#0349 "Let's Jitterbug!"

This is from McCrae Lake, near Honey Harbour, Georgian Bay. I was canoeing with my son one afternoon and doing some fishing when these lily pads caught my eye. The water level had risen 3 feet or so and drowned the pads that had been floating on the surface. I liked the way that the water rippled on the surface of the lily pads.

The Jitterbug lure was one of the first lures I ever bought... and I love surface lures. This particular Jitterbug was probably 25 years old at the time. There is nothing quite like the sensation of a bass smashing a surface lure unless it is a 20 pound pike quietly "lipping" on it like a shark and then running for the next county. Almost every fish is released.

The title is a play on the dance craze popularized in the United States in the early 1900s. Apparently Cab Calloway wrote a song titled "Jitter Bug" in 1934. In 1945 the word "jitters" apparently derived from a spoonerism that used 'bin and jitters' for 'gin and bitters' and describes how someone under the influence of gin and bitters is likely to move.

The Jitterbug fishing lure was designed about the same time as the dance. Fred Arbogast originally worked for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company when he began shaping his lures for personal fishing expeditions and those of his family and friends. His lures grew in popularity. Fred quit his day job in 1926 and started his company a few years later. The classic Jitterbug lure first appeared in 1937 and Arbogast patented the design in 1940. It is considered the best topwater lure for night fishing. Many other topwater lures have come and gone but the Jitterbug still remains as a great topwater bait.

I just liked the way the Jitterbug fishing lure skittered across the water but it is nice to know the history.

I just liked the way the Jitterbug fishing lure skittered across the water but it is nice to know the history.

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