I posted something a few years back on the Bass Fishing Homepage (remember that place?) about my preference for a spinnerbait and still to this day, it hasn’t changed. Of course over the course of the last 30 years spinnerbait technologies have increased and now we have titanium wire, weight-distributed bodies and heads pushing past the 1-ounce mark. All this new stuff is great and serves a purpose but give me an old 1/4- to 1/2-ounce Norman Redman spinnerbait (red head of course) and I’m happy about 90% of the time.
I liked this bait so much that when I found out Norman was discontinuing them around 1985, I went to the tackle store and bought the remaining 80-plus baits they had hanging on the wall. What, in my opinion, made this bait great? The wire tie, the length of the wire and, of course, it was the only spinnerbait that had double-cupped blades. Although the cupped blades were what I felt at the time made the bait, it is the line tie I miss most these days. Today’s twist and R-bend line ties are easy to manufacture but I sure hate the fact that your line can get crimped in the twist or slip up an R-bend. You got none of that with the coil line tie.
My two biggest spinnerbait fish came on this bait and I’ve still got a few of that remaining stock – but I sure wish I had a few more. Then, in early 2022 I saw that Luck-E-Strike was rereleasing the bait. Excited, I went by the site and sure enough, they’re bringing it back. Unfortunately they’re only offering it in the 3/8-ounce size. Looking closely at the picture, it doesn’t appear that the blade is cupped like the originals and it only comes in a single spin. Also, they’re still using the old barrel swivel instead of a ball bearing swivel. I do like the fact they have placed an old-school rubber skirt and did not get away from the original line tie.
I have plenty of original double-cupped blades and enough materials to make some double spins. I’m going to have to order some and give them a try. You should too.
Past Reader Comments:
RichZ: For me, it was the Bass Buster Scorpion and Tarantula. And later, the Cordell Buck Spinner. So named because that’s what it cost.
Terry to RichZ: I used to use those too Rich. There were a couple of golf course ponds we used to sneak into when I was a kid and the fish at this one course had a weird preference for that dang Scorpion. Purple, no less. Put a U3 Uncle Josh twin tail on it and it was like they’d never been fed before.
fish_food: I miss the days when mailing off $4-5 would get you a sample lure, a patch (or trucker hat) and a catalog. Hard to imagine Jimmy Houston without his trademark Caesar haircut…
Terry to fish_food: I hear ya. Those were the good ole’ days. And, if you think that pic of Jimmy is good, I have another one that I’ll post soon that’s even better.
Paul Wallace: Hey Jimmy, buy one size bigger shirt. Lol
Terry to Paul Wallace: Yeah Paul, it does look like those buttons are a little stressed. :-)
Jan. 25, 2022, It’s back! (From Luck-E-Strike)
Yes it is Andy!
Hey Terry, I don’t know if they have any more left, but Luck-E-Strike did do a run of 1/2 ounce Redman spinnerbaits over the last year or so which can be ordered through their website. I bought two just to see if they ran better. I haven’t gotten around to testing them. One difference for the 3/8 oz is that it came with a silicone skirt but you can get rubber one’s from H&H tackle. As for the spinner blades, I think they were the same as on the 3/8 but I’m not 100% sure. I think I’ve noticed more availability of various sizes and styles of spinnerbait blades online in the last year so you can probably order some like the originals if you run out.
I believe the justification for using a crane swivel rather than a ball bearing swivel is that the slight resistance offered by the swivel imparts a different action or vibration to the bait. Jimmy considers it a part of the secret to the bait’s effectiveness. I personally think there may be something to that because I have a Nichol’s Pulsator that even though it does have a ball bearing swivel, there is something about it that makes it occasionally jump/roll very slightly and suddenly. This spinnerbait is outperforming ever other spinnerbait for me right now. It could be the orange painted Colorado blade in combination with a gold Indiana, but I don’t know.
Correction: it’s a Nichols Pulsator Hoosier Series with double Indiana blades. And it happens to work well in Indiana.