March 25, 2021
By Florida Sportsman Editor
Five go-to lures for when the going gets tough.
Clockwise from top right: Gulp! Shrimp on jig; MirrOdine Mini; Pins Minnow; Clouser Minnow (fly); Tiny TerrorEyz.
YO-ZURI PINS MINNOW
2- to 3 ½-inch
A slender, lipped plug that mimics a glass minnow. Twitch it and let it rise back to the surface, or slowly reel for a tight side-toside wobble. I prefer the middle, 2 ¾-inch size.
D.O.A. TINY TERROREYZ
2 inches
The little brother to the TerrorEyz, with the same action. Let the lure sink to the bottom and give quick, short hops. Be ready for a bite as the lure falls back to bottom.
MIRROLURE MIRRODINE MINI
2 ¼ inches
About as good as it gets to a replica of a whitebait fry. With a nice suspending action, a quick twitch of your rod tip gives of a quick flash, just like a pilchard. A great bait for grassflats and pot holes when fish are warming up in the sun.
BERKLEY GULP! SHRIMP
This bait brings something to the table that the others don't. Scent. That's big when the fish need a little motivation to eat. Rig it weedless and slow drag it through the grass, hop it on a small jighead, you can even put it on a drop-shot rig. Key is to fish it slow, let the scent disperse. You can even “dead stick” it if you want.
FLIES
You get the trend here. Keep it small, and there's no better way to make a small presentation than with a fly rod. A simple white/olive Clouser minnow tied on a size 4 hook matches just about every fry in both fresh and saltwater.
FS
Florida Sportsman Magazine March 2019
