Manns Little George

How do you fish it? Deep, on drop offs,over brush piles, or like a crank bait? Several years ago, I was fishing and the bass started busting on top. I pulled out my favorite plug for schooling fish and my buddy pulled out a black Little George. After he had me about eight to two I was digging for me a George. Anyone ever fishem on top?

Haven't fished one in a long time.. but back in the day.. it was a yo yo type retrieve that was really popular.. throw it out, let it fall.. if you didn't get bit on the fall.. it was rip it up and let it fall again.

BD

I don't think anyone could "fish them on top" even with a new 8:1 reel! They are a chunk of lead. They are an often forgotten lure that will flat catch fish. Caught my largest Lewisville bass fishing one freezing winter day at the old dam casting up shallow and hopping it off the bottom like a worm. They are great anywhere you would "yo-yo" a spoon and for schooling fish nothing is better. If you can see schooling through binoculars you can reach them with a Little George, they cast a mile!

Tail spinners were really HOT a few years ago in the cold! There are much better options than ol George

chuck n spin

Don't forget the bead and red diachii!

Doesn't catch bass, just sandies.

LOL, showing age now. I have several. Haven't yet fished them...think they caught more fishermen than fish!!

Some of y'all are mistaken. Lol! They have their place.

Probaly been a million fish caught on them is all

The definitely will catch bass, but more white bass than blacks. I prefer them over a slab when fishing for Sand bass.

Lil George was a hot white bass bait years ago on Livingston before the pet spoon craze took over. I haven't heard much out of them over the last 10 years or so. They would catch black bass too but like Ronnie said above there were much better offerings.

Back in the day when bass schooled with sandbass we used them in this manner because you could cast them so far. We could cast them about as far with yesterday's tackle, as we can throw a crappie jig with today's tackle...lol but yes we used to throw them year round, like a spinner bait in the summer and a slab/George in the winner. And yes has been a locate tool for me for about 40 years

Completely devastating on the sandies when caught schooling. At times on Texoma, when we found the sandies schooling, we caught one on every cast. It was giggling, half-crazed madness. Never worried about working it - it was more a matter of how quickly you could throw it out again.

Tail spinners on Lake Fork

Sand bass is what I use them for.

A 1oz george will catch Largemouth. My wife Nancy's PB 8.6 came on it.

Sounds like I've been neglecting a good bait in my tackle box

Wasn't it a bait somebody credited to help somebody wi the classic maybe some 30 years ago.

If Tom Mann was still alive he'd tell you different about folks saying they won't catch bass.

Yep correct, Tom invented it to fish lake eufala in the 60's....to catch deep fish. It always has been a good bass bait , but forgotten a bit until the more recent run of tail spinners. I know of several of the old guys that fish them. And if you can get your hands on a "super George" you've got yourself a clear deep water catcher for sure. Letting a little cat out on this one......

Still a great bait. Yes there are better tail spinners on the market now. However, the George is still a fish catcher. Change the stock hook out, though.

I've personally caught over 1000 fish on the standard sized Little George and a couple locally made knock offs.

Fishing in the winter on hot water lakes is where I've had most luck with it. Find a point where the bait fish are moving. Cast out and work it near the bottom. Cast and retrieve sometimes and sweep the rod and let it fall back down on others.

At Lake Arlington back in the 70's I know I had several 50 fish days using this bait. One bad winter day when the power plants were going full force my neighbor came off the lake with a freezer full of bass and sandies. The largest bass he caught that day was over 7 pounds and he said he caught them all day long. He was wading.

its a great bait. suspended fish, fish hanging on the bottom, just above the bottom, etc. anywhere but at the surface.

little george's are still a great fishing tool. i noticed one comment that thought george's can not be fished on top, but that is not true. a buddy of mine just wore them out bulging a george like a spinner bait. there is not really anyway to fish one wrong. i have encountered many times over the years, when bass would not hit a spoon, but would eat a george.

bo

Wallmart has 1oz George

You won't find a super George at Walmart. Maybe ebay if your lucky

Doc

Good Morning. I’m stuck inside in the middle of this thunderstorm in Fl on 11-30-22. I found this thread Googling Little George. I bought my first one yesterday. I’ve been fishing my whole life but the truth is I wasn’t as good of a fisherman as I thought I was for a long time. I was guilty of believing more hype and marketing than I did what worked. The Little George I bought had been in my local tackle shop for 20 years probably until I grabbed it yesterday .

The stories about these lures catching bass in the winter are true. While I’ve never used one, I’ve always used similar lures to have the most success in the winter. It was always a light spinnerbait or a countdown type crankbait slow on the bottom.

So what do I really know about fishing a lure I’ve never fished right...well here’s a story you might not believe. I’m in Fl where there’s alot of Redfishing. I’ve seen Redfish swallow inline spinners whole and I’ve also seen them bite and destroy the blades on normal spinnerbaits, and not even get hooked because they didn’t bite the hook. I even seen a Redfish blow up an Altoids can that somebody left in the water once. I swear to gosh.

So I think I don’t even need to explain my point or my plan lol! I really think a Little George will load a boat. Where we Redfish has alot of bass also. I was also going to modify a Little George. I was going to put a swivel and another blade so you had both kinds of blade rotation. I don’t know if bass will fool with it because I’ve never seen them bite anything but the hook whether it was a giant spinnerbait or a beetlespin but the Redfish should based on what I’ve seen.

I fish it on all those and fish it all different kinds of ways. Just get it in front of the fish and they will eat it

A long time ago on a cold windy sunny early Spring day at Lake Holbrook we had only managed a couple bass the first half of the day on spinnerbaits but had lots of short strikes. Had a Little George on from earlier deep water failed jigging. Up in the north timber bored and fishing shallow, picked it up, chunked it out and burned it back fast on my trusty 5000-D reel, got one on first cast. We caught about 20 more bass in the next couple hours burning Little Georges in shallow timber - never tried it again.

All we used to throw for white bass years ago. Not used one in a long time but that fishing is about to crank up and I think I will tie one. I am partial to a crankbait though nowadays as i just like feeling the wobble cease and them start pulling. We used to catch 2 on same treble hook on the green little georges.

Little George was named after Alabama governor/presidential candidate George Wallace who was a staunch segregationist..........can't believe they haven't changed the name to something more politically correct.....

I still have some originals that are 45+ years old. They will catch fish of any species and with the correct set up you can cast them a mile.

And the logo lol

Lil George was popular in deep, cold clear lakes years back. I think back in the day Jimmy Houston used um on Tenkiller in Oklahoma.

If I fished one it was when I was a kid chasing sandbass.

yes
great lure

i have a few still from the 80's somewhere... they were a drum magnet, if there were drum in the lake they would find it down there... LOL

I love these kind of post! One lure and all the different opinions. In almost every situation, a given lure in the hands of a fisherman who has taken the time to master it can be awesome! Everyone is looking for the magic lure. The one that catches the big bass or the boat loads of bass. I found the magic in learning how to fish a lure. I have used Little George lures but I found a better option for a tail spinner bait. So I use it but, a tail spinner will flat out catch fish. Just have to learn when and where. Same holds true with most lures. IMO.

When I first got a boat we used to tear the sand bass up on this lure, RC was the best lake for these, we used the humdinger variety.

Lots of better tail spinner options these days. I don’t think a ton of fishermen are actually using a tail spinner these days but I do, a bunch!

I just ordered some L.G.'s off of Ebay. I'm always up for trying something (old) new.

This is an old thread from 2013 that someone brought back to the front.

Unfortunately some earlier comments are from guys no longer with us.

That being said, ... I prefer these brand tail-spinners over Little George brand.

http://www.humdingerlures.com/p/blog-page_9.html

I've caught lots of largemouth and sand bass on these lures.

I have caught alot of spotted bass schooling on them and a bunch of bass that are schooled up lol but I would rather throw something else, but it is much easier for someone new to fishing to use.

It's the time of year you can hammer them on tail spinners if the bait is setup correctly

Not the Little George but it'll give you an idea how to fish it... Dan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvTCuLf1hp4

Deadly in the right situation......we called em an "Adios George"...hehehe

You have to refer to them in the plural ..... Little Georges

This post is ten years old .

And the little George is still a great bait for when they are schooling

Even though the OP is old the bait has lasted the test of time. Below is a link to the Mann's Bait Co. Catalog circa 1974.

Manns' Bait Co. '74

My cousin texted me out of nowhere today and offered to take me fishing at a popular lake here that I’d never been on much. I’m not a heavily pressured lake type is the only reason. This lake is right outside our doors. That Little George I grabbed from the local tackle shop had been hanging in that tackle shop since we were in highschool and we’re in our 40s. So there we were I was fishing with it on the day he took me fishing 100 years later. I caught a nice Speck with it. He swallowed it so much I didn’t think it’d come a lose safely but it did. We found the Specks grouped up in a deep spot but his anchor rope wasn’t long enough so we just fished around for fun. He caught a Speck and a Bass.

Sounds like a fun trip. Where is "here"?

You are wrong

https://bass-archives.com/wp-conten...and-How-to-Fish-Them-Pages-10-and-11.png

Florida lol! I’m who bumped this up a couple of pages ago. I was stuck inside in the rain and found this when I Googled something about Little George. I actually have an idea for using it as soon as I get a chance to fish all day by myself that nobody to my knowledge has tried. It might sound wild but nobody had tried this lure at 1 time before it was invented for just 1 lake so we’ll see.

Little George: “Catches Everything That Swims”! Said so right on the package! The governor George Wallace story is actual fact. Can’t imagine why the packaging would be a problem today? 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️🙄

Tie a little George on. About 12 inches above that, tie a roadrunner on. Then about 12 inches above that, tie another roadrunner on. Then about 12 inches above that, tie a 3rd road runner on.

Cast into schooling anything and enjoy.

Somewhere we’ve got a pic of me and 2 buddies doing that at grapevine and we all have 4 sandies on one cast in the boat.

back in the mid 70's I learned to fish them when I was stationed in Georgia, great wintertime bait for fishing drop offs or over deep treetops but you better bring a handful with you because they will hang up.

I’ve thrown baits similar but not the original Little George. I use them to target suspended fish using Livescope. You can’t hardly beat it when there’s big schools chasing bait super fast because it’s easy to get it to them quickly. I usually yo-yo it and almost all of my bites come on the fall.

Back before the Lake Arlington power plant had cooling towers the bait and fish would pile up in the outlet and the adjacent cove before it went into the lake.

The Little George was a favorite bait for bass and sandies. On a good winters day with the power plant running you could catch 100 bass on one of the outside points. Most people fished inside the cove and you could catch fish there but the two best places we found were the far bank of the cove away from the discharge and the outside point.

I even won a club tournament fishing there using a Little George. My boat motor had gone out and I was awaiting a rebuild. I backed the boat off a dirt ramp on the far point and caught my 10 fish limit sitting in the back of the boat which sat in the water still attached to the trailer.

i heard the old saying that the only person who could afford to fish with these was Tom Mann himself.