Annnndd, flatfish!   I still have about two dozen of them in a slew of patterns and colors, many still made of balsa!  I still will occasionally drift one off the bottom with crawlers and they still produce.  Hell, the fish in that lake never saw them before because they're so out of date   lol

Don't over look the Johnson Thin Fisher. Fish USA carries them. Hooks are kinda weak but I switch them out for a little bigger and heavier wire. They took a few fish this past fall. Not to mention they have a much better price point than the Sonar or VibE. Not a ton of colors available but they have the basics, and let's face it, there are only about 4 or 5 goto colors anyways.

Kinda refreshing to have a fishing thread going. It's been a little while.

CRAPPIE_SLAYER
So if I throw a couple of these on a sonar and rip it as hard as I can ill have better luck at the spillway 😀

Oh Lord!!! Lol. Can you imagine walking down to the cement with that. Haha.

Lol   What do I know??  Btw, would always get my flatfish out of the package, take that two hook contraption off and replace with a treble hook!  One of my favorites was an x7, blue top fading to white under belly.   ANd Rich, I still have one of the frog finish if that was the one that had a darker green base coat with black circles surrounded in yellow!
 

Heddon River Runt   lol

Flatfish ...... that's about all my dad used in Erie for steelhead and salmon back in the 70's.
 

So with snow on the ground I decided to go through my stuff....again...   These are the original flatfish that I could find.  All wood.   Yes, I know, I threw in two original Lazy Ikes too!  As you can tell when drifting or tolling I rarely gave up on a snagged lure.  Cost too **** much, lol.  Rich, there are actually two frog patterns in different sizes but neither was the infamous "bleeding" frog that had red splashed on the rear end.
Just to give you some idea, a couple of the yellow ones were given to me by my dad in the early sixties, and he had had them for awhile!   I don't throw much fishing stuff away!  It's funny how I can't remember dates and names and such but I do remember that the blue and white one was a gift from my cousin for watching his cat while his family went on vacation to Kinzua (I believe the camping area was named dew drop)?  At the time, he was 8, I was 9, and I'm just about to turn 65!  Somethings just stick with you!

Opsman, I bin gittin edukated by watshing a TV program called "Hoarding" and I think i mite be seenin some simptums.

Enjoyed hearing the memory, I'll bet that tackle box has many more.

Tight lines

I have replaced my Sonars with Rapala jigging Rap's. These work well even in the summer in the deeper pools. Make sure you put a swivel above them as they will twist your line. I use a #7.
I don't even venture to the Spillway in March. It's just too crazy. They have been snagging eye with sonars in the river as well. Years ago some guys across from me were snagging on Elk Creek. The fish warden had filmed them with a video camera. I imagine that was an expensive outing.

Nice collection Opsman, mine are all the plastic newer ones, and yes they still produce nice catches. Most are Flatfish but some are Kwikfish brands. Steelhead will crush the smaller ones when nothing else will work. That vibrating wiggle just triggers some crazy instant strikes. I've caught many nice Niagara Laker on the brighter colors ones drifting in the river by boat. Fishing them in crystal clear water is awesome watching..... those big Trout follow and inhale that whole lure like a natural reflex. Always carry a few in my vest for general purpose......silver chrome & blue seem to produce a tad more !