by Colby Sorrells
Photo by author.
Tackle Time
The Simple Lil John
S
o plain. So simple. A jighead
with what looks like an
afterthought, or a piece of a well
used soft plastic, the L & S MirrOlure
Lil John does not stand out. It looks
like something a kid carved out of one
of his father’s discarded soft plastic
lures or re-shaped using an old time
pencil sharpener.
The idea is not totally new. Many
years ago when soft plastic, or as they
were called then, rubber lures, were first
made, a similar lure was available along
the Gulf Coast. Even though the soft
plastic lure idea had its beginnings in
the freshwater arena, it didn’t take long
for the lures to find their way into the
hands and tackle boxes of coastal anglers.
One of the big Texas coastal lure
makers even ran an advertisement just for
these lures. Doug English Lure
Company, of Corpus Christi, advertised
their “BINGO Worms” in the September/
October 1969 issue of Southern Outdoors
and Gulf Coast Fisherman. The
advertisement includes happy angler
Lanny Meyers and his record 13 pound
2 ounce speckled trout caught in the
Galveston area.
Young Meyers landed his fish in the
Galveston surf. His large speckled trout
was the first to be officially recognized
as a record fish by the Texas Outdoor
Writers Association, which was the
keeper of Texas fish records at the time.
The lure Meyers used was a small
lead jighead with a short, soft plastic
worm attached. This version of the Bingo
Worm had a simple cigar shape without
any split or flip type tail. Another full
color advertisement for Bingo products
in the magazine shows Bingo worms in
8 different colors and five different sizes,
with lengths ranging from 1-1/2 inches
to 4 inches long with three different
weights of lead jigheads. Bingo later
introduced several other versions of the
Worm including a split tail example.
The idea of the small worm type lure
was soon found all along the coast with
several small companies selling their
lures in local markets. In the Port
O’Connor area, a lure called the Bell
Worm was sold individually. The Bell
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G U L F C O A S T F I S H E R M A N
Worm has a lead jighead and 1-1/2 inch
long body with a fish shaped tail. This
particular lure was no doubt designed to
sink to the bottom quickly because the
jighead weighs almost 1/2 ounce.
Padre Island Company, PICO, of
Corpus Christi, sold a similar product.
The three inch PICO Bull Worm had a
paddle-shaped tail and came in eight
colors which included a contrasting
colored spot in the middle of the tail.
The folks at L & S Bait Company of
Largo, Florida and their MirrOlure brand
of lures were after a lure that didn’t
helicopter during its descent. If not
properly rigged, rat tail or shad tail soft
plastic lures often have a tendency to
spiral as they travel down through the
water. The cylindrical design of the Lil
John eliminates this problem making it a
lure almost anyone can use with success.
The Lil John has really taken over
in some locations like Lake Calcasieu in
southwest Louisiana. The folks at
Hackberry Rod and Gun use the lure
throughout the year, but particularly
during the late summer/early fall, fishing
for speckled trout at the numerous mid-
lake shell reefs found in Calcasieu.
At first, it’s hard to believe the lure
is different enough from other soft plastic
lures to warrant including it in your tackle
arsenal. But one trip with Hackberry Rod
and Gun Club guide, Captain Zach
Mitchell, proved the lure works and
sometimes it is the only lure that will
work. Mitchell quickly boated several
speckled trout before anyone else in the
group had time to tie the little jig on their
line. After initially dismissing the
simple lure, it didn’t take the skeptical
group long to change out their non-
working soft plastic lures for the fish
catching Lil John.
The Lil John is 3-3/4 inches long
and is made in over 25 different colors.
Variations of white are popular in the
Calcasieu area. In Texas, pick a color
with red or chartreuse in it. Due to the
almost cylindrical shape of the body,
there is really no wrong way to put the
body-on the jighead. Both push-on or
twist-on screw jigheads work with the
Lil John.
The Lil John works especially well
with some of the new 1/32 ounce
jigheads now available. Combining the
cylindrical body and the super light-
weight jighead makes the rig a go-to lure
when speckled trout fishing gets tough,
like the last couple of hot weeks of
August and into September.
Now, a larger size 4-1/4 inch long
Lil John XL is also being made by
MirrOlure. The company states the
larger version offers added weight for
longer casts and includes a slot, or
pocket, so anglers can rig the lure with a
keel-weighted hook. or rigged weedless
with the hook riding in the pocket. Both
Lil John versions include a shrimp scent
to help attract fish.
Working the Lil John is as simple as
its design. Just cast the lure at the target,
let it sink and make a steady retrieve. The
body shape prevents the helicopter
motion often experienced when using
many other soft plastics, especially if
they are not positioned just right on the
lead jighead. The Lil John likely makes
a good representation of small shrimp or
possibly some of the aquatic worms
found in coastal waters.
Simple idea, simple to operate and
simply effective, the Lil John works
when other more complex lures might
not. The straight decent of the lure sets
it apart from others that tend to rotate as
they work their way through the water
column. Try the Lil John and don’t be
surprised if it finds a place in your tackle
box. Its simplicity fools not only fish
but also fishermen.
G C F
W W W. G U L F F I S H I N G. C O M