Part I describes the lure and Part II shows how to work the bait.
Anyway, I’ve been getting more fascinated with this age old lure that works so well here in Florida so I figured I’ll share.
There’s more expensive and flashier baits like the Kelly J which accomplishes the same thing for a small fortune, but why mess with something that’s worked for over 50 years.
A local legend they call “Topwater Charlie” only fishes the Devil’s Horse in just one color, chrome with black back and orange belly.
I can’t believe the only the place in town you can buy this color is Toho Marina and Bitter’s.
Ever heard the saying, the classics never go out of style? The Smithwick Devil’s Horse and the Cotton Cordell Boy Howdy are two lures that have been around forever and still catches fish today. Just about every serious bass fisherman owns a few and they’re outright deadly around lakes in central Florida especially with some hydrilla around.
Both the Devil’s Horse and Boy Howdy have been around since the 1950′s and look nearly identical at first glance, but there are some stark differences.
The Devil’s Horse is a wooden bait while the Boy Howdy is made of plastic. Some argue that wood baits have a subtle action that can’t be duplicated and others argue that it’s nonsense. Some like the added durability and castability of plastic lures over wood.
The two baits also differ in that the Devil’s Horse sits level on the water while the Boy Howdy sits more at an angle with the tail end sitting slightly further down in the water column. It’s just like the difference between a Zara Spook and a Sammy. Some argue that the lure must sit level while others say you miss less fish with the tail end slightly further down. Personally, I miss topwater fish all the time so I can’t tell the difference. What I can say is that topwater lures with the tail end slightly down has more of a finesse action.
I know tons of people who swears by the Horse, while others claim the same thing about the Boy Howdy. I can’t decide which is better and take the safe route and always have both in the boat. I might have a slight preference for the Boy Howdy when it’s dead still calm, but both baits catch fish anytime anywhere.
My favorite color for the Horse is chrome with black back and orange belly and gold and black for the Boy Howdy.
Having said that, both the Horse and Boy Howdy comes with awful hooks that has to be replaced. You also need to add a split ring to the Horse. My favorite hooks for these baits is a #4 Owner Stinger.
The beauty of these baits is that you get some crazy visual strikes and there’s virtually no bad way to fish them. I like to throw them on my 6’9″ medium heavy Kistler Helium LTA on 17 lb Gamma Copolymer.
I like to fish these baits slow. It’s supposed to imitate an injured minnow, so I like to make it look like it’s hobbling around… not moving all over the place like something lively. I’ll cast it out and give a slight twitch when it lands. I’ll wait for all the rings in the water to disappear before I give it another couple twitches. I’ve had days when I’d have to let it sit there for about 20-30 seconds. Most of the strikes will occur when you try to move the bait after it’s been sittin a while. I believe most people work the bait too fast, but that’s just me. Like I said, these baits are idiot proof.
I like to throw it in small open pockets of kissimmee grass and around hydrilla. Once you start getting bit on these baits, it’s hard to do anything else it’s so much fun.
Both baits have withstood the tests of time and will continue to catch fish for many years to come. I believe this battle ends in a stand still cause they’re both fish catching machines.
