Your Best Artificials from the Surf this Year, and Why?

[Monty]

I have been most successful with 14" Hogys this year. I have confidence in it and fish it often. But lately its been nothing but Bluefish for me and the Gold Dookster I use has caught the most and biggest blues. Love walking that plug across the top, got my first Blues in the dark with it last week. It walks real nice and just looks like something should smash it.

[BassBuddah]

Sorry Dark but I am an old school kind of guy. For montauk waters it has always been the bucktail and pork combo.

[DarkSkies]

Thanks for the repsonses, guys. Some good ones so far. Monty that Dookster looks pretty sad, but a beat up plug usually equals a happy fisherman.



Just wanted to add a bit about the Mag Darter...still producing bass for me even in July.....

"the Mag Darter IMO is one of the most under-rated plugs out there......I'm still catching bass this late in the season, thanks in part, to that plug....

As for the other choices, rubber should be something that no surfcaster has missing from his bag,,,,if you can't get any action at all from a pink zoom, that tells you the fish are either scattered, or not there that night....and a bucktail and pork or twister combo is, IMO, fast becomeing a lost art in NJ as a lot of guys have given up on fishing this way in favor of the "guaranteed results" of the Daiwa.... "






I kind of started this thread because of the hype over the Daiws....
Had a conversation just yesterday with one of the best fishermen I know....

he said..
"It's not the plug that catches the fish...it's the guy fishing it...."

[storminsteve]

I love the magdarter for the fall, great plug for when the peanut bunker and mullet are thick.

[DarkSkies]

Plugs with BBs or Rattles.....


As for the BB observation, some of the success I've had this year has been due to plugs of that type. Clear water, rattles not absolutely necessary, but when you are dealing with big surf, a swell with short duration period, or murky water IMO those rattles give you a definite edge.

The bomber used to be the standard for a lot of guys. I think some of the plugs that rattle and move differently will bring more hookups, or at least hits..when the water is slightly dirty or the fish are sluggish...

.the rest is up to you.....

[baitstealer]

Rattle traps also work great in fresh water in the summer. The largemouths and pickeral love them.

[surfstix1963]

Rattle traps are my favorites when it comes to noise makers.I've caught all kinds of fish on those chrome ones weakies love them when the snappers are around.