[barthy]

I am new/learning to use lures for saltwater fishing. The two I use are Spro Prime Bucktail jigs and Got-cha Plugs. I fish at Wrightsville Beach mainly from the pier but will venture to the south end I think it is. (Coast Guard station side). Recently the excitement of fishing for blues has been my main focus. I have gotten a lot better at catching blues (and the occasional puffer, unintended) with Gotchas but recently came across threads that mentioned pencil poppers. The posts from northern states all referred to large striped bass and large blues being caught using pencil poppers. I read about them and found several companies that make them.

I ran across one NC post to use pencil poppers for jack crevalle? Another post mention sharks have bitten poppers.

Gotchas can be used at various depths from the pier and Pencil Poppers are surface lures. I would like to catch blues, Spanish, and Trout and any other fish except sharks would be fine with me.

Would I be wasting my time to also use a Pencil Popper from the pier specifically or surf at Wrightsville Beach since Gotchas seem to work for me?

Is there a better time of day to catch blues? daybreak? I heard someone at the pier say Blues were jumping out of the water and caught a limit quickly

Thanks.

 

[buster]

Fishing up north is different than down here.The majority of fish will be stripers and blues to the north when surf casting.Down here you never know what your going to catch when fishing.The stripers and blues to the north tend to be bigger with bass to 60lbs and blues to 20lbs from the surf,not always but at the right times possible.Pencil poppers are very common for that reason.If you have lures that work stick with it.If you are wanting to try something new then it wouldnt hurt to have one in your lineup.I dont think i would use one from the pier,but then again i dont pier fish.A far as blue fish are concerned,they will hit ANYTHING you throw to them so be careful on using good equipment with them because it will get torn up or lost(cut off).Hope this helps a little.One last thing is that if you are targeting blues,put a single hook on the back of the lures...easier to unhook/release fish.

 

[Loner]

....You.....

 

[kurazy kracka]

http://www.northcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=3236
I've never tried personally but rarely fish down that way. I've only fished soft plastics on jig heads and metal down there.

that's Crazy Alberto with a bull red on a darter...just saying.

 

[buster]

No doubt!If fish are feeding,regardless of species,you can do very well on artificials.Its just that most dont like spending $18-$30 on one plug.I'm very familiar with Crazy Alberto's fishing techniques from up north.I only fish artificials which can be tough at times but just a preference.

 

[kurazy kracka]

No doubt!If fish are feeding,regardless of species,you can do very well on artificials.Its just that most dont like spending $18-$30 on one plug.I'm very familiar with Crazy Alberto's fishing techniques from up north.I only fish artificials which can be tough at times but just a preference.

The way I justify it is instead of buying bait for a trip I can buy a plug or 2. Plugs get addictive though and you end up with a bunch of expensive **** but you haven't caught on so you just end up going back to those you have confidence in.

 

[buster]

The way I justify it is instead of buying bait for a trip I can buy a plug or 2. Plugs get addictive though and you end up with a bunch of expensive **** but you haven't caught on so you just end up going back to those you have confidence in.

exactly!!

 

[bluefish1928]

If it ain't broken, don't fix it.........

I can see pencil poppers being deadly when mullet are thick in the fall and blues are actively feeding on top. However, I feel like most of the small blues will simply hit and miss. Unless you gets runs of big blues like on the Outer Banks, I would not bother. Also, got-cha plugs are fairly cheap.

Bluefish are generally not picky but....

From jigging mackerel tree rigs in SC, I have seen days where the size and color of your straws had a direct correlation of how many fish you caught.


I got into lures exclusively for stripers because it was logistically impossible for me to get bait. Now that I know what works for my area, I stick with them.

 

[barthy]

Changed My Mind

After your responses, reading some of Crazy Alberto's articles, looking at prices and the habits of blues I do not think pencil poppers are for me. Right now I do not think I have the patience to learn to properly fish them. When I do decide to try them I will start with Yo-Zuri Mag Darter because they are "Designed for surf, jetty, and pier casting." I think I will stick with Gotchas, cut bait, shrimp and maybe fish more with bucktails.

 

[kurazy kracka]

After your responses, reading some of Crazy Alberto's articles, looking at prices and the habits of blues I do not think pencil poppers are for me. Right now I do not think I have the patience to learn to properly fish them. When I do decide to try them I will start with Yo-Zuri Mag Darter because they are "Designed for surf, jetty, and pier casting." I think I will stick with Gotchas, cut bait, shrimp and maybe fish more with bucktails.

Pencils take the most effort to fish and can start to wear you out. You could start with a smaller floating super strike popper. They are great in the surf and get great distance.

 

[blue82]

Blues will tear up some bucktails. After a few hook-ups, there's not a lot of bucktail left.

 

[barthy]

Pencils take the most effort to fish and can start to wear you out. You could start with a smaller floating super strike popper. They are great in the surf and get great distance.

The Yo-Zuri Mag Darter product page says,"The Mag Darter is most productive when cast and slow retrieved." They are 4 or 5 inches. I use the slow retrieve will a bucktail. This could be an option just to have two lures to switch between.

Any other options that work with a slow retrieve?

 

[barthy]

Blue82,

I do not fish for blues with the bucktails. I use Gotcha plugs for blues. I guess I should have clarified that. I use them to fish for flounder. I would not want to waste them on blues although I heard you can catch blues with them.

I am looking for other options for blues and maybe a lure that I can fish by slow retrieve for other NC saltwater fish. Something I could throw from a pier, near a jetty, around docks, and into channels from the shore.

 

[kurazy kracka]

The Yo-Zuri Mag Darter product page says,"The Mag Darter is most productive when cast and slow retrieved." They are 4 or 5 inches. I use the slow retrieve will a bucktail. This could be an option just to have two lures to switch between.

Any other options that work with a slow retrieve?

The mag darters swim nice, I have a few but have never produced w them.

The popper is a pretty slow retrieve. It's a few pops, let it sit, swim it a bit n repeat. SP minnows you can vary the retrieve and just about everything will hit them. I've caught flounder, blues, and stripers on them. I've caught drum in the sound on gold spoons.

For the blues and Spanish besides gotchas try ES lures or epoxy minnows, hogies, n all that variety.

Again I don't know of too many hard Baits to use down there.

 

[bigjim5589]

Barthy, I own & have used a lot of different types of lures over the years. I make many of my own lures, such as bucktails. Any type lure has it's time & place. If you limit your fishing to piers, or the surf, then there's going to be lures that really won't be worthwhile for you to purchase & carry. I don't usually fish from piers, and seldom get the opportunity to fish the surf. Much of the fishing I've done with lures has been from a boat, so that provides a wider range of lure usage.

IMO, if you're looking for lures for Blues specifically, get a pack of wire leaders & cheap spoons. Even cheap spoons will catch Blues and the wire is to reduce losing both fish & lure, but it's the nature of the animal that you'll lose both.

Yozuri Mag Darter's are very productive lures, but again limiting your type of fishing may not let you take advantage of that particular lure.

Pencil poppers are also a very good lure type, but you do have to spend some time learning the best technique to fully take advantage of them as well. They're good in the surf, but may not be an everywhere, anytime type of lure. As mentioned, when there are fish near the surface, they're great, but you could spend a lot of time tossing them, with no success.

I acquired the many lures I have to fit situations or conditions where I found I didn't have the "correct" lures. So, I'll only carry them when I know I'll see the sane situations or conditions.

There are lures that are good, general purpose, such as bucktails and spoons, but they won't fit all situations. You can catch a lot of fish with either, and with lures like the Gotcha's, that's for certain, but if you want to add additional lures, simply think in terms on the water column. IMO, you have below the surface covered, so that only leaves the surface & topwater lures.

Since you wish to target Blues, again go with something cheap. There are lesser priced surface lures that will catch Blues when they're near the surface. Take a look at Bass Pro or Cabelas brands, particularly when they have them on sale.

Another reason I've added lures to my collection is I really like trying out new things, and some I have are more costly. When I know there are lots of Blues around, those more expensive lures stay in my tackle bag & go to the cheaper lures to keep from losing the higher priced. Sure, I've caught Blues on " better" lures while fishing for other species & have lost some lures as a result, but when targeting Blues, it's an easy choice to go to such things as cheap spoons.

Check out Ebay. You can find lures there cheap, or check Hagen's Tackle. You can buy spoon blanks & add your own hardware & hooks for Bluefish, and save the cost of losing higher priced lures to the Bluefish.

 

[dena]

Ever try spoons for Blues?
I love them.
Trade out the treble hook for a single, and throw a spoon into the surf.
Blues will love it, as will flounder and trout.
I will even use a small spoon as a teaser on a gotcha plug rig.

 

[barthy]

I have a few Clarkspoons, single hook, but never could catch anything with them. I saw lots of people with gotchas so I switched. Now I have confidence with them and haven't use spoons since. Maybe I will remember/try to switch to spoon after I catch blues with gotcha. I have never thought of using spoon as a teaser. I will try it and maybe double up on blues.

 

[JamesRiverVa]

I did well last fall on the OBX using a 1.5 oz gold Hopkins spoon. Caught a good number of blues and also an upper slot puppy drum. I wasn't fast-retrieving it the way I would if I was trying for Spanish, but rather using a pretty slow, mostly steady retrieve almost like slow-rolling a spinnerbait in fresh water.

 

[VaFHB]

I personally like the Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug in the largest size you can find which usually means ordering online for me. I like anything Green, Green/White, or Chartreuse. These work in both fresh and saltwater. In fresh water, you won't catch many bass on them but when you do, they're going to be BIG. Stripers tend to really love them. As with most fish, fresh or saltwater, if they are schooling, actively feeding, or both, you will catch fish on just about anything you throw out there.

 

[bigjim5589]

I've used many brands & styles of spoons, and just as with any other lure type, each has a time & place they seem to work best. I've cast Clarkspoons sometimes, but IMO they're not heavy enough for good casting distance & are a far better spoon for trolling. Krocodile spoons are a favorite of mine for casting in open water, and I still use the Johnson's Silver Minnow style spoons for bass, as well as other fish. Hopkins & Kastmaster style spoons are always a good choice for the surf, but that's not the only place to use them.

Heck, I've tried all kinds of spoons for Striped Bass, even those sold for Salmon. The main thing with any style of spoon is how it acts as it falls, or it's action during a retrieve.

I mentioned cheap spoons above for Bluefish. Go to www.hagensfish.com and look thru their catalog. You can also check out Jann's Netcraft, Barlow's Tackle or Lure Parts Online. All of them sell spoons that are much cheaper than the "name" brands if you're going to be using them for Bluefish.

As far as comparing using spoons to using Gotcha's, they each sink differently, so you may not really be comparing apples to apples & that could be why you had more success with the Gotcha's.
Speculation on my part, as there could be many other reasons too.

Here's a few of the spoons I've tried. Again, I primarily used these for casting & targeting Striped Bass, or when trolling for Spanish Macs. They've caught their share of Bluefish too!

Tony Accetta. This one I had replaced the hook & re-dressed it with feathers plus some added flash material (Flashabou or Polar Flash, both are fly tying materials). Very good for casting in the smaller sizes, or any size for trolling.


Krocodile Spoon with surge tube. This is a very good combination for Bluefish.


Various spoons.


The two spoons in the middle are Luhr Jensen, but this style can be found from numerous sources. These have a wider wobble to them than Krocodile spoons have.


The smaller spoon with the red tag is a Johnson's Sprite. This is another very good spoon.


I change the hooks on most of my spoons to singles. These pics were taken when I had first gotten some of these & before I changed hooks.