In the end, success is a matter of where you fish and what lures you choose to make the fish bite. The best all-around lure ever for shorecasting, in the situations I faced in natural lakes years ago, was the old #13 Husky Rapala, doctored with lead shot so it fished perfectly for the situation at hand. I really don't miss tinkering with a drill and adding lead shot to make the baits cast farther and to fish at just the right depth -- that is, until I meet a situation in which no other bait fishes at just the right depth. My second choice for a doctored bait was the 5-inch Bagley Bang-O Lure, which is still available.

Today, you can do serious big-fish duty with one of the Smithwick Rogues, a #12 or #14 Rapala Husky Jerk, or a #12 Rapala Long Cast Minnow. These are big baits that have serious wobbling action for attracting and triggering big fish after dark.

The Floating Super Rogue (5 inches, 3/8 ounce) is a great bait for very shallow fishing in, say, less than two feet of water (or when you have little distance between weeds and surface). It casts farther than the other floaters I'm familiar with, except perhaps the Cotton Cordell Redfin, another good bait. I prefer the action of the Rogue for walleyes, though.

The Suspending Super Rogue (5 inches, 1/2 ounce) casts better than some of the other suspenders on the market, because it weighs slightly more. It also swims a bit deeper -- into the 3-foot range, on a retrieve. The Suspending Rattlin' Rogue, meanwhile, is a 5.5-inch bait that runs about the same depth. All the Rogues can be made to run shallower by slowing the retrieve and holding your rod tip high.

I've spent most of my time in recent years fishing with Husky Jerks and, as of last year, the Long Cast Minnow, baits that are very effective at night. The #12 Husky Jerk measures 4.75 inches and weighs 1/3 ounce. The #14 is 5.5 inches and 1/2 ounce. Because of the way they're constructed, they both fish at about the same depth (from 1.5 to 4 feet). Meanwhile, the #12 Long Cast Minnow measures 4.75 inches, weighs 11/16 ounce and works in depths of about 1.5 to 4 feet. This one really is the longest-casting lure out there, all other things being equal.

The knock by some anglers about the Long Cast Minnow is that it doesn't measure up actionwise for fishing at night. With a little tinkering that can be changed, and also, the lure fishes a little shallower. So, too, can you increase the wobbling action of the Husky Jerks, also making them fish a little shallower. Wider-wobbling baits give off more flash and vibration and often get more action at night. Just take a pliers, pinch the hookeye a little flatter and then bend it down slightly. Remove the split ring on these lures and use a Cross-Lok or Coast Lock snap to connect main line to lure.