Thank goodness for Tom’s Bait and Tackle. With the weather this week I haven’t been able to make it out to town to go lure shopping, but reliable as always remains Tom’s Bait and Tackle in Narrowsburg, NY. What’s more is the always-helpful history I get whenever I pick up a lure there. This week I perused the racks and came across what I was told was a favorite of the old owner. Captain Dan’s Erie Dearie.

I’ll admit it’s a lure I’m less familiar with, but in its essence it’s a spinner. Apparently the old owner used to catch a lot of pickerel on it and carried them pretty regularly, but ever since I’m told they’ve lost popularity… or at least recognition. Having my own history with spinners and pickerel I decide to grab one for the tackle box.

Now looking at the Erie Dearie, I almost think it can be used to jig while ice fishing. Maybe. My only concern is the elongated jointed body which could end up getting wrapped in line if not attended to. If one were to slowly drop the Erie Dearie to the bottom and proceed to lift it up a foot or two and jig it with very short sporadic jigs, I think it could work. Another option may be for deeper water, you might be able to drop it down deep and bring it up in fast intervals all the way to the top, eliciting a trigger strike from nearby fish if you have the location right. This would also allow the spinning blade of the lure to work as intended as opposed to just flopping to the side and being reflective as would be the case in short jigging.

To be honest this lure is most likely intended to be an open water lure, to be cast and retrieved as you would any other spinner. Just like the Blue fox and the Mepps spinners I’ve reviewed, you will want to throw it along grass or structure, trying to find those ambush predators lying in wait.

As the packaging says, the Erie Dearie is intended to catch walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, steelhead, crappie, catfish, saugers, stripers (striped bass), perch, and bass. Are you going to catch all of these on this lure? Most likely not. However, as I’ve said in the past, you can get lucky and catch fish you weren’t expecting on almost any lure.

So what makes this spinner so special? The Erie Dearie works in three sections. These include the tie-on, the body, and the hook and are all about the same length. The hook is a simple gold one and a half inch single J hook. This attaches to the body which is all built on a wire spine. The bottom of course is the wire circle to which the hook is attached. Above this are two red beads and then a smaller silver bead on the wire spine. Then there is the one inch silver spinner blade mounted just below the cast lead body. The body is painted a uniform color, in my case fluorescent yellow, with a foil sticker eye. The eye on the lure I picked up is a red foil with centered black pupil. The shape of this body is flat on one side and humped twice like a camel on the opposing side. At the head of this is the wire loop connecting to the tie-on. And here is where it gets more interesting.

Many spinners are constructed just as has been described thus far, in two sections. This one has yet another joint leading to a two inch wire with a tie-on at either end. One end connects to the lure of course and the other is where you tie your line. Why is this important? The added third section of the body creates a different swim pattern as it is retrieved. It gives more movement to the body, which on a normal spinner would appear far more steady as it swims. Movement is key. Movement is what gets attention and triggers fish to bite. So although I haven’t used this lure yet, I hold out high hopes that it will perform quite well. Given its weight I would also use it on a troll. The size of the lure pictured here is a 3/8 oz. Erie Dearie’s come in ¼, 3/8, 5/8, ¾, and 1 ounce sizes. You can find Erie Dearie’s at eriedearie.com or by searching for them on Kilerbeebait.com which is the company that owns this lure design.

I think I’ll save this one for spring and not for jigging as proposed. Feel free to try either of course, but do yourself a favor and go pick one up. If you live near Narrowsburg NY, I’d suggest checking out Tom’s Bait and Tackle. That’s where I got mine, and they’ve got plenty more to look into as well.

*If you have any luck with the lure of the week, feel free to email your pictures to events@riverreporter.com for an opportunity to share them on our website. If you have a favorite kind of lure we haven’t reviewed yet, feel free to send that lure to our office at PO box 150 Narrowsburg, NY 12764. We will add it to our weekly reviews and share the results. Check back each week on Fridays to see the new lure of the week!