Popular lures for Rock

[Redfish12]

I got the question today about what kind of lures I like to use for Rock... so I took a sampling from some of the boxes I have laid out for Jamaica Bay. I'm mostly a soft plastic guy and I think I stick with flukes or things like them a lot of the time bc that's what I used for bass fishing. This is a pretty good mix of stuff and should get you started. For reference on sizes, the white BKD is 10" plus the lead head and the white sassy shad is 4". Hopefully that helps! What's everyone else using?

[ronaultmtd]

Good selection- something there will usually catch fish under most any conditions... I usually pare it down a lot more and only carry a few lures with me- the paddle tails soft plastic shads, a cast master with red tube, stretch 25 red and white, bonk-a-donk and a chug bug popper for breaking fish chasing bait on top. I keep the bonk-a-donk rigged up on a rod in case I find fish on top chasing bait.

[Redfish12]

If I could have only one it would probably the sassy shad in pearl.

I carry a bunch pre-rigged because if you try to take them off and put them on a different head they are done. It also allows me to carry 1/2oz to 1.5oz that I can switch out quickly using a snap.

I definitely didn't cover it all...

[ictalurus]

Nice post, Mike. Maybe this could be a sticky or FAQ. Anyway, I'll add a couple more lures.

4 3/4" saltwater Chugbug:


The Chugbug seems less attractive to bluefish once the tail hook dressing is removed. I guess it looks less like a tail without it.

Bomber Long A (make sure to upgrade the hooks):


Big Rattletraps, floating and sinking:


Medium 'trap:


Saltwater Zara Spook:


This was the most productive topwater lure (or any lure) for me last year:


It's a bargain bin popper (with the hooks removed) with 18-24" 20-30lb test mono leader tied to the rear eye and a 1/8oz bucktail that I tied myself on a Cabela's or Bass Pro saltwater jighead. You can see how beat up the bucktail and leader are. It caught a lot fish last year. I've never had a bluefish bite the bucktail off, which is kind of surprising, and I've only had one fish hit the popper. I try a regular popper first. If nothing hits that, I switch to this.

[ictalurus]

A few more...

A 4" chartreuse with silver flake Sassy shad on a 1/2oz to 3/4oz head:


This is the first lure I ever used to catch stripers from my yak. I usually troll the shad when traveling to my spots. I cast it over my shoulder, start pedaling while counting however long I think I should, then I keep cruising at the same pace.

Lastly, a Tony spoon with an inline sinker:


The spoon is either a 14 or 15, I think, depending on the time of year. The inline weight is either a 1oz, 1.25oz, or 1.5oz. The leader is 25lb test mono that's between 4ft and 6ft long depending on how clear the water is. I use a highend ball bearing snap swivel on the mainline (connected to the reel) and on the other side of the inline weight. The spoon is either tied on directly or with a Breakaway Spin Link, depending on how clear the water is. I troll this when traveling if there are bluefish around.

[eastonkayaker]

Go To Lure

The lure I never leave home without is a blue/silver kastmaster, I have caught rockfish out in the bay and up in the rivers with it, sometimes casting, sometimes trolling in the yak. Good thing is other species will chase it and bluefish can't take the tail off like soft plastics.

[Grady-Black]

Had most of my Rockfish success jigging 5" Opening Night Bass Assassins, and trolling with chartreuse Sassy Shad/bucktail combo.

Have caught them on gold spoons and spinnerbaits also, but not as consistantly.

I'm hoping to try more Topwater baits this year..

GB

[rol716]

This is great information guys! Thanks. I had previously only fished from the shore and would use bucktails tipped with a grub, topwater chug bug for breaking fish or spoons. Have yet to try vertical jigging options for the bay bridge which I hope to do this year. Having always fished from shore, the kayak and depthfinder should help put me on fish, the problem is getting the time to go out and figure out what to use and how to use it.

[ronaultmtd]

I have had my best success with trophy rockfish with live bait - but I have caught tons of smaller rock on lures, mostly spinners, spoons and soft plastics like the Storm 4 inch shads and 1/4 oz bucktails tipped with curlytail plastic...

[DOGFISH]

Anyone who has read some of my posts know that I am a huge fan of the Rapala X Rap deep diver in color glass ghost. I use these in a number of sizes from 3 3/4 inch in the fall to the large magnum lures in 15, 20 and 30 in the spring.

I also like to use Lucky Craft minnow type lures, as a deep diver. YoZuri deep diver minnow lures. I have been known to use a Stretch or two. YoZuri also makes a lure called a hardcore drum, with is perfect to match a peanut bunker. I have all but replaced my rattle traps with the hardcore drum in natural and holographic. I am a real fan of trolling. Unless there is structure in the area you are fishing, trolling covers alot of area and finds the fish. In most cases, the bottom of the bay is like a huge desert. You will need to troll those drop offs during a moving tide to really find the fish. This is my go to tactic. It works for me. That is the beauty of kayak fishing, you can troll with light tackle, even fly tackle. It is not like my days of boat trolling, with heavy rods and alot of lead.

I also agree with the Kastmaster for breaking fish. They are deadly. I like the 3/4 oz for spinning, seems to mimick peanut bunker.

Of course, I use bucktails and soft plastics, to jig. I also use stingsilvers, silver buddies and other jigs, which is a newer tactic for me in the bay. I like to tie on a soft plastic jig above the heavy metal jig below. It gives that tandem affect.

One can never seem to go wrong with the colors of white, silver or chartruese, with the occasional default to natural shad colors.

Just some thoughts, just some thoughts.

[Memory Maker]

......... and don't forget the Gulp .........

[ictalurus]

Gulp is too expensive to waste on stripers. Their palate isn't particularly discriminating. I save that for species that are more wily like flounder and redfish.

[DOGFISH]

Memory: Do you mean "Gulp" like when you are drinking beer?

[BadAssBass]

This is super stuff. . .

. . . would be a good stickty candidate.

I'm gritting my teeth a little because I know that getting into another fishing speciality requires gear and tackle investments. Got hundreds in fly fishing, almost as much for small mouth, lot's more for large mouth, and a few dollars for pan fish and catfish. I can see that saltwater gear is going to hurt.


BTW, another sticky candidate would be a list of decent putins, parks, etc with launch and amenity descriptions and maybe Google earth or Google map links. I'd offer but don't know didly about saltwater access.

[ictalurus]

BAB--I watch the discount bins at my local tackle shop diligently. The plugs and poppers are the most expensive things in my arsenal, and I got most of them on sale. Sports Authority and Kmart are good places to watch, too. The people working there often don't fish, so you'll see great deals in their discount racks. My credit card used to have a rewards deal with Cabela's, so I got a lot of things that way, too. Bass Pro and Cabela's often have good deals in their online discount bins, as well. My biggest problem is having a place to store all this stuff. I don't have a man cave, unfortunately. If it makes you feel any better, I fished for the first two years using only chartreuse sassy shads, the Tony spoon, and a kastmaster. I carried all my tackle in a little rod lure wrap wallet, and I used a $10 telescopic spinning rod.