With fall fishing hitting its stride, what better than to talk about fishing lures. I apologize in advance for any wallets that are harmed after reading this post.
Words by: Tim Homa
After posting the blog about my 3 Favorite Speckled Trout Lures, we had a number of people far and wide reach out to share what they love to throw. One of those people, partially provoked by our caption on the Instagram post, but reached out nonetheless, was Wayne Seymour aka @Troutman814.
Wayne, or Master Wayne, as we call him, is a Virginia Beach fishing staple. You might run into Master Wayne while he is working at Princess Anne Distributing Co or catch a glimpse of him in a photo on Instagram, holding one of the many massive King Mackerel he is privy to catching. He is a three time winner of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for King Mackerel and the only winner to ever do it in back-to-back years.
Master Wayne, however, is no slouch when it comes to wrangling Speckled Trout and Puppy Drum back in the inlets. With decades of experience catching trophy sized specks, when Master Wayne speaks we listen. He commented that similar to me he’s tried a ton of lures, but has slimmed his selection down to “just a few” in every color they come in. Sensing a facetious tone from Wayne, we asked if we could check out his tackle box.
We decided to meet up at everyone’s favorite inlet. Wayne, wearing a Salty Crew hat, Costa Sunglasses, and black jacket, greeted us with a smile. He opened up the tailgate to his truck. On display was a hefty Penn tackle bag, a five gallon bucket, a large plastic bin, and five spinning rods. At this point in time I was trying to consolidate and streamline my tackle. After seeing how much Wayne had, I knew my wallet was in trouble.
He opened the large plastic bin that neatly held his favorite Z-Man soft plastics and a bottle of Pro-Cure lure scent. Diezel Minnows on a quarter ounce jig head are the go to for puppy drum. Nothing fancy there. Puppy drum love paddle tails. Z-Man ElaZtech plastic paired with a sturdy jig head is a durable combination.
There seemed to be a ray of light pouring out of the Penn tackle bag in the bed of the truck. Master Wayne removed seven tackle boxes from the bag. Each box contained the most colorful selection of suspending or slow sinking plugs.
To the man’s credit, he was right. He narrowed his selection down to the lures he liked, but he really did have each one in every color. He had boxes for his favorite Mirrolures like the MR27 or Catch 2000. There were boxes specifically for the Fat Boy and Soft Dine made by Paul Brown. We even got a glimpse of the box holding the Broken Back Corky by Steve’s Lures.
Not to age this fella, but Wayne’s love for Speckled Trout fishing started back in the ‘70s when he was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. That is also where his love for Mirrolures sprouted. “When I got back from Jacksonville, I brought home Mirrolures that you couldn’t get in shops in Virginia,” he said. “I’ve been a fanatic ever since.”
As Wayne showed us his favorites from each box, I noticed that there were a ton of colors I had never seen before. He is a fan of showing the fish something different. Fishermen are always looking for an advantage, so why not add some customization to proven lure profiles like MR 27s? Wayne attributed much of his success to the custom painted Mirrolures by his friend Jay Whitfield, @j_b_whitfield on Instagram.
Jay and Wayne spitball ideas about color combinations and patterns, and Jay brings them to life. I noticed lots of variations using orange, purple, and reds. All things I never would’ve thought to do, but staring at them it made sense.
There is always a lesson to learn when talking with Wayne. The lesson that day was simple. Throw something different. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with a completely new lure. Go with a proven profile, but customize the appearance. Judging from the photos Wayne posts, it might be worthwhile to listen to this old timer.
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