Has anybody had any luck with the artificial stuff lately? Been using the Z-man paddle tails, gulp shrimp under a cork, and diving Yo-Zuri hardbaits, with not much luck. I’m not a huge fan of having to go find a bunch of bait for an hour, but I will do it if I can catch fish.
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
dad caught reds and flounder on a beetlespin two weeks ago, so don’t feel like you need to buy $17 sebile lures to make it worthwhile. it’s probably more about location, timing and presentation, as all the lures you mention are fish getters. i know for a fact gulp shrimp are working now. rig light, move slow, and fish live bait alongside it- that’ll tell you whether it’s the location or your technique!
i like live bait, as it is actually the item fish want to eat rather than a facsimile. later in life i may decide to make things harder on myself, and more sporting for the finned ones… time will tell. there’s a certain pleasing simplicity about throwing a plug and never worrying about keeping minnows alive or rerigging, too…
One of the guys at The Anler told me a few years ago this:
“If you think you’re dragging your plastic bait slow, slow it down a lot more”
I don’t really fish artificials to much, but when I do, I fish it really slow against some Oyster beds or creek mouth on the fast moving tide and will hook trout or reds. I just been really succesfull on live menhaden or cut mullet or dead shrimp. Match the hatch. Some people will disagree but nothing beats the real thing!
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
dad caught reds and flounder on a beetlespin two weeks ago, so don’t feel like you need to buy $17 sebile lures to make it worthwhile. it’s probably more about location, timing and presentation, as all the lures you mention are fish getters. i know for a fact gulp shrimp are working now. rig light, move slow, and fish live bait alongside it- that’ll tell you whether it’s the location or your technique!
i like live bait, as it is actually the item fish want to eat rather than a facsimile. later in life i may decide to make things harder on myself, and more sporting for the finned ones… time will tell. there’s a certain pleasing simplicity about throwing a plug and never worrying about keeping minnows alive or rerigging, too…
Thanks!
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
I’m kind of a firm believer in the Pro-Cure. May not always help, but I don’t theink it EVER hurts!
Ray Bergman must be a lousy fisherman.
Vinman
19.5 Triumph, 115 HP Honda
“Every saint has a past, every sinner a future”
lol.
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
The fact that blue crabs will hang onto a DOA shrimp or jerkshad until they are almost in my boat is enough to convince me that artificials are meat from the perspective of much of our marine life.
Being a fresh water fisherman by birth, I don’t really like to mess with live bait. More than once I have reeled in a blue crab on a bass assasin grub with the crab attempting to cut the grub to pieces, even after pulling the thing out of the water. Those were some ticked off crabs, and I mean ticked.
Today, I set up Mullet, other guy in the boat was using grubs, had 2 hits, one was from a small bluefish. Thats it on grubs. All fish we caught today was on bait. Dead cut mullet. He was throwing the grub every now and then with no luck. He DOES know what he is doing too. Bait has been my choice, and while the rod sits, I like to throw grubs.
Try a Mann’s “Waker” Crank Bait, or any wake bait you can get your hands on (Rapala, off shore angler etc). Quickly becoming my favorite way to catch redfish.
