Retired Lures, have any?

[mephisto_lake]

I love lures always have, I love just trying new things on the water, this year I have retired a few lures that I haven't used in awhile because the sentimental loss if something happened would be too much.

Whopper ploppers by river2sea have been around for about 10 years and yes before that musky lures were around forever, but I feel like price to performance how much water they move for their size and weight they're in a class of their own, now that river2sea started putting good hardware on them for the last 5 years or so. (seriously hate when manufactures put the crappiest hooks on a $20 lure just charge $21 and put decent hooks on them)

Anyway I've been throwing them for awhile I think I have about 12-15 of them, this particular one is a size 130 and was my first one purchased. Back when I used to work till 430pm in the summertime guys from work would always go fishing until dark. My one buddy was smoking them non stop and I decided well I guess I'll just try to catch the biggest fish in the lake then. 3 casts later I had a 19inch smallmouth which would have been close to my biggest smallmouth at the time. A few casts after that and I had a 10 inch largemouth which was equally amazing the variety of fish that ate this thing. I also caught my first top water musky on this guy a nice little 40 incher which to this day can remember the violence of that strike.

Anyway without rambling on about the times I've had with this particular whopper plopper just curious if anyone else retires lures when they get too sentimental and what they are and why they retired them?

[Donny135]

I have only two lures I've done it with, nothing special just stuff I've caught memorable PBs on during memorable outings. Overall I don't do it too often because in my mind, a lure is a tool (and a damn expensive one at that ) So I might as well put it to use.

[Goshawk]

I have just one. It's a very old, red and white Jitterbug that I bought in the late 70's in Texas. I've caught one largemouth on it and it's been relegated to a place of honour in my tacklebox since then, never to get wet again. It's just too sentimental to risk loosing!!

[mastercaster1]

I have a Wally Diver that I can't bring myself to get rid of. I caught so many Walleye trolling that lure and then one evening right at dusk "Wham" a nice 43" inch Musky smashed it. The fish was landed and released but the bait never ran right again.
Aside from that I love to buy new stuff and give my lightly used tackle to my nephews.

[Reelpro]

I also have just one retired lure.

No idea how many still in service and how many never used - thousands.

The ONE retired is a Blue Fox Double Bucktail - #6 silver blade with 2 very large trebles 5/0 in line with a couple inches of wire between them.

Fishing by myself 20 or so years ago and I catch a 15-18 lb Muskie - one of a few hundred Muskie that summer so I was very experienced in how to safely remove the hooks and revive them.

This particular fish had one point of the rear treble hook just barely through the very tip of his top lip. Perfect, just reach down over the side of the boat with one hand and a little pair of needle nose pliers and grab the hook - a quick twist and he would be released.

As I get the pliers a half inch from the hook in his snout, he does what Muskie do and leaps straight up 4 feet out of the water inches from my face twisting and thrashing, I lean back - everything is kinda slow motion and then wham.

As the fish falls back he glances of the edge of the boat , and the treble hook not in his mouth drives right thru the back of my hand with the needle nose pliers.

His momentum splashing down yanks my arm with him into the water, the pliers eject into the lake, and he starts swimming madly back and forth beside the boat and trying to jump again only he is now directly attached to my hand. One treble hook in his lip and one thru the back of my hand, a 2" piece of wire joining us.

In a mad panic I wrestle with him on my knees, my arm now a muskie fishing rod, and finally grab the lure with my good hand and lift him thrashing into the boat with both arms, bracing with my knees so I don't get pulled into the water over the side.

Of course as soon as I lay him on the floor he madly flips and flops causing a nasty crunching sound to come from my hand with the 5/0 hook thru the center of the back of my hand with the point coming out the palm.

I pin him with my knees, stare stunned at my hand , then look around for help, of course not a boat in sight. Pliers are gone - the O-crap moment .

Then I remember a spare set of pliers just might be in the glove box, I shuffle within reach of the door take my good hand off the muskie , start to reach for the glove box door, and he goes beserk again slides out from between my knees and is flailing my arm around again.

I think I almost passed out from the pain at that moment, more horrible crunching sounds , I pin him again, examine my hand and now the hook point is no longer thru my palm, back in my hand somewhere, been twisting around in there.

I sit there for a few moments gather my wits then do a 1,2,3 let go and grab for the glove box, thank god the spare pliers are right there, I latch on to the wire and cut myself free with one quick cut of the wire holding us together.

Whew, now that Mr Muskie is no longer pulling on me and twisting the hook around the pain factor drops from a 10+ to a throbbing. My hand is already swelling nicely, soon to be a blob twice its normal size.

I carefully latch onto Mr muskie's treble a quick twist and the one point is out of his lip, I lift him back into the water and after only 20 or 30 seconds holding his tail he is ready go.

No worse the wear, me not so lucky. Back to the dock up to the house and tell the wife I need a ride to the hospital.

My trip to the hospital ended up requiring some minor surgery, and then about 8 months of healing before the hand was back to normal.

For almost a year after though I could'nt unhook a Pike or Muskie without my welding mitts on.

No Joke - I kept them in the boat with 3 pairs of the really really long 12" needle nose .

So that lure has been retired ever since and hangs on the wall of shame.


PS Be real careful when getting hooks out of Pike and Muskie - getting nonchalant about it can land you in a world of hurt.

[Goshawk]

Damn Reelpro, I've heard (and felt) some awful stories about getting hooks imbedded but that's the most painful one I've ever heard. I think we've all had imbedded hooks from being careless or by total accident. I've also had to go to the hospital from having a 4/0 hook completely through and around a finger. I feel your pain!!

[Collingwood Dean]

Reelpro...that was a great story!...sounded horrible though!

[dherter16]

@Reelpro painful yet great story.

The only lure I have retired is a storm chug bug that my uncle gave to me. Some lures inexplicably catch fish time and time again and this popper had zero paint left when it went up to the rafters. The only other fishing item I retired is my first baitcaster a diawa procaster-x. My mom bought me this reel not knowing that 10 year olds may have a little difficulty throwing it without any backlash. I saved my allowance to buy the matching rod and taught myself how to throw by reading ontario out of doors and bassin magazines, casting at buckets, boxes, etc. Caught everything that swims with that little 3 bearing reel until it gave out 3 seasons ago.

[jam1324]

Got a few tiny lures, rapala J7s etc that routinely get smashed by 10+ pound fish, once the epoxy in the body let's go and the wire harness starts sliding freely or hook hangers get snapped off they get hung up on the retirement rack.

My favorite lure last year was a 5 inch stick bait, thing worked like magic. We got it in a mystery lure box for my sons birthday and it was a weird brand and color we have never seen before. Since I couldn't replace it I decided to keep using it, replacing split rings etc. Eventually I had a fish snap the rear end of it off and now its completely disabled and in retirement too.

[dockboy]

Hey reelpro that’s a story! Made me cringe as I was reading it, quite an experience especially being by yourself. Had a similar experience with a pike, not quite as bad . He gave a flip in the net and the trailing hook on the rapala went into my finger , I was able to cut it off release the fish then pushed the hook through. I’m 62 so I’m sure anyone else my age has seen that, done that or been there.
Cheers