Getting tecky about Lucky Craft Sammy's
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 
Inspired by Tom's earlier blog I thought I might build upon what he said about Lucky Craft's Sammy and get a little more 'geeky'. The Sammy is a magic lure and it should be in all bass'ers lure boxes. Its certainly in mine and I spend much time with clients using them as I know they will provoke the best result from the fish.
Part of the daily lure selection process is to use the right size of lure to meet the prevailing conditions. Sammy's come in three standard sizes. The Sammy 100, the Sammy 115 and the Sammy 128 and they all have their day or even time in the day. They all will provoke savage takes or hits (and there is a difference between a take and a hit and I'll discuss this in another blog) but the choice of size is important. First there is the environmentals to consider. These are:
Weather - In wind weight = better casting (unless the wind is on your back) and the Sammy 128 is heavier than the Sammy 100 and is therefore easier to cast in a breeze. Pretty simply stuff so far.
Sea state - In a swell or big chop all sliders - and Sammys are no exception - will surf and become difficult to fish. The Sammy 128 being bigger presents a better profile to the sea and will surf quicker than the Sammy 100.
Sea turbidity - In coloured water the Sammy 128 is noisier. Its rattles are bigger, its disturbance through the water is greater and its profile is larger.
Tide - the 128 will catch the tide more than the Sammy 100 simply because its bigger and has more surface area for the tide to grip. In a big tide go small.
Light - The brightness of the day will change the way the fish see a surface lure as they look up at it. Things look more defined in bright light...they look bigger. On a bright day small can be better. At night big presents an easier found target.
The fish - In my experience the Sammy 100 will find better fish, the Sammy 115 is the banker and the Sammy 128 will pull fish of any size with on balance the fish being slightly smaller than the other two (and as its loaded with three trebles on several occasions its caught two at once).
Then there is the lures action....
The Sammy 100 is a busy walker and has a subtle rattle, the Sammy 115 can be walked fast of slow and rattles well and the Sammy 128 is noisy and likes a slow steady walk. On a quiet sea day choose a quieter lure - think Sammy 100. On a noisy sea day the Sammy 128 has a role.
Mix these issues into a days bassing and the possible decision factors on lure size become tricky. But they are important and to dismiss them will disadvantage your fishing. When I'm bassing or guiding clients I'll do all I can to maximise the probability of a hook up. I carry all three sizes in all my favoured colours and will change them all day long as the conditions change.
Reader Comments (7)
Interesting stuff, Tim. I only have one Sammy(115 in pearl) in the bag and have yet to use it in anger - had a quick go this season but as we know there's not much about here at present). I seem to struggle to get it to work in anything but a very tight walk the dog pattern. I would like to haveit working on wider slides before turning. Is this perhaps down to the soft tip on my rod?
Tim, you can throw the most expensive and well designed lure into the sea and it will never catch...Its the action that we impart as fishers that is essential in turning what is a piece of plastic into something that provokes a take. The kit that we team with any lure - Rod, Reel and line - needs to be tuned for creating the right lure action of a specific lure type. Surface lures demand a really close relationship between angler and lure if they are to have a scoring action. That means you must be in contact with the lure at all times and yes, a stiff action rod is essential. But so is your line choice, reel choice and they way you fish them.
In the mix is the angler, the lure, line, reel and rod and all must be well chosen and used perfectly. Get it right and your hook up rate will reach new levels.
Hopefully I can get out with you later in the year for some instruction on how to get the best from my lures! I have an Ugly Stik LIte 8' rod, and vary between a shimano exage 4000 fixed spool reel and a small penn generations multiplier. I fish both with 20lb braid, so I think I have a reasonable set up. I guess more practice is required?
Tim, I enjoyed your article on the Sammy very much. There is now an absoloute minefield out there with regards to bass plugs availaible on the market, and you can spend literally hundreds of pounds on a relatively small amount of plugs. Its nice to read about how some of these fancy bits of plastic can be put into action, and get some "geeky"info on how the lure is used. I would be intrestred to read your thoughts on some of your other favourite lures.
Thanks Colin, watch out for my next Blog where I try some rapping.....
Just wanted to say a big thank you for our day out with you Tim, Had my first "Topwater" Bass with the Sammy, Will be ordering one in the same pattern from here ASAP.
dosnt matter how much the lure costs you have to have fish infront of you.only then does the lure have a effect on the number of bass you catch.