The next great lure he shunned was the jointed Rapala. He figured that if the old, solid-body originals had worked for him before, they'd work for him now; so, naturally, when I told him I was fishing with it, he sighed, shook his head, and tied on one of those good old, solid-body originals. As it turned out, I got two big bass that day, and Dad and his good old solid-body Rapala got one half-pounder.

Yet another lure Dad hated was the hard plastic Rebel caterpillar. He figured there was no way that a bass would hit a plastic caterpillar plug. Well, as it turned out, I used it at Lake Toho, Florida, and, over a period of about three hours, got one lunker bass, a big pickerel, and some smaller bass. Dad, on the other hand, came off with a small Florida gar, a pickerel, and one 5-pound bass. He wasn't too happy about getting smaller and fewer fish than I got that day; but if you say a lure ain't no good and it really is, then you gotta take what's coming.

Still another lure Dad didn't think highly of was the Jitterbug. One day, we went to one of our favorite fishing spots, a big lake in Seminole County. After a hugely fun day on the lake, with lots of action for both of us, we headed over to some weeds on the shoreline to do some casting. We got there just as the sun began to set. Dad wouldn't use a surface popper, instead choosing a plastic worm. Almost on my first cast with the Jitterbug, I got a smashing strike. The Jitterbug got sucked under, but the 5-pound bass missed the hooks. I was pretty mad. Then I realized that the fish was still on. When I reeled it up to the boat, I saw that the wide lip on the plug had caught in the bass's mouth and was holding the bass to my line. Almost the entire night went on like that, me getting some and missing some -- Dad almost nothing. After which, I got to gloat, which I do on a regular basis.

Dad now uses those lures he once scorned, but unfortunately hasn't learned to get new ones. So that you avoid my Dad's fate, I'd like to give all you lure-challenged anglers out there this simple method for finding new lures that really work. Go up to a fishing buddy, not a family member. A fishing buddy will listen to you, unlike a family member. Say this to your buddy: "Hey, could you give me a hand finding a good lure?"

"Sure, I'll be right over!" (Two hours later...)

"You needed a hand?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I strongly recommend this -- or this -- "

As soon as your buddy has helped you, you know just which lures to get: whatever ones your buddy didn't.

Sam Levine, 12 years old, is an astute angler and aspiring writer from Orlando, Florida.