If you invited me out in your boat and I busted out a Banjo Minnow package, what would you say? Would you make enjoyable of me? Would you ask me for one since you caught so many fish on them as a child? Opinions on the Banjo and so many different “TV lures” range vastly. But even in the event you appreciated them, there’s all the time that twinge of fear about not being taken severely in the event you forged one.
Some of the newer TV lures—just like the Mighty Bite—are simply plain laughable, as the bulk are simply variations of confirmed lures that exist already with the addition of lights, scent, bells, and whistles you don’t want. The similar can’t be mentioned about a number of the TV lures of the 90s. At least the makers of these baits have been attempting to be progressive. It labored higher for some than others, however what can’t be denied is that they paved the best way for profitable trendy baits. Let’s break down the massive three.
Banjo Minnow
Of all of the lures which were hyped by way of hour-long infomercial, none is extra well-known than the Banjo Minnow. Even individuals with no love or data of fishing have heard of those lures, as a result of for greater than a decade they have been swimming throughout tv screens, featured prominently at Wal-Mart, and even had devoted kiosks at malls throughout America. On one hand, all that promotion offered 1000’s and 1000’s of lures. On the opposite, it branded the Banjo as a gimmick to not be taken severely by hardcore anglers.
When I used to be 12 years outdated, I bought the Banjo package for Christmas. So did two of my cousins that very same 12 months. For months I stared on the bundle on these chilly, snowy days anxiously awaiting spring, as a result of in accordance with TV I’d catch each fish within the lake. I didn’t, although. Nor did my cousins. In hardly any time, I’d misplaced a lot of the tiny little rubber bands, and screw-in eyes, and spacers required to correctly rig a Banjo, not less than in the event you needed it to swim like those within the infomercial. Chalk it as much as youthful impatience and lack of curiosity in studying directions, however I discovered it simpler to stay them on a jighead. Did they catch fish? Yes. More than different lures? No.
But nonetheless, it was a groundbreaking lure.
If you look again to the 90s, soft-plastic swimbaits weren’t all the trend like they’re now. Choices have been restricted, with the stiff Sassy Shad and its few shade choices being the entrance runner. From a purely money-making standpoint, Banjo inventor Wayne Hockmeyer was good to advertise his lures on TV, nevertheless, it price him credibility amongst “serious” anglers. While the massive deal with firms might have scoffed at Hockmeyer, they paid consideration to the Banjo, which grew to become the mannequin for the numerous soft-plastic swimbaits that will comply with. So, subsequent time you purchase a pack of your favourite Keitechs or Storm Shads, you’ll be able to thank these “gimmicky” Banjo Minnows partially for his or her existence.
Flying Lure
The Flying Lure was, in a phrase, genius. Developed by Alex Langer, these flat, soft-plastic tube baits might be seen on late-night TV proper across the similar time as these Banjo Minnow infomercials. While the 2 lures might have been competing for eyeballs and gross sales, by way of ease-of-use, design, and fish catching means, I all the time felt the Flying Lure had the Banjo licked.
The magic of the Flying Lure got here from the particular lead inserts included with each package. They have been skinny with flat wings close to the hook, and in contrast to conventional tube baits the place the hook is hidden within the skirt, Flying Lures have been rigged backwards. The hook protruded from the bait’s head, and the attention was positioned close to the skirt. What this rigging achieved was a backward fall. So, for example, in the event you pitched a Flying Lure tight to a dock, it could glide at an angle underneath the dock. Even in the event you weren’t making the lure “fly” underneath construction, the flat profile gave them a darting, jerking motion when jigged that drove fish loopy. There was only one downside with the Flying Lure—the thin-wire hooks have been weak. A ten-plus-pound bass may gobble one, however there was a great likelihood the hook would bend out through the struggle.
A fast little bit of analysis exhibits which you can nonetheless purchase new Flying Lure inserts on eBay, although regardless of efforts to make them considerably available, the lures by no means overtook the tube market as a result of with out the particular inserts, they’re sort of nugatory. I nonetheless have some Flying Lures in my storage, however I solely have one treasured insert remaining. Still, the Flying Lure nudged later bait makers to think about how baits transfer. Today, physique designs, fins, weight switch techniques, and the myriad jighead kinds available on the market assist lures do what the Flying Lure did 30 years in the past—fall at a selected angle and alter route randomly.
Helicopter Lure
Roland Martin might need made a pile of money slapping his title and picture on the Helicopter Lure, nevertheless it was additionally seen by many as a sell-out transfer. Martin is an extremely revered angler and a pioneer of bass fishing, and whereas the Helicopter Lure might have appeared pioneering within the 90s, all you needed to do was fish one to be taught simply how horrible it actually was. Now, “horrible” doesn’t equal “unproductive.” I’m not suggesting that the Helicopter Lure didn’t catch bass, however its design proved to be a little bit of a catastrophe.
A Helicopter Lure seems to be like an ice cream cone with 3 boomerangs on the fats finish. These soft-plastics have been speculated to be rigged on an extra-wide-gap hook to be weedless. While they might be fished subsurface, they have been touted as a topwater. Reel steadily and people blades twirled away, sputtering and effervescent throughout the floor like a propellor. To obtain this, nevertheless, Helicopter Lures wanted to be rigged on a brief chief with a barrel swivel connecting the mainline. So, just like the Banjo, the rigging wasn’t handy and required greater than only a hook and a lure. The largest concern, although, was that smaller bass had a hell of a time getting their mouths round these blades and discovering the hook. If the bass didn’t inhale the bait deeply and shortly, there was a robust likelihood you simply weren’t connecting.
Of all of the “As Seen On TV” lures, it’s straightforward to argue that the Helicopter was the largest flop, nevertheless it nonetheless bought different wheels—or blades, possibly—turning. Nowadays, soft-plastic topwater lures are wildly standard. From dragonflies to buzzing toads to floating minnows, there’s no scarcity of easy-to-rig rubber baits that may run by the pads and weeds as cleanly as a Helicopter. And when one among them will get blasted, you’ll truly land the fish.