Fishing LBJ on Wednesday and I looked up to see an old spook hanging in the tree. Older frog colored (yellow belly, frog pattern on the back) and not a scratch on it. The tie is located just below the nose. What is with the small hole located directly on the nose? I changed out the hooks and I will be throwing it on my next outing. One more thing, NO rattle.

The small hole is there to fill it up with water, and make it a deep diver spook. Good on Rayburn right now, from what I hear on TTF.

It does not allow water into the lure. It is molded into the body for an eye loop. The Zara body is also used for a prop style bait that ties from the nose.

Great find. Wish I had the bait. All the old Spooks that I can purchase are needed and will be for sale when I have them painted the Flash Shad Color. Each spook is then customized after the Zell Rowland 3 hook spook of the 90's. NO rattle needed the rocking of the hooks will play the music and work it's magic.

Don, I have quite a few Heddon Spooks from the 80's I never use. How much do you think they're worth?

The first time I walked-the-dog with the spook, I was amazed bass hit it with such ferocity! Its side-to-side rhymic swish is unique and sets it apart from any surface lure ever made.
The prop lure with the nose tie - The Tiny Torpedo has a totally different shape and action.




...as does the Devil's Horse with its two props:


(To my knowledge the Spook never had a prop and has always had a rattle.)

In fact the clear plastic Spook was the first clear plastic lure I ever caught fish with and is still my favorite color Spook, same for the Tiny Torpedo.

Spooks date back a long time; all the way to the wooden ones that are now very collectable and most expensive. There is only one modern day one of the 90's that is bring around $25 on Ebay and that is the Zell Rowlen Signature Spook. This is the one that I pattern my Custom Flash Shad from. It has the third hook placement like the Signature Spook.

I can give $5 each for all the old Original Spooks. It cost me $8 each to get them stripped and painted Flash Shad that Pradco no longer produces. I have to pay postage to mail out the spooks to be painted. Then the hardware is right at $4 to get it completed. I sell them for $25 with 2 hours of building time.

Just so you know Heddon Wounded Spook is a Prop bait.
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/heddon-wounded-zara-spook?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CBPS%7CTopPerformers%7CFishing&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlOmLBhCHARIsAGiJg7mxUax_nd4iE48ylcsaJS2xrXnrPw-POfPbkvI4imNHfROgSWb5_88aAtPNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had that frog colored spook at 1 time and caught the heck out of fish on it.That was 40 years ago

I was the main cameraman on the PRADCO videos (The Best New Lures of the 90's videos) for 6 years back in the late 1980's / early 1990's and traveled all over the USA shooting videos with their main public relations director. It was good times. I was on a strict non-disclosure agreement with them as I was privy to their new stuff each year before it ever hit the retail market. I have toured the main factory in Fort Smith Arkansas many times. The "nose hole" on the front of the Zara Spook is there because it is a mount hole for painting the lures. They are placed on a small shaft on a circular type mount that will revolve so the painters and hardware people don't have to touch the lure during painting and hardware attachment. Also, the Zara Spook never had rattles in them until a few years back when the competition started putting rattles in their cigar type lures so PRADCO decided to try it too. (Jimmy Houston wanted some with rattles) You can get Spooks with or without rattles. I currently own several vintage Zara Spooks that were given to me by their former chief lure designer, Jim Gowan (rest in peace my friend) as well as several prototype PRADCO lures that were gifted me that never made it to the market. I have a lot of memories and stories from those years. I do have a few Zell Rowland Pro Autograph Zara Spooks still in the package as well as several wooden Zara Spooks. (Sorry, not for sale). I am not trying to call anyone out, just thought I would share.
Edit: If I was smart enough to know how to post photos here, I would post photos of the Zara Spooks I own.

Excellent job Floyd and a super opportunity to pick up on the latest and greatest baits.

Another note about Zara Spooks. They were originally known as the Zaragossa. This is because of their side to side action that resembled the "ladies of the night" who would "walk their dogs" on Zaragossa Street, looking for "work". The side to side action resembled the way the woman's hips would move when they walked. FYI, a very, very rare Zara Spook are the original 100 plastic injection molded ones. When Heddon went from wood production to plastic production, the original ones got a little too hot in the mold and caused them to all have a "sway back". When they were taken out for test use the first time, each lure was individually numbered 1 to 100 for testing. Those lures tended to hop on the surface too much so they put the few that were tested back into the package and on the warehouse shelf they sat for many years. They look a lot like the sway back topwater cigar type baits manufactured today by many lure companies. When PRADCO acquired Heddon, the box was found by them in the Dowagiac, Michigan Heddon factory and basically kept by one of their "top" employees. I was gifted #54 of those original 100 and have been offered several hundred dollars for it by a lure collector. It is a frog pattern color.

I would love to see some pictures

I have an old clear Swayback and I can't for the life of me remember where I go it.

Send me all your Spooks Floyd. I'll take pictures of all of them and send them "right back".

Thanks Floyd, that's good info.

Very cool Fred. I was told by a pradco rep in the 80s when I was a tackle buyer it was for a nose tie. But you probably can figure out who the rep was in North Texas at that time so it figures he made that answer up! And I have believed him for 40 years.