Reading some old books and it seems they talk about a sonar lure. Is that a blade bait? 

Yes.  Heddon Sonar.

@Alex from GA Took the words right out of my mouth. 

The Heddon Sonar is a metal lure first introduced in the 50s that is still made.  The Heddon Sonic is a plastic lure from around the same time.  These lures do not use a blade or a diving bill.  The Sonar is heavy and can be cast a long way and fished deep.  Some people fish it vertically like a jigging spoon.  Both are good when trolled.   Both lures vibrate on the retrieve.  You don't see the Sonic much anymore as the Rattle Trap look it's place in bass fishing.

 

 

 

 

I use one on a regular basis. They really shine in the winter, but catch fish year round. 

Still popular in Canada for deep vertical jigging lake trout.

The Silver Buddy replaced the Sonar lure for Smallmouth in TVA lakes.

Tom

I just bought one on Ebay.....just because of this thread.  I gotta stop doing that. 

They work extremely well for smallmouth in northern waters when the temps drop below 45 degrees. A friend of mine caught 94 SMB’s on a sonar a week ago river fishing.  

Here was the primary lure - similar to the Heddon, but a more robust "vibrato" on the upswing 👍 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=20&searchtext=deps+circuit+vibe&_gl=1*1digy02*_up*MQ..&gclid=CJDT3-2SjNECFZCMaQodOJECzA

 

In action: 

 

Another, less expensive version than the Deps that works well too:

https://www.omniafishing.com/p/damiki-vault-blade-bait

I have never fished a Heddon Sonar.  I have fished a Mann's Little George.  If you want to try something unique, give it a try.  

I caught a lot of fish with a tail spinner vertical against bridge pilings and vertical walls. I think that I still have some of them. 

Thanks for the information.

What depths were they fishing?

Water color?

 

 

I’ve used them a couple of times with success. Can fish them like a spoon or a lipless. I prefer them over lipless cranks on deep lakes in the winter

On 11/1/2023 at 5:36 PM, MAN said:

I just bought one on Ebay.....just because of this thread.  I gotta stop doing that. 

Hmm...I resemble that remark!

I bet I've bought over 30 lures based purely off the reviews and recommendations from the studs here!!🤫🤭🤔🙄🤣

On 10/31/2023 at 4:45 PM, Captain Phil said:

The Heddon Sonar is a metal lure first introduced in the 50s that is still made.  The Heddon Sonic is a plastic lure from around the same time.  These lures do not use a blade or a diving bill.  The Sonar is heavy and can be cast a long way and fished deep.  Some people fish it vertically like a jigging spoon.  Both are good when trolled.   Both lures vibrate on the retrieve.  You don't see the Sonic much anymore as the Rattle Trap look it's place in bass fishing.

 

 

 

 

OP:

In places with deeper water, the Sonic shines over the lipless crank, especially in winter. It sinks quicker and puts off more vibes. Even though it's cold you sort of fish it fast. You rip it up just a foot or so and let it flutter. The fish generally hit right when it starts the flutter.

 

Tip: I lost three before I started using it on straight braid. 

On 10/31/2023 at 11:47 AM, GoneFishingLTN said:

Reading some old books and it seems they talk about a sonar lure. Is that a blade bait? 

Yes under TW hard baits.

Heddon Sonar very popular in northern lakes to vertical jig. Southern lakes Silver Buddy is the go to blade bait.

Tom