But, thankfully, professional bass anglers have bucked this trend by sticking with their tournament jerseys rather than going back to the dreadful bass fishing jumpsuits of the 1960s. However, some of the pros do go retro with their lure selection for certain applications.

"I am a firm believer in showing fish something they haven’t seen before, even if it is something just a little bit different,” said 2008 Bassmaster Classic champ Alton Jones. "And sometimes the way to do that is to go retro.

"The fish’s great-great-great grandmother has probably seen it, but chances are that particular fish has never seen a retro lure like the Big O whereas it has seen all the more modern versions of it.”

Some old-school baits such as the Heddon Zara Spook continue to remain popular among bass anglers, but other fish-catchers from the early days of competitive fishing have lost their luster over the years. Old favorites such as the Devil’s Horse, Lucky 13, Hula Popper, Jitterbug and Big O rarely receive any mention in today’s fishing magazines or Internet chat rooms, but some of the pros know going retro with these baits can produce a successful day on the water.

"If people weren’t still catching fish on them, they wouldn’t be making them,” said Texas pro Zell Rowland. "The deal is nobody is saying anything about them.”

But if you ask, you just might get a few tips from touring pros about some of the most popular old-school bass lures.  

Smithwick Devil’s Horse

"Over the years I have fished it, mainly in Florida, the Devil’s Horse has produced a lot of big fish,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Terry Scroggins. "It is a great bait for throwing to targets like a weed line or around stumps or docks. It does have its place anywhere I go.”

The Florida pro likes to throw the Devil’s Horse in the holes of hydrilla or around isolated cover and bream spawning beds. In a recent Bassmaster Open on South Carolina’s Santee Cooper lakes, he proved the topwater plug works on waters other than in his home state by catching enough fish on the Devil’s Horse during the event to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic.

Working the lure slowly during low-light conditions produces the most strikes for Scroggins.

"The best way to retrieve that bait is to have a whole lot of patience,” he said. "You want to make a good cast close to your target. Let the bait sit there for a good 20 seconds – which is really hard to do – and let the rings fade away from the bait. Then twitch the bait one time and let it sit 10 or 15 more seconds. Ninety percent of the time, the fish will bite that thing within the first two or three twitches of the bait because it is around the cover.”

The five-time BASS winner loosens the lure’s front and rear eyelets to allow the propellers to spin more freely and create more commotion on the surface. "A lot of people might be scared to loosen those eyelets, but if you have ever taken those screws out, they are about three-quarters of an inch long so you can back them out quite a bit,” Scroggins said.  

Heddon Lucky 13

The unique sound of a Lucky 13 makes this topwater appealing to Texas pro Zell Rowland.

"It’s in the chugger family like a Pop-R,” said Rowland, "but what a lot of people don’t realize is that a Lucky 13 and a Pop-R all look alike but they don’t sound alike in the water. The Lucky 13 makes more of a chug sound and is a lot noisier than a Pop-R.”

The tournament veteran prefers this topwater lure whenever conditions such as stained water or a windy day calls for a noisier surface plug. The lure produces fish for Rowland whether he works it around cover or along open banks.

The mood of the fish dictates how Rowland retrieves the Lucky 13.

"I like jerking it how a fish likes to eat it,” he said. "What I mean by that is sometimes I might jerk it one time and let it settle, and other times I might jerk it two or three times and let it settle. Then there are days when I constantly jerk the bait and rip it through the water.”

Rowland sometimes dresses up the lure to make it look a little more appealing to bass by replacing the Lucky 13’s rear hook with a feather hook.  

Arbogast Hula Popper

When he wants a subtle topwater presentation, Rowland favors the Hula Popper because it makes a quieter plunking sound, and the lure’s skirt gives it a lively look even when it sits still on the surface.

"I can barely move the bait at times and give it a lot of action because of the skirt,” he said. The 16-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier prefers throwing this lure to logs, bushes and other visible cover on a calm surface or with a slight chop on the water.

The same retrieves he employs for the Lucky 13 also trigger surface blowups for Rowland with the Hula Popper.

"Usually [the Hula Popper] is a bait I am going to fish a little bit slower because of the skirt on the tail,” he said.  

Arbogast Jitterbug

Oklahoma pro Terry Butcher occasionally throws the Jitterbug during tournaments when the rest of the competition is using today’s most popular topwaters.

"I use it just to kind of change up from throwing a Spook or a buzzbait,” he said. "It is just something a little bit different, and not many guys throw it anymore. It is a great big-bass bait.”

The touring pro favors throwing this surface plug on calm days early in the morning. He also tries it late in the evenings whenever he gets a chance to fish a summertime jackpot tournament at home.

The black Jitterbug works best for Butcher when he fishes late in the evening or at night. While other anglers rely on a noisy topwater lures for night fishing, Butcher still prefers the quiet Jitterbug for its ability to displace water.

"It doesn’t make all that much noise, so I guess it is a subtle bait the fish can still find alright because it moves quite a bit of water,” he said.

His favorite targets for working the Jitterbug are standing timber and shallow rocky banks. Butcher slowly cranks the Jitterbug to make it waddle up to the standing timber, and when the lure reaches the side of a tree, he stops it and lets it sit next to the cover for about three seconds. If the pause fails to trigger a strike, he slowly cranks the topwater plug 3 to 4 feet and then pauses again to entice any bass following the bait.

Cotton Cordell Big O

Alton Jones likes going retro with the Big O just because the old-timer still catches fish.

"When it was invented, the Big O was kind of the standby crankbait,” Jones said. "I remember hearing about it when I was a teenager before I even knew anything about a bass tournament. Guys were catching fish on it on all the East Texas lakes. The Big O was the hot ticket then, and there were times when you couldn’t even get one because it was so hot. It is one of those baits that the modern day shallow-running square-bill baits have copied.”

The Big O’s extreme buoyancy and great ability to deflect off objects make this lure ideal for fishing around shallow cover in stained water (1 foot or less of visibility).

"I really like it around wood and rock,” said Jones. "When you are bumping those tight spots within the limbs or the crack of the rocks, it will float itself out of most bad situations.” Jones also pointed out the lure’s wide wobbling action tends to draw strikes from bigger fish.

The Texas pro usually likes to work the lure at depths less than 4 feet deep around scattered weeds or logs. Jones also runs the lure parallel to riprap banks so he can keep the Big O in the strike zone throughout his retrieve. The shallow-diver also works well for Jones in deeper water when he cranks it around standing timber or under floating boat docks to trick suspended bass.

When he finds bass schooling and busting on top during late summer and early fall, Jones burns the Big O through the surface commotion to trigger reaction strikes.

"In most of the situations, though I am fishing [the Big O] pretty slow around that wood, rock and weed cover,” said Jones. For his slower presentation, Jones prefers a stop-and-go retrieve and makes sure he bumps the lure into as much cover as he can.

Reliable results keep retro lures in style with touring pros, and these time-tested baits could become staples in your lure selection if you give them the chance to perform their old magic tricks.