By Lance C. Valentine

The funny thing about favorite lures is that your current confidence bait may have started out as something totally different. I remember buying a couple of Pa’s lures one year to try. Two seasons later there were still in the package until one pre-fishing day I tried one. Who would have known that I was about to be introduced to a new favorite lure?

Pa’s Lures are pretty simple. A piece of lead is molded onto a wire shaft like a weight forward spinner but with one unique feature. The Pa’s lures also have a crankbait style diving lip attached at the front of the lead. A few beads, spinner blade, long shank single hook and short wire leader finish off this very basic looking lure.

The diving lip is important for a couple reasons. First, the diving tendency of the lip allows the Pa’s to maintain a depth better than a weight forward spinner or snap weight/harness (dive curve data is available in Precision Trolling books). Second, the lip creates a different action than a simple in-line or snap weight and third, the lip allows the Pa’s to work well and maintain it’s depth even at high speeds-something that in-line or snap weights don’t accomplish very well.

Out of the package these lures are good, but with a two quick modifications they will become great walleye catchers. The wire leader on the front nose of the Pa’s has a tendency to become bent over time and will cause the lure to not run true. The first modification I make is to remove the wire leader and attach the lure’s nose loop with a crankbait snap. Now the lure can be tuned like any other crank by simply bending the nose loop and will perform at higher speeds.

The next change I like to make is removing the large single hook. The hook is attached to a loop at the rear of the lure and after removing the hook I install a high quality ball-bearing snap swivel with a split ring into the loop. This allows the lure to be used with a crawler harness trailer and makes changing harness easy.

By making these changes your Pa’s will become more versatile. Performance is great at any speed from about a mile an hour up to 3 miles per hour. Any trolling spread on my boat now contains at least 1 Pa’s lure, and my favorite setup for open water fish is a combination of 2 Pa’s and two cranks ran around 2 mile per hour in the summer. In early or late season Pa’s can also be added to trolling spreads at all speeds and containing bottom bouncers, snap weights or cranks.

Before it hits the water a crawler harness is added to all Pa’s lures. My favorite harnesses are only 8-10" of 20lb Berkley XT line. Six large (6mm) beads and a quick-change clevis are added above the hooks- a #8 treble on the end and a #2 single about 3" further up the line. Longer harness also work, but the shorter harnesses are by far the best most days. The subtle darting action the Pa’s imparts to the shorter harness makes the crawler irresistible.

Pa’s are available in about 20 colors, but I have 4 personal favorites. If I had to pick only one color for the Great Lakes, it would be a purple Pa’s with a purple harness and large silver Indiana blade. A close second would be a dark red Pa’s with a dark red harness and a large gold Indiana blade. In real clear water I prefer a watermelon Pa’s with a solid pink harness and a #5 Bait Rigs Wonderglow Colorado blade. If the fish are high in the water column or the water is a little darker, it’s tough to beat a solid gold Pa’s with a dark green harness with a gold Indiana blade dressed with green prism tape.

Pa’s lures are available in a couple sizes but my favorite size is the ¾ ounce and I use it exclusively. Using only 1 size allows for easier storage, less confusion when picking lures from a box, and the need for only 1 dive curve.

When fishing gets tough we all need an ace in the hole. We all have our own confidence lures but part of the fun of fishing is trying new things. By using these modifications and tips you might be surprised how well these Pa’s lures work. Who knows-they might become your new favorite lure as well.