Hot n Tots fire walleye action
The Hot n Tot, a longtime favorite lure of Western Pennsylvania anglers, will figure in the plans of many of them when the state's walleye season opens early next month.
Aggressive action lures, like the Hot n Tot and other baits that mimic its action, also are popular on the professional walleye scene.
"It's my go-to lure," said Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., a former In Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail Angler of the Year and three-time PWT Champion.
"It's my money lure. I've probably won more money with a Hot n Tot than any other single lure."
The confidence-builder for Gilman happened early in his career, about 15 years ago, after an all-night drive to fish a tournament on Saginaw Bay.
Following a lengthy boat ride out to the Charity Islands, Gilman discovered he had left his box of crawlers in his truck.
"I tied on a Hot n Tot, and didn't go 50 yards before I caught a five-pounder," he recalled. "I've been hooked from the beginning."
While Hot n Tots figure heavily in Gilman's efforts throughout the open water season, he says Tots work on all bodies of water, not just Great Lakes waters.
Trolled through open water basins, Hot n Tots do a good job of representing pelagic bait, but they are equally effective ticked along the bottom. If the term Hot n Tot was listed in the dictionary, versatility would be mentioned in the description.
"They have that real tight wobble and side-to-side action," Gilman said. "They provide a lot of flash, a factor in clear water. But they are noisy, too. In dark water, they are easy for walleyes to find. You can run them fast. Charter captains that don't have kicker motors will pull them at 4 mph and they still run great."
Greg Yarbrough, a pro based in Port Clinton, Ohio, fishes Hot n Tots, as well as the similar Winning Streaks and Mean Streaks from Dave's Lures.
Yarbrough runs Tots and Streaks as fast as 3 mph, though his typical range is 2 to 2.2 mph.
The Mean Streak, a jointed version of the Winning Streak, provides an even more irregular action, Yarbrough said.
"Many people don't cast them, which is a mistake," Gilman said. "With the bill design the way it is, and the way they ride in the water, they are pretty snag-free.
If you are working heavy- duty riprap, stump fields or weeds, you have the option of taking off the front treble and then it's almost weedless."
Due to the steep diving angle of the Hot n Tot, the bill tends to make contact in front of the hooks, minimizing snags. As Gilman pointed out, this characteristic is a plus in casting situations, where the lure can be banged into cover, then allowed to quickly back off because of its buoyancy. Steep breaking shorelines are places to target casts with the quick-diving Hot n Tot.
Yarbrough likes to target windswept points and shorelines with cast Tots and Streaks. In addition to lakes, these baits do very well when cast along and over river walleye river structures. It they hang up, the current typically assists in freeing the bait from the snag.
Currently, Storm offers Hot n Tots in 23 color patterns and both a 2-inch and 2Z\x-inch version. Dave's Lures offers more than 60 color patterns in its quarter-ounce Winning Streak, which also features internal rattles.
The Mean Streak is a jointed version of the Winning Streak. Various color options are found in the Mean Streak, including combinations of lure/tail that include chrome, ruby red, and florescent, as well as tails that match the color as the bait's body.
A new addition to the Streak family of high action lures is the Streak Freak, which incorporates a soft tube tail. Eight Streak Freaks will be on the market this year.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
