LIVETARGET
Life-Like Lures
PINFISH 01 Top
MULLET Wakebait 32 Lip
MULLET Twitchbait 32
MULLET Walkingbait 01
Inshore saltwater anglers have an interesting new choice in lures for the spring 2012 fishing season when targeting species that feed on pinfish and mullet. Koppers Livetarget has come out with a line of realistic saltwater fishing plugs that mimic those two baitfish down to 3D anatomical details and dynamic vibrating action.
Both pinfish and mullet are pursued by important Carolina saltwater fish such as speckled trout, redfish, striped bass, and bluefish. Large members of each species are fed on by tarpon and Spanish mackerel.
Popular saltwater plugs by MirrOlure, Bomber, Yo-Zuri and Rapala that replicate mullet and pinfish are already top sellers in the inshore market. Clearly, though, Koppers Livetarget hopes its ultra-realistic approach will make their new plugs popular in 2012.
Livetarget Lipless Pinfish Rattlebait
Pinfish are frequently found around protective marsh grass flats and among the cover of hard structure like bridges, docks, jetties, and rocky bottoms. Instead of schooling they tend to occur together in vast numbers around these areas where they feed on small shellfish prey and hide from predators like speckled trout and redfish.
Live pinfish have long been known as a ‘secret’ bait among fishing guides and coastal locals for big speckled trout. The Kopplers Livebait plug is a natural-looking hardbait that closely resembles the pinfish in 3D detail and packs a tight vibration with a long-range calling rattle.
The company recommends the plug be worked in a lift and drop retrieve similar to the pull and pause method many trout and redfish anglers use with MirrOlures. The pinfish plug comes in three sizes from 2 ½ inches to 3 ¾ inches that go from 7/8 oz to 1 1/8 oz and sinks to a medium depth.
Livetarget Mullet Walking Bait
Mullet are a very important baitfish in their range which travel in huge schools and move throughout the water column searching for vegetative and shellfish food and hiding from the fish, birds, and crabs which try to eat them. Fall mullet schools are so thick that coastal communities celebrate the annual ‘mullet blows’ and use them as live and cut bait to catch speckled trout, redfish, bluefish, stripers and many other species.
The mullet walking bait plug is a top-water plug meant to be worked in the popular walk-the-dog style as it generates a smooth side-to-side action with a tantalizing one-knocker sound. Mullet schools frequently roam the top of the water column since one of a mullet’s protective instincts is to jump.
Livetarget Mullet Twitchbait
The mullet twitchbait is meant to be worked as a sub-surface shallow diver to about 6 feet. Although finger mullet are well known for jumping out of the water when spooked they more often dive when in danger.
Subsurface MirrOlure and Rapala lures have taken many trout and redfish for decades when worked in the middle of the water column. Short, quick twitches are used in warmer water versus long, slow twitches favored by anglers in cold water.
Livetarget Mullet Wakebait
The mullet wakebait is an intriguing plug that is a floater but features a lip and a tandem hinge that gives it the most movement of any of the new 2012 Kopper Livebait plugs. The wakebait can dive down to 12 feet and allows the angler a lot of control over the depth of the lure. The mullet wakebait will likely be an effective warm water cast and retrieve lure and can probably be successfully trolled.
For tons of inshore saltwater fishing tips and techniques check out my latest book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas.
