Tag: pond lures

On-Foot Outing Ease

The simpler I keep my gear and angling approaches, the more likely I am to go fishing when I only have limited time.

Among my favorite things about an on-foot angling approach is how quick and simple a fishing plan can be. I can easily scoot over to a nearby creek or lake shore after work or in the morning before a day really gets going.

Unless you live on the water and keep a boat docked, virtually any boat-based fishing trip requires some extra steps that take time and require more effort. I’m more likely to slip a fishing trip onto a limited time window if I can just hop in the car and go and actually be fishing just minutes after arriving.

I’ve mentioned in other posts that I keep a little fishing kit in my car, with a travel rod, a light spinning reel and a little selection of lures and terminal gear in an ice cream bucket. That makes those quick plans extra simple, and at times I’ll do nothing more that put the rod and reel together and put a little lure box and a few packets of baits in shirt pockets.

Even when the car kit doesn’t have quite the right stuff for where I’m going or how I want to fish, it’s easy to go in my basement, where I keep my fishing gear, grab the right rod and put a small tackle selection in a backpack.

I have a handful of little boxes assembled already that have suitable selections for trout streams, bass ponds, crappie fishing docks… With one of those boxes and a few packets of soft plastics and accompanying terminal tackle, I can be well set for a modest outing.

I definitely err on the simple side as an angler. I seldom carry an extra rod for bank fishing or wade fishing, and I keep my lure selections small. I like to be as mobile as possible, and if I carry too much stuff I just get indecisive, and I end up spending too much time changing lures instead of just fishing!

My Favorite Summer Bank Fishing Lure

A Rebel Crickhopper offers easy fishing and excellent opportunities for mixed-bag fishing action from the bank.

If I’m walking the bank of a pond or creek from late spring through fall, looking for whatever will bite, my starting lure is usually a Rebel Crickhopper. This little floating/diving insect-shaped crankbait is ideal for a multi-species, bank-walking approach.

A Crickhopper excels for the shoreline approach in part because it imitates forage that is normally found near the shore and that appeals to fish holding in shallow water. Because it floats, it’s easy to keep out of underwater snags and to control the positioning to fish near cover. It’s also small enough to appeal to many different fish species.

Fishing a Crickhopper

Rebel Crickhopper

The Crickhopper is technically a shallow crankbait, and many anglers enjoy great success just casting and reeling. I fish it primarily as a topwater lure, though, because that presentation, in my mind, best matches the behavior of a displaced terrestrial insect.

After casting, I always let the bait rest a few seconds, at least. Fish hear the landing splash and cone to investigate, and often strike before I move the bait an inch. If none bite, or they peck at it but don’t quite commit (common with this lure), I begin working it on top, usually with small twitches of the rod tip.

Little twitches make the bait dance erratically on top, and it looks strikingly like a grasshopper that has found itself errantly on a pond’s surface and is trying desperately to find dry ground. I pause occasionally to match a bug trying to get oriented. Big strikes commonly come right after a pause.

Sometimes, instead of twitching the lure to make it dance, I’ll reel very slowly with the rod tip kept high. This makes a Crickhopper “wake,” wobbling along right at the surface.

I mix up actions and cadences and even throw in some slow cranking to see what the fish prefer any given day.

Crickhopper Models

Spotted bass on Crickhopper Popper
  • Original Crickhopper – 1 1/2 inches and weighs 3/32 ounce
  • Bighopper – Same shape and action as original but slightly larger at 1 3/4 inches and 1/8 ounce
  • Crickhopper Popper – Size and profile of Bighopper bit with a cupped popping face.