Sometimes, we'd tip the jig with a three-inch grub for extra buoyancy, color and action, but live bait was the thing. Wild redtail chubs, small suckers and golden shiners-you absolutely knew something was going to take a bite. In the world of guiding, that level of confidence is a beautiful thing. The Weed Weasel fished through weeds so well, so clean, that anyone could catch fish with it.

Throw the bait out, count it down and start slowly reeling it back. Then as now, it's just that simple. When summer's heat sends fish deep into vegetation, many of the best Northwoods guides still reach for their classic Weed Weasels. Ask their clients. These jigs just plain catch fish.

A Rockin' Bite

While everybody and their uncle's out backtrolling the rocks, sand and mud, guide Tim Anderson likes to cast weeds. Nothing crazy about that. Nothing, that is, except the walleyes, muskies, pike and bass he's extracting from these jungles. Anderson operates Central Minnesota's Big Fish Hunt Guide Service, chasing the hottest predator bites going. This year, he discovered a deadly new lure that's out-fished everything from crankbaits to spinnerbaits, and jigs to jerkbaits.