Like most 60-year-old anglers, one of my first lures was a white Mister Twister tail on a jig. I caught a ton of fish on that combo when I was a kid. It was cheap, virtually indestructible, and very versatile.

A jig and plastic combo is still one of my top ways to entice walleyes on both rivers and lakes in fall and spring. You can’t beat an AuthentX Pulse-R pitched up to shore, and then allowed to swing back in the current, or a Ringworm slipped downstream. I started using it more on lakes for active gamefish like bass and pike. Matching different plastics with the right jig or hook allows you to work them effectively in areas you never thought you could.

I have fond memories of catching dozens of giant smallmouth bass on shortened, black/blue Ringworms on Pelican Lake in Orr, Minnesota. It was on a shallow, rocky area marked by plastic milk jugs that Rob Kemkes, the owner of the Grey Wolf Resort, put out to mark the bad spots.

Poppee and I tore up the Pelican Lake bluegills that day, using RatFinkees and redworms until we ran out of bait. We came upon those milk jugs. I checked out the paper map and lowered the trolling motor. We tried pitching 1/4-ounce jigs with a Ringworm and kept getting snagged. We dropped to a 1/16-ounce size, and it was just right. After Poppee donated the tail of his worm to a giant smallmouth, he decided to shorten it up, and it was game on! Those smallies wanted a smaller-size worm that imitated the size bait they were feeding upon. A black/blue color combo on a black jig seemed to be the ticket!

We ended up staying an extra day on this trip, then driving home ten hours all night, and then heading to work the next morning, because the bite was so hot! I never made it back to those milk jugs, but I’d bet anything that those smallmouths are on that same reef right now, just as we were in mid-September many years ago.

Another time on Lake Kabetogama in nearly the same area of Minnesota, we were out with guides Tim and Wade Watson, catching walleyes and filming a MidWest Outdoors TV episode. The fishing was good, but the weather was rough. As we were motoring along, Tim was giving us a history lesson about the lake, and made sure to tell us to stay away from this one rocky reef area, which I circled on my map. He said that he had to tow some guys that rammed into it a few days before.

Obviously, the next day, the weather was even rougher, and being in our own boat, we headed straight for that reef. Instead of ramming into it so we could get towed in, I stopped short so we could fish it! Since it was a similar-looking reef to our milk jug reef on Pelican Lake, we just knew smallmouths would be there also. After about an hour without fish, Poppee was complaining, as always, and wanted to fish for walleyes. As he was lifting his Ringworm out of the water and prepared to make another cast, a big, ‘ol pike came out of the water, took his worm, and his line snapped!

If there were big pike around that reef that spooked our smallmouths, we were prepared. We switched to our heavier casting outfits with 1/2-ounce spinnerbaits on wire leaders. Poppee fired off a perfect cast, the bait sunk, he started cranking, and got snagged! After a brief argument, I reluctantly headed in to retrieve it, and the boat banged up on those rocks.

Finally, we were free just in time to get back out to the casting area… so Poppee could get snagged again. A change of plans was in order. After rummaging through our tackle box, I came up with a couple of old spoons. Poppee pitched his out and snagged weeds on the treble on the first cast. Not only were those rocks a hazard, but they were surrounded by big, thick, cabbage and coontail weeds, making matters worse… or were they?

This time, Poppee used his noodle and swapped out the treble hook for an old, rusty single hook he found in the bottom of the tackle box. While he was sharpening the hook, I dug out a large-sized, white plastic twister tail and he slid it up the hook. This deadly combo didn’t snag in the rocks, and snaked through the rocks and weeds with just the perfect action for the monster pike that were feeding there. I found an old Doctor Spoon that I rigged up with a single hook and some orange plastic, which worked even better. We always made sure to have plenty of spoons with single hooks rigged and ready in the tackle box after that.

Being a lure designer for Custom Jigs & Spins and BFishN Tackle, I’ve learned that little tweaks and “mods” to proven designs will catch you a lot more fish than the latest fad. BFishN Tackle’s H2O Jig comes in nine different weights for a reason. Once you figure out the precise weight for the species of fish you’re after, it’s game one. The Draggin’ Jig is snag-free, and you can add a Ringworm or live bait and pitch it into the snaggiest of areas where big fish live.

Plastics like AuthentX Ringworms can be used out of the bag, shortened up, cut down into a Ned Rig size… really, there are a lot of options. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on the latest $15 bag of plastic when you can get a bag of Ringworms, Pulse-Rs or Moxis and modify them with a pair of scissors. Don’t throw them away just because a fish bites off the tail. Shorten it up or reshape it into the next great fad of your own!

And if you want a monster-sized twister to add to a Doctor Spoon, spinnerbait, or an EWG hook, check out a bag of 5-inch AuthentX 5 K-Grubs in white, chartreuse or firetiger colors.

For more information about fishing plastic and jigs, and to check out some hot, open-water and ice products, contact Custom Jigs & Spins at 800-831-5535 for a free, 2026 Tips and Tricks catalog, or log on to customjigs.com.

For more fishing insight from the pros who know, check out the next issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.