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

[DarkSkies]

This has been a year of ups and downs so far.
The Daiwa SP is praised by a lot of guys, and they have done well on it.

[DarkSkies]

There are also a lot of other artificials that will get the job done,
In my experience, it all depends on type of forage, time, tide stage, current, and swell conditions....

[DarkSkies]

So what are the few top ones that have worked for you.....
Land or Surf based.....

[DarkSkies]

And why do you think they have worked for you, as opposed to others that you may usually reach for?

[surfstix1963]

The best lures for me are the adaptable ones bucktails,tins,rubber shads or anything you can work in any depth of the water column with different retrieve speeds and actions (the searchers)they have caught more for me.Metal lips and other lures are technique or specialty plugs if you can't work them right your wasting a lot of time and using them at the right time is the key to success with them you just can't use them all the time.My 2 favorite are the kastmaster and hopkins hands down.

[cowherder]

I have tried to keep it simple in case I run into a bluefish. I like bombers and the daiwa when it is calmer, and I have started throwing bucktails when it is rougher. I am ok with the bucktails on a sandy beach but not the rocks which is one of my goals this year, to learn a little more about fishing near to the rocks and not get snagged.

[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.

[DarkSkies]

This is some advice I gave the other day.....







I was doing OK on the x-rap in the Winter when the herring were around. I found other plugs to be better when the fish were on top, but on nights where the swell was big and the surf was nasty with a fast duration, IMO something that stays on top is not really in the strike zone long enough to pass where the fish are.


On those nights, when a bottle plug or NB bottle darter didn't work, I always had an x-rap with me.....Sometimes I would have to throw that one plug for 1-2 hours, just blind casting, but it did pay off with mid teen to bigger fish.


The beginning of the mullet run, the mullet were smaller, and a better profile to match that has been the SP.


However, some of ya's may have noticed that while there are not a lot of mullet left, the ones left behind tend to be bigger...7" up to corncob size...














I would say if you are out in the next few days,,,bring that X-Rap plug with you.
It's something you have to believe in, as often it seems futile, casting and casting....but now that the migratory fish are starting to show up, this plug is a great choice in rough surf, or when you are fishing current and the fish do not seem to be feeding on top, or visible.


good luck, let us know when you have success.....

[DarkSkies]

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.

And not just bass but picky larger bluefish at night.....thanks Surfstix!

[DarkSkies]

Metal Lips, Dannys, etc etc.....believing in what you are throwing.....

---

The peanut bunker we are seeing now are anywhere from 5-9".......

When they are around in numbers like they have been recently, IMO one of the best profiles for targeting bigger bass is these swimmers........

It may take some patience, and you may get frustrated if you pick water where there is not much bait around.....

Generally speaking, in my experience when there is a "bunker bite" in the day....the fish tend to slide off at night and the pickings can be slim.....

You have to believe in the metal lips enough to keep throwing them over and over.....

but if you know bunker were, or are, in an area that day, the ML is a top shelf profile to throw at night........


When you get slammed by a fish that almost pulls your arm out of its socket because it hits you that hard....screaming drag.....you just might become a believer......

[7deadlyplugs]

What are your favorite plugs to throw when sandeels are around?

[DarkSkies]

Thought some of the new guys might want to read this....or some who are catching on artificials now might want to talk about what's working....