Before I get into which lures to use, just a couple of thoughts. I'm sure many of you reading this have gone down the Cape or RI beaches and dunked seaworms or chunks with very little success. There are exceptions, but for the most part using lures will catch more fish than drowning sandworms and bait. There are certainly exceptions to this generalization. For example snagged menhaden are about the best thing you can use if menhaden are around. Also, the use of eels at night will catch you larger fish on average (but less) than you will catch on lures.
Secondly, and this is obvious and important. You can't catch a striper if it is not there. This would seem like common sense, and you are wondering why I would write this. How many people take their beach vacations n the summer? Pretty much everyone, right? Those people that rent a beach house or are near the ocean will most likely send time drowning those sea worms or using chunks on the bottom. I can assure you, there are no stripers under a mid-July sun in Narragansett. You have the same chance of catching a striper at an ice cream parlor.
That said, this is spring, and stripers are about everywhere, or at least their numbers are building. So where to look? I prefer to find them in bays and coves in the spring. They can also be caught on the ocean front. For me the bay is 20-40 minutes away while 'gansett is an hour. Besides, there are many places in the bay that I can go depending on the tide and wind. That in itself is a whole different topic.
Unfortunately the majority of stripers these days are schoolies. The fishery managers did a piss poor job protecting large stripers so other than a couple famous locations, you're going to catch schoolies. Now, that said, there is a big difference between a little 13 inch fish and a 25-26 inch six year old. Given the choice, I'd rather catch five fish around 26 inches than twenty five dinks. That said, if I'm only fishing after supper, I do not have time to hit multiple locations.
Okay, another reason I prefer to fish bays and coves n the spring is they usually have bait. This. of course, will attract feeding stripers. You don't necessarily need to match the hatch because there could be multiple food items. However, if the stripers are on tiny bait, they can be unbelievably fussy.
My favorite lures are not in any order. If fish are feeding on the surface or in shallow bays, I will use topwater. If they are grubbing the bottom, I'll use a jig.
1. Rebel Jumpin' Minnow
This is a topwater lure like a ZaraSpook. It zig-zags across the water in a walk the dog style. There are many different companies that make this style lure. I like the Jumpin Minnow because it works and is inexpensive. You need to change out the hooks and split rings
2. Jighead with either a Zoom Fluke or Cocahoe. My friend Dave told me years ago that Cocahoes work better on the oceanfront and flukes work better in the bay. I have tried to disprove this theory many times. The result is he is absolutely right. The Cocahoe is far better in the ocean than the Zoom fluke. The reverse is also true but to an even greater extent. Depending on water depth, I will use jigheads from 3/8- 3/4.Usually the half ounce size is my go to size. I only use one color Zoom fluke, the 4" Albino color. For Cocahoes, the 4 inch Queen size in the white color is the most effective.
3. Swimmers- I will use a small swimmer especially in currents. My favorite is the five inch Jointed Redfin. I've had days when it was the last thing I tried, but it saved the day.
4. Bucktail Jigs- It took me a long time to use Bucktail jigs and it wasn't really until I made my own that I started using them regularly. They are versatile. I've caught as many fish buzzing them just under the surface as I have probing the bottom with them.
5. Wooden Egg float- Props to Dave again. Dave basically made the wooden egg float standard equipment in all Rhode Islanders Surf bag. Like the casting bubble that I wrote about in my trout piece a couple weeks ago, the egg is all about weight. Though this is not a lure, it is extremely important.
The Wooden egg is the one you'd see at a craft store. You can either drill a hole and wire them or put in heavy screw eyes. Usually they are painted white. Attached to the lower end is a leader of about 3 feet long attached to a snap. The main advantage of the egg is you can cast it into the teeth of a very strong wind. I will usually have a jig on the end. Usually a bucktail, but just about as often plastic like a cocahoe. This system will cast pretty far into the wind because of the weight. Much further than a 1/2 ounce jig will on its own. Another advantage of the egg is it floats, thus keeping the jig from getting hooked on rocks.
Don't be an idiot casting a heavy wooden egg in flat calm waters. I watched a guy do this in Providence a couple years ago. It was flat calm, there wasn't any wind, basically it was silent. You could hear boat motors a quarter mile away. This guy casted the egg/jig combo into the placid water causing a 3 foot splash that sounded like a B-29 dropped its payload. Needless to say he didn't catch anything. Like all lures and equipment it has a place and a time.
I have other things in my bag. I have shad bodies that range from 3-6 inches. I have big swimmers such as the Daiwa SP Minnow and a Black Bomber. However, my bag is pretty light. I don't want to be weighed down with a heavy bag and a sore back.
One last thing, almost all surf fisherman carry a bag not a tackle box. Because we are mobile and usually in the water a bag is much more convenient than a box you have to carry around. For reasons I do not understand, these bags can be over $200. I would never pay that for what amounts to a few compartments in a box. My bag is homemade out of a kitty litter box. Now it can debated whether or not I am a good fisherman or not, but I can assure you, a two hundred dollar surf bag will not make you a better fisherman.
No comments:
Post a Comment