The Lure of All Lures - the Worden's Rooster Tail
Clint Taylor
When I began fishing as a little boy, I started out on quite possibly the best lure you could pick... a Worden's Rooster Tail. I mainly fished a small creek in my neighborhood during my early fishing years targeting anything I could catch. Usually, I would end up with a nice assortment of panfish, along with a few Largemouth Bass which I considered to be the king of the creek. Having a Worden's Rooster Tail, particularly a small 1/16 oz. Rooster Tail in a Fire Tiger coloration certainly benefited my progression in fishing. I can remember catching a lot of fish on a Rooster Tail along with several different species, with even the occasional catfish, which is quite extraordinary when I think about it now. This just goes to show how versatile a Rooster Tail can be. So what makes a Rooster Tail so deadly?
Many anglers like the idea of big fish targeting big lures. While there is truth behind this statement, there is also truth to big fish eating small lures. Now, I am not saying a Rooster Tail is a small lure, but more so a low profile lure. Being long and sleek, fish of many different sizes are able to bite onto a Rooster Tail. I have even caught bass that are only 3-5 inches long on a Rooster Tail. However, with something like a big square bill crankbait, only fish with a considerably largemouth can bite. Catching 3-5 inch bass is not a deep passion of mine, but I do like catching fish, so if you have the capability of catching a pound bass along with a ten pound bass all on the same lure, why not do it? To me the answer is simple - throw on a Rooster Tail. To this date, the biggest bass I have ever caught was on a 1/16 oz. Rooster Tail on the Colorado River in Texas. I had no thought of catching a ten pound bass on such a small lure, but then again, with a Rooster Tail there is no telling what you will end up reeling in.
Since I primarily fish rivers and streams from my kayak, a Rooster Tail is an optimal lure to have in my tackle box. I like the 1/16 oz. and 1/8 oz. Rooster Tails the best, but every now and then I will throw on a 1/4 oz. By far, my favorite coloration is a Fire Tiger coloration, which I mentioned earlier. Even though I tend to have at least a 2:1 ratio of Fire Tiger colorations than any other, I do like many other colors such as the white, chartreuse, fluorescent chartreuse, and glitter white. As you can see, I tend to like the chartreuse, red, orange, and yellow colorations. This is partly because of the water that I fish. Having water with a clarity of 3-6 feet on average, you do not want something that is silhouette like, as it doesn't seem to have enough detail to fool a finicky fish. However, in murky water, the darker the better. I don't want something too life-like though, as it is sometimes hard to see. Therefore, I like the bright colorations that end up being around the primary colors.
As far as which one to use for which species of fish, you really can't go to wrong. I have caught many different species on the exact same lure. You might ask why not choose a different company that makes in-line spinners? The answer is quite simple. I tried many different lure companies to see how they performed and I didn't get anywhere near the result that I got with a Rooster Tail. Just getting the blade to rotate on some of the "fake rooster tails" was a challenge in itself. Worden's Rooster Tail just has a quality and performance that no other company can rival in the field of in-line spinners.
When fishing, it can be difficult to decide what lure to put on. I am by no means saying that a Rooster Tail can catch fish in all types of conditions, but more so that a Rooster Tail has seemed to be one of the most productive lures I have ever used in catching fish, and multiple species of fish. With this said, if you want to try a great lure for fishing at your favorite fishing ground, give a Rooster Tail a chance, as it sure has paid off for me.