Five Lures Every Inshore Fisherman Should Have in Their Tackle Box
By: Brenton Roberts
The bucktail jig is a timeless classic that works best when the fish are lethargic. (Photo courtesy of Brenton Roberts)
Throughout Florida, every region offers a different opportunity at inshore species. For example, fishing the oyster bars of Jacksonville is much different than fishing the grass flats of Pine Island Sound. Most fishermen are the same; every time we walk into the tackle shop, we pick up a new lure or two … or ten. Having a variety of lures in your tackle box is great, but there is a baseline. Having these five styles of lures in your box will cover just about any species and technique used in Florida. Many companies make lures like those below. Check out your options and use what works best for you.
Rapala Skitter Walk
We live for the topwater bite, if you don’t, you might not be alive. The click’n and clack’n noise of the rattle catches the fish’s attention, and a profile “walking” on the surface drives them to seal the deal, and explode on the bait. The best times to throw topwater plugs are early morning and late evening, when the fish are more active. Overcast days may extend these periods of good topwater fishing, due to the lack of sun. Topwater is my go-to bait when working around schools of bait. Hitting the outside edges of the school, the plug looks like a bait that has strayed from the pack, making it an easy target. You can check out the Skitter Walk here.
D.O.A. Shrimp
Deadly On Anything (D.O.A.) couldn’t be any truer when it comes to the company’s shrimp. I think I’ve caught more species on this lure than any other lure in my box. Everything eats shrimp! From giant tarpon to seatrout, and everything in between. The key to working shrimp lures is, slow it down. Think about how a shrimp moves in the water. Majority of the time they hang close to bottom, with the occasional kick, trying to escape predators. Mimic this with your lure: Let it fall to bottom, and give it a quick twitch of the rod tip. Most of the time you will get a bite as the shrimp falls back to bottom. You can check out the D.O.A. Shrimp here.
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