Bass lure

Question
Hi im going fishing in Park Falls,Wisconsin and i was wondering what lure i should use to catch bass or a walleye?

THANKS,
AARON

Answer
Aaron; WOW! there are only about a million or two lures for catching bass and walleyes but I can give you some help and let you choose from the types.  Also I suggest that you go to www.Lake-Link.com and click on "store".  They have about everything you need at about half the price you would pay at a tackle store and will ship them right to your home.  

Lets begin by saying that I will be up in that area the last two weeks of September.  We go about 30 miles or so north of Woodruff-Minocqua to a little lake called Van Vliet.  It is a good largemouth bass lake and has some monster muskies in it.  When we want smallmouth or walleyes we go across the road to Crab Lake for them. It has some big muskies too.  I think it is roughly 150 miles East of Park Falls so probably similar area.  It is in Vilas County.

Now to lures.  There are thousands if not millions of bass lures but only half dozen different types or groups.  There are topwater lures, crank baits, spinner baits, spoons, jigs, plastic worms and other plastic critters.  A topwater bait stays on the surface and is popped, buzzed, walked, skipped, or some other way across the surface.  This is the "funniest" way to fish for bass because you can see them hit the lure and make a big splash.  Most novice bassers jerk when they see or hear the splash and yank the lure away from the fish.  When you see or hear a bass hit wait a second or two until you "feel" the fish, then strike back.   Make sure you cast your lure a short way past a target if possible such as a stump or a patch of weeds, etc.  Then let is sit for several seconds (count five slowly) then just barely jiggle the lure.  A fish will often hit as you wiggle the lure or even as it lies still.  If no hit move it just a few inches and try again.  If still no hit then start moving it toward you in short jerks of not over 6 inches.  Change speeds with each cast until you find what the fish want.  There are a few lures that should be left still for 5 seconds then started walking toward you.  The Jitterbug is one of those type lures as is the zara puppy or the larger zara spook.  
There are also some lures that float but go under just a few inches when jerked or reeled.  Most of these are long minnow shaped.  Examples are the original Rapala floating minnow, Rebel minnow, The Long A, and many others.  Work these with slow jerks or just cast them out and reel them back like a crankbait (below).  

Next are crank baits so called because you cast them out and crank them back in.  Of course you will catch more fish by changing the pace at which you crank or use a start and stop crank.  In pike or muskie country I use a six to eight inch wire leader. Do not use a wire leader as it spoils the action.  You may lose one now and then to a pike but that抯 life.  Occasionally you catch the pike or perhaps a muskie.

Spinnerbaits are lures with a spinner(s) on them.  They usually have some sort of  skirt and often work better with a pork frog or a plastic trailer that wiggles.  For the most part you can simply cast them out and crank them back in at a constant speed but change that speed with each cast until you find what speed the fish like.
(incidentally pike and muskie like these too so use a wire leader.

Spoons are named for their spoon like shape although most are like elongated spoons.  The wobble when retrieved or trolled and are made in many shapes, sizes and colors.  These are especially good for pike but at times bass or walleyes hit them.  Use a wire leader.

Plastic worms were originally simply plastic replicas of a night crawler. (which incidentally are very good bass and walleye baits).
They first appeared on the market in the 1950s and are no longer just night crawler color and shape but come in hundreds of colors and dozens of shapes.  Worms are usually worked slowly near the bottom.  Originally they came ready rigged (you can still buy these with a little spinner in front.  And they still catch fish.)  Today they are usually rigged what is called Texas Rig.  A special worm hook with a bend in the shaft near the eye is pushed into the nose of the worm and out about 1/3 inch back then the hook is turned on the worm and the hook pushed through the worm about midway with just a tiny tip of hook sticking out.  If weeds catch on that tiny tip of hook push it through then back it back until the point is still buried in the worm but can come through to hook the fish.  This is usually fished on a spinning  outfit with a small weight in front of the worm.  Put the weight on before tieing on the hook or use a split shot.  Keep the weight small as possible.  When you feel a fish grab the worm reel up the slack and set the hook.  If you use the new extremely sharp worm hooks you do not need to try to turn him inside out with your strike.  I simply use a sharp wrist pull.

There are now many different critters) made of plastic with tails that twirl or legs that wiggle etc.  They come in all colors.  Just as in worms I have found purple, some sort of green i.e. watermelon rind, black, light and dark blue and red.  Ask locally what colors are best, not only in plastics but in crank baits and spinner baits.

Now go to www.Lake-Link.com and click on 搒tore?  They have many of each type listed as I said at much less than you would pay at a tackle shop.
Try one of each type at least or if you can afford more buy a couple of each.  

One lure that I forgot was the jig.  This is a hook with a weight built into the head.  Some are already dressed with hair or feathers or skirts of some sort.  They come in many sizes from tiny ones for bluegills and perch to giant ones for bit salt water fish.  If I were you I would simply ask a person who fishes the area what kind works best and how to use them.  Mostly it is a matter of casting them, letting them sink to the bottom and then either jigging them up and down an inch or two or bumping them along the bottom if there aren't too many things to foul on.  These are great lures for both walleyes with a leech or nightcrawler or a minnow hooked in the chin.  Smallmouth eat them like candy too at times.  Largemouth do eat them but usually want larger ones.  
Personally I like fishing topwaters or spinnerbaits in lakes like those in that area of Wisconsin.

I hope this has been of some help.  Many books have been written on the subject of bass fishing and I have only scratched the surface but I think it will be enough to get you some fish.  If you have further questions don't hesitate to ask.  

I am
Jack L. Gaither   (JackfromSeminole)  Or on Lake-Link known as SeminoleJack.
Lake Seminole, Georgia.  (on a map Lake Seminole is at the place where Georgia, Florida and Alabama come together.

PS  Please give me a follow up after your trip.  I would like to know how you do.  I will answer with my report from Vilas Co.