Fish, friends remind you that old flies may be best flies

Chester Allen | The Olympian • Published February 29, 2008

One of the cool things about fishing is how old lures and flies often become new again. The fish don't care whether a fly or lure was invented in 1925 or 2008.

I suspect that most of the best lures were invented decades ago.

I learned about Roostertail spinning lures in 1972 when I watched my father catch trout after trout on a black Roostertail spinner fished off of the bouldery shore at Huntington Lake in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.

My dad would make long, arching casts, and start cranking in the Roostertail. Seconds later, the water would boil, and another fish was on. I recall seeing my dad's smile in the soft light of sunset and hearing the tinkle of the lure's blade before every cast.

My dad gave me a Roostertail to cast, and soon I was catching fish as well.

Roostertails were invented in the 1950s, and they're still one of the top lures, according to a reader poll in the latest Field & Stream magazine. Mepps Aglia lures — another top spinner invented in 1938 — also still get top marks from Field & Stream readers.

I still carry Roostertails and Mepps spinners in my gear box. So do my dad and my brother Casey.

Other old lures — especially Kastmaster and Krocodile spoons — still work far better than newer spoons. I would never travel to Baja, mainland Mexico, Florida, California or any other tropical spot without a bunch of these spoons. I like to fly fish, but these spoons catch fish even when the wind is blowing too hard to cast a big streamer fly.

This sounds funny, but casting an old-school lure or fly often gives the fish something they've never seen.

And we get to see a slice of the past become young again.

Chester Allen's fishing column runs Fridays in The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-4226 or callen@theolympian.com.