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Striped Bass Fishing Lures



This section provides information about lures for striped bass fishing.



There are many excellent lures for catching striped bass. Some of our favorites are shown below.

Scroll down to see all the lures.


Swimming Lures


Bomber and Mega Bait Saltwater Fishing Lures

link to larger images

Diawa SP Minnow Saltwater Fishing Lures

Daiwa SP Minnow Lure

My favorite swimming lures are Bombers,
1 and 2, on the right. I have caught more stripers on Bombers than any other lure I've ever used.

I've also used Mega Bait lures, 3 and 4, on the right. They are slightly heavier and you can cast them farther. Also they have a neat built in rattle. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available anymore.

Another good swimming lure is the Daiwa SP Minnow Lure.

Follow this link to see: Daiwa SP Minnow Lures on Amazon.com

For swimming lures, use yellow in the day and black at night.

Swimming lures should be retrieved at a speed, usually slow, that allows their lips to impart a swimming motion on the lure. This results in a slight pulsation of the rod tip that you can both see and feel.


Follow this link to see more about: Swimming Lures




Large Swimming Lures


Sometimes you need to cast a little farther, and you need a heavier plug. Three good heavier weight swimming plugs are shown on the right.

Top: SPRO Prime Minnow, 1¾ oz.
Middle: Bomber Wind Cheater, 2 oz.
Bottom: Danny, 2¼ oz.


Follow this link to see more about:
Large Swimming Lures



To see other good lures you can cast far,
follow these Links: Northbar Bottledarter
and Bunka Boy




Poppers


When the fish are on top, as evidenced by bird activity or other commotion, it may be time for a popper. There are many good ones, including those shown on the right.

Top: Stillwater Smack-It.
Middle: Knuckle-Head.
Bottom: Gibbs Pencil Popper.

Poppers should be retrieved in short bursts that make the lure pop and creates a commotion.


Follow this link to see more about: Popper Fishing Lures




Needlefish Lures and Darters


Needlefish are long , slim lures that imitate narrow baitfish and sand eels. Their aerodynamic shape enables long casts.

Top: Gibbs Needlefish
Middle: Super Strike Needlefish

Needlefish are usually retrieved slow and steady. They are used mostly at night.

Follow this Link to see more about: Needlefish Lures


Yo-zuri Mag Darter

Yo-zuri Mag Darter



Follow this link to see more about: Darter Lures



Bucktails


Bucktails have been around for years, and stripers still go for them.

I sometimes replace the bucktail with feathers, but this is unnecessary. Adding curlytails or porkrind trailers is a popular addition.

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Bucktails work best when allowed to sink lower in the water column before starting the retrieve. On the retrieve bump the bucktail up on about every third crank of the reel handle. The hits come as the bucktail falters.


Follow this link to see more about: Bucktails


Follow this link to see: Bucktail Fishing Lures on Amazon.com



Metal Lures


Often metal lures get good results. Three of the best are shown on the right.

The top one is a Kastmaster and in the middle is a Hopkins. An AVA Diamond Jig is on the bottom.

You can fish them plain, add hair
or a colored tube tail, green being a good choice.

Often bluefish hit these lures, so I replace the treble hooks with single hooks to make it easier to unhook those toothy critters.

To keep a metal lure near the surface, retrieve it rapidly.
To get it deep, pause and let it sink deeper before retrieving. Retrieve it fast to catch bluefish; slower for stripers.

Use the Ava's when casting from the surf when sand eels are the prevalent bait.

For jigging from a boat use a heavier AVA Diamond Jig, maybe an A-47 or A67, to get the jig down near the bottom.


Follow this link to see more about: Metal Lures


Follow this link to see more about: Diamond Jigs



Soft Plastic Lures


Some of the best striped bass lures are made of soft plastic. Three excellent examples are shown on the right.

Top: Slug-Go
Middle: Pencil Worm
Bottom: Fin-S Fish

Fish them on a worm hook, or on a jighead to get
them deeper into the water column.

Follow this link to see more about: Soft Plastic Lures



Scented Soft Plastic Lures


Berkly Gulp Sand Eels and Swimming Mullett

Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad
and Swimming Mullet


Some soft plastic lures come impregnated with a fish attracting scent, Berkley Gulp being a good example.

You can also make a soft plastic lure scented by squirting a scent on it, soaking the lure in a fish attracting scent, or rubbing a fish attracting scent on the lure.


Follow this link to find out more about: Scented Soft Plastic Lures (Berkley Gulp).



Follow this link to see: Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet on Amazon.com




Swim Shads


Swim Shads include the Storm WildEye series shown on the right. These feature a molded in jighead with a salt impregnated tough soft plastic body and a holographic foil insert.

These really work, as they look exactly like the baitfish they are designed to imitate. Tsunami makes similar lures that work great.

A slow retrieve with not much manipulation usually works well with these lures.


Follow this link to see more about: Swim Shads



Teasers


I often use a teaser on a dropper loop ahead of the lure. These can be simple streamer flies tied with bucktail as shown by the middle three on the right. The color should match the prevalent baitfish.

Sometimes I will use a Deceiver fly (top) as a teaser, if I have some extras, or beat up ones.

The teaser on the bottom is a "Red Gill"; somewhat famous for imitating sand eels.

Teasers do add some drag. If you need to cast really far, or into the wind, omit the teaser.


Follow this link To see more about: Teasers




Trolling Lures and Rigs


To see some trolling lure and rig examples follow this link: Trolling Lures



Leaders


When casting lures from the beach I will use an 18 inch leader of about 40 pound test made of monofilament or flourocarbon with a duolock snap on the bottom to attach the lure. The leader also provides something to grab onto when landing a fish on the beach. If I am using a teaser, I use a somewhat longer leader with a "dropper loop" for attaching the teaser.





Largemouth Bass Fishing Lures


Follow this link to see Largemouth Bass Fishing Lures.





      




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