07/23/2026
So, the people I fish with typically have a good supply of my baits, and some of them have jigs going back as far as 25 to 30 years. Back long before I was selling them to anyone in any meaningful way. And it's always kind of cool and humbling when someone busts out something from the Stark-ives and reminds me that just because it's not new doesn't mean it doesn't work. As someone who is constantly inventing new stuff, I am always using whatever the latest model is for research and development purposes, and although they work great, sometimes the old stuff works even better.
Take for example a jig I call the cater-killer. It is a pretty simple bug topped with a tungsten bead and made with a chewy Koosh ball type material. A few days ago, I had the pleasure of taking the littlest Larry out, and he worked his way around several Starky offerings until he settled on this jig. And he was, I hate to say, whooping me with it. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't have any.
So, of course, when I got home I may have made myself a handful of those suckers, and I have been burning up the bluegill and crappie both on these things. They out fished anything else I tried today. And I don't know how many my friend and I caught on them. We were well over 100 fish on the day on a small lake In northern Indiana.
Unfortunately, I'm running low on the material to make them, but I will be picking some more up soon.
