Surfstix' Teasers and the fish they catch.......

[DarkSkies]

Surfstix heard that I love throwing needles in the fall. He sent me 2 custom needles for Pebbles and I. He also threw in a few of these hand tied flys.

Peanut bunker pattern
14146



Spearing, rainfish/bay anchovy
14145


Peanut bunker again
14143




Spearing, grass shrimp, etc

14144

His skill set is way up there now...
the level of detail and the way these swim, they're just awesome and the perfect presentation for fall forage fish.

Thanks so much, bro, hope to have some fish hangin on em soon! :clapping: :HappyWave:

[thaistick]

Nice bro those surf candy is just in time for th albeeess

[surfstix1963]

just in time and just what I had in mind for Rich

[Monty]

Had to much to do this weekend so had to get some sleep last night, so only fished 4:45-7:30 this morning out front. Wish I could have done the normal 8-9 hour outing as water was great and bait was all over the place (missed most of the rain....darn). Got one bass on a teaser in front of a plug Surfstix painted. Missed a few fish as usual for me, had a bass hit the plug in the pic as I brought it through some mullet, had a bass blow up on a white sluggo. Missed a few other hits too (its amazing I got the one fish). Got home by 10:00 and saw step-grandson score his first goal playing soccer, was awesome. Next Sunday can't come soon enough....
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2011_10_1_SB.jpg

[DarkSkies]

One of those people is Surfstix.....

He sent me a package a few weeks ago.....
What is most compelling to me,,,is that despite all the health and other problems he has had in the last 3 years, he is still able to make these great plugs and teasers....and most generous in sending them on to be tested by the jaws of death, aggressive bass and angry bluefish.....:drool:



Finally got time to post the pics.....
thanks again Surfstix! :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Hope Pebbles and I can beat some of these up by showing the "after" pics......


1583415832


These are the "before" pics....


the 2 above are shots of the biggest pencil I've seen in a while...this pencil I think weighs in at 4.5oz......:cool:

The teaser below is one of Surfstix's hand-made teasers.
He's been making them for awhile now and the craftsmanship really shows......:thumbsup:
(Note the good quality epoxy heads on the teasers/tails and the heavy duty split rings......)



Some of Rip Plugger's plugs, and the ones Surfstix has sent me, are usually dressed up now with these teasers at the end.

They make a real difference in getting a fish to hit when they are sluggish or the water is colder.

[DarkSkies]

15835


15836


Nice well made ML Swimmer, Pebbles was so happy when she saw it.....:drool:

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Check out the custom metal lip on this thing, for a little more action in the water........


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Check out the awesome teaser....again a viable part of the reasons why surfstix plugs catch fish.......:thumbsup:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8559-Surfstix-Plugs-and-the-Fish-They-Catch&highlight=surfstix+plugs


Thanks again Surfstix! :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Over the years I have known Surfstix., he's been very generous with his teasers......:thumbsup:
More and more of the guys on the site who are building plugs, are using his teasers or bucktail dressed siwashes to dress up the tails of their plugs.....

I was thinking about this and a few things occurred to me.........


1. He makes some awesome teasers.
2. He only makes a few at a time.
3. With not many of his teasers in the hands of surf guys, most don't know how nice they are....:drool:
4. Since Surfstix has some serious health issues....he can't get out there and fish at this point in time ...it's possible he will live his whole life, without folks out there ever knowing about his work....
5. Him being a Crabby Old Basstard (COB) probably ensures that, too. :ROFLMAO :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

I realized that most fishermen out there, only get stimulated to think about a plug as "proven fish catcher"...when they are hanging in the mouth of a fish....:learn:

I'm posting this for anyone who is lucky enough to have one of his teasers, and wants to post pics of fish they got on them.

[DarkSkies]

There is already a thread here about his plugs......
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8559-Surfstix-Plugs-and-the-Fish-They-Catch



Anyone else who catches fish on his teasers,,,,feel free to post the pics here......:thumbsup:

[ledhead36]

Nice fish there guys. Question would you want to use teasers when the blues come in the bay or will they just destroy them?

[surfstix1963]

They will tear them up, but that just proves they like it.The teasers drawback is when they nail it and bite through your leader and you lose your plug with it but they work well.

[speedy]

bin a bit so here they are ....:naughty::naughty::naughty::naughty::dribble:: dribble::dribble::dribble::naughty::naughty::naugh ty:
the swimmer is 2.5 oz.
THE SS COPY IS 2.0 OZ.:cool::cool::cool::cool:IMA BEST ONES YET!!!!!!

[DarkSkies]

Nice work, who's the goog that tied those tails? :clapping: ;)

[speedy]

Nice work, who's the goog that tied those tails? :clapping: ;) A GUY FROM LI NY THAT WILL KICK UR A$$...:beatin::kicknuts:

[DarkSkies]

A GUY FROM LI NY THAT WILL KICK UR A$$...:beatin::kicknuts:

:laugh: You know I had to say that just to bring attention to those tails. :HappyWave:
His work is clean and tight. Remember he got into a "discussion"..:kicknuts: with the guy at Surf Day selling teasers because Surfstix thought the finishing work on them was sloppy? One thing about surfstix is his honesty. :thumbsup: He won't turn out something that he feels is sloppy or doesn't look the best that it can. :cool:



fattso it swims about 6 to 8 inches from top the more u reel the deeper she go s she will go 12 inches max at that highspeed she got DWI....lol

I was looking at some of the plugs you made 3 years ago and the ones you're making now....each new batch it seems you set out to do something a little different, and a little better......For example, some guys will only make pencils, because they're relatively easier to make, or some stick with poppers, etc....I think at one time or another you have made almost all styles of wood out there....Your attention to swimming every plug you make to test how it swims is something not everyone does either......:thumbsup:
Even though the only times you fish lately is to test your plugs..:moon:.;)..I gotta say your plugs are really looking sweet ....:drool:.....very nice work, bro. :clapping: :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

^ I copied the above post from the ones where speedy shows his latest plugs.....:drool:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8923-new-ones

It seems that a lot of plugs around here are now being built with Surfstix' teasers and tails.......


We will eventually start hanging fish on them. As it's still cold out and not many fish are active, you'll have to be content to just look at the good-looking teasers for now.....
stay tuned........:HappyWave:

[cowherder]

Sweet! I have a question for you surfstix will post it in the other thread

[speedy]

Sweet! I have a question for you surfstix will post it in the other threadyes he knows dark is lost lol..:ROFLMAO

[Monty]

I think I post a thread about teasers each year....time for Teasers 2013 :headbang:

How about posting thoughts and experiences on fishing teasers? Like them, hate them, why? Don’t need them? Biggest fish on a teaser, like doubles, don’t like doubles? Favorite teasers, favorite teaser rigs.

The past year I tried to cut down on the amount of time I fished with teasers, to see if I noticed any difference in fish caught. So I think I fished 50% with them compared with the past few years at least 75% of the time. Looking back at the year fishing with teasers increased the Stripers caught.
One night I met up with Dark and Mike O this past year, we caught a few Bass, they seemed to only want black teasers a certain size.
For teasers I use Deceivers and the small rubber tails for Avas.
If there are blues around I take the teaser off, but I have had times when it seems the teaser is all a blue would want. Here is an Island Beach Blue that hit a green/white teaser late May this past year. It was the biggest of the morning.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_5_31_BF.jpg

[Monty]

Some teasers for 2013
Going to fish some of Surfstix teasers this year. He is an incredible tyer (quality and creativity).


http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_1.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_2.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_3.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_4.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_5.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_6.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_7.jpg

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_8.jpg

[CharlieTuna]

Teasers are great for whitebait. Match the hatch perfectly. In the day I tend to use ones with flash. Night fishing I lean on darker and black ones more heavily. Did surfstix tie all those teasers? Nice work.

[Monty]

Night fishing I lean on darker and black ones more heavily. Did surfstix tie all those teasers? Nice work.
I plan on fishing the black deceivers more often this year in the dark.
Yes, Surfstix did tie them all. He really ties some awesome flies.

[speedy]

I plan on fishing the black deceivers more often this year in the dark.
Yes, Surfstix did tie them all. He really ties some awesome flies.the best i have seen so far ....

[surfstix1963]

Stop blowing smoke up my A$$ lol
the best i have seen so far ....

[speedy]

Stop blowing smoke up my A$$ loltrying to HO some teaser tails ...:bong2::bong2::plastered:lol

[bababooey]

Heard of plug ho's, now there are teaser ho's too?:laugh: :HappyWave:

[speedy]

Heard of plug ho's, now there are teaser ho's too?:laugh: :HappyWave:he`s the man (C O B )TEASER MAN LOL

[Monty]

Well finally did a little fishing this morning. Went out front and checked out one of my favorite places to fish, fished from 6:00 am to 9:30, really nice morning. Caught one short striper on a Surfstix teaser and dropped another. Was like a lake, will start my regular trips (7+ hours) next week weather permitting, this was like a warm-up (new reel :), no leaky waders:), test swam a bunch of plugs:), loosing a fish:beatin:).
Was like a lake out there, had a fun time, great to get out there.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_30_SR2.jpg

[DarkSkies]

I gotta say, Monty, with all the internet talk about when the fish will be here, and waiting for better moon cycles, etc, etc....
You disregarded that, went out there, and caught some fish.......

You're already batting much better than you did than last year, damn impressive. I know you were probably :( not to have white water in your face...:kooky:....but you'll get enough of that this season with the weather forecast in the next 2 weeks.....:laugh:....Great report, glad to see ya got some fish..:thumbsup: :HappyWave:...

Which one of surfstix's teasers caught your fish?

[Monty]

You're already batting much better than you did than last year, damn impressive.
Well not really...I was really out there to scout the beach I will be fishing, testing some plugs. I was throwing lots of 2 and 3 oz wood darters, getting the feel of them, seeing them swim some. And for the heck of it I had a Surfstix teaser on. So it really was by accident that I caught a short, if I could catch a fish when I want to then maybe it will be a step in the right direction.....loosing the second fish, well that one puts me in mid-season form :).

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_30_SB1_first_2013.jpg

[speedy]

Nice ^^^^^^ little guy

[surfstix1963]

gotta love that yellow..You just need to fish orange or yellow Monty seems to be the ticket for you.

[DarkSkies]

5-10-13 PM trip
3 bass to 12# last night. 2 were legal, all released.
Also a few bluefish to 5#.


**A friend living several hours away was supposed to come out and fish but he never made it up here.




Had to fish all night for them. 7 hour Monty Mini Marathon. :HappyWave:
Fished through the rain, taking a 1/2 hour break as it was most intense and the lightning got a little hairy. :scared:
There was an eerie calm out there last night between the rain...

I first debated on when and where because it was Fri, thought it would be too crowded. Picked a popular bay bluefish spot as I was counting on there being less night crowds. By the time I got out there it was deserted.

The first fish were a few bluefish, very aggressive on small plugs.
As the tide changed the bunker started loading into that cove, with bass and bluefish blowing up on them.
At that point it became very difficult for me to catch bass on artificials...went through almost everything in the bag, very little activity.
Knowing that when that happens, you will be hooked up instantly if you only were to toss a snagged bunker, chunk, or head, it was a little depressing, and humbling. My plugs were constantly bumping bunker and they only wanted the real thing.

I kept at it and changed my position relative to how the schools were moving.
Hours of blind casting. All bass fell to big swimmers. Missed quite a few as well. The bass were just not as aggressive on artificials as the bluefish, but I kept at it.
Last fish of the night was the short fish, caught on Speedy's swimmer. :drool:

16962
16963
Rarely take pics of short fish any more. I wanted to show folks the plug. and it was kind of nice to catch it on one of Speedy's plugs. :HappyWave:
If you look at the plug pic you can see it is dressed with a Surfstix teaser as well. :HappyWave:

Thanks for the joint effort, guys. Yep, your stuff does work. :thumbsup:









** BTW the short fish hit the hardest.

This is what frustrates me when I miss a bump out there at night. Those have been the largest fish for me, and generally with the colder water bite we have had on artificials, once you miss that fish, it's my experience that it rarely comes back, You sit there kicking yourself at what could have been. With the action on artificials coming so few and far between, you have to resolve to cast hundreds of times more for the next adrenalin rush.

Worked a demanding job racing against a deadline that day. By the end of the night I was like a punch drunk fighter, staggering in my steps. Barely made it to my car. Slept in my car for 4 hours.

When I got up, I tried searching for some daytime artificial action for bluefish so I could call Pebbles down, but it seems for that area the best bite is end of day and in the dark. The cold wind was also honking from the S by then at a steady 20mph. Oh well, I tried, Pebbles. :kiss:

[storminsteve]

Looks like a phat teaser nice fish!

[DarkSkies]

June 16 AM trip
5 hour Monty Mini Marathon

Got the blues....
Some bluefish activity in the dark, swimmers.
As opposed to the day before they would not hit top water....tried 3 separate times during the trip.
Best action on swimmers....
One of the "larger" bluefish was caught on speedy's white swimmer...with a white tail made by Surfstix....:HappyWave:


Speedy's swimmer
17290

The blues that morning were so small they were not pic worthy...half the size of the blues the day before

What was interesting was how picky and sluggish they were....light hits, if you missed it they would not come back....
I missed so many fish it was embarassing. :(
When the plug bite died they hit metal at varying retrieves until slack tide. Bite was dead after that.

Total:
14 blues to 3#.
2 cownose rays.

[hookedonbass]

nice work dude

[robmedina]

I have always wanted to tie my own flies since back in the day when I used to fly fish. But now I am about to embark on learning and tying my own teasers. Any advice on what I should get as a starter "kit" I already bid on a vice and tools (kit) on ebay. But I don't want to get any of the material kits because they are trout specific.

[surfstix1963]

I just started with a vice,ceramic tip bobbin some thread and bucktails w/ a little pkg. of flash & some hooks,then I took a book out of the library and just kept on trying until I got better my advice would to be a good vice since the cheapo's don't last long and most are not capable of holding the larger hooks we use for saltwater look into the Griffin vices,I have the 3AR and that holds hooks from #22 - 8/0 and it is still going strong don't go crazy with materials until you decide what you want to do. I did a tutorial in the beginning flytying forum on how to do a tailhook that may help.

[surfstix1963]

BTW any other questions feel free to ask.I'll give it my best shot to answer them for you,I'm no expert but I get by.

[robmedina]

I ordered a vice that will rotate 360 degrees and hold up to a 4/0 hook. If it something I continue doing I can always upgrade. I got a kit that comes with some material but I did order a couple more types to try. I think this will be a good start. I have a funny feeling that my youngest daughter (who is super creative and very detailed) will take over my fly tying vice, LOL!

[surferman]

thanks for all the advice surfstix

[robmedina]

Surfstix- I saw in DS post that you aren't feeling well. I hope that your health has improved since that post in March. I appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. I look forward to making everyone laugh at the flies I tie, LOL!

[surfstix1963]

I haven't used the fish skulls yet, you can do it or maybe your daughter lol my first ones were train wrecks it takes time you can pick up quite a bit of info on youtube.

[porgy75]

Nice work guys!

[DarkSkies]

Here are some of my night tide reports for the first 2 weeks of July...
The latest night menu is mostly scattered blues...with a few occasional bass thrown in.

You never know when those conditions will change for the better....even if just for that night.....hence the push to be out there as often as I can....:fishing:







7-13-14 AM
Fished 3 1/2 hours.
Got out too late to fish the ocean and the winds weren't what I was looking for. Settled into some back bay flats fishing. Found some fish in the first few minutes but the pattern was different than 2 nights before.

That night, they all hit the teaser, only the teaser. This trip they would not touch it. I finally settled into a routine where I pissed off each and every fish to get it to smash the popper. The action was pretty good, with long periods of inactivity. Seems like they were coming into the flats and feeding in small groups.

18678

18677

Note the Surfstix teaser tail hook that got these fish...thanks Surfstix! :thumbsup: :HappyWave:
Managed 10 blues to 6#...missed at least twice as many.

[jigfreak]

Nice looking teaser stix.

[buckethead]

Funny how doing something unconventional will get you into fish. Good job ss and ds.

[hookset]

Nice work surfstix. Half of the fish I got this morning were with teasers. Anyone else having success with them?

[DarkSkies]

I might have found the creator of that teaser you were asking about, Monty..... SurfStix gave ya a similar one in post 20 of this thread.... looks pretty close... :HappyWave:

[porgy75]

Its amazing there are so many different sizes and shapes. They are so small and the fish key in on them. Thanks for sharing. Have heard a lot about the redgill not so much about the other ones. good stuff.

[Monty]

I might have found the creator of that teaser you were asking about, Monty..... SurfStix gave ya a similar one in post 20 of this thread.... looks pretty close... :HappyWave:

Thank you, you did find it.
Wet and out of the water they look like cat hair balls.
In the water, I'm thinking a heck of a 3 1/2" and eel imitation.

Thanks Stix!!

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_10_18_SB1.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_10_22_SB_Teaser.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_3_25_Stix_Teaser_1.jpg

[surfstix1963]

Your Welcome pretty don't always catch.So i guess you can rename it the cat hairball.

[Monty]

Your Welcome pretty don't always catch.So i guess you can rename it the cat hairball.

Hi Stix, was this your creation?
Did it have a name?
I took it off because it was cathing to much and wanted to catch on plugs. Very nice.

[surfstix1963]

yes I tied it,like I said not the best tie but it obviously worked.It's just black marabou tied in at the rear of the hook on the sides of the shank at the hook point and black chenille wrapped to the hook eye w/ red flash and some krystal flash on top if I remember correctly I tied two very quickly to use one morning so pretty wasn't the factor.The KF isn't really needed I'm going to take a guess it was a dark morning or moonless night I like the black with red in those conditions.

[hookedonbass]

Hi Stix, was this your creation?
Did it have a name?
I took it off because it was cathing to much and wanted to catch on plugs. Very nice.

Hey not trying to be a JO here but if you were catching on it why take it off? I would be so happy to catch I would use that plug or teaser until it stopped working! thanks

[Monty]

Hey not trying to be a JO here but if you were catching on it why take it off? I would be so happy to catch I would use that plug or teaser until it stopped working! thanks

I have tried to fish without teasers this year, and basically have 99% of the time. Trying to get better at presentation of plugs. I think it's helped, with sand eels around I put that teaser on and when it was pretty obvious there were a lot of bass around I wanted to try catching on plugs. And I did, found the SS Darter was productive. Plus I am pretty sure the bigger offerings catch bigger fish. Even if the bigger fish is 4 to 10 inches.
This type of (action) I lucked into is rare for me, but often when I do find some sort of a bite I try to take advantage of seeing what else works. I am always trying to learn stuff.
I will start off tonight's trip with this teaser on (I'm not stupid), LOL.