Hank's Hardware

Lures, bait, and soft plastics that actually catch fish.

Fly fishing might be the hot thing to do around southwest Montana, but for the average angler looking to consistently catch fish in all conditions, lures and bait get the job done. While fly fishing typically requires precise presentations directly to fish’s noses, hucking spin tackle can entice fish to move several feet or even yards to grab something tasty. Here are six favorites to get started with on Montana’s rivers and lakes.

Rapala X-Rap
The X-Rap is a suspending jerk bait, meaning it dives a couple of feet when retrieved, but is neutrally buoyant in the water column when “on the pause.” Retrieve jerk baits with a twitch-twitch-pause pattern in any type of water. Hungry fall browns and pre- or post-spawn walleye are particularly susceptible.

Berkley Gulp Minnow
Gulp Minnows are heavily scented soft plastics known for drawing fish out of their deepwater lairs. Rig a minnow on a quarter-ounce lead head and pitch it into deep holes or swing it across the current in shallower water. Hold on tight.

Panther Martin Spinner
This classic spinner has been catching trout for decades. Size 4 or 6 are good starting points, but play around with size and color until you find fish. Always fish spinners with a swivel. As the name implies, they have a tendency to spin and twist the line.

Mealworms
Hard-shelled mealworms, or their softer cousins, waxworms, are available at most pet shops or gas stations, and are deadly on trout. Rig one under a bobber for lake fishing. Or, for river fishing, slip one on a size 12 hook with a small splitshot crimped about a foot up on the line. Fish it “tightline” style, bouncing the mealworm off the bottom with no slack in the line so you can see or feel when a fish picks up the presentation.

Powerbait
Powerbait has been around a long time, but often gets overlooked these days. The stuff is like crack for trout—always has been and always will be. Pinch a grape-sized lump onto a single hook (or treble hook if fishing for keeps), and fish it with about an eighth- or quarter-ounce of lead. Powerbait floats, so if your sinker is on the bottom, the bait will be tantalizingly suspended just out of the mud.

Nightcrawlers
Possibly the most timeless bait of them all, nightcrawlers will catch just about anything that swims. These large, slimy worms can be fished a number of ways: under a bobber, on the bottom, dead drifted through the current... you name it. Just make sure to slip on a fresh ‘crawler every so often, or when they turn pale pink on the hook.