When it comes to fishing lures, what’s new are usually tried and true

I have been told that the lures I have talked about so far have been primarily ones that are newer. I got one letter that said, “What’s the deal Sarley, you dinosaur? Haven’t you bought any lures in the last decade?”

Ask Mrs. Sarley that question and she’ll give you the answer because she sees the credit card bills. I buy plenty of lures.

It is funny, though, that many lures are old lures repackaged and renamed as new. The reason that the old lures are still around or come back around is that they work at catching fish.

If you are looking for something new, you might want to give the Whopper Plopper a try. Besides the cool name, the lure really catches fish. It caught fire with the musky fisherman but works for any fish that will swallow a topwater lure.

The Whopper Plopper has a big, bulky, segmented body with a hard front segment and a soft plastic back segment. The back has a very large tail that spins and makes a giant splash as it turns. The splash creates a huge noise as it creates an incredible splashing in the water.

If you need a stealthy presentation, this is not the lure for you. No lure creates a larger ruckus on the water’s surface than the Whopper Plopper. A fish can hear it coming from halfway across the lake. The 4⅜-inch model is perfect for big, toothy fish while the 3-inch version drives bass wild. I love these lures.

Back to a few older lures. You’ve got to have a few Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps in your tackle box. The Rat-L-Trap is a flat-sided crank bat. Unlike a traditional minnow-imitating crank bait, the Trap looks like a minnow, but the sides are flat. Unlike a minnow.

The trap vibrates wildly as it is retrieved. It can be used almost as a surface lure, down to a deep diver, depending on how quickly you crank it in. This is a killer spring bait but works all year long.

A spinnerbait is the most widely used fish catcher on the market. A spinnerbait is a piece of stiff wire bent into a “v,” with a hook on one side, a spinner on the other and a loop in the wire in the middle where you tie it to your line. Blades, beads and plastic skirts can adorn the lure any way you please. I prefer these lures when the color of the blades matches the color of the skirt.

Strike King is the most famous spinnerbait brand and has earned a great reputation. Small spinnerbaits are harder to cast but are well-worth the effort because they catch so many fish.

The Johnson Beetle Spin is the gold standard in tiny spinnerbaits. Spinnerbaits can be retrieved fast or slow and you can even let them bounce along the bottom as you bring them in. Not many people bottom-bounce a spinnerbait and that is a mistake.

A cousin of the spinnerbait is a buzzbait. This lure looks like a spinnerbait but runs on top of the surface as it is retrieved at a very high speed. Use it when the fish are aggressive.

The Chatterbait is a combination of a spinnerbait and a jig and may be the deadliest lure I carry in my tackle box. The Chatterbait is a basic skirted jig attached to a spinner blade. Easy but effective. Z Man makes this baby, and it comes with gigantic blade all the way down to micro blades. You can always find a Chatterbait to fit the occasion. A great benefit is that the skirts seem to last forever, fish after fish.

Now get out there and catch some fish and share your pictures with me.

• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.