SPRO, Rebel Windcheater, and Danny Swimming Lures

The SPRO, Rebel Windcheater, and Danny swimming plugs, are all about 2 ounces in weight. Because they are heavy, they they can be cast further. Also use them when casting into the wind.

About Swimming Lures

There are two reasons to use larger swimming lures. One is that when casting into the wind, the larger lures are heavier and help you get some distance from your cast. The other reason is to catch bigger stripers. Big stripers like big baitfish.

Swimming lures are either wood or plastic and have a protruding lip that bites into the water and makes the lure dive. It also imparts a side-to-side motion, or wobble, to the lure that makes it appear like a swimming baitfish. Some swimming lures have metal lips that can be bent, or tuned, to make the lure bite in more and dive deeper.

When we go freshwater fishing we use similar lures, but we call them crankbaits.

One good place to use swimming lures is around jetties, especially in the pockets. Baitfish often get stacked up in the pockets, and striped bass go looking for them there. If you can, without interfering with others fishing from the jetties, make a few casts right up close to rocks around the jetties. Baitfish hide among the rocks.

You can fish swimming lures at different depths by:
1. Casting out the lure and retrieving it slowly along the water not allowing it to dig in much. The lure will stay close to the surface and make a "V" wake. Often this will get some attention and draw a strike.
2. Cast, then retrieve the lure a little faster, just enough to make the lip dig in and create the characteristic wobble. You can feel the resulting pulsation through the line so that you can tell if the lure is working as intended. This is the most common way to fish a swimming lure.
3. Use a plug with a metal lip bent down a little, or a lure with a longer lip. This plug will dig in more when retrieved and go deeper in the water column.

Try all these techniques. Also for striped bass, remember to retrieve slowly. Fast retrieves are for bluefish.