Anyone ever try one of these lures?

When I first got back into fishing about 8 yrs. ago,
spinning-fishing for trout in streams;
I bought some of these unique little lures;
but never actually used them.
(I only spin-fished for Trout for only a few seasons,
before moving-on to fly fishing ... 'Rooster Tails' were my mainstays back then.)

Fast-forward to today,
and while preparing my 9 yr old Son's stuff for an overnight camping-trip to his friend's pond,
and he asked that I rig him up with a fishing pole to take.

I looked through my old stuff to come up with something that I thought that he could manage by himself,
and that wouldn't get hung-up in the weeds too bad. So, I had the idea to take one of these Joe's Flies,
and I snapped-off the redundant, trailing treble-hook from the back of the fly, and after lining it on a swivel,
I added a single, small shot about 6" up from the lure.

When we got to the pond,
I had him cast it out while I was there just to see how well it would do.
He caught a fish (all panfish, and one decent LMB) on almost every of the 5-6 casts I watched him make.
I was pretty surprised this lure and rig did so well.

Anyone else ever use something similar for panfish and bass?

PS I could lie and say the ultralight rod we were using was fiberglass, but I'd be ... ah ... lying.
So I won't.

I still have a box full of Joe's Flies. Good stuff. Another panfish killer: the Flatfish. I know a couple older guys that fish the F-2's for trout off of a fly rod.

Corlay: My all time favorite ultra light spinning lure is a yellow or chartreuse mister twister 1/16 oz spinnerbait, it never fails!

Cornmuse: Glad to hear Joe's flies is still in business, is is a cottage industry of sorts?

Wayne

Actually guys, this type of lure started out as a fly rod lure. To give a little history, Big John Hildebrandt hammered out a dime to make a spinner with his pocket knife over 100 years ago. He may not have made the first spinner but he did come up with the little piece of metal that allowed the spinner to spin around the metal wire shaft rapidly. The Hildebrandt company is still around but I think it is now owned by a Chinese lure manufacturer. This type of lure has evolved into lures we now call Mepps, Rooster Tails, etc.

I make my brother a few dozen of these type of lures every year for Christmas. They're pretty easy to make.

If you ask me to open up my Smallmouth fly box, you'll see a few of these contraptions there. They are very effective.

CrustyBugger

The company doesn't show a URL on their catalog, which is quite extensive. They do have a phone number, however. I'd suggest calling Joe's Flies at 304.623.3921 and asking for a full line catalog and to find a retailer near you. I'm confident they'll work with you directly if there isn't a shop that can order in their product.

joe C.

cool.

well then, that's quite a coup they pulled-off,
getting Dick's Sporting Goods to carry their product, I must say!
(that's where I bought mine)

Pete,

Just snip-off the trailing treble hook (attached by a small loop of sh=tout monofiliment).
This leaves you with a single hook @ the fly.

I noticed no missed hook-ups with fish as a result of this mod,
and it did not get hung-up in the weeds too bad, either.