Terry “Big Show” Scroggins is one of those guys who can make just about anything – including 11 Bassmaster Classics, the best grilled rib eye steak you’ve ever tasted and more than $2 million as a pro angler.
Scroggins is also a “tinkerer” who recently began making his own soft plastic lures. And for the recent Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event on Table Rock, he made 12,000 Kicker Tail worms for the 400-plus amateur anglers who participated in the tournament.
“I can make about 1,000 worms an hour, so I’ve got about 12 hours in this project, but it’s really cool to be able to share something I made with all these great people that love to fish and drive a Toyota,” says Scroggins.
The roots of his soft plastics garage operation actually date back to his teenage angling years when he befriended famous lure maker Bobby Ditto – whose Gator Tail worm won a brutally tough Bassmaster Classic for Larry Nixon in 1983.
Scroggins’ time around the gracious and friendly Ditto family ultimately led to him being treated like an adopted son, and in an ironic twist of fate, he was actually able to purchase some of Ditto’s treasured molds years after Bobby Ditto passed away in 2011.
“Between the molds I bought, and those I’ve tooled myself, I’m able to make about 50 different styles of lures,” says Scroggins. “The most popular ones are the Fireclaw, Ecto Craw, a 3.8-inch swimbait that I caught a 33-pound limit on, and the 5.5-inch Kicker Tail worms I poured for the Toyota event,” says the St. Johns River pro.
For the Toyota event on Table Rock, Scroggins poured the Kicker Tail in three colors – watermelon, green pumpkin, and green pumpkin candy. He recommends throwing it on spinning tackle with 10-pound braided line, a 6-pound fluorocarbon leader, rigged on a 3/16-ounce shaky head.
“I designed the Kicker tail myself at the house one night. The guy who makes my molds was there, and we tested the prototypes in my swimming pool. When we saw how incredible the action was on a shaky head, he started working on a production mold immediately, and I caught 25-pounds on the first ones we poured,” shares Scroggins with a prideful grin.
“Pouring soft plastics is sort of addicting to be honest with ya. But so far it’s really just a hobby, and not a profit center. Mostly, it’s just a way to help myself and my buddies catch more fish,” concludes Scroggins.
Fitting perspective from the Florida pro best know for feeding people, and giving away everything from his GPS waypoints to marinated rib eye steaks. And most recently, 12,000 soft plastic worms.
