Surf Fishing "Fish Trap Lures " Question

[DEADROOTS]

What are the best colors in the surf here in the so. cal areas? Which colors have been producing? So far Ive tried green flash and these two other colors. Are there any lures which are more productive than these?

[BingJr]

I am no surf expert but from my readings, it appears a fish trap in a Lucky Craft box and shape in the metallic sardine color is tough to beat.

[Zombie Bass ATTACK]

swimbaits are alright but i prefer hardbaits,drop shot,flukes etc...produce more in my mind

[rusty6]

ive seen that top color produce a lot in the surf...a lot of leos surprisingly on some other forums.

[Rooster]

I have had goodluck with kilime,halloween & brown bait. If your fishing for spotties in NPH try anything with red flakes in it. You will thank me later :Razz:

[lurk 182]

those colors will work. i like big hammers and MC Swimbaits a little better and i basically am going for a smelt look. (green back/silver sides)

[bonestock]

BH keylime

[cappo]

i've always had luck with bay smelt

[baluga]

For halibut go with Chartuese or Keylime pattern on clear to stained water it's tough to beat.
For Calico go with Calico hunter pattern by BH on clear to stained water.

Darker pattern like seawolf from BH on cloady to murky water.

[DEADROOTS]

Is smelt the so.cal. preferred bait fish species for the average game species?

[jerryG]

swimbaits are alright but i prefer hardbaits,drop shot,flukes etc...produce more in my mind


I agree with Zombie. Don't get me wrong I've been a huge fan of the swimbait since the days when Worm king was the only game in town (198*) but the hard baits, dropshot, and crocks have produced far better results from shore (surf/jetties).

JerryG

[Sinjin Kim]

There is no question Lucky Craft hardbaits and the dropshot technique are effective in the surf. The proof is in the number!

I've been active on these types of message boards for quite some time now, and prior to the promoting of these two techniques, the majority of the surf fishing reports were like this:

Winter- mostly barred surf perch caught on natural baits (e.g. lug worms and sand crabs), Gulp! Sand Worms and plastic grubs.

Spring- mostly barred surf perch and occasional corbina, croakers and halibut.

Summer- mostly croakers, corbina, perch, spotfin croakers, some calico bass and occasionally halibut and exotics such as striped bass.

Fall- mostly perch, croakers, some calico bass and occasionally halibut.

Take a look the reports today! There are a LOT of legal and many HUGE halibut caught year round. Exotics such as striped bass, calico bass and white sea bass are caught with more frequency.

A prime example is "Wingnut" (Arthur). Arthur got involved in surf fishing early this year and look at his success. Many legal sized halibut, legal sized calico bass, a legal white sea bass, (2) Coho Salmon, a HUGE leopard shark, "slab" perch, and some less unwanted stuff like SNGF and a angel shark- ALL caught on Lucky Craft hard baits!

You could try to save a few bucks by trying cheaper/ less quality baits, but I am almost certain you won't have the same success as you would with a Lucky Craft hard bait.

To give you another prime example. When I first introduced these methods with the online community, there were a lot of skeptics. Some even had the nerve to call me a moron for promoting this new style of surf fishing. Well, presently these same folks who once "flamed" on me online, are now well equipped with Lucky Craft hardbaits and utilize the dropshot rig religiously.

As Jerry G stated to me during a phone conversation, "they" simply couldn't take seeing reports day in and day out of quality fish caught on these methods and gave in to the idea. I am happy they did because they too are now catching fish and sharing this relatively new idea with others. Catching and sharing knowledge is what fishing is all about!

I could go on and on, but I will let the reader decide if huge haibut, calico bass, "slab" perch, corbina and other highly sought after fish is worth spending a little extra cash on remarkably designed Lucky Craft lures.

If you want some helpful tips on properly utilizing Lucky Craft hardbaits in the surf, check out this article I recently wrote up (yes Arthur, all my material has a copy right :Wink:).

http://tinyurl.com/49g4wk

As much as I love fishing with hardbaits, there certain areas and time of year (specie specific) the swimbaits flourish. I've used fish traps, big hammers, bass trix etc... they all work but I have a personal preference for fish traps during most the year and fish big hammers when I need a slower moving bait (the square tail kicks more than fish trap during slow retrieves).

For the surf, I personally have the most amount of confidence with these three colors (these colors cover most water conditions): Black Halloween, Key Lime and Fire Tiger.

I am working on an article for plastics in the surf and once it is published online, I will let you guys know.