There are many excellent lures for catching striped bass. Some of our favorites are shown below.
SWIMMING PLUGS
My favorite swimming plugs are Bombers, 1 and 2, on the right.
I have caught
more stripers on Bombers than any other plug I've ever used. Lately I have been using Mega Bait plugs,
3 and 4, on the right. They are slightly heavier and you can cast them farther. Also
they have a neat built in rattle.
For both Bombers and Mega Baits, use yellow in the day and black at night. I usually use teasers with both.
Swimming plugs should be retrieved at a speed, usually slow, that allows their lips to impart a swimming motion on the lure. This results in a slight pulsation of the rod tip that you can both see and feel.
LARGE SWIMMING PLUGS
Sometimes you need to cast a little farther, and you need a heavier plug. Three good heavier weight swimming plugs are shown on the right.
Top: SPRO Prime Minnow, 1¾ oz.
Middle: Rebel Wind Cheater, 2 oz.
Bottom: Danny, 2¼ oz.
TROLLING LURES
To troll for striped bass you need a lure that gets down deep.
The Mann's Stretch series of
lures are some of the best.
POPPERS
When the fish are on top, as evidenced by bird activity or other commotion, it may be time for a popper. There are many good ones, including those shown on the right.
Top: Stillwater Smack-It.
Middle: Knuckle-Head.
Bottom: Gibbs Pencil Popper.
Poppers should be retrieved in short bursts that make the lure pop and creates a commotion.
METAL LURES
Often throwing metal gets results. Two of the best are shown on the right.
The two top ones are Hopkins Shorties,
and the two bottom ones are Kastmasters
Often bluefish hit these lures, so I replace the treble
hooks with single hooks to make it easier to unhook those toothy critters.
I often add "hair" to the hook, or even "feathers." I also add stick on eyes.
To keep a metal lure near the surface, retrieve it rapidly.
To get it deep, pause and let it sink deeper before retrieving. Retrieve it fast to catch
bluefish; slower for stripers.
SOFT PLASTIC LURES
Some of the best striped bass lures are made of soft plastic.
Three
excellent examples are shown on the right.
Top: Slug-Go
Middle: Pencil Worm
Bottom: Fin-S Fish
Link to more about Soft Plastic Lures
Fish them on a worm hook, or on a jighead to get them deeper into the water column.
SWIM SHADS
Swim Shads include the Storm WildEye series shown on the right. These feature a molded in jighead with a salt impregnated tough soft plastic body and a holographic foil insert.
These really work, as they
look exactly like the baitfish they are designed to imitate.
Tsunami
also makes similar lures that work great.
A slow retrieve with not much manipulation usually works well with these lures.
BUCKTAILS
Bucktails have been around for years, and stripers still go for them.
I sometimes replace the bucktail with feathers, but this is unnecessary. Adding curlytails or porkrind trailers is a popular addition. A picture of a bucktail with a porkrind trailer is provide by this link.
.Bucktails work best when allowed to sink lower in the water column before starting the retrieve. On the retrieve bump the bucktail up on about every third crank of the reel handle. The hits come as the bucktail falters.
The Metal shown on the bottom is an Ava. Use this lure with one of the teasers shown below when sand eels are present.
TEASERS
I often use a teaser on a dropper loop ahead of the lure. These can be simple streamer flies tied with bucktail as shown by the middle three on the right. Any color is OK, as long as it's yellow.
Sometimes I will use a Deceiver fly (top) as a teaser, if I have some extras or beat up ones.
The teaser on the bottom is a "Red Gill"; somewhat famous for imitating sand eels.
Teasers do add some drag. If you need to cast really far, or into the wind, omit the teaser.
Berkley Gulp Sand Eels
and Swimming Mullet
BERKLY GULP
Berkley Gulp comes in versions that imitate various baitfish, and sand eels. These lures emit a fish attracting scent into the water.
The sand eels and swimming mullet are both very good for striped bass.
Slip them on a lead jighead, or add them as a trailer
on your bucktail.
The swimming mullet are also an outstanding lure for catching fluke.
