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Getting slapped on the nad’s once is bad – twice in a row? check it out and decide for yourself

Time to walk the dog… As with many of my fellow anglers, I’ve been taught that there are only 2 kinds of lures that you can cast in the ocean; a spoon or a plug! Although many people have changed that point of view recently, especially since the Dropshot phenomenon hit our country, some still believe that those are the only lures worth casting. While I still believe that spoons, be it ‘old style’ tin models or the new multi coloured Iron Candy, most certainly have a place in my tackle box, there are lots of other exciting prospects out there. Traditionally the plug has always been the go-to surface lure for shore-based anglers and we’ve found the Needle nose plugs deadly from the boat too, but this is a whole new avenue; namely Stickbaits. These lures have been around for years and the Zara Spook has thrilled Bass anglers since the dawn of art lure angling. These cigar shaped lures rely on the angler to impart life and the walk-the-dog action is a proven fish catcher in many environments. You also now get topwater stickbaits and subsurface ones. The visual aspect of fishing with stickbaits is a great way to get the adrenalin pumping. Even when a fish hits the subsurface ones, you’ll still see the big boil before you feel the line pull tight. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge fan of topwater fishing and to me there is nothing more exciting than that explosion. If you really want to get your heart racing, try throwing them at night. When it’s all quiet and the only thing you can hear is the gentle rattle as your stickbaits glides from side to side. Then out of nowhere a big explosion, often a missed strike, you keep on working the lure knowing that the next assault is often only a twitch away… The topwater version I’m talking about is the Rapala X-Walk 13, a new generation saltwater stickbait that has really secured a prime spot in my tackle box. Being fortunate enough to travel to some very special fishing locations I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with many different things. In very calm conditions I’ve generally found it quite difficult to get fish to strike on the top and you’ll have to go to a subtle presentation to avoid spooking fish. Stickbaits give you a quieter option yet, you still have the ability to call fish up from the depths. While you’ll find it deadly for all the usual suspects; such as Kingfish, Dorado and Tuna, it surprised me in the number of Barracuda it enticed as well as big Shad, Rainbow Runner, Queenfish and Rockcod to mention a few. Although you can’t throw them as far as a plug, you can keep it in the strike-zone longer and in deeper water or throwing at structure that is a huge advantage. The subsurface version is called a Rapala X-Rap Subwalk 15. It’s a bit larger than its topwater cousin, but it gets the interest of some pretty large predators. Giant Stickbaits are the order of the day in the Musandam for the big GT’s and even though this is a little under half that size it’s still an awesome fish catcher. With all stickbaits you need to work them with short, sharp twitches which get the lure moving in a classic walk the dog action. The bites are not always as violent as when they come up and smash a popper, but they’re a lot easier to work (from a fatigue point of view). So next time you find yourself on a beautiful glassy day on the ocean with fish hard to come by, give a stickbait a go. Make sure you hold on tight, because when that monster comes up and engulfs it, don’t say that I didn’t warn you…

You Know what’s That?