Molded baits and the fall bite
By FishRecycler | October 9, 2007

At the end of the dam, we came upon perfect cover for a cover-busting lure, so I set aside my worm and picked up a Tube-X lure from Vertical Lures. These are molded plastic lures, but unlike some of the softer conventional tubes, these have a tough nose and hold up well to repeated use, reducing waste and reducing the chance that they'll be torn off and wind up on the bottom of the lake. They're also designed to be rigged Texas style so they're super-weedless, and their compact shape makes them deadly for working heavy cover.

The first bass didn't come on the first cast, but it did come on that first spot. I worked that garlic-flavored Tube-X in and out of the branches of an old Christmas tree and before long I'd convinced the bass that was hiding in the limbs that it was hungry and this funky looking thing was dinner.
Over the course of the day I'd hook and land a half dozen bass on this single bait, and it's waiting for me back in my box now. The durability of that Tube-X was really impressive.