The Natural Look… Road Runner jigs are real sleepers for trout fishermen, if they are on the radar at all. They are panfish and bass jigs, right? That may be how these jigs are used the most, but it’s not because they won’t catch trout—they will. These jigs with a spinner blade built into the head will catch just about any fish that they meet.
Fishing as I used to do when I lived in Spokane showed me that while trout can be picky about insects they eat, they also are opportunistic feeders. If something catches their attention and looks like food, often enough they’ll eat it.
For an attention-getting, looks-like-food lure, few things on the shelves look more like the real thing than the Natural Science Series of Road Runners from TTI-Blakemore.
These little jigs—they range in weight from 1/32 to 1/8 ounce—are perfect for those times when you’re not chasing big fish (not that they won’t catch them) or when trout aren’t chasing big things.
Here I’m thinking of fishing in rivers and creeks or in lakes. Because of the size of the jig and the range of natural colors, it’s a good choice for those times when a fly hatch is what the trout are keying on. This is an especially effective lure when trolled near the surface on lakes. However, it’s a great casting lure as well. Or you can drop it down slowly and simply jig it.
As noted, the Natural Science Series Road Runner is available in three sizes: 1/32, 1/16 and 1/8 ounce. It comes in 12 colors and is packaged with extra mini-tube bodies.
But as long as we’re talking Road Runners and trout, there is another series of Road Runners that are naturals, pardon the pun.
The Reality Shad series of jigs sports a “shad-shaped”, soft-plastic body in colors that are right on the money for trout, or the coho in Riffe Lake. These jigs have prism eyes, and the same gold-willowleaf spinner blade.
Colors are different than those in the Natural Series, of course, but another difference is that the Reality Shad series sports Daiichi hooks, a much stronger and larger hook than on the Natural Science jigs. They are a natural, yeah, a pun I know, for summer-run steelhead and have the muscle to handle same.
For more information on both series, go to: www.ttiblakemore.com