Inshore Saltwater articles
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inshore saltwater fishing!
Winter is a great time for boat shows and tackle expos, and if you go to one you will see a bewildering selection of lures available for throwing at inshore saltwater fish. The Bass Pro Shop, Dick's Sporting Goods, our fine local tackle shops and even the better Walmarts carry most of the same artificial choices. All of them work in the right situation, and you shouldn't be reluctant to try some of the newer models out there gaining fame for their success.
For more information on Carolina fishing and seafood cooking check out my book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas
As far as shallow-water fishing goes, most of the lures available are targeted toward two species: speckled trout and red drum. You will also find lures and rig meant for flounder, bluefish, pompano and other species, but the bulk of the stuff out there is geared at specks and reds. In recent years, however, even tackle intended for little saltwater panfish like spot has gained space in the stores.
The biggest innovation of the past decade in angling has been the rise of synthetic baits meant to feel and smell like the real thing. Lifelike lures made with natural ingredients that dispense fish-attracting scent into the water exploded on the scene a while back and now have a corner on the market. For a time saltwater lures that mimicked freshwater offerings, like those thrown to largemouth bass, were all the rage, but scented synthetics have blown everything else away when it comes to inshore fishing.
A lot of good companies make a lot of good lures when it comes to inshore fishing, but the line that gets the most attention these days is the Gulp lures manufactured by Berkley out of Iowa. Gulps come in a lot of shapes, colors and sizes, but their main attraction is their scent, which at times allows them to out-fish even wriggling live bait. A product that was years in the development, Gulp soft baits (which actually contain no plastic) disperse scent as soon as they hit the water, attracting fish and making them hang onto the lure for the extra few seconds needed to set the hook.
Since they became an overnight sensation, Berkley Gulps have developed a cult following, including many devoted speckled trout anglers and some top fishing guides. Since Gulps come in many different molds and sizes, each fan seems to have his favorite "can't miss" choice.
Popular styles of Gulp lures include swimming minnow and mullet models, straight jerk shad bodies, more traditional looking grubs and shrimp-imitating tails. There are lots of different colors to choose, with pearl white, chartreuse, new penny, pink and the infamous nuclear chicken as top sellers. Gulp lures for specks and redfish are usually from 3 to 5 inches and can be rigged on jig heads or in various other ways, including free-lining.
Many other companies besides Gulp have gotten into the scent-dispersal game. The age-old debate about whether fish "smell" lures seems to have been settled, as products that contain scent are huge sellers. Many of the new synthetic lures have bodies that resemble shrimp, which is the main food in the diet of a speckled tout and is also eaten by about everything else that swims in our waters.
The biggest seller of imitation shrimp lures is the DOA brand out of Stuart, Fla., (many of the really good saltwater lures had their origins in Florida or on the Gulf coast). DOA shrimp, as well as the many other shrimp-imitating brands out there such as the popular Billy Bay Halo Shrimp, have the look and feel of the real thing. You can fish them on a jig head or weightless, while some models have a small weight built into the body. There are also weedless models of these imitation shrimp, which are effective when throwing into marsh grass or around hard structure.
These soft-bodied baits are great choices for trout and redfish, and will often outfish traditional lures like plastic grubs and hard plugs. They will even beat live bait on occasion. In the middle of winter, when live bait is nearly impossible to come by, such lures are invaluable. Speaking of value, these lures are not exactly cheap, so throwing them into a mess of underwater structure is always a risky proposition.
When fishing these soft lures, you usually want to fish pretty slowly, with frequent pauses to let your target zero in on the scent. Use as little weight as you need to get the lure to where the fish are feeding. I really like a pull-and-pause method very similar to the way we all learned to fish plastic worms for bass on those long-ago farm ponds. Lures like these are often hit on the fall or even when sitting still.
These days there are also body patterns meant to resemble things other than shrimp and minnows. Crablike bodies are popular with drum fishermen, while there are imitation sand flea baits that appeal to pompano and even whiting (sea mullet).
The little panfish are not left out the scent-revolution. Several years ago the company Fishbites began marketing synthetic alternatives to fresh cut bait, which can be added to the hooks on small-bottom rigs. There are flavors of shrimp and squid, but the most successful flavor has been the "Bag O Worms" baits, which are meant as bloodworm alternatives.
Bloodworms have always been the No. 1 bait for spot, the most popular panfish of the Carolinas. I have always found their price per bag rather unreasonable. These prices seem to mysteriously spike when the spot are running in the fall. Bloodworm bits are easily torn off the hook as well and rarely last past one caught spot (or one hungry uncaught pinfish). The Fishbites bloodworms save you money, since they are held on by tough mesh and will stay on the hook for several caught fish as well as resisting the nibbling pinfish longer.
A good testament to the effectiveness of synthetic and realistic baits is the number of anglers who have gone to them. As a rule, the fishing crowd doesn't love change, but change that results in bent rods is OK. All of these new lures have big followings in the fishing community.
Don't get me wrong. The more traditional lures, as well as plain old live and natural bait, are still just fine for filling your cooler. Sometimes fish want live bait and won't take anything else. If you haven't tried the newer, smellier models, however, you should give them a shot. Change can be good, and a few speckled trout or frisky spot on the line will persuade even the most dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist to give progress a shot.
For more information on saltwater fsihing and seafood see my blog A Dash Of Salty.
