Search baits for Fishing 101

[ronaultmtd]

There are a lot of new to kayak fishing folks coming on board and a lot of questions are being asked about how to...here are a few tips to get started- KISS- keep it simple- a couple of medium spinning rods will take care of 95% of all the fishing you encounter in our area- 10-12# test line will land a 40 inch striper if your drag works correctly...when I first fish new waters I use search baits to find the fish-my best search baits are XRaps in various sizes and color patterns, small rattle traps and 1/8-1/4 jigs with 3 or 4 inch Gulp- Lately I have been using a lot of clothespin style spinners with jig heads with either/or Gulp/Bass Assassin plastic bodies instead of just plain jigs- with clothespin style spinners and jigs, I keep my trolling speed down to less than 2 mph- Big Perch and Croakers go crazy for these lures- a big side catch is redfish and specks- the XRaps are killers for all species- LM Bass, Stripers, Redfish, Speckled Trout, Croakers, Perch and occasionally a big catfish will all hit XRaps and small rattletraps- A tiny lure box of three lures will do it all- if I only had one lure and was fishing for everything it would be a 1/4 oz. red jig head and a bag of 3 inch Gulp and a bag of 4 inch Gulp...White or Chartreuse ...some days one is a lot better than the other, but both work all the time-

[dsiekman]

+1. That's a great starter list. XRaps are my go-to as well. I've tried plenty of others but always come back to the Xrap. I'm also with you on the read jig heads. I'm not sure why, but I seem to have more hits on red. Personally, I like glow in the dark bass assassins, but that's just me. I'd also suggest either some slightly heavier jigs or some smaller lead up front incase they're deep. I've also had good luck with very basic white curly tail grubs from BPS. As you said, bass, rock, wp, yp, reds, blues, etc.

[Boondock_RES]

I love the xraps for smallies. Catch quite a few catfish on them too