June 2011 Freshwater Lure of the Month: Zara Puppy

June 2011 FishingEnthusiast.com Freshwater Lure of the Month: Zara Puppy

Originally Named After 
Pensacola's Red-Light District

The Zara Spook was invented in Pensacola, a seaport in NW Florida, on Pensacola Bay, in 1922 and sold by Heddon, a  company formed in 1894.  This seductive lure with its trademark wiggle was originally called the Zaragossa, aptly named after the "wiggling" women on Zaragossa Street, which at the time was Pensacola’s red-light district.  A few years later the lure was given a new design (1939) and the name was forever changed to the Zara Spook.  The latter portion of its new name was inspired by the skeleton-like design painted along the sides of the first version of this popular lure. 

To this day the Zara Spook remains one of the most often fished lures of all time along with its smaller offspring, the Zara Puppu.  In fact, even after all of these years and despite its enormous success, the Zara Spook and Zara Puppy’s left-to-right, right-to-left top water action remains unique in the marketplace.  This 'walk the dog' motion pulls even the most stubborn game fish from the bottom when no other lure can.  The now classic lure enclosed is crafted from plastic, but the original was hand-carved from white cedar.  Not to worry, today’s  Zara  is as deadly as the original.

Lure:  Original Heddon Zara Puppy

Size:  4 1/2"

Weight:  3/4 oz

Current Manufacturer:  EBSCO Industries, Inc

Technique:

Cast the Zara Spook out into likely cover, let it rest long enough for the ripples to disperse.   With your rod tip at a 30 degree angle from the water, begin twitching the lure from side to side with an occasional short pause to induce its trademark 'walk-the-dog' style action.