The Best Bass Plug For Shore Fishing ?

Please Give as much information. Hopefully this topic will serve as a resource for anyone wanting to get into bass plugging. Please state why you favour a certain lure, what is your best fish to that lure, does it cast well ?, how do you work your lure ?, Best set up (line diameter etc). Please include pictures if you have them, and let us know where you purchase your plugs from and who you think does the best deals.

I know I'm asking for a lot, but lets make this topic the best on the subject. Hopefully one lots of people will enjoy reading.

Over to you.......

 

RAPALA SL-13 - isn't she beautiful? What does it catch bass? No idea but she's gorgouse :happy:

 

:yes:

 

Available in the above colour designs, they just have to be one of the hottest plugs around this summer if all the pipefish and sandeels show again

 

Got the Rapala Sliver arriving next week :wink: Roll on summer :yes:

 

..only problem with Slivers is that they're sinkers - forever digging in the weed from the shallow shore marks that I fish. They're great for trolling in the boat though.

Mart

 

Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow- Looks amazing at dawn, dusk and other poor light conditions:


However, I've had more fish interested in the two Shakespeare 'Devils Own' jointed plugs they make:

'Jointed Lizard'


'Massive Silver'


I've also bought a couple of their 'Blue Pilchard', which at £1:99 are a canny plug.

 

Is there any coincidence that these plugs have red colours around the head. I noted that many peoples fave the Maria Chase range also have red heads.

 

I suppose it provides a 'strike point' on the plug- I know from experience with fly fishing that you can fish a pattern for hours to no avail then change to one with a dash of red on its throat and get instant results.

One thing I have started doing is omitting a snap link and tying the line to the thinnest part of the split ring instead- It makes for a better action I reckon.

I wish I'd had a video camera in Wales when we were watching the bass react to various lures under lights at night- I learned more in 5 minutes that night than in hours of 'plugging away'.

 

Yes Ian I think snap swivels are a bad idea on this type of lure. The one thing I note from River fishing is the Rapala Knot (as shown on some of the boxes) makes the lure look far more natural in the water.

 

this one should do the business then Bucko

has the added advantage that any small fish will probably run away from it :surprise:

only problem with the Rapala knot thing is every time you change plugs you have to cut the leader and start again, Dav suggested some kind of clip, but i was not sure what he meant.

 

Thats a whopper Dave!

You can get these clips for fly fishing but I'm unsure if you can get them in a 'beefy' enough size to cope with the rough and tumble of sea fishing.

 

Hi, yeah agree with dave on this one , i you`s to use the rapala knot alot when lure fishing with plugs that required alot of movement around the front of the lure , the advantage of the knot is it allows the lure free movement without sacrificing any action , (if you know what i mean ) , a great knot and still use it now n again , but when it comes to changing the lure which i must say i do alot when there is no action happeneing , it means re tying , which itself isnt to much of a problem but when ure fishing it seems to waste valuable time , , i find if i use , a rosco/owner type crosslock clip instead of the rapala knot i can quickly change lures , and also find it doesnt ruin the action of the lure to much (ok maybe abit ), and if the lure happens to dig into rocks or the like the line doesnt bear the brunt of the knot , like when ure using the rapala knot method , i must say tho that knot is a great knot for letting the lure wobble dart etc without any hinderance .....but prefare crosslocks ,,,,,,,

 

Is this a cross lock Dav ?

 

Nice idea them bucko , but im not sure if ide trust them with the rigours of lure fishing ......


Rapala knot.......














Rosco crosslock..........














Hope this clears up what i was saying.........cheers

 

Yeah glen , ide do away with the swivel tho , ....only my opinion ........
you can get them in different breaking strains , 25lb ...40lb etc etc

 

I use snaplink/swivel for all my lure fishing, makes changing lures so much easier and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't effect the lure's action at all. I use snaplinks/swivels when ultralight fishing for Perch and these lures are only 2-5g! As long at the snaps/swivels are of an appropriate size to the lure(s) you are using then you shouldn't have a problem at all.

At the end of the day it's each to their own :wink: What works for me may not work for some else I guess, just merely pointing out that tying straight to the lure isn't the only option.

 

Because most of my shore bass fishing with lures is done in shallow rocky ground my favourite plug has to be the Maria Angel Kiss. Being a shallow diver, 1 - 2 feet, the lure is ideal to run over kelp and bladderwrack. I have had bass come up from deeper water and nearly break water on the strike, pure magic. Pictured are the three I use, I particularly like the red fronted one as I'm sure that predators identify the red as an injured fish



You missed the rapala j-13 Glenn which I voted for, a classic for the deeper gullies :wink:

 

What breaking strain line do you guys use? I've been scaling down to about 10lb when using lighter lures such as the Chug Bug and the like for that bit of extra distance.
Thats weaker than what I use for fly leader on the rivers!

 

:yes: Totally agree with Mart. The old j11 is more suited to shore work the j13 is again a good trolling lure.