Favored props include the Heddon Wounded Zara Spook, Cotton Cordell
Boy Howdy, and Smithwick Devil's Horse, in color schemes that mimic baitfish or other forage--such as baby bass or frog patterns.
A "spy bait" is a weighted minnowbait with no bill and small propellers on each end, like a sub-surface Cordell
Boy Howdy. "When smallmouths gather on gravel in 8-foot depths adjacent to spawning flats, I hold shallow and cast deep with a Duo Realis Spinbait 80 or 90," he says.
Meanwhile, the "
Boy Howdy!" character, originally intended to be a cream bottle, almost immediately morphed into a beer bottle, which suited the magazine just fine.
Boy howdy, hard to argue against such well worn aesthetic diversity.
If there is a bit of ripple on the water, shifting to a double propeller plug (like the Devil's Horse or
Boy Howdy) can often be more effective when twitched with the same slow pace as the others.
Boy howdy! But there's no more exciting shooting sport on planet earth.