Lures or bait? There's no debate

About two days before I had fishing guru Ron Lindner on the air with me for my Sunday outdoor radio talk show not too long ago, I brought up some ancient memories about the things he and his brother Al invented and promoted during the mid-60s.

I was fortunate to be on the scene with them. The late Bill Binkelman introduced me to the brothers in 1966. I then witnessed a remarkable awakening by thousands of anglers who "went back to school" - that is, relearning the basics of live bait fishing.

Even though Binkelman was a self-proclaimed expert in the use of live bait, the brothers Lindner took Binkelman's experiences to a more detailed level with the Lindy Rig along with associated lures in the spinnerbait category.

It has been my experience that even today there are some bass fishermen who turn their noses up in the air when they see a person going after largemouth or smallmouth bass while using live bait.

In my opinion, those people are just snobs who do all they can to emulate the likes of those sponsor-shirted boys with three first names.

Now that Mark Zona, a far Southside angler, has been elevated to a professional in good standing with his television show, I can probably expect to hear from him soon as he reads me his version of the riot act because of my opinions.

Have any of you ever asked why professional bass tournament entrants are forbidden from using live bait while they compete? Is it because they can possibly catch more fish with bait versus artificial foolers?

Nah - who would believe that fairly tale?

Of course, one setback with live bait is that quite often a game fish will swallow the hook, sometimes making it almost impossible to retrieve that hook without seriously injuring and killing the fish.

On the flip side, using artificial lures tests the skill of the tournament angler to find and tempt fish to strike. Granted, it's no easy task.

I don't have any argument with those folks. It's my opinion that it's just the select few snobs who think they are better at many things in life because they use XYZ crankbait or QRS spinnerbaits.

For me the bait-du-jour is still the lowly minnow and its family of small (and sometimes large) shiny, torpedo-like bodied swimmers that can often tempt a stubborn bass or walleye to get out of its hiding place and do a little chasing for a meal.

The same holds true for my favorite, pumped-up nightcrawler prepared a la Nightcrawler Secrets, or a fat, squirmy leech.

The still famous Lindy Rig was designed to be used with either a minnow or nightcrawler, swivel, and a snelled hook, usually a No. 8.

I chuckle when people use the phrase "back in the day." Anyway, back in the late 60s the Lindners also promoted the Lindy Spin and Squirrel Spin. This was an early version of the safety-pin type spinner, designed to be used with a minnow tipped on the hook.

I used it for bass and pike and learned how to make the lure flutter on the drop. On some days it was deadly, just as long as a minnow was tipped on the hook. In fact when I lived in Madison, Wis., I invested an entire fishing season catching game fish using a Lindy Spin tipped with a large minnow.

On a recent pond outing, I noticed an angler about 10 feet away from where I stood on the bank. He was using a 25-foot cane pole, with red worms and crickets for bait.

He later told me as he packed up that his mission was to fill up a small bucket with bluegills and sunfish, take them home, clean the fish and pickle the entire batch.

I used waxworms and spikes for my live bait, but his system was apparently a better choice at enticing fish.

He also told me he comes to this pond once a week and fishes in different spots. But he noted he's very careful not to overfish this place because he could easily put a crimp in the action, so to speak.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.