Which one performs better the thin kind of pencil shaped one or the teardrop larger version? I believe the new ones are plastic and the originals were wood. Are the wooden ones better? Any color preference? What type of retrieve do you use? I rip it like a jerk bait then long pause. Sometimes they will come up and investigate, or swipe at it, but not commit. Any devils horse experts want to share their secrets? Thanks. 

The Devil’s Horse has been a hit and miss bait for me.  I perfer the Boy Howdy.  It sets in the water with the tailend hanging down therefore it gets more hookups than the D Horse.

Smithwick made several “Devil Horse”name top water lures. The Devil Horse known today is the pencil shape double prop lure.

The fatter Devil Horse is Ma Scooter, Pa Scooter and Buck ‘n Brawl are single rear prop lures. My personal favorite is the 3” Buck ‘n Brawl wooden lure. I still use this when I get the chance because it’s similar in size to Threadfin shad.

What is unique about the red prop lures is the front end has a tapered flat surface that allows these lures to pop under the surface then jump back out of the water…killer action. Rarely use the double prop Devils Horse.

I use shad colors, the older wooden models with single rear prop. Fish it like surface jerk bait and run it about 3’ to 5’ before pausing. Change the hooks to Owner size 4  ST-36 or Zo wire STX-46. Adding a white feather rear treble hook works. 

Tom

My only experience is with the wooden, pencil, double prob Devil's Horse. The two retrieves that have produced best for me are two quick, short bursts, pause and then a single short burst. I may slow it down a bit if I don't get any action. The other is a rip, pause, repeat retrieve. The pause is when I'll get bit and I'll play around with its duration until I dial in what works.  I may switch out to a Crazy Shad if I feel the need to downsize.

I upsize the front and middle hook with the front always red of the 2 older wooden ones I have.
I only use them along a hard reed or grass line about 1-3 ft out and in and around an area of isolated anything. 
 

On one I reversed the front prop which makes it spit more and add a red feather on the rear hook but change the retrieve using more slower but harder pops. 
The other I bend the prop backwards for more quicker and longer pulls and add a white feather to the rear 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

I have using the Smithwick Devils Horse since the 1960's and it's one of my favorite topwaters. There were two models of the traditional lure. The 3/8 oz. is the slimmer version whereas the 1/2 oz. is somewhat larger especially on the front end. 

 

A couple of things to keep in mind when using this lure. The propellers can be adjusted by bending forward which will cause the bait to not move as far forward on the twitch. Bending them backwards will cause it to move further each time you twitch it. 

 

The 1/2 oz. can be difficult to cast with accuracy because of it being larger on the front end. To compensate for this, I'll swap the line tie and the back hook around to where the slim part is in the front of the lure.

 

I always start with a couple of light twitches and then let it rest for a while. I'll adjust from there depending on the mood of the fish. But, I don't ever recall having any success working the lure rapidly across the surface.

 

The best colors I have used are Chrome/Blue Back/Orange Belly, Chrome/Black Back/Orange Belly, and Perch. I would suggest checking Ebay if you have any trouble finding these colors.

 

My all-time best producer has been a color called Dragonfly which has not been made for decades. Thankfully I still have several in stock.

 

I probably have at least 3-4 dozen Devil's Horses in my tackle selection dating back 60+ years. In my opinion it's one of the best topwater lures ever made.

 

My wife started a Christmas lure tree several years ago. I have a lot of old lures from my dad that I had kept and she thought it would be neat to do and I think its really neat. When I see the lures I think about which ones would I want to use today and I think I am going to pull some devils horse lures off and give through them some.

 

They are all wooden and I would like to swap the hooks but not keen on unscrewing them, was thinking of cutting the old and adding split rings any one have any suggestions..included a couple of pitcures...

Nice! @bishoptf I see no reason not to cut the old hooks off and use split rings with new hooks. With the added length of the split rings might use a lighter hook to keep a similar weight. But then again a #4 hook would be appropriate and probably not matter.