Part of the reason, Thomason said, was because of how he tied the bait to his line.
"A loop knot is the knot you HAVE to use on these hard baits," he said. "People say you don't, but I'm telling you, you have to."
As its name implies, the loop knot leaves a loop at its connection with the eye of the lure. The knot cinches down before ever contacting the eye.
"(A loop knot) allows the bait to freely move and swim the correct way," Thomason said. "If not, your bait will want to go straight instead of walking the dog back and forth."
The knot is easy to tie. To see how Thomason does it, check out the video.
Todd Masson can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 504.232.3054.