What's in your plug bag?

[strikezone31]

Im great at nailing bluefish, got some monsters this year, but still got a lot to learn when it comes to bass. I'm setting up a plug bag, and don't have a lot of bux.
If you could only put 10 things in the bag, or if were trying to keep the costs down, how would you guys set it up? Appreciate any advice.

[captnemo]

bomber
bucktail
magdarter
pencil popper
needle
krocodile
danny
manns super1minus (good for late fall days when fish are deeper)
megabait chicken scratch
wooden darter- good for rough surf, work between the waves, sideways

[DarkSkies]

here are the basic 10 things you should have in your plug bag:

1. Pencil popper, 5-8" best for this time of year. Wood or plastic doesn't matter, for the most part you will be hittting blues, with the occasional bass thrown in.

2. Bottle popper, creates a little bigger profile and action when splashing across the water. Sometimes they are picky, and the biggest splash will take the fish.

Make sure you have some "beater plugs", some old plastic throwaway plugs, in case you run into huge bluefish.

3. Heddon saltwater Spook. It's plastic, the wooden version would be the Tattoo sea dog. This plug will raise fish from the dead. Work this like it's a dying baitfish fleeing for its life. Vary the action if nothing hits it. If nothing on this after 10 casts or so, time to try a new plug, or move to another spot.

4. Magnum bomber, either black/purple or schoolbus, or both colors if you have room. More fish are caught on this consistently than any other plug. Key to bombers is fishing them slow, especially along the edges of jetties. Look for the pockets.

5. One danny type swimmer. These metal lipped swimmers are good at night, and when the big bunker start to migrate south again. Again, fish slow.

6. Bucktail with pork rind. Many people underestimate the power of pork rind or a simple bucktail. They are deadly in faster moving water, rough surf, and in inlets where there is current. the pork rind (try red) will stand up to hit after vicious hit from angry bluefish, and bass and bigger fluke love it as well.

7. Needlefish plug, either sinking or swimming. Get one of each if you can afford it. Since I fish them mostly at night, I have olive, yellow, and black in my arsenal, and change out depending on the conditions. Fish them slowly as well, jest enough to give it slightly erratic action.

8 Rubber shad bodies - these are deadly during the late summer and fall run when peanuts are around. This can also include bass assassins or mullet profile swimbaits. I think the mistake some make is that they put too much action into these with the rod. I just cast, let sink, retrieve, and let the tail do the action. The only time I would jig them is when fishing deep water from a boat, or when fishing off a jetty tip where there are boulder fields.

9. Metal - for the early fall run, you must have metal in your bag. Krocodiles, castmasters, or the knockoffs, you will lose a lot of them to bluefish, but they will get you fish when large schools of bait are around and nothing else works. I also have a favorite diamond jig - the smallest they make, with a green or red tail. $2 each in wallyworld, you can never have too many of these. I like to skip it along the bottom, and they will pick up bass when everyone else is catching bluefish on the surface. Also, as the summer winds down, you need a few deadly *****, larger size preferred, to sling out far for the albies. Albies will hit other things if in a frenzy, but DD are the old relaible.

10. Snag rig - last but not least, every fisherman should carry one or 2 in his surf bag. If the surf is solid peanuts or adults, sometimes the only thing that will work is live bunker. So clip it on,egg sinker in the middle of the rig, snag the bait, let it drop, and hold on. A mistake people make here is using trebles that are too small. Bass have big mouths, and you really need to stick them hard before they swallow it and become gut hooked. Together with the snag rigs, late summer to fall is the time I start setting up with teaser rigs, and using various flies on the top snap. Sometimes the fish will only hit that small teaser, especially when small bait is the dominant forage.

Also, if you fish for fluke, and don't have a cast net to get live bait, you can use gulp new penny shrimp, or chartreuse swimming mullet, about 18" above your bucktail. Frequently you will get fish only on gulp or teasers this time of year.

Hope this helps.

[bababooey]

bombers
needlefish
bucktails
pt jude tins
sluggos & shads
magdarters :thumbsup:

[fishinmission78]

This time of year, rubber and small yozuri type skinny profile plugs.

[ledhead36]

here are the basic 10 things you should have in your plug bag:

1. Pencil popper, 5-8" best for this time of year. Wood or plastic doesn't matter, for the most part you will be hittting blues, with the occasional bass thrown in.

2. Bottle popper, creates a little bigger profile and action when splashing across the water. Sometimes they are picky, and the biggest splash will take the fish.

Make sure you have some "beater plugs", some old plastic throwaway plugs, in case you run into huge bluefish.

3. Heddon saltwater Spook. It's plastic, the wooden version would be the Tattoo sea dog. This plug will raise fish from the dead. Work this like it's a dying baitfish fleeing for its life. Vary the action if nothing hits it. If nothing on this after 10 casts or so, time to try a new plug, or move to another spot.

4. Magnum bomber, either black/purple or schoolbus, or both colors if you have room. More fish are caught on this consistently than any other plug. Key to bombers is fishing them slow, especially along the edges of jetties. Look for the pockets.

5. One danny type swimmer. These metal lipped swimmers are good at night, and when the big bunker start to migrate south again. Again, fish slow.

6. Bucktail with pork rind. Many people underestimate the power of pork rind or a simple bucktail. They are deadly in faster moving water, rough surf, and in inlets where there is current. the pork rind (try red) will stand up to hit after vicious hit from angry bluefish, and bass and bigger fluke love it as well.

7. Needlefish plug, either sinking or swimming. Get one of each if you can afford it. Since I fish them mostly at night, I have olive, yellow, and black in my arsenal, and change out depending on the conditions. Fish them slowly as well, jest enough to give it slightly erratic action.

8 Rubber shad bodies - these are deadly during the late summer and fall run when peanuts are around. This can also include bass assassins or mullet profile swimbaits. I think the mistake some make is that they put too much action into these with the rod. I just cast, let sink, retrieve, and let the tail do the action. The only time I would jig them is when fishing deep water from a boat, or when fishing off a jetty tip where there are boulder fields.

9. Metal - for the early fall run, you must have metal in your bag. Krocodiles, castmasters, or the knockoffs, you will lose a lot of them to bluefish, but they will get you fish when large schools of bait are around and nothing else works. I also have a favorite diamond jig - the smallest they make, with a green or red tail. $2 each in wallyworld, you can never have too many of these. I like to skip it along the bottom, and they will pick up bass when everyone else is catching bluefish on the surface. Also, as the summer winds down, you need a few deadly *****, larger size preferred, to sling out far for the albies. Albies will hit other things if in a frenzy, but DD are the old relaible.

10. Snag rig - last but not least, every fisherman should carry one or 2 in his surf bag. If the surf is solid peanuts or adults, sometimes the only thing that will work is live bunker. So clip it on,egg sinker in the middle of the rig, snag the bait, let it drop, and hold on. A mistake people make here is using trebles that are too small. Bass have big mouths, and you really need to stick them hard before they swallow it and become gut hooked. Together with the snag rigs, late summer to fall is the time I start setting up with teaser rigs, and using various flies on the top snap. Sometimes the fish will only hit that small teaser, especially when small bait is the dominant forage.

Also, if you fish for fluke, and don't have a cast net to get live bait, you can use gulp new penny shrimp, or chartreuse swimming mullet, about 18" above your bucktail. Frequently you will get fish only on gulp or teasers this time of year.

Hope this helps.

Pay attention guys he is giving away all his secrets!:clapping:

[finchaser]

I use 7 bags

1) Spring bag -small lures and jig heads with rubber.
2) Day bag- poppers ,plugs,jig heads with rubber tails and metal
3) Night bag -plugs,metal lip wood and jig heads with rubber tails
4) Rough water -heavy poppers ,heavy needles and jig heads with rubber tails
5) Fall bag-poppers,metal and jig heads with rubber
6) Canal bag - jig heads with rubber tails and bucktails
7) Inlet bag- jig heads with rubber tails

[cowherder]

7 bags that's not too obsessive is it?
You must have a tackle shop in your house LOL. Hey I wish I could do that way so don't mind my comments. Right now what's in my bag is small plugs and bucktails and metal. Seems like those thing are good for what's around right now.

[finchaser]

7 bags that's not too obsessive is it?
You must have a tackle shop in your house LOL. Hey I wish I could do that way so don't mind my comments. Right now what's in my bag is small plugs and bucktails and metal. Seems like those thing are good for what's around right now.

Your 100% right I've cut it down to 4

[storminsteve]

"down to 4?" I only have one and I change it out during the season. You must be very compulsive, or very organized. Or both!:cool::thumbsup: