The Hot n’ Tot by Storm 11/9/18

Lure of the Week
Posted 11/8/18

I’ve never really heard much from other anglers about the Hot n’ Tot nor have I used one myself that I can recall but I was in Gander Outdoors recently looking for a lure to review with …

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The Hot n’ Tot by Storm 11/9/18

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I’ve never really heard much from other anglers about the Hot n’ Tot nor have I used one myself that I can recall but I was in Gander Outdoors recently looking for a lure to review with my wife and she picked it out for me. The only rules I gave her were that it had to be “neat looking” and not one that I’ve done already. So she grabs this metallic purple lure with a metal bill rather than a plastic one and voilah! The lure of the week was found.

I hope this doesn’t disenchant anyone from the mystery that is my process for finding each week’s lure, but what genius hasn’t accepted a little help from his wife? Now to distract you from my clearly untrue self identification as a genius. Ahem, look, a shiny lure!

The Hot n’ Tot is a series of lures designed by Storm. They can be easily identified by their metal lips with an inch-long swivel-like tie on constructed into the center. The lip is also a touch longer than your average crankbait. If you see the swim pattern of the Hot n’ Tot you will notice that it tips forward considerably more than other lures and causes it to vibrate faster due to the added down pressure of water along it’s back. Since it is tilted down, the hydrodynamics are cut down by the added surface area that is presented to the direction of pull. Think like a football. When you throw a football you want it to spiral. That makes it go further like a spear through the air. It prevents the ball from wobbling. With the Hot n’ Tot it wobbles like a bad football throw, but it isn’t a bad thing. The extra wobbling at a consistent speed makes the body and hooks rattle. It also gives the appearance of shuddering wounded bait. That combined with the color scheme and lifelike inserted eye make the Hot n’ Tot a serious contender.

I took it out for an afternoon here in the late fall, with some low temps and low pond activity just to see what might happen. I’d had some worms on bobbers out all day and didn’t get a nibble, not even from the panfish. The day just wasn’t producing and my expectations were low, but I wanted to give this lure a chance just to see if it was at all like I thought it might be.

I definitely liked the way it felt when casting. It wasn’t too light and got plenty of air time and control before hitting the water. The deep diving nature was great for the deep center of the pond I was at and I could sense the vibrations as it worked the deeper more open channel of the pond. As it came back within view I saw what I had hoped to see, which was a steep tilt and aggressive vibration of the lure body, even at a slightly slower retrieve speed. I’ll reiterate for anyone who hasn’t read my other lures. I don’t understand lure color all too well, so perhaps the purple wasn’t the ideal color for this brisk Northeast small pond in fall. The Hot n’ Tot does come in many colors, so I recommend if you understand matching colors to environments that you shop around their selection. As for me and my purple lure, we didn’t have any luck, but again I wasn’t out for very long and the pond felt pretty dead that day. If the fish aren’t hitting worms its normally a sign to go hunting instead.

A few things to note about the Hot n’ Tot however. They are very forward heavy. When you stop your retrieve which I recommend you do, it should not be for longer than a moment. The lure will tilt nose down almost vertically and float upwards. This is pretty unnatural for fish so I would try not to let it go that far. Stop for a moment if only to let it tilt to the 45 degree point before continuing. This is something you will have to get a feel for so just pay attention to your line and the way it pulls. Another thing is the darn thing’s hunger to dive. I wouldn’t fish this lure in any less than 10 feet. Seriously, this thing makes short work out of descent. If you are fishing with it and you feel it suddenly start to retrieve smoothly as opposed to a slight vibration, then you my friend have a load of grass on you hooks and it isn’t swimming right. Also if you see the line start to veer one direction to the side or in circles, same thing. Keep a finger on the line and know what that rod should feel like when it’s swimming normal. Anything outside of that and I would crank that thing back to clean it off. A dirty lure seldom ever catches a fish.

Some advice I've gotten from my dad about these are that they work great for late season bass or even walleye. He says the trick is getting it down deep where these fish tend to be this time of year, and working it more slowly once you've achieved depth. That in mind I think I will be putting in a little more time with this over the weekend. Grab one yourselves see what you think. I'll be hitting up a little deeper lake myself, but for those of you with fish finders, this might be just what the doctor ordered for bringing those slobs off the lake bottom. Get out there and try it out.

*If you have any luck with the lure of the week, feel free to email your pictures to events@riverreporter.com for an opportunity to share them on our website. If you have a favorite kind of lure we haven’t reviewed yet, feel free to send that lure to our office at PO box 150 Narrowsburg, NY 12764. We will add it to our weekly reviews and share the results. Check back each week on Fridays to see the new lure of the week!

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