By Tom Schlichter
I’m not quite sure if it’s the pursuit of blackfish, the season’s first codfish or the last bigmouth bass of the year, but at least one of those items is to blame for me rarely getting a head start on piling up holiday gifts for friends and family. At least that’s the story I’m going with this year.
While the search to find that perfect gift for family members and loved ones does bring with it a good deal of pressure, I’m more comfortable with picking out gifts for those who rate angling at the top of the list. Some years I go fancy, other years I look for oddball options and frequently I’ll mix the two together. This year, however, I’ve been on a practical search. I’ve been looking for gifts that will get a ton of use, bring big smiles on the water all season long and won’t break the bank. Specifically, I’m opting for lures – a mix of old favorites, radically new options, plus a few that any angler would want if they just knew how well they worked.
If you’ve already run out and grabbed the perfect gifts for those in your fishing family, hat’s off to you. For the rest of us panic stricken mortals, following are a few ideas on super-productive, affordable lures that may shorten your search while widening the smiles and increasing the fun come next season – which, by the way, is only a few months away.
Most of the lures below are available at local tackle shops. Specific contact info is provided for the few that are not.
TINS, TINS, TINS!
You can’t go wrong with diamond jigs and similar tins. They work from boat or dock and catch everything from stripers, blues and false albacore to fluke, sea bass and cod. They cast a mile even in a stiff breeze and are virtually indestructible. Still, you can never have enough.
There are several tins I wouldn’t want to be without and each, or all, makes great gifts. The AVA 007, 27 and 47 are workhorses. Think of them as being universal lures because they can be jigged deep, ripped just below the surface, or retrieved at medium speed based on water or weather conditions and the fish species being pursued. Ranging from $2.50 to $5.00 based on size, they are a familiar and reliable standby; options that rarely get left at home. Buy a couple with tube tails in red, white and green, and a couple more with bare hooks. Both styles catch but the fish sometimes show a preference for one style over the other.
One tin that your favorite angler might not have but definitely should carry is something from the Charlie Graves collection. A favorite of surf casters, these tins are keeled for extra action and can be worked enticingly at both fast and slow speeds. Tied with feathers on the single tail hook, they really turn on the stripers and catch a head-turning number of trophy linesiders each year. There are 68 styles of Charlie Graves swimming tins but the 2-1/4-ounce J8 model imitates most local baitfish and the 2-ounce J7 excels when fish are breaking on the surface. Prices range from $5.99 to $7.99. Available at J&J Sports (631-654-2311), Patchogue, NY; Causeway Bait & Tackle (516-785-3223), Wantagh, NY; and L.I. Outdoorsman (516-678-55540), Rockville Centre, NY.
MAKE A HUGE SPLASH
Just about every angler loves surface strikes, so it makes sense that a topwater lure or two would be a great gift. One of the hardest to get – because it sells out quickly – is the Super Strike Little Neck sinking popper (it is easy to find online if your local tackle shop is out). This is a perfectly balanced lure that sinks very slowly so you can swim it below the surface if the fish don’t smash it on top. The 2-3/8- inch size is tough to beat. Get it in white, blue and/or yellow. Expect to pay $18 to $20 for each.
Another great topwater lure for stripers and blues is the Gibbs Lures Pencil Popper. By pointing the rod tip at the plug and shaking the rod tip with a rapid up-and-down motion this lure can be made to dance from side to side on the surface resulting in violent strikes. Yellow, redhead and blue are all great colors. Go with the 2-ounce size.
SWIM BAITS ARE A BLAST
Tins excel in deep or rough water while poppers call fish to the surface. When the fish are anywhere in-between, soft-plastic swim baits are a terrific choice. Tsunami’s Holographic Swim Shads and Storm Wildeye Swim Bait Shads share most of the striper spotlight these days. They hold up well and offer a very seductive wiggle that predator species find hard to resist. They work especially well around adult and peanut bunker if you match the lure size to the baitfish present. Start with the 4- and 6-inch sizes at 6$ to $8 per pack. The white and bunker patterns are logical choices.
There was also a hot new soft plastic minnow imitation on the scene this fall. The Panther Martin Big Fin 3-in-1 Paddle Tail and Eel Tail lures slammed stripers, weakfish, blues, sea bass, fluke and even false albacore. Exceptionally versatile, they are weedless and come in two sizes. The 1-ounce version works great on school bass, weaks and shallow feeding fluke or sea bass, plus false albacore. The 2-ounce size tempts larger bass, weaks and blues. While both sizes work great when cast from shore or boat, they can also be worked deep on a three-way rig. That’s pretty versatile. At $8.99 and $10.99, they are certainly worth a try. At the moment they are only available online at panthermartin.com.
Panther Martin also released another interesting lure late this fall. Called the Fluke Train, it looks like a good bet to be in high demand this spring when the summer flatties come back into season. Using classic teardrop Panther Martin spinner bodies and a fluke-tail jerkbait, this very unique lure is weedless and ideal for jigging or retrieving over rocks, sand bottom and weedbeds. It was released just as fluke season came to an end this fall, so it hasn’t gotten much play. Still heavy field testing found it to be deadly on the flatties along with sea bass, weakfish and jumbo porgies. This is one lure your favorite anglers are unlikely to already have in their fishing arsenals. It’s sure to catch, guaranteed to raise eyebrows, and affordably priced at $5.99 to $6.59 per rig. Red/white, lime/orange and pink/white are the colors to try. Like the Panther Martin Big Fins, they are only available online at panthermartin.com.
By Tom Schlichter
