OHUB Review: Blue Collar Baits – Finger Lure
Keith Lusher 11.13.23
Here in South Louisiana, having a go-to plastic paddle-tail minnow is essential to catching fish in the marsh. I had the opportunity to try out a new bait that hit the market recently called the Finger Lure made by Blue Collar Baits. The bait is a traditional paddle-tail lure that measures 3.5 inches and comes in five different colors. I made a trip to Lake Borgne to try out these plastics on a foggy morning in November. My first stop was a shoreline with baitfish being chased by speckled trout. I tied on a Finger Lure in the Head Hunter color which is a light chartreuse on top with a white pearl stomach. I was using a 1/4 oz. jig head and began throwing it toward the shoreline popping it on the bottom.
The first thing that I noticed was that the paddle-tail had very good resistance as I popped it, which is a good quality in my book. After a few minutes, I switched over to fishing the lure under a popping cork but struck out as it just wasn’t what the fish wanted. I knew the trout were there because of the explosions I saw as baitfish scattered across the water’s surface. I wasn’t able to catch any trout for about 30 minutes, however, I figured out how the fish wanted the bait presented when I decided to retrieve it steadily along the middle water column. As I was retrieving it I saw a trout come from behind and engulf it.
I set the hook and boat-flipped a 14-inch speck onto the bow of the boat. It seems like that was the ticket as I was able to catch 16 trout ranging from 13″-19″. The lure had spectacular movement with a slight wobble back and forth caused by the unique paddle tail. I was using a Death Grip jig head which kept the Finger Lure on tight without slipping down the hook while I was catching fish. Another thing that I noticed with this lure is that it held up all morning. I was able to use the same lure without it ripping or tearing. When I returned home I ordered two more colors (Night Shift and Kai Dog) for my next trip in the winter.
In conclusion, I thought the paddle-tails were very durable and more importantly, caught plenty of speckled trout. I would recommend these Finger Lures for anyone who is targeting speckled trout and redfish on their next saltwater fishing trip.
