Dardevle lures

[Headhunter]

I remember as a kid, Dardevles were a very popular lure. Strolling through my local CTC, I would gawk at them, pining to have the few extra dollars that a real Eppinger lure would cost, as opposed to the CTC special, which was cheap nickel coated, lousey paint job and half the weight.

Eventually, as funds became more readily available, I began buying REAL Dardevles and found that my catch ratio went up. I have a number of your standard red and whites as well as some of their other colour offerings.

I also had them in different sizes and were for some time, my go to pike lure.

Care to share any Dardevle stories?

Here's a good place!

HH

****Edited to reflect proper spelling of the lure... can't correct the topic title though!

Edited March 1, 2011 by Headhunter

[Roy]

 

****Edited to reflect proper spelling of the lure... can't correct the topic title though!

 

Yes you can.

 

And yes it's still an excellent lure.

[SRT8 smoker craft]

I throw the red and whites all the time for pike but we catch OOS LMB and SMB on them every year and I throw the big one thats like 2" wide and 4.5-5"long .

[Rod Caster]

My brother still uses the Daredevil as his go to lure for bass, pike and even walleye. I don't find it subtle enough for all applications and haven't used it much since I was a young pike hunter. Back in those days it was "the" lure of choice for us.

 

The Len Thompsons have always been far and above the nicest ones for weight and movement in my opinion.

In Alberta I would use the small 5 of diamond Len Thompson for both walleye and pike in the Athabasca, both river and lake...everyone out there lives by those I've never seen such a prominent lure like the 5 of diamonds in North Alberta. In one lake we smashed over 100 walleye in less than half a day using only the five of diamonds...boy do the fish ever smack them hard!

Edited March 1, 2011 by Rod Caster

[Headhunter]

Thanks Roy... I didn't know that I can edit that, but heck, I didn't know how to post a pic until not that long ago! LOL

Thanks for the help!

HH

[bigugli]

Always keep a couple handy for Mr pike.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

i use them for pike still, but only if they are beat up. i won't use one until it's a little rusty and missing some paint.

Edited March 1, 2011 by Dr. Salvelinus

[musky66]

Caught my first two Musky on a frog crackle Dardvle in the Kawarthas, and a few years later I got my father into his first 'ski as well.

[HTHM]

There are other lures for pike???!

That was the first lure I ever bought, and i wish I could still get them now, the real ones that is.

[adempsey]

Sure do! Have a whole bunch in various sizes and models. I also love my Len Thompsons and Williams!! I don't know what it is about spoons, but even though I probably don't throw them enough, they are still my favorite lures.

[Roy]

There are other lures for pike???!

That was the first lure I ever bought, and i wish I could still get them now, the real ones that is.

 

I don't know why you couldn't still get them. The original Eppingers I mean. They're all over the place.

[HTHM]

I don't know why you couldn't still get them. The original Eppingers I mean. They're all over the place.

Then it is not just my eyes that are going......I will have to take a better look at the tackle display in my favorite tackle shop.

[solopaddler]

Spoons in general are my favourite lure for pike, hands down!

The Dardevle's are a standard, got dozens of the 1oz models in my basement in a variety of colours.

 

I remember years ago guiding at Kesagami, the 1oz Red and Yellow weedless Daredevle was lethal. It outfished everything..

 

The small Daredevle Imps are still a favourite of mine for speckles, great lures.

 

So far this winter I've been stockpiling, and tweaking, a whole bunch of my favourite spoons.

 

Ordered a whole whack of chrome coloured 11/8oz Johnson Silver Minnows.

Painted them with a translucent automotive "black chrome" finish. Man do they look deadly! Then I added a black skirt to bulk them up a bit (slows the drop in shallow water) and a trailer, and VOILA, an oversized pike slaying Moss Boss.

 

In addition I just got a shipment of 41/2" Doctor spoons and KB spoons in a variety of cool colours. For me at least there are no better spoons for pike!(I think they've been around longer than Daredevles as well).

 

A lot of the areas I fish are weedy so I've replaced the stock trebles with 2/0 weedless trebles made by Mustad. Can't wait to fish those puppies.

 

As well I have a box of salmon spoons in a host of wild colours that pike seem to love. The beauty of the salmon spoons is they're light enough that you can flutter them over the tops of the weeds. Something that's hard to do with a standard spoon...

 

Another old standbye that I stocked up on recently is the 41/2" Lucky Strike Half Wave. Great, great lure.

 

I've actually painted some of my silver Doctor spoons with the same Half Wave patern: white on one side with a series od red slashes..

 

They'll be lethal too.

 

 

Got a bit sidetracked here it seems, but I do love my spoons.

[craigdritchie]

Count me in as a spoon lover as well. They're still the go-to lure for pike and lakers anywhere in northern Canada. They're kind of like a Mepps spinner - one of those basic lures that comes in such a range of sizes that they work for anything. I also like that they have such a high hooking percentage that they're almost idiot-proof to use (listen, I'll take all the help I can get!).

 

I always really liked the big 300 series Dardevles - they're really big and wide, almost the same size as an iPhone. They're harder to cast into a wind, being so wide and light weight, but they're deadly on spring northerns because you can work them really slowly in very shallow water without getting hung up on bottom. Just awesome lures.

 

I know one US pro fisherman who secretly does very, very well on smallmouth using small chrome spoons (mainly Dardevles and Williams Wobblers). He's a big-name guy most of us have seen on TV at some point, and he swore me to secrecy because of potential conflicts with his bait sponsors. I'll just say he has a couple of top five finishes at KBI on spoons, and leave it at that.

[TJQ]

I love spoons, especially this one... I hardly troll with anything else.. settles in at 7-9 feet behind the boat and just never fails.. ive caught EVERY species I can think of, including pickerel while using it.. Its a Lucky Strike Superflash, 3 inch. I buy them by the dozen.

 

 

 

(Id say the same thing if Lucky strike was sponsoring me... (hint.. hint.. anyone know anyone at lucky stike.. lol)

 

when I need a change, I find that my bag of good ole rusty red wolf lookalikes work perfectly well

 

another one I use is the lucky strike fluorescent orange and nickel spoon that i can usually get at the gas station in Latchford for a couple of bucks apiece. They work great and no crying when I loose them..

[ChrisK]

Yup,lovem...Was the first spoon my dad ever tied on to my pole when I was a youngster. He used to buy the knock offs at Whoolco and give them to me to go use in behind East Park Golf Gardens. I used them always and caught big pike and smallies out of that spot on a regular basis...The odd carp as well would latch on to them. To this day I still have red devels in my arsenal except the real ones of course...

[Fang]

DD chucklets do not catch fish - throw them all out. Better yet just send them to me

[SRT8 smoker craft]

Spoons in general are my favourite lure for pike, hands down!

The Dardevle's are a standard, got dozens of the 1oz models in my basement in a variety of colours.

 

I remember years ago guiding at Kesagami, the 1oz Red and Yellow weedless Daredevle was lethal. It outfished everything..

 

The small Daredevle Imps are still a favourite of mine for speckles, great lures.

 

So far this winter I've been stockpiling, and tweaking, a whole bunch of my favourite spoons.

 

Ordered a whole whack of chrome coloured 11/8oz Johnson Silver Minnows.

Painted them with a translucent automotive "black chrome" finish. Man do they look deadly! Then I added a black skirt to bulk them up a bit (slows the drop in shallow water) and a trailer, and VOILA, an oversized pike slaying Moss Boss.

 

In addition I just got a shipment of 41/2" Doctor spoons and KB spoons in a variety of cool colours. For me at least there are no better spoons for pike!(I think they've been around longer than Daredevles as well).

 

A lot of the areas I fish are weedy so I've replaced the stock trebles with 2/0 weedless trebles made by Mustad. Can't wait to fish those puppies.

 

As well I have a box of salmon spoons in a host of wild colours that pike seem to love. The beauty of the salmon spoons is they're light enough that you can flutter them over the tops of the weeds. Something that's hard to do with a standard spoon...

 

Another old standbye that I stocked up on recently is the 41/2" Lucky Strike Half Wave. Great, great lure.

 

I've actually painted some of my silver Doctor spoons with the same Half Wave patern: white on one side with a series od red slashes..

 

They'll be lethal too.

 

 

Got a bit sidetracked here it seems, but I do love my spoons.

 

That's a great idea on the silver minnow do you have to scuff them up for the paint to stick would love to try a frog pattern I usually just throw a 4-5 inch pink or chartreuse grub on them nevr thought to custom paint them.

[solopaddler]

That's a great idea on the silver minnow do you have to scuff them up for the paint to stick would love to try a frog pattern I usually just throw a 4-5 inch pink or chartreuse grub on them nevr thought to custom paint them.

 

This particular paint is an automotive black chrome finish made by Duplicolor. It's a two step spray system: the translucent black followed by a clear coat. People use it to paint their chrome bumpers.

 

If you scuffed it up the scratches would be noticeable 'cause it's translucent.

 

I had thought about getting really creative with some wild colour patterns and in that case you'd need to scuff them up and prime.

 

All I really wanted was a black spoon at this point. Maybe next year.

 

Tinkering is fun.

[Loonietoon]

I love spoons, especially this one... I hardly troll with anything else.. settles in at 7-9 feet behind the boat and just never fails.. ive caught EVERY species I can think of, including pickerel while using it.. Its a Lucky Strike Superflash, 3 inch. I buy them by the dozen.

 

 

 

(Id say the same thing if Lucky strike was sponsoring me... (hint.. hint.. anyone know anyone at lucky stike.. lol)

 

when I need a change, I find that my bag of good ole rusty red wolf lookalikes work perfectly well

 

another one I use is the lucky strike fluorescent orange and nickel spoon that i can usually get at the gas station in Latchford for a couple of bucks apiece. They work great and no crying when I loose them..

T.J you know I do know the owner Kim very well.. How do you think we got the Lucky Strike Hats for the GTG @ Lakair...hint ..hint...I belive I might be able to get some of those lures...

[Eazy]

Yup, amazing how sometimes we make a full cirle eh?.....I've got a Len Thompson 5-O-Diamonds, that I've had for 19 yrs now, and you know what?....IT STILL CATCHES FISH!

 

Don't be afraid to throw some of the smaller sizes for fall Coho and Steelhead!

 

Sorry, I know this was a Dardevle thread, and I do have quite a few of them as well!

[Crazy Ivan]

Were Evil Eyes made by Dardevle?

I'm still using them!

[adempsey]

Were Evil Eyes made by Dardevle?

I'm still using them!

 

Yup, Eppinger makes a spoon called the Evil Eye.

[Whitespinnerbait]

One of the most OVERRATED lures of all time