Thumbing through a couple of bass fishing magazines the other day, I checked out sections on new lures for 2009 and now I'm just wondering: Whatever happened to $1.25 lures?

They must have gone the way of a 5-cent cup of coffee, 25-cent haircuts and 25.9-cent per gallon of gasoline. Gone forever.

Prices of the new and modern fish-catchers ranged from $10 to $20 plus tax, with most of the lures apparently being made in Japan. Well, at least they're not like everything else we buy nowadays that's made in China.

Whatever happened to American ingenuity? From the early 1900s through the 1960s and '70s, you could buy the fish-catchingest lures you ever did see. They came mostly in two-piece cardboard boxes complete with a pocket-sized color catalog. Average price was $1.25.

Remember the original Bomber baits of the late 1940s, the South Bend Nip-I-Didees (one of the all-time top water plugs with spinners fore and aft), Heddon River Runts and Creek Chub Plunkers?

Those lures still catch fish today, but some are valued highly by collectors who reject the idea of casting lures worth a couple of hundred dollars and up into waters where fish might just take them away.

- Fishing has been more cold than hot lately, with multiple weather fronts bringing subfreezing temperatures, high winds and a bit of rain. Not only do fish not know what's going on, neither do some fishermen.

- BASS Times , publication of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, published an article on wobbling spoons in its current issue. It reminded me that the late Tommy Shaw of Leah, Ga., was a master at fishing wobbling spoons, most notably Little Cleo and Dardevle brands. They were (and are) effective during cold weather months because of the slowness of their fall. Coldblooded fish slow down as waters cool and don't mount high-speed chases after lures. As the spoons fell and wobbled, they attracted the attention of largemouth, hybrid and striped bass. Shaw watched where the line entered the water and any "twitch" or the falls stopping abruptly resulted in him striking hard. Try it. It works.

THURMOND LAKE

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706) 860-7373 -- My January show features archival footage of all my shows dating to 2007. Hilton Head cobia and shark fishing, Savannah River stripers, Lake Lanier stripers and pond bass fishing are among the topics. It airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Stations are Comcast Ch. 21, Knology Ch. 7, Atlantic Broadband, Ch. 7 (Aiken), Northland Ch. 9 (Statesboro-Swainsboro) and Ft. Gordon Ch. 9. You must have a special box from Comcast to view my show. The box is free.

Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site doubletroublefishing guides.com) with twins Brad and Jim -- Fishing with me last Monday was my son, Jim; his wife, Tiffany, and their 4-year-old, James. We had a ball just being on the water and enjoying nature. James, as usual, was our bait man. Tiffany had not been fishing in a long time and wanted to catch some. So we let her and James be in charge of all the rods. Boy! Did they have fun! They caught 10 fish on live herring fished on down rods, with the big one weighing 5 pounds. We had lots of hits, but missed the fish. We were fishing 24 feet down in 32-46 feet of water. Last Tuesday, Jim took out Gene Powell, his wife, Renea, daughter Kayla and Gene's dad, Leroy, from Hephzibah. I went along for the ride. It was tough fishing. We caught one fish and had eight misses on downlines and another boat trolling planer boards came past. One of the fishermen said he'd caught a huge striper and showed it to us. It weighed 50 pounds, he said. That stirred up our fishermen and we started pulling boards. But we wound up with only six fish, with Kayla catching the big one of 5 pounds.

Capt. Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in hybrid and striped bass, (706) 373-8347 (www.teamsaveonemore.com) -- Thanks to all the folks who came out in support of the Paralyzed Veterans Association at the Bobby Jones Wal-Mart last weekend. Thanks also go to Kicks 99 and Mike Tyler, as well as Wal-Mart management for allowing me to set up. Tim Blacks won a free striper fishing trip with me for himself and three friends.

Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass, (706) 589-5468 -- Scott Hall, of Martinez, and his father-in-law, Dr. Donald Smith, of DeLand, Fla., fished with me for crappies, hybrids and stripers. We caught enough to cover the bottom of the cooler with crappies and stripers. Just one of those days. I couldn't find deep fish, or catch them on planer boards. Please check out my Web site at www. williamsasserfishing.com.

Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids, (706) 833-4807 -- I've enjoyed the holidays, spending quality time with my family. I had to cancel parties this week because of lack of live herring. I got out one day this week, finding lots of bait and fish back in the creek. But the bite has been slow. My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlake thurmond.com.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, GA 31410-0771 -- We are getting ready for our offshore and inshore fishing classes. Inshore classes will be held Jan. 31 and Feb. 21; offshore class is Feb. 7. Cost is $90 for each. Check out our Web site or give us a call for more information.