Striped Bass Lures and How to Fish Them

While many striped bass fishermen ply the waters with chunks of bunker and whole salted clams each spring and fall, there are a dedicated subset who walk the strand and commit themselves to artificials.

Surfcasters like these select a series of effective striped bass lures and learn a few basic techniques that can bring the big fish in.

If you’re looking for highly effective linesider lures - as well as how to fish them - you’re in the right place. Let’s take a closer look.

Topwater Plugs

Topwater plugs, which may be either, as in the case of the Prowler, or poppers, such as in the form of Kraber surf popper, are highly effective plugs that float on the surface of the water, hence the name.

There are numerous effective ways to fish topwater plugs for striped bass, though these are determined by the lure style.

Poppers, for instance, are typically cast, allowed to sit motionless for a second or two, before the angler gives the rod tip a sharp lateral or upward pop, which causes the popper to sputter and gargle on the surface. Both rapid and slow cadences can be highly effective on striped bass; most strikes will occur on the pause, and beginning of the movement from the pause.

Pencils, like the Prowler, are more effective when the rod tip is slashed from side to side, which causes the striped bass lure to zigzag on the surface of the water. This technique is called “walking the dog,” and it can be as deadly on striped bass on the surface as it is on largemouth in lakes.

Some poppers, such as Atom Striper Swipers, are actually slow-sinking. These must be worked aggressively in order to keep them on the surface, but their higher density is a bonus because it means they cast more effectively and perform better on the surface of rough water.

Diving Plugs

Diving plugs constitute a broad class of striped bass lures that dive when retrieved due to the inclusion of a plastic or metal lip into the design of the lure.

Diving plugs can run either shallow or deep, depending on the size of the diving lip, as well as the angle at which it is set into the lure body.

Also, these plugs can be either floating, sinking, or suspending. This flexibility gives anglers a great deal of control over how the lure is presented and subsequently worked.

There are also many techniques that are highly effective with these striped bass lures. One of the most basic, though not the most effective under most circumstances, is the straight retrieve.

With a straight retrieve, the lure is cast either to a school of bait, or to structure, and then the reel handle is steadily cranked to retrieve the lure. Doing so will make the lure wobble like a wounded baitfish, which is attractive to predators. Don’t be surprised if you catch a few fluke or bluefish using this technique, even if you are fishing for striped bass.

Like a pencil, a diving plug can also be slashed or jerked, which will cause the lure to dart erratically from side to side, but beneath the surface. Just as with a topwater lure, this subsurface presentation is irresistible to predatory fish.

There is also the twitching retrieve, as well as the “stop and go” retrieve, in which the lure is cast, allowed to sit for a moment, and retrieved with a series of small twitches that cause the lure to twitch and flutter, which can also be deadly on predatory fish.

As with topwater lures, more strikes will come on the pause.

Lipless Plugs

Some striped bass plugs are lipless like Athlete SSP. These are sinking lures that give the angler the flexibility to control the depth of the presentation based on the rate of retrieval. Lipless design offers greater flight posture without the lip, great addition in windy or rough water conditions. The same techniques can be used with lipless plugs as are used with diving plugs.

Metals

Metals constitute another class of striped bass lures. Whereas plugs are typically made of wood or plastic and usually look like a baitfish, most metals are either spoons, jigs, or blade baits. Some of them are also formed to look like baitfish.

Metals like spoons also feature simpler construction than plugs. They are designed to be cast and retrieved, or vertically jigged, and usually produce a side-to-side wobble when retrieved, not entirely unlike a plug. However, most metals do not contain internal rattles so produce less auditory stimulation than many plugs.

The most basic way to fish a metal like a spoon or a jig is just to cast it, like a plug, towards a school of bait, or towards structure, and then give it a straight retrieve.

Spoons and jigs can also be given an erratic, stop-and-go retrieve, with twitches, just like a plug. However, unlike most plugs, a spoon will flutter and drop quickly when paused, like a dying baitfish. This action is highly enticing to most predatory fish, and many strikes will come on the drop.

If you are fishing from a boat, spoons and jigs can also be vertically jigged; to do so, you allow your metal to drop either to a predetermined depth, or to the bottom, then retrieve it upwards in the water column. Occasionally an erratic retrieve is imparted here as well.

The Surf jigging method has become extremely popular in highly pressured Japanese surf scenes over the last decade. The surf jigging method has gained immense popularity in the highly pressured surf fishing scenes of Japan over the last decade. It’s only a matter of time before anglers discover the effectiveness in the US surf.

Soft Plastics

Lastly, we have soft plastics like Berkley’s Gulp or Lunker City Slug-Go lures, which are usually either fished on a jighead, or else on a bucktail.

These can be fished like plugs and metals, and either given a steady retrieve or an erratic cadence. Depending on the weight of the jighead and how aggressively the lure is retrieved, the fisherman can easily control the depth of the presentation.

Explore Striped Bass Lures and More Here

We carry a wide variety of striped bass lures here at Jackson USA, particularly metals, plugs and topwater lures like the ones mentioned in this article.

Check out our Athlete Series, Pintail Tune+ 170 SVG, G-Control, Pintail EZ 28, and Metal Effect Blade lures to explore a wide variety of options that can be highly effective on striped bass and other predatory inshore species.