Summer was good, and you had the crappie pinned down. You could return to the same brushpiles or standing timber and pound limit after limit. But now comes the first cold front, and, where’d they go? Your hotspot is as desolate as a desert. While crappie don’t “migrate,” per se, they do scatter and spread out as water cools. This makes traditional slow techniques ineffective. During fall you need to take a more active approach.
Jumpin’ Minnows for Tailwater Stripers
May 31, 2012
“For my money, a Jumpin’ Minnow would be tough to beat,” said Jerry Crook, a long-time tailwater guide on the Tennessee River, as he handed me his lure box so I could make my own selection and rig up for an afternoon of topwater action.
More Rebel Lures In Fly Country
February 7, 2012
Philip (Sandy) and Audrey Greene visit this acclaimed “fly fishing” destination every year, and prove each time that their prowess with a spinning rod and a Rebel lure surpasses that of the “Orvis crowd’s” fly gear.
Teeny Wee Crawfish Tips From The Master
January 26, 2012
There’s probably not a person in the world that has made more casts and caught more smallmouth on the Rebel Teeny Wee Crawfish than Bill Schultz. Here is some of his best advice on fishing the diminutive crawfish imitator.
Part 5, Rebel's Most Infamous Lure
January 23, 2012
The questions in the Bassmaster article were: “Why this topwater? What makes this bait different than the multitude of similar baits?” The answers were that most anglers had no idea how to work the Pop-R. They used it like they would a normal popper/chugger – slowly twitching and chugging it on the surface, with plenty of long pauses in between.
Part 4, Rebel's Most Infamous Lure
January 19, 2012
Hughes knew the men most responsible for the lure’s rebirth and tremendous success. Without Zell Rowland, Rick Clunn and Tommy Martin winning tournaments on the bait and finally letting the cat out of the bag for the Bassmaster article, the Pop R would have remained destined to be a footnote in some antique lure catalog of the future. The three men made Rebel a lot of money.
Part 3, Rebel's Most Infamous Lure
January 11, 2012
Regardless of the “how,” the secret of the Pop-R was out. Two other pros admitted their success came on a Pop-R -- Rick Clunn and Tommy Martin. It became the first lure-focused article Bassmaster magazine ever ran (January 1987 issue), but a lure so special that the pros kept it a secret for so long, it deserved to break the ice.
Part 2, Rebel's Most Infamous Lure
January 9, 2012
Sure, anglers were winning hundreds of thousands of dollars on the bait, but none were talking. Back then there were no camera boats, no photojournalists snapping shutters with each cast. Back then, secrets could be kept. None of the pros were on Rebel’s pro staff, so the on-stage-stock-answer was “topwater chugger.”
Part 1, Rebel's Most Infamous Lure
January 6, 2012
The Rebel Pop-R P60 is likely the most storied lure in modern history. It began with a quiet run in 1976 in a line full of similar Rebel “Poppers,” and disappeared a few years later with only a handful of anglers even taking notice. Among that handful, however, were several who would become legends.
Rebel Boats and the First Classic
January 3, 2012
Mystery shrouded the first Bassmaster Classic like early morning mist on a calm lake. The competitors back in 1971 had no idea where the event would be held – they weren’t told they were headed to Nevada’s Lake Mead until everyone was on board a plane and the door locked.