As far as I could tell, I was holding an original. The worm, known as a Gator Tail, was once a regional favorite around Florida but had fallen off the radar.
Another legend lost to progress. Mega distributors and e-commerce dictate the fate of many small manufacturers, ultimately determining what’s in our tackle boxes. The Gator Tail is a case in point.
Created along the St. Johns River by Ditto Manufacturing, the sickle-tailed worm fit the niche of dark water and heavy vegetation. But its success wasn’t limited to the Sunshine State. On the contrary, the Gator Tail was responsible for some monster national wins, including Larry Nixon’s Classic title on the Ohio River, Clunn’s a year later on the Arkansas River, and a BASS Open on the James.
How, then - with two Bassmaster Classic titles and a legion of followers - does a lure simply go out of production? Hard to say …
In any case, I had an original Gator Tail in my hand and was debating piercing it with a 3/0 worm hook. Reason overtook me and I decided against it, instead subbing in an Ol’ Monster.
Ironically, Zoom makes a Gator Tail knock-off, dubbed the “G-Tail”, that matches, but falls short. The same, at one time, for Berkley Powerbait. Again, not the same.
Neither one of these creations perfectly fit the mold – no pun intended – of the original, as neither are as thick or dense.
Regardless, the small bag of Gator Tails would take their place alongside my RC1 and Big-N crankbaits, first-run Z-2s and four-inch Sinking Minnows. Irreplaceable lures more valuable to me than the bass.
But what if they weren’t? I mean, is there something about certain artificial baits that, despite all of our attempts to uncover the secrets, gets by us? Lures that should be smash hits, but, instead, disappear?
Consider the ChatterBait. Often referred to as an ultimate original, the ChatterBait is really a mix of a number of concepts. There’s the jig itself - not much different than any other - coupled with a blade. You’ll recall a blade-coupling concept prior to the ChatterBait in the form of the Scrounger. It may surprise many readers to learn that the Scrounger originated in saltwater in the 1960s, long before the ChatterBait came on the scene. For decades, anglers have been toying with putting a vibrating bill, or blade, on all sorts of lures.
The ChatterBait got it right, resulting in an incredibly efficient fish catcher, now a staple in bass fishing. But, had things gone different, paralleled the path of the Gator Tail, my ChatterBaits might be finding a spot in my personal Hall of Fame. I could see that happening. The things looks crazy, really.
For a while, spinnerbaits had wire arms that angled off the head of the lure and held blades on the end, rather than inline. Some people called these creepers. They were very effective structure baits, but less efficient around shallow cover. At one time, creepers were spinnerbaits. I’m sure they had far different vibrations than today’s models and likely outperformed anything else. But they’re gone.
Inline buzzbaits are also gone, though they come through cover better than the safety-pin models still in circulation. It’s crazy to think, really, that any buzzers are still out there, given the fact that they look like lures from the 1970s. The fact is, they work. But so did inline models. Sometimes better.
Speaking of vibration, there was once a magnum-sized lipless bait carrying a single BB dubbed the One Knocker. This was before PRADCO's modern version. The original was a Cotton Cordell Super Spot and, due to its heft and weighting characteristic, it fished better on the bottom than any lipless plug before or since. A contingent of Carolina structure wizards won millions with this thing, yet it went out of production and never returned. Who knows why …
The list goes on and on. Original Wiggle Warts. Magnum Pop-Rs. Hale Craw Worms. Titanium spinnerbaits. Since the beginning of time, certain bass lures have outperformed the rest, gained cult-like followings and then disappeared off the map. But why? Why must we be punished?
Behind the bar of my local hangout hangs a popular sign that reads, “Order the good wine.”
It’s a modern take on “you only live once”. Go for it; if you wait any longer, none of this will matter.
I'll remember that next spring when I rig up one of those Gator Tails, check my line and never look back.
(Joe Balog is the Executive Director of Mighty River Recovery, a nonprofit organization working to restore Florida’s St. Johns River. A former national tournament angler, product designer, seminar speaker and guide, Balog has worn just about every hat available to a professional angler. Today, he enjoys rehashing his experiences and adding veteran insight through his weekly Bass Wars column.)
