Put a twist in your fishing routine

Tried and true ‘ twister tail’ grub a must- have lure for successful angling

AGFC Communications LITTLE ROCK — The twister tail or curly-tailed grub is one of the most basic, but effective lures in the multi-species angler’s tacklebox.

By and large, the twister tail has become the breadand- butter for crappie anglers, but the lure has much more potential than papermouths. Twister tails are available in sizes ranging from less than an inch long for bream and other small panfish to 5 or more inches to entice striped bass, largemouth bass and other big fish in search of big meals.

Made from soft-plastic, these swimming grub bodies can be found in pretty much any color imaginable, but most anglers stick to a handful of tried and true favorites. Tennessee shad (clear/green), lemon meringue (pearl white/chartreuse), and black/chartreuse typically hold the top spots in most angler’s boxes, but every lake has a particular “hot” color. For instance, anglers on Lake Conway would feel naked without a sampling of twister tails in electric chicken (pink/chartreuse), and Lake Nimrod crappie hounds often tout purple/chartreuse as the color combination to beat.

Rigging a twister tail is as easy as fishing gets. Hold the grub next to a jighead that’s appropriate for the size of the lure to see where the bend of the hook begins. Insert the hook in the center of the grub’s front and thread it through until you reach where the hook should come out.

Push the hook through the plastic, lining up it up with the seams left on the lure from its manufacturing process. This will ensure the lure runs true and doesn’t swim to one side or the other. To maximize the action of the tail and prevent line twist, hook the lure so that the bend of the hook and the bend of the curly tail go in opposite directions.

The weight of the jighead you use depends upon the depth and conditions you’ll be facing. Most anglers use the least amount of weight they can while still being able to feel the lure as it glides along. The lighter the jighead, the slower the bait will need to be worked to maintain contact. For 2to 3-inch twister tails, select weights ranging from 1/32-oz. for shallow water and calm days to 1/8-oz.

for water over 20 feet deep or windy fishing conditions. For most fishing situations for crappie and walleye, a 1/16- or /32-oz. jighead paired to a 2-inch twister tail is hard to beat.

For bass and walleye, the same weight jighead impaled into a 3-inch twister tail will get the job done.

There’s no wrong way to fish a twister tail, but a few methods prove more successful than others. A simple cast-and-retrieve approach is favored by most anglers, with the angler varying the speed to match the depth and weight of the lure. Crank the handle of your reel just fast enough to keep the lure suspended above the bottom as it swims back to you. Count down from when the lure hits the surface until you see slack form in the line, indicating the lure touched the bottom, then pop it up and begin your retrieve. On the next cast, count to just before the lure hits bottom again and begin cranking slowly and steadily. An occasional pop of the rod tip may trigger a strike from a following fish.

The lift-and-drop technique can also entice a bite, especially from more lethargic fish. Cast the lure and wait until it touches the bottom.

Then pull up with the rod, crank the handle a few times to pick up the slack then allow the lure to glide back to the bottom. Most strikes will come as the grub slowly falls. Give a sharp snap of the wrist to set the hook, and enjoy the fight.

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Photos courtesy of AGFC TWIST LURES (cont.)

The Arkansas Wildlife video crew tagged along with Little Rock angler and radio host Mark Hedrick a few years back, who showed just how effective the twister tail can be. Visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=x5NI7btx0KM to take a look.

• Lake Charles — Shelly Jeffrey at Lake Charles State Park (870-878-6595) said anglers should match jig colors to water conditions for best results at Lake Charles. If the water is slightly stained, she recommends trying jigs in the colors Refrigerator White, Pepper Shad and Glimmer Blue. In dingy, muddy water, you should go with Tuxedo Black/chartreuse, Electric Chicken and Cajun Cricket. She notes that hte best days to fish based on the moon cycle runs Feb.

8-14. On Monday, the surface temperature in the morning was 46 degrees.

The water is low, but now with waterfowl season completed and Lake Charles’ water not needed for Shirey Bay/Rainey Brake flooding, look for water to pick up. Clarity is murky. There were not reported catches this past week.

• Lake Poinsett — The gate at the dam at Lake Poinsett was closed on Dec. 1, allowing the lake to begin refilling with rainwater. The lake, at Lake Poinsett State Park, has been undergoing a threeyear renovation with a new water control structure, more than 10,000 linear feet of shoreline work, more than 100 habitat structures placed on the lakebed, and nearly 100 trees anchored for fish habitat with more anchoring in the plans as the lake begins to refill.

When the lake has enough water for stocking, channel catfish will be stocked to give anglers target fish to seek, while prey fish such as shiners and shad will be stocked. After the prey fish have established a base over the next year or so, predator fish such as largemouth bass and crappie will then be stocked.

• Crown Lake — Boxhound Marina (870-670-4496) remains closed until further notice “due to unforeseen circumstances.” However, they are still accepting RV and cabin reservations.

• Spring River — Mark Crawford with springriverfliesandguides. com (870-955-8300) had no new report. Check out Mark’s blog on his website for the latest fishing conditions!

John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said the Spring River is offcolor. This is a great place to wade fish when they are running water on the White and North Fork rivers. Be sure to wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff.

There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot flies have been olive Woolly Buggers with a bit of flash (size 10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (size 10) and Y2Ks (size 10).

• White River — The Army Corps of Engineers reported Thursday that the White River stage at Batesville was at 9.30 feet, well below the flood stage of 15.0 feet. At Newport, the river is at 17.49, still more than 8 feet below the flood stage of 26.0 feet.

The stage at Augusta is 28.95 feet, almost 3 feet above the flood stage of 26.0 feet.

Triangle Sports (870-793-7122) had no new reports this week.

Photos courtesy of AGFC