Topic: The Best Baits for Striped Bass of 2022 (Read 42 times)
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Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
A pencil popper is one of the longest casting lures in a surfcaster’s arsenal, but its real power is that it can pull fish to the surface even if they’re not actively feeding. That’s why a pencil popper and specifically, the Savage Gear Panic Pencil, is my pick for the best daytime surfcasting lure.
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Product Overview
Lures catch fish through a co*bination of imitation and obfuscation. A properly worked pencil popper can interest fish in calm and clear water because it tears up the surface in such a way that the fish can’t tell that it’s nothing but a piece of plastic or wood. Pumping the rod while using a slow retrieve will get this lure up on the surface and dancing. As with any surface lure, you can use it to find active fish and don’t need the fish to eat it for the fish to give its presence away. A semi-interested boil behind a plug is extremely valuable intel when you’re trying to find good striper spots.
Honorable Mentions: Dark Matter, Madd Mantis, Gibbs, Tsunami Talkin Popper
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
Minnow-shaped plugs imitate many of the baitfish stripers feed on and are highly effective. The Daiwa Salt Pro stands out because of its long casting distance and versatility.
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Product Overview
Daiwa SP Minnows cast well for this class of lure thanks to an internal weight transfer system built into the lure. It also handles turbulence and current better than other minnow plugs. The SP Minnow will cut through a stiff wind in your face, and given a deliberate steady retrieve, will plow through moderate surf turbulence while still swimming correctly. Its erratic action puts out vibrations that fish can locate in the dark and can’t resist at any time of day.
Honorable Mentions: Cordell Red Fin, Bomber Long A, Yo-Zuri Inshore Minnow
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
Fishing rough surf at night can be extremely productive for striped bass and in those conditions it’s a tough choice between tying on a darter or bottle plug. But, the bottle wins for versatility and its superior casting distance. My pick for best bottle plug is the Super Strike Little Neck Swimmer because it casts great, has excellent action, and its plastic body lasts indefinitely—it even stands up to bluefish.
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Product Overview
Bottle plugs can cut through very significant wind, and with a few fast cranks, can be dug into rough seas. When a bottle plug is swimming correctly it pulsates the rod tip, giving valuable feedback to the angler that the plug is working correctly. Bottle plugs match the profiles of large baitfish and have a good reputation for catching quality stripers.
Honorable Mentions: Gibbs Casting Swimmer, North Bar Bottle Darter
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
Next to the bucktail, a darter might be the most productive lure for big surf caught stripers at night. The best darter is the Super Strike ZigZag because each one swims properly right out of the package. Also, because it’s plastic, it won’t waterlog or get damaged by bluefish.
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Product Overview
Despite choosing a bottle plug over a darter in the nighttime rough surf category, I’ve spent more time fishing a darter than a bottle after dark. I think I can say with confidence that darters have probably landed more big stripers for surfcasters at night than bottle plugs.
But, darters take practice to use. When you fish a bottle plug you’ll feel a pulsation on the rod that signals it’s swimming correctly. With a darter, you’ll need what I call “darter faith” to have confidence that a darter is zig-zagging as intended. One tip for fishing a darter correctly is when you’re fishing it in current or moving water, dig it in with a few fast cranks to get it swimming. When there’s water pressure applied to the lip, it will dart back and forth in an inconsistent pattern that triggers stripers.
Honorable Mentions: Northbar Montauk Darter, Gibbs Darter
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
Needlefish are already versatile lures, but the length and weight options of the Super Strike needles allows anglers to dial in just the right lure for the given conditions.
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Product Overview
A needlefish plug appears to be little more than a stick, but pull it through water with some current or turbulence, and there’s just enough wobble to get stripers to co*mit. Needlefish lures have accounted for some of the largest fish caught on the striper coast. As with bucktails, there is a lot of variation in size and weight with these lures, allowing the angler to adapt to changing conditions.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
Popping plugs are excellent search baits that draw fish to the surface. The best popper is the Super Strike Little Neck because its three lengths and eight weights translates to versatility in profile matching and handling wind and water conditions.
Pros
Cons
Product Overview
Standard surface poppers are usually in my surf bag, right next to pencil poppers. They share many of the qualities of pencils, such as being long lasting and able to pull stripers to the surface. But, they can move more water due to their large cupped face. I prefer the Super Strike Little Neck Popper because it’s made of plastic, which means it won’t get water logged and stands up to toothy bluefish. It also has high quality hardware that doesn’t need to be swapped out.
Honorable Mentions: Gibbs Polaris, Tsunami Surface Blaster
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
When the bite gets tough, stripers will hit a spook when they won’t touch other lures, and the best spook for stripers is the Musky Mania Doc.
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Product Overview
This is a lure that can catch stripers when nothing else will, which might be surprising because the original spooks were designed for largemouth bass. Spooks are particularly effective in calm water when they are retrieved slowly with rhythmic pulls on the rod that get the plug making wide back and forth darts and leaving a wake on the surface. These lures are most popular with New England striper anglers, but they work anywhere hungry stripers swim.
Honorable Mentions: Dark Matter Astro Spook, Jigging World Spook
