Best Lures For Saltwater

[smr_hga]

Ok i am TIRED of catching Pinfish! I need some lures that can catch me the gamefish! Whether it be Redfish, Snook, Seatrout, Flounder etc. Just ANYTHING that isn't a Pinfish! Please reccomend effective lures for saltwater. (I don't have a boat but this shouldn't stop me from catching good fish)

[nick060200]

i have done really well with gotcha plugs when the fish are running the beach. also a drop rig with squid usually produces. 

[MARsSPEED]

Plugs, Spooks, and inline spinners.

[atcoha]

Get yourself some 1/4 to 3/4 oz. jigheads, get some matrix shad, gulp or doa type baits, and start working them.  The pinfish will nibble the gulp off, so I try and use them sparingly, they are not cheap. 

I have had good days with the doa shrimp also, try different colors. rootbeer/penny or some type of charteuse works well. Started using matrix shad in "tiger" and "kamikaze" colors this year and the results have been real good.

 

And don't forget the mirrolure 17mr series, they are fish magnets. 

[SirSnookalot]

Any of those fish can be caught with a bucktail jig and/or a spoon, you really need nothing else.  There is an infinite number of other lures that can be used equally as well.  I use different lures not catch more or bigger fish, but just for variation, boring to use the same thing day in and day out.  Some of my other favorites are hard jerkbaits, soft jerk shads on a jig head, gotcha as mentioned is a wonderful lure, topwaters and I really like Mirrorlure twitchbaits too.   Any of these lures can be used in freshwater to catch bass and by the same token any bass lure can be used in the brine.

 

Catching fish in saltwater is not about the lure, it's about finding the fish when they are feeding, they will hit just about anything then.  

[Big C]

3-4" Berkeley Gulp! shrimp (new penny color is the best) on a jig head absolutely kills redfish, flounder, and trout.  You won't catch small fish on it. 

[RoLo]

In Florida, one of the best bets in July are Redfish (red drum). 

I like a 1/4 oz Johnson Spoon dressed with a 2" white grub, and also white bucktail jigs.

If just landing a redfish is your top priority, pickup some 2 to 4" shrimp (live or fresh frozen)

or use those pinfish you're catching, between 3 & 4" long.

Since you don't have a boat I can't help much with location, except to say "Mosquito Lagoon".

 

Another good option in July, though less glamorous is the mangrove snapper (gray snapper).

For them I'd use little 2" shrimp or belly strips from the pinfish you're catching.

 

Roger

[Neil McCauley]

Whacky rigged Senko.

[RoLo]

Whacky rigged Senko.

 

Confronted with a 100-acre flat at high water, a stick worm would only be useful for sight-fishing.

[ColdSVT]

The mirrordine (greenback), bone superspook junior, a soft jerkbait rigged a 1/8 mission fissin jig head, doa shrimp and baitbusters, and a plain old spoon always produced for me.

Those caught reds, snook, trout, jacks, macks, cuda, stupid sailcats, ladyfish, sheepies, and the occasional tarpon

also learn the tides...they play a big role

[Catt]

Mirrolures has every thing ya'll need

[gardnerjigman]

I'm new to spoons (i've used jigging spoons once with a buddy to catch wiper). What kind of spoons should a guy use from land fishing a lagoon? How do you work it? Please excuse the probably juvenile questions. 

[atcoha]

I use 1-2oz spoons in the fall for the big bull reds. Or a huge curly tail.

Sling that thing out as far as you can, you can swim it, fast twitch/retrieve, or stroke it, but keep it off the bottom, unless you brought a party pack. 

The key is to keep it moving.

[SirSnookalot]

I had prepared a lengthy response, thought better of posting as it could be confusing.  Basically when you don't catch fish in saltwater there is but one reason, the fish aren't there.  Why aren't the fish there, again a simple answer, no baitfish in the area.  Why are there no baitfish, now that can be complicated.

 

A good portion of shorebound saltwater fishermen fish with a very small arsenal of lures, most I know have 1 lure tied on a few in a fanny pack for back up.  Probably the #1 choice is a spoon, the variation is up to you, if the fish are there they will hit darn near anything.  I prefer kastmasters and jigging type spoons for the distance.  Not to get too far ahead other lure types may work better at times dependent on the water conditions.

[Shanes7614]

I had prepared a lengthy response, thought better of posting as it could be confusing. Basically when you don't catch fish in saltwater there is but one reason, the fish aren't there. Why aren't the fish there, again a simple answer, no baitfish in the area. Why are there no baitfish, now that can be complicated.

A good portion of shorebound saltwater fishermen fish with a very small arsenal of lures, most I know have 1 lure tied on a few in a fanny pack for back up. Probably the #1 choice is a spoon, the variation is up to you, if the fish are there they will hit darn near anything. I prefer kastmasters and jigging type spoons for the distance. Not to get too far ahead other lure types may work better at times dependent on the water conditions.

Your posts confuse me. Your first post you state that if there's fish present they'll hit just about anything. Now your saying other lure types may work better. So which should I be using???

[SirSnookalot]

Your posts confuse me. Your first post you state that if there's fish present they'll hit just about anything. Now your saying other lure types may work better. So which should I be using???

Nothing confusing as I said dependent on water conditions.  The response was intended for OP,  there was no mention of his water conditions, whether he fished a beach, pier or ICW.  My post was generic in nature, not for different circumstances, as I said not wanting to get him too far ahead of himself.

 

As effective as spoons are when used in current like the inlet they bounce on top of the water too much, I'd be using a different lure.  Fishing from some of jettys and piers a spoon is not the most effective when casting parallel. Snook like to hang right near the pylons it's best to use something like a bucktail to get lower into the water column. Spoons are good from a high structure when casting for distance, close up they are not nearly as good, they skim on top of the water, a gotcha is a good choice.   There is a lot of seaweed the beaches now, I'm fishing a jerk shad rigged weedless, exposed hooks are very tough to fish, unless you can find some open water.  The Southeast wind has bringing this vegetation in for nearly a month.

[smr_hga]

Nothing confusing as I said dependent on water conditions. The response was intended for OP, there was no mention of his water conditions, whether he fished a beach, pier or ICW. My post was generic in nature, not for different circumstances, as I said not wanting to get him too far ahead of himself.

As effective as spoons are when used in current like the inlet they bounce on top of the water too much, I'd be using a different lure. Fishing from some of jettys and piers a spoon is not the most effective when casting parallel. Snook like to hang right near the pylons it's best to use something like a bucktail to get lower into the water column. Spoons are good from a high structure when casting for distance, close up they are not nearly as good, they skim on top of the water, a gotcha is a good choice. There is a lot of seaweed the beaches now, I'm fishing a jerk shad rigged weedless, exposed hooks are very tough to fish, unless you can find some open water. The Southeast wind has bringing this vegetation in for nearly a month.

I fish from a pier with little current except for the boats that come off the ramps there.