two twitches before allowing the lure to fall.