We found a GREAT lure!

[Blueump]

I hope this doesn't sound too much like a commercial, but I just can't help sharing about this GREAT crankbait that we used last Friday on our trip to Saginaw Bay! Let me start by explaining that when we left our homes at 4 a.m. our entire effort was into filming a 2009 episode of Fishing 411. Saginaw Bay right now probably has the hottest walleye bite in North America, including Canada as well as Lake Erie, so it was a no-brainer as we headed out of Linwood. We were soon to discover exactly how great the bite really was thanks to the Salmo Hornet.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/542/medium/Salmo_11.jpg

With 4 guys in the boat, we started what we thought was going to be an easy task, setting 8 rods. It never happened. In fact, we never got 8 rods in the water the entire day! Before we could even get our 4th rod in the holders, we had our first fish on. Jake, Mark Romanack's 13-year-old son grabbed the first rod and we netted the first walleye, on a Salmo Floating Hornet #6 - Pearl Orange. We had it set about 160 back. We put the crankbait back in and continued to attempt to set rods and planer boards.

Again we were "rudely" interrupted! This time it was a rod on the other side set at 150 back. As the fish got closer we realized somebody had made a mistake and did something we never do when we start our day - and that was to put out two lures of the same color. Yup, you guessed it. It was another Salmo Hornet - Pearl Orange. Usually we try to mix things up. We put Rapalas, Reef Runners and many other of our standard "go-tos" on the lines, all at different lead lengths, so see what's going to work best that day. But with Jake setting up one side, and Mark working the other side, it looked as if they just didn't communicate well. There was a good laugh until the original rod went off once again. Pearl Orange....again.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/542/medium/salmo_22.jpg

This little crankbait was definitely impressing us! Being one of our Fishing 411 sponsors, we already knew that Salmo lures were made from a high density foam, not the traditional balsa wood or worse yet, plastic. As a result Salmo has issued a life-time performance guarantee: "If for any reason your Salmo breaks, fails to run true or falls apart, (except if you wear out the hooks of course) Salmo-USA will replace the lure free of charge!" This Pearl Orange Hornet looked to us that it was going to definitely get a work-out on this day!

Well, to make a long story much shorter, let me share what we found. First however, the bad news: despite nearly tearing the boat apart looking for any more of that specific Salmo crankbait, the two Pearl Orange Hornets we had on the lines were the only others we had in the boat. (Have you ever been willing to pay an arm and a leg for one specific piece of fishing equipment but its simply not available at that time? That's exactly where we found ourselves!) The good news was this: Within the first hour and a half, we had a four-man limit of Saginaw Bay walleyes, and a complete episode of Fishing 411. Every one of the fish came on Salmo Hornets. We didn't get one fish on any other crankbait, although we kept them out on some of the rods. The #6 Pearl Orange was by far the best, but we also had a lot of success with the #6 Real Crappie color as well.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/542/medium/salmo_44.jpg

I'm sure that the "Insist on Salmo!" commercial gets in your head as much as it does mine, but these little baits are definitely worth their weight in gold! Last Friday, on Saginaw Bay, we found out just exactly how much that really is! You've got to check these things out!

[salmonslammer]

Thanks for the report and the great pics!!!

Looks like another lure I'll have to add to the collection!! :lol: Are they available locally?

[Surf and Turf]

Don't get to excited salmon slammer, I had the same thing happen to me on day with Rapala Shad Raps, Orange Tiger. The next trip one fish on those and 14 on harnesses. Every day is different when it comes to artificialls.

[Blueump]

Don't get to excited salmon slammer, I had the same thing happen to me on day with Rapala Shad Raps, Orange Tiger. The next trip one fish on those and 14 on harnesses. Every day is different when it comes to artificialls.

I agree with your basic premise. That's why we start out with a plethora of cranks till we find out what works.

Could you imagine not having your Shad Raps on days that they are hot? I'm not saying this is the go to lure in every case...that lure just doesn't exist. But to go on the water without the Salmo in your tackle box would be foolish.

Its like going to Outback Steakhouse and only finding spoons at your table. A spoon is useful for some things but not all things. You can't eat your salad with it very well, and it will never cut your steak. You need a variety.

Last Friday, this specific crankbait was working extremely well. We caught nothing else on any other lure although we had them in front of the same exact fish that were taking this one. We'd have killed to have a few more of these on our lines! Like any other crankbait, it is a tool. Without it in our arsenal, we would have really struggled! We had it available, and it was definitely working! Pass it up if you like, I'm going out to get more!

P.S. I just downloaded some video of some pike and walleyes we caught in Canada two weeks ago. We also got a 5 1/2 pound brook trout! Just take a guess what lure they have in their mouth...and what color!:corkysm55

[Surf and Turf]

I understand what you are saying, and I agree. I'm just saying I have a tackle box full of cranks and day in and day out I still catch more fish on crawler harnesses than cranks. I have some Salmo lures and have caught fish on them. I have a couple like you showed in the smallest size and the brook trout love em. Just saying most days crawlers are going to outfish them most days on Saginaw Bay. Not knocking your sponser, just posting the facts for Saginaw Bay. How many Stinger spoons were you running that day? Not intending on blemishing your sales pitch, just voicing my opinion from my experiences.

[quest32a]

Felt just like I was reading an infomercial.

[salmonslammer]

I hear ya on the harnesses surf....last week they took all our fish...had spoons and tots out all day swapping them out and not one got hit. Like u Ive got boxes of cranks and spoons and certain days there is that one lure which will put fish in the box....just have to find it!!!!

What I was really thinkin was the steelies over in wheatly (lk erie) would LUV that thing!!!

[ESOX]

Felt just like I was reading an infomercial.

Yes, the only thing the "report" lacks is the paid audience ooooohing and aaaahing. :dizzy:


Thats one freebie.


Limit one per member.

[Blueump]

I understand what you are saying, and I agree. I'm just saying I have a tackle box full of cranks and day in and day out I still catch more fish on crawler harnesses than cranks. I have some Salmo lures and have caught fish on them. I have a couple like you showed in the smallest size and the brook trout love em. Just saying most days crawlers are going to outfish them most days on Saginaw Bay. Not knocking your sponser, just posting the facts for Saginaw Bay. How many Stinger spoons were you running that day? Not intending on blemishing your sales pitch, just voicing my opinion from my experiences.

Spoons have their time and place, as do the cranks and the spinners with meat. We change it up as the water temps and conditions vary. As the fish become more agressive, changing over to a more agressive, faster presentation equates into more fish in the cooler. Even on the bay there are days that meat outfishes spoons and cranks, and other days that cranks do the damage and you can't catch anything on anything else. The pattern we follow is a slower presentation early in the year using spinners trolled at about 1.2 mph. As the water warms and the fish get more agressive we change over to spoons and some cranks picking up the speed between 1.75 - 2.5 mph.

We have been successful on Saginaw Bay this year with both spinners as well as cranks. We've also had success with spoons in both Lake Erie and on the Bay and even in the river. Again, a variety will always serve you best! As far as getting out-fished with meat...It definitely depends on the day!

[Southend517]

ah, from the motherland - I love the glowing chubbys in the winter also.

[CaptainNorthwood]

Yes, the only thing the "report" lacks is the paid audience ooooohing and aaaahing. :dizzy:


Thats one freebie.


Limit one per member.

:lol::lol::lol: Can I use mine soon

[Kelly Johnson]

:lol::lol::lol: Can I use mine soon

Make it a good one;)

[olddog413]

Hey Blueump, I'm curious...Are you the guy who filmed an ice fishing show for walleye on the saginaw river in Essexville by the train bridge this past winter ?

[Ninja]

Thanks for the report and the great pics!!!

Looks like another lure I'll have to add to the collection!! :lol: Are they available locally?

I carry them at the store.

[Blueump]

Hey Blueump, I'm curious...Are you the guy who filmed an ice fishing show for walleye on the saginaw river in Essexville by the train bridge this past winter ?


We filmed a couple of days on the Saginaw River ice this past winter. I was there for only one of the shoots, due to my "real job" schedule. So basically it could have been me.:dizzy:

[Blueump]

I carry them at the store.

Ken,

Do you got any of those Pearl Orange? We checked at Jays and at Franks but neither had that specific color. Gonna check Cabelas on our "drive by" today, but I'd rather get them from you if you have them.

[Big Jon]

Isn't it amazing what a boat load of sponsership money will do for ya!

[Ninja]

Ken,

Do you got any of those Pearl Orange? We checked at Jays and at Franks but neither had that specific color. Gonna check Cabelas on our "drive by" today, but I'd rather get them from you if you have them.


Sold out of the orange.....I have 8 other colors.
I have the big chubby darters also.

[Blueump]

Sold out of the orange.....I have 8 other colors.
I have the big chubby darters also.

Cabelas is out of them too. They have them in the F5 but not the F6 like I'm looking for. I'll probably have to contact Matt or Ken LaFont and see if I can get a few direct.

[The Doob]

Salmo's eh! Never tried them. But for the crawlers purests, we have yet to run them this year and have limited out all but one trip - using cranks and spoons. And I experienced the same type of bite with a stinger spoon on a day when we caught 90% of our fish on one spoon - the only one I had- in Charlie Brown. Almost every fish on the same rod, in the port inside rod holder, on the same 3 way set up, a captains choice hotntot with the aforementioned stinger spoon in Charlie Brown.
I have a friend that can't catch anything on cranks and only runs crawlers and he fishes the same basic area I do. I just wonder if confidence adds a different oil to your hands that gets translated down to the fish, i.e. if you believe in it, it works :one_eye:. Or maybe it's a singular devotion to one style of fishing that makes you more competent with that style. I keep trying to get together with my crawler fishing buddy so that he can show me the tricks of his trade, but I am always out cranking and spooning. Let's put it this way - if it wasn't Romanack telling you about the Salmo, would you be so skeptical? I took it as a guy passing along a great day he had with a particular lure - which I don't use and probably won't buy. Now if he told be about a hot spoon color, now that I would have to have ;)

[Sala]

I do like those Salmo lures and will have to check those out. But, On the Bay these days it is pretty hard not to stumble upon a limit.

[Tom22]

I think this was the guy that was running out this a.m...When he got by us, we were netting a fish, so he set up right along side of us...we probably boated 8 fish for every one of his...We were using crawlers/////Tom

[Enigma]

I saw you out there Tom22 you were getting them quite offten.

[Blueump]

I think this was the guy that was running out this a.m...When he got by us, we were netting a fish, so he set up right along side of us...we probably boated 8 fish for every one of his...We were using crawlers/////Tom

Not sure if you were implicating me or not. We haven't been to the bay in almost a week and a half now, but were filming a show using spoons down at Port Clinton, Ohio all weekend. The day I was refering to was a week ago last Friday. We were out early and were the first boat in our area. Didn"t see another boat for at least the first 15 minutes, and that was a buddy of ours. By the time we left, there were about 8 other boats in our area, but when we film, we try to stay away from other boats...they usually mess up the footage. So it wasn't us you saw...and you can't miss our boat. It's a special Starcraft with flames on the side...a little hard to miss.

Also, just for the record, we try to vary our approach to fishing every place we go. I know that the meat bite on the bay is hot right now, and we could have reached our limit just as quickly using that approach, but our goal is to educate the fisherman on the many different methods and techniques that are available to them. This particular focus on this particular day was on crank baits. The Pearl Orange just did it exceptionally well for us on that day and we've experiece the same kind of success with that particular bait with other species, in other places.

I never said it was the only way. I never even suggested that it was the best way. I personally like having a variety of successful baits available to me and wanted to share this particular one that I had success with in this forum.

Again, I never intended it to be a "commercial" as I stated in my original post, but I've always enjoyed (and usually pick up at least one of) finding out what others on these forums are having success with. I thought I would give back a little. I get no kick backs, and the "boat load of sponsor money" we make goes directly to the production costs and the cost of putting the show on the air. So far, at least, we are simply breaking even in this endevor. If you don't want to know what's working for us, I apologize. I was just trying to pass on our success.

[Tom22]

No Sorry....there was another boat with all kinds of stickers that sat right on top of us...Sorry for the misunderstanding...Tom

[jaybe]

Blueump: You called that lure a #6, and then later you called it an F6. I looked on Cabela's site and they go by the size by inches: 1 3/8", 2 1/4", etc. Which one is the #6? They also call the one that looked like yours "Metallic Orange". Is that the same one?


Thanks

[Blueump]

Blueump: You called that lure a #6, and then later you called it an F6. I looked on Cabela's site and they go by the size by inches: 1 3/8", 2 1/4", etc. Which one is the #6? They also call the one that looked like yours "Metallic Orange". Is that the same one?

Thanks

The "F" stands for floating. The "6" is for the size which I believe is the 2 1/2" inch lure advertised by Cabelas. Cabelas carried the Gold Metalic Orange but not the Pearl Orange that I was looking for. I did finally find them available on the Salmo USA website (for 9 bucks a piece) and ordered 2 for my own tackle box.

[Lucky Dog]

Again, I never intended it to be a "commercial" as I stated in my original post, but I've always enjoyed (and usually pick up at least one of) finding out what others on these forums are having success with. I thought I would give back a little. I get no kick backs, and the "boat load of sponsor money" we make goes directly to the production costs and the cost of putting the show on the air. So far, at least, we are simply breaking even in this endevor. If you don't want to know what's working for us, I apologize. I was just trying to pass on our success.

Folks tend to get a little "suspicious" when someone comes on a BB and gives rave reviews of a product that they are sponsored by.:mad:

You give some good reports, and you also post some really nice pictures, I Hope both continue.

[On Target]

Is there anywhere in Grand Rapids to buy these? My buddy was just at Al and Bobs, and Gander and they do not carry them.

[fbuckner]

Is Salmo the manufacture or the brand? I am trying to find them on my wholesalers list but it isnt listed under salmo

[ManxFishing]

Have no ideal why you would bash plastic
And at at 9 bucks apeice there's a whole lot of better cranks to be had

But it is a nice looking lure