My favorite nearshore and semi-nearshore lures – 2016

Please keep in mind that my recent experience has been limited to fishing

• knee high water from the sand
• the tops of shallow reefs from my surfboard or kayak
• jigging from a boat in 50 to 300 ft

and I use a 7’6″ to 8′ bait casting rod so I like lures I can hang a few inches off the rod tip. I don’t cast the bubble and grub even though that method works very well for folks with long rods.

In my limited experience I stumbled upon some relatively new lures that out performed the old standbys.

Shallow shoreline, light winds, clear water, low light:

I’ve recently tried a number of finesse top water lures from Japan and have been amazed at how they draw strikes from papio and kaku when other mid-column lures have failed to produce.  The slender Japanese lures mimic the small inshore baitfish well and don’t have thick bodies to get in the way of their hooks.  On days when the fish are being finicky, the gurgles and dips of these works of art draw strikes.  The fact that these lures float make them safe to use in even the skinniest of water.

Shallow shoreline, off color water, choppy conditions:

When the fish can’t see the top water lures well, the sub-surface Shimano Waxwing shines.  In really murky conditions, the fish are still able to see the bone color Waxwing and feel its tight zig zag swimming pattern.  Slow down a bit to give the fish a chance to zero in on the lure.

 

 

 

Covering a lot of relatively shallow areas:

The Waxwing can be fished pretty fast and stays safely out of the rocks at that speed, so it’s a good lure to use in search mode.

Around bait schools when predators are crashing the pile:

Small to medium sized poppers like the Yozuri Hydro Popper work well in imitating a predator boiling on bait.  The most aggressive predators will explode on the popper as it noisily makes its way back to you.

 

 

 

Fishing vertically in 50 to 75 feet of water on a slow drift day:

Break out the shallow water micro jigs and “slow pitch” them.  Keep them in the strike zone by smoothly lifting and lowering your rod tip a few inches at a time.  Most strikes come as the jig flutters down.  If the current isn’t running too fast, a 1 oz jig or lighter should work.  Go with as light a jig as you can get down to the bottom.

 

Fishing vertically in 75 to 300 feet of water on a slow drift day:

The Shimano Flat Fall and similar center keeled lures designed to fall slowly by zig zagging their way down the water column provide an enticing action and still make it to the bottom.  Start with the 80 gm size and if the currents prevent it from reaching the bottom, go up to the 100 gm size.  Slow pitch these larger lures like you would a micro jig and speed jig them after you’ve covered the bottom fourth of the water column.

Don’t forget to drop a 2 to 4 oz Live Deception jig also.  I still don’t understand why the lure works so well but it just does.  If you want it to fall slower, bend the jig in a wide “U”.

 

There you have it.  To fish the shoreline out to 300 ft deep, you just need an inshore top water lure, sub-surface Waxwing, small popper, micro jig and a couple heavier slow pitch jigs.  You probably could get away with just 2 rod setups: a medium action whipping / jigging setup, and a heavy action jig setup for the deep water but if you want to splurge, add a light jig rod to make the small to medium sized catches more enjoyable.