What type of lure to use in the summer, in shallow water?

[manlystanley]

Hello Everyone,
There has been some great discussion about summer fishing. I had a question about what lures to use. I was thinking of this combination:

1/4 oz Spro Bucktail; with a 4 inch zman??? Is this good??


Best Regards,
Stan

[Steve6902]

Yes

[yakscientist]

Yep that's my go to setup, well I usually use a red or white bass assassin jighead. They're not that pricey and actually seem to hold up really well, though the red paint on the hook quickly flakes off after a few uses. I like their larger hook sizes too, I have a few 1/2oz jigheads that I will throw a 5" zman grass kicker (great bait) on, but the hooks are a little small and barely protrude above the bait. Spro makes some good bucktails, I've got a few of their 1-2 oz ones that I will throw out with 6" swim shads or zman swimmerz. I'm sure that 1/4 oz is a good choice, but I think you can get a 3 or 4 pack of the same size bass assassins for the same price.

[Mark]

Stan,

These are my primary summer striper catchers:

IMG_0278.jpg

A Rapala Skitter-Pop -- a largemouth lure that I modified with a single inline hook and a 1/8 oz. jighead with 3 inch paddletail.

As discussed in other threads, I'm casting these lures to shallow water however they also work in schools of breaking fish in deeper water.

[moc]

Yes, I use the 4 inch paddle tail with either a 1/4 ounce jighead or a 1/8 ounce jighead depending on either how fast I am trolling in the shallows or to weather I am casting.

[J.A. Veil]

Don't obsess over the brand of jighead/bucktail or plastic tail -- many brands/styles/colors will work.

You did not provide your definition for shallow water. On the past two days I fished in water shallower than 3'. The water was quite murky. On Tues we caught a few fish on 1/8-oz jigheads with 3" paddletail. Yesterday we got nothing on those lures. I caught 7 channel catfish, a few perch, and 1 striper casting a Rapala version of a Rat-L-Trap. I very rarely throw hard plastic lures, but given the poor water quality I felt that vibration plus rattling might get more attention -- I was proven right.

Be prepared with several lure types either for trolling or casting. Select lure sizes and weights that put the bait at a depth where you expect the fish to be and in the size range of natural bait in the area.

[ronaultmtd]

Plus 1 on john's post...although I have bought a bunch of the Bomber bait company 1/8 and 1/4 oz. Sea Shad jig heads...love the premium black nickel plated 3/0 and 4/0 (respectively) hooks...you will not straighten them out...and they are very sharp...for consistency I use Bass Assassin Sea Shad bodies...about the same price as most swim bodies and I have had luck using them over the past few years...I am an X-rap guy...and I change out the hooks to single replacement VMC and Owner hooks...cannot stand trebles on crankbaits...just don't...and I have various sizes and colors...this time of year I mainly pull XR8 or an XR10 XRap...fall and spring I upsize to X-R12 and XR14...top water is my favorite way to catch fish...Tsunami poppers and the smaller whopper ploppers...for white perch, Big Mike has made a believer out of me with his mini crank baits (of course I replaced the trebles)...

[yakscientist]

Plus 1 on john's post...although I have bought a bunch of the Bomber bait company 1/8 and 1/4 oz. Sea Shad jig heads...love the premium black nickel plated 3/0 and 4/0 (respectively) hooks...you will not straighten them out...and they are very sharp...for consistency I use Bass Assassin Sea Shad bodies...about the same price as most swim bodies and I have had luck using them over the past few years...I am an X-rap guy...and I change out the hooks to single replacement VMC and Owner hooks...cannot stand trebles on crankbaits...just don't...and I have various sizes and colors...this time of year I mainly pull XR8 or an XR10 XRap...fall and spring I upsize to X-R12 and XR14...top water is my favorite way to catch fish...Tsunami poppers and the smaller whopper poppers...for white perch, Big Mike has made a believer out of me with his mini crank baits (of course I replaced the trebles)...

Do you replace the split rings as well? And what size rings and hooks do you use for the smaller poppers (4-5") and for the larger ones (6"+)? I'm curious because I have a few bags of owner single replacement hooks, but I never know what size that people recommend. And I have no idea what size rings to use either, so any advice would help.

[ronaultmtd]

Usually the rings are OK...I use different size hooks all the way down to 4...usually I go one size larger than the treble hook I am replacing on the lure- 5/0 on the XR14....the size 4 hooks are what I used on the mini crankbaits...

[Mark]

Do you replace the split rings as well? And what size rings and hooks do you use for the smaller poppers (4-5") and for the larger ones (6"+)? I'm curious because I have a few bags of owner single replacement hooks, but I never know what size that people recommend. And I have no idea what size rings to use either, so any advice would help.

You can use the existing split rings on the hard plastic bait because the in-line position of the eye will allow the replacement hook to hang perfectly straight under the lure. If you don't use an in-line hook I suppose you could add a second split ring to get the regular single hook to hang properly.

Here is a treble to single hook conversion table you may find useful:

Capture Hook.jpg

If you do not know the size of your trebles use this rule of thumb: Make sure the gap of the in-line hook approximates the width of the treble.

Then make sure you place the hooks on the lure facing in the optimal position like this:

B.jpg

There are plenty of sites online to help you both with hook sizing and position. Just Google the topic. The process seems to be gaining in popularity. However, convincing lure makers to offer in-line hooks as a matter of routine on their standard models does not appear to have traction.

[yakscientist]

I've actually seen a few saltwater lures with single hooks instead of the normal trebles, from Rapala, Williamson, and others. It's encouraging.

[manlystanley]

Stan,

These are my primary summer striper catchers:


A Rapala Skitter-Pop -- a largemouth lure that I modified with a single inline hook and a 1/8 oz. jighead with 3 inch paddletail.

As discussed in other threads, I'm casting these lures to shallow water however they also work in schools of breaking fish in deeper water.

Mark: How long is that Skitter-pop? They have 2inch, 4 inch, etc. I've been looking for a good top water lure. Thanks!

Best Regards,
Stan

[manlystanley]

Everyone: Thanks! I've got two 1/4 oz Spro Bucktails on order. I am going out twice next week. I am so looking forward to it!!


Best Regards,
Stan

[Mark]

Mark: How long is that Skitter-pop? They have 2inch, 4 inch, etc. I've been looking for a good top water lure. Thanks!

Best Regards,
Stan

Stan,

The body is 3 inches long. The trailing hook and bucktail add another 2 inches.

Note that I removed the middle hook entirely and replaced the trailing treble hook with an in-line hook. By removing the middle hook I use the popper body as a handle when I get the fish close by.

I have caught a bunch of stripers with this lure from schoolies up to a 29 incher. I like its size because it will stick schoolies and it will make enough commotion on the surface to attract larger stripers.

On my lasting outing I almost lost it. I was with John Veil and John Rentch in Veil's boat. We were casting to breaking fish. During my exuberance in nailing fish after fish, my backcast hit a rod stored upright in the boat. My leader snapped and my Skitter Pop went flying somewhere out of my sight. But John Veil saw it floating in the water about 20 feet in front of the boat. Fortunately the fish had gone down. There was my favorite popper floating unconnected in the water under a school of fish. It's the only time while fishing that I recall saying, "I hope a fish doesn't hit it now!" John motored toward it and I reached overboard and retrieved it.

[Mark]

I've actually seen a few saltwater lures with single hooks instead of the normal trebles, from Rapala, Williamson, and others. It's encouraging.

Last spring John Veil, John Rentch and I visited a well-known lure maker in FL. They were kind enough to give us a tour of their factory. All their hard plastics had trebles. We suggested that they would have a market for lures with in-line single hooks. They said their research and their customers, many of whom are professional bass fisherman, indicated otherwise.