Gear: The Best Striper Lures for Shore Fishing #111-S

At Hogy, we literally make thousands of different shaped and sized lures for fisheries all over the world. Although the vast majority of our lures work for striped bass, we have compiled the list below to highlight our most commonly used lures, what their applications typically are, and how to fish them. Many of our lures are extremely versatile and can be used both for casting and jigging.

While our lures have proven to be excellent options for boat anglers, they have also gained a great deal of attention from shore anglers, in some cases offering options that compete with older, more “traditional” lures in terms of versatility and their ability to catch.

Wherever we have further information in the document that applies to our lures, we have referenced the page number where you can find that information.

Cheers!
Captain Mike

 

SOME GENERAL THOUGHTS ON LURE FISHING FROM SHORE

Whether a shore angler elects to fish with his or her feet on a sand beach, marsh bank, or rocky conditions in the shape of a jetty or rip-rap lining a canal or channel, the first reality that has to be dealt with is casting.

Unlike boat anglers who can opt to open the bail on a spinning reel or engage the free spool lever on a conventional winch in order to drop their lure to a piece of structure or depth where they are marking fish on their electronics, a shore angler has to cast their artificial offering to the area where they intend to fish.

A discussion on casting equipment for the shore angler would be far too long and out of character with this piece, but there far too often a discussion of rods, reels, and line for shore fishing concern themselves with distance. While it is logical that anglers fishing from terra firma often have to make prodigious casts to reach areas where fish are feeding, there are many times when the fish are right at your feet. I recall the late Tony Stetzko relating how common it was for his guiding clients to rush right into the waters of Nauset Beach, where he most often concentrated his trips, only to have Tony point out that the fish were actually feeding behind them, in water they had just tromped through.

Learning to accurately cast to structure or likely looking water is another skill that any shore caster should learn. In the same way that many fly anglers planning on a flats trip spend way too much time concentrating on distance in their casting practice (if they practice at all) as opposed to being able to quickly load a rod and accurately get their bug to the target, shore anglers too often focus on distance as opposed to being able to drop a lure right into areas where fish are most likely to be, rather than just chucking and hoping.

Finally, because shore anglers are limited by the reality of where they are standing in relation to the water, it is often a good idea to understand how to work a piece of water. If structure or clues that the water presents itself, such as rips and seams, are obvious, then a plan on attack when it comes to where to cast is naturally easier, but in the absence of these kinds of keys, many anglers continue to cast at and through the same piece of water. Fan casting, or casting at different angles and distances in relation to where a shore fisherman is standing, helps the shore angler cover more water in a varied, productive way.

SOFT BAITS

1. Hogy Pro Tail Series: “Multi Purpose Bait Fish”

• Paddles: Historically, bucktail jigs were often referred to as the most versatile lures for fishing, including for shore anglers who could fish any portion of the water column based on what weight the jig head was and the amount of hair that was used. With a pork rind strip attached for added attraction, these lures were relatively inexpensive and durable.

• While bucktail jigs are still favored in some shore locales such as Montauk and even among some old school Cape Cod Canal rats, the reality is that over the last two decades, weighted soft plastics, whether they were produced with internal weights by manufacturers or made up by anglers using their favorite plastic and jig head, have come to dominate the saltwater fishing world. The internally weighted soft plastic paddle tail jig provide anglers with a lure that combines the ability to fish any level of the water column with the attraction of a vibrating paddle tail, while adding an extremely lifelike imitation of an actual baitfish, including colors, scale patterns, and other features.
• The Hogy Pro Tail Paddles are our best-selling soft baits due to their versatility and general baitfish shaped profile. They come in a variety of lengths, colors, and weights, with all models internally weighted. They can be fished just below the surface by keeping your rod tip up and maintaining a faster, steadier retrieve, while they really excel as a deeper, subsurface lure. The depth at which one can be fished is determined by the weight of the Pro Tail you use and how long you allow it to sink, as well as the speed of your retrieve; a slower retrieve will allow the lure to remain deeper and at a more consistent level in the water column, while increasing the speed of retrieve will tend to draw one up to the surface. An erratic retrieve, featuring pauses and even shaking of the rod, will give a Pro Tail an injured baitfish appearance. The heavier versions, typically from three ounces and up, make good vertical jigging lures as well. Hogy Pro Tails come pre-rigged and feature VMC hooks that are strong enough for inshore and offshore applications.

• In spots like the Cape Cod Canal, the heavier versions, typically from three ounces on up, make good jigging lures as well and for many Canal regulars have replaced bucktail jigs as their favorite option when jigging the Ditch. In addition, over the last several years, we have received good reports from shore anglers who have used Hogy Pro Tails in various weights to fish the entrance channels in areas like Waquoit, Popponesset, Osterville, and Barnstable Harbor, as well as wading anglers who follow the dropping tide around the Brewster Flats to fish the dropoffs where schools of fish hold at low water when a good portion of this area is dry sand.

• Hogy Pro Tail Eels: The Hogy Pro Tail Eels are excellent imitators of sand eels and this model has proven to be an excellent option for shore anglers around the outer Cape beaches and areas in Cape Cod Bay where this baitfish is one of, if not the most, available food source for bass. Shore anglers also find the Pro Tail Eel a good option when there are squid around due to their long slender profile. They are internally weighted like the Paddles and are best suited for a subsurface presentation, whether cast-and-retrieved.
• Casting Retrieve Options: Hogy Pro Tails may be fished with the rod at any angle, although it is most common for shore anglers to fish with their rod at an angle above horizontal, with something in the range of 45-degrees a good option for a starting point in order to keep from hanging up on the bottom. The chosen retrieve speed when using a Pro Tail is, logically, most often determined by the depth of the water, but consideration must also be given to what type of baitfish you are trying to imitate.

• The deeper the water, the more options are available, including a more erratic, up-and-down jigging retrieve, while shallow conditions are typically fished with a straight retrieve, sometimes with twitches thrown in. The straight cast-and-retrieve option is best suited to the Pro Tail Paddle in shallow water since the inherent action built into the paddle will attract fish as long as there is water running across it.

On the other hand, since the Pro Tail Eel is a good imitation of a sand eel, bouncing it in the sand can be productive since hiding or digging into the sand is what gives this baitfish its name.

Casting Application: Even when working deep in the water column, a shore fishermen must first cast their offering before using whatever combination of retrieve options are best based on things such as water depth, speed of current, wind strength and direction, placement and presence of structure, and, most obviously, whether fish are showing or not. In general, shore anglers will be faced with one of or a combination of the following scenarios that will determine what they do with their cast.

• Open Water Feeding Fish: Try to lead the front fish if possible. A good way to target bigger fish is to let the lure drop under the school. Often, that’s where the big fish are. Be ready for hits on the drop, especially with the Paddle model, since the vibrating tail will give the lure good action as it falls.
• Over Structure: The Hogy Pro Tail is a good search bait when used over structure. The variety of weights they come in allows an angler to select one that will reach the level of the structure and work it effectively while reducing the chances of hanging up.
• Casting in Heavy Current: The Hogy Pro Tail comes in a variety of weights, up to 6 oz. Select the lure size needed given the current speed and depth, cast uptide and let the bait drop as it swings.
• Distance in Heavy Wind: The smooth, more aerodynamic interphase of the weighted head and soft plastic body helps Pro Tails achieve greater distance. A snap cast will help punch the bait with some extra distance.
• Blind Casting: The Hogy Pro Tail is an ideal blind cast bait: the tail vibrates for attraction, the lure can be fished at all depths and speeds and it’s relatively snag resistant when fishing from shore.
• Colors: Hogy Pro Tail Paddles are excellent imitations of bunker, herring, mackerel, butterfish and scup. Hogy Pro Tail Eels are excellent imitations of sand eels and squid. Our best selling colors are olive, pink and white.

2. Hogy Original Softbaits “Top Water Finesse”

• Notes: Unweighted soft baits imitate just about every baitfish around, especially eels, squid and sand eels, three of any striper’s favorite meals! They have amazing action and come in two sizes and a multitude of colors. The best way to rig them is with a Hogy Swimbait hook; there is a hook size designed to interface with each of the softbaits we offer, including the Originals.
• Although Hogy Originals are unweighted, thereby limiting their casting distance, as stated in the introduction, in too many situations inexperienced shore anglers are focused on distance, while a shorter, targeted cast is often far more effective and that is where the unweighted Hogy Original shines.
• In fact, even though they are easily rigged with a Hogy Weighted Swimbait Hook to gain a little more depth and casting distance, when fished with the appropriate casting outfit, the Original series fished unweighted from shore has proven to be a favorite style of fishing for savvy anglers, hands down.
• Casting Retrieve Options: The Originals were designed with fish attracting movement as a primary element, no matter what speed or technique is used. Generally speaking, an unweighted soft plastic is best fished with your rod tip pointed down towards the water, imparting a series of twitches of the rod tip followed by a brief pause as the slack is picked up, allowing the bait to tumble and wobble, producing a perfect imitation of a wounded baitfish.
• If you know fish are in the area, but are hesitant or refusing the retrieve you are using, then dropping the rod tip right to the surface of the water and reeling rapidly straight in can cause a “reaction strike,” where a fish is forced to strike at the lure as opposed to having the chance to follow and “study” it before making a decision whether to feed or not.

Casting Scenarios

• Open Water, Feeding Fish: When fish are blitzing, a Hogy Original is limited in terms of whether you can reach the fish or not. That said, if you are able to cast far enough, the Original series, especially the seven-inch size, is a great option since it is far less likely to spook fish due to its quieter landing. Still, casting right into breaking fish is typically never a good idea, no matter what lure you are using, so try to lead the fish if the school is moving or work more towards the edges if they are staying relatively stationary. Since unweighted Hogy Originals are neutrally buoyant, casting into breaking fish, reeling to make contact, and then allowing an Original to tumble slowly, providing a perfect imitation of a wounded baitfish, is a great technique when faced with actively feeding fish.
• Casting to Structure: In spots that feature hard structure such as rocks, docks, and marsh banks, the Hogy Original is a great choice for two main reasons. First, they provide a quieter entry, thereby reducing the chance of spooking the fish, and the gentle “splat” they produce can also gain a fish’s attention in a positive way, in some cases matching the noise that feeding baitfish make. Secondly, a Hogy Original’s seductive, fish attracting action can be produced without a great deal of forward movement, thereby allowing it to hang in a fish’s strike zone longer, even as it slowly drops in the water column. When fish are oriented to structure, they often will be reluctant to move any great distance to feed, but an Original put right in their face, twitching and tumbling, appeals naturally to a fish’s predatory nature.
• Blind Casting: Although limited in terms of casting distance, when used in a proper fan casting pattern, the Hogy Original is known for its ability to attract fish even when they aren’t showing in relatively featureless water.

Colors: The bone color is a great starting point since most baitfish have some white in them, especially in belly area. When fish are feeding on squid, which does occur in shore fishing scenarios, especially up in Cape Cod Bay, amber and bubblegum are top producers as “imitators” of colors that squid are known to exhibit, but even when squid aren’t present, these two colors are excellent “attractor” options.

PLUGS

1. The Hogy Slider “The Swimmer”

• Notes: Swimming plugs come in a vast array of different shapes, sizes, colors and material. Smaller 5-inch sizes are great for schoolie-sized stripers and those keyed in on smaller baits and 7-inch sizes are more appropriate for larger fish or those keyed in on large baits such as mature herring, large squid, mackerel and bunker. Swimming plugs are very easy to fish and are a good choice for relatively inexperienced anglers since the action is “built-in” to the lure.
• The Hogy Slider features a wider, more erratic swimming movement as opposed to the frantic, vibrating action of a lipped bill plug.
• Casting Retrieve: Fishing the Slider is similar to fishing the Hogy Dog Walker, with the former a subsurface lure and the latter designed to stay on top. With both, holding the rod tip anywhere from horizontal to the surface of the water is most often preferred, as is experimenting with retrieve speed. In order to produce what I (Dave Peros) call a “controlled slack line presentation,” where slack is introduced into the retrieve to create the proper side-to-side “slide,” take into consideration water conditions such as current speed and wave conditions. As is the case with fishing any type of plug from shore, also take into consideration the height you are standing above the water or how deep you are wading since the angle of retrieve is critical to how a plug swims. At times, consider changing the height you are holding your rod tip in relationship to the water surface as the plug gets closer to you in order to keep it swimming correctly. This lure has neutral buoyancy, meaning it has a horizontal descent when sinking. This is a very natural presentation so a series of pauses are recommended on the retrieve.
• Casting Application:
  • Open Water, Feeding Fish: Similarly to other sub surface lures, work the perimeter of the school. A slider will give you extra weight to enhance casting distance, but without a fast sink rate. This is a go to lure when stripers are feeding on large baitfish.
  • Over Structure: A slider is at home over structure, particularly in a blind casting situation. Long steady retrieves allow you to cover a lot of ground.
  • Casting in Heavy Current: A slider will swim happily in current. A slider will not dig in and swim too deeply in current.
• Top Colors: The usual: pink and amber, green, black and blue and olive to imitate squid, mackerel, herring and bunker respectively.

2. The Hogy Popper: “The Noise Maker”

• Notes: You can’t beat an old fashioned popper’s effectiveness for covering ground and making a commotion. With its cup-faced nose, it creates a ton of commotion with each twitch of the rod. Regardless of how you fish a popper, most anglers love watching a big striper come up and smash the lure.
• Casting Retrieve: Typically, a popper is fished with the rod tip angled well above the water’s surface, thereby keeping more of the line out of the water since too much line dragging in the water can impact how a popper works. One of the biggest mistakes anglers make when fishing a popper is they get lulled into an overly repetitive, monotonous retrieve. The “Pop, Pop, Pause; Pop, Pop, Pause” is a good starting point and has caught plenty of fish, but within this pattern are a variety of choices, including how strong are the pops, what speed is being employed, and even how long are the pause. Since the Hogy Popper floats, you can even cast it out and let the rings (caused on the water’s surface when it lands) dissipate before even moving it. A skilled plug angler can even stop a poppers forward movement and cause it to wobble and gurgle like a wounded baitfish.

• Casting Application: The popper is the best way to cover the most water near structure. With its cupped face, it makes a loud pop. Poppers come in both floating and sinking models, but we decided to go with the floating design so that makes it easy for anglers to present the lure for a longer duration while in the zone. Covering more water through changing the angle and distance of your casts is important in open beach situations, while in areas with stronger current such as the Cape Cod Canal or the breachways in Rhode Island,, use the water’s motion to drift or swing your popper through different sections of the water, all the while manipulating your rod tip to make it look like a struggling, wounded baitfish. It is very rare for a fish to strike a plug being dragged against the current, but it can happen, especially as the current loses strength, so always stay in touch with your plug.
• Top Colors: Start with the general rule of thumb: select the color that best imitates the baitfish you are trying to match: pink and amber for squid; green for mackerel; black and blue for herring; and olive for bunker.

3. The Hogy Dog Walker: “The Slow Dancer”

• Notes: The spook is probably one of the more underutilized lures for stripers. I would argue it is a cross between a swimmer and a pencil popper. They are easy to cast and draw crazy strikes. If there was a downside to them, they don’t fish well in rough water and are slightly more technical in presentation, requiring constant observation and adjustments in retrieve to ensure the best presentation. Similar to pencil poppers, spooks often fish better on a slower action rod, which tends to produce more slack because of the increased tip vibrations. In the day, the slow, honey colored 3M blanks produced by Lamiglas were perfect for pencils and I imagine they would do a good job with spooks, although the wide range of rods offered today feature plenty of rods that are excellent for plugging with any type of wood or plastic creation.
• Casting Retrieve: While history suggests that it was anglers from southern climes who first discovered that this style of plug, originally designed for freshwater bass fishing, was equally effective in the salt, anglers in the northeast and elsewhere have fallen in love with it as well. As mentioned above, properly working spooks takes some attention to detail, mainly because they fish best when using the aforementioned “controlled slack presentation” (See the section for the Slider above). “Walking-the-dog” is a common expression for the way a spook moves when fished properly since the head of the plug swings left and then right (or vice versa), similar to a dog that is not well-trained on a leash and continuously moves from side-to-side, checking out every scent and site it comes upon. Some spooks can be fished similarly to a pencil popper, employing a push-and-pull of the rod while reeling slowly to get the tip waggling, causing the plugs head to swing from side-to-side.
• Casting Application: My favorite time to fish a spook is in calm conditions. A spook with a good rattle will draw attention from pretty far away. An ideal situation would be working it slowly over big boulders or some sort of structure. For whatever reason, I do best with spooks early in the morning or at sunset.
• Top Colors: The usual: pink and amber, green, black and blue and olive to imitate squid, mackerel, herring and bunker respectively.

4. The Hogy Surface Pencil “The Long Cast”

• Notes: The pencil popper is one of the most well known plugs when it comes to fishing for stripers and bluefish. They cast a country mile and the erratic side to side slapping on the surface seems anger the fish and entice them into coming up and attacking the plug. They cut through wind like butter and excel in rough conditions.
• Casting Retrieve: Unlike other pencil poppers, the Hogy Surface Pencil can be worked a few different ways. From a side to side swimming action, a quick fleeing/ darting movement, to a classic erratic surface splashing action. There really is no wrong way to retrieve a pencil, it’s more so just into figuring out what the fish want on that given day. Regardless of the retrieve you choose, it is important to keep on eye on your plug to ensure you’re content with the action you’re giving it.
• Casting Application: The Hogy Surface Pencil excels in rough conditions. When the wind is howling and the surf is rough, you’re going to want to choose a plug that can cut through the wind and not have its action hindered by big swells. When targeting striped bass, it would be in your best interest to slow down the retrieve and give the bass time to come up and hit it. For bluefish however, they want a more fast paced erratic action, so don’t be afraid to skip the plug across the top of the water.
• Top Colors: Start by identifying  the primary forage the fish are feeding on: Squid? Use pink. Mackeral? Go with green. Don’t know what the fish are feeding on? White never fails.

JIGS

The primary differences between these jigs are their size and profiles. Although the methods and techniques used for each of these jigs are relatively similar, the lure action and go to situations can vary from lure to lure.

1. The Hogy Epoxy Jig “The Multi Purpose”

• Notes: The Hogy Epoxy Jig Lure is a very unique jig in that it’s largely made out of a light weight but durable resin. This is important to mention because the clear epoxy offers natural light refraction through the lure that simulates the translucent nature of many baitfish. The lure also has a heavy length to weight profile so that it casts well, but because it has a slower sink rate than a metal jig, the Hogy Epoxy Jig features a deadly wobble at any speed. They come in a variety of lengths and colors, as well as weights ranging from 3/8oz all the way to 4oz.
• The Hogy Epoxy Jig has established a well-deserved reputation as a great bonito and false albacore lure, therefore leading many people to assume that it fishes best with a very fast, erratic retrieve. Unfortunately, this take has caused many anglers to miss out on its ability to catch bass and blues from shore, especially when they are feeding on smaller baits such as silversides, sand eels, juvenile sea or river herring, and even peanut bunker. When bass are keyed in on tinker mackerel, as they occasionally are in the Cape Cod Canal, a larger, green Hogy Epoxy Jig is an excellent choice, in terms of color and profile. Although a variety of soft plastics and plugs have become go-to options for shore anglers targeting a variety of species, it is important to remember the importance of metals such as the Kastmaster and Hopkins, which you could find in pretty much every plug bag carried by anglers who were happy to keep their feet on some patch of terra firma. The Epoxy Jig owes its roots to this family of lures, which goes all the way back to the old tin squids that the beach crew shined up by polishing them with sand. It’s clearly not made of metal, but it meets the need just as the classics did, and still do: They cast far; they can be retrieved at a variety of speeds and cover different depths of the water column; and they imitate a wide of variety of smaller baitfish – only better.

• Casting Retrieve: The length/weight ratio of the Hogy Epoxy Jig is balanced such that there is no wrong way to fish it. You can make an Epoxy Jig come to life by varying retrieve speed and rod movements and positioning. For example, the higher the tip and faster the retrieve, the more the lure will skip on the surface.

• Casting Application:

• • Open Water Feeding Fish: Go with what I have come to call the “Skippy retrieve!” It’s as much fun as it is effective. Keep your rod tip pointed toward the sky and reel quickly while imparting sharp rod tip twitches. The lure will simulate a fleeing baitfish skipping in the water in a very frightened manner.
  • Over Structure: Slow retrieve with very short pauses so you don’t snag.
  • Casting in Heavy Current: Epoxy Jigs do well in shallow water with heavy current. You can cast the lure up tide and fish the swing. Hogy Epoxy Jigs have a sexy tumble when fished on a dead drift.
  • Blind Casting: Rotate through all the retrieves. The varied commotion is very effective in eliciting strikes when fish are in the area but behaving in a finicky manner.

Top Colors: Pink, Olive, Silver and Green are great imitators of squid, sand eels, herring and mackerel in that order.

2. The Hogy Sand Eel Jig “Sand Eel Deep Sinker – Long Flyer”

• Notes: The Hogy Sand Eel Jig is literally my way of imitating the appearance and action of a sand eel as closely as possible in metal, hence the name J The Hogy Sand Eel Jig has a long slender body that cast very well. By far, the top selling color is the natural olive and silver, though these lures are also made in pink and green to mimic deeper water juvenile squid and mackerel. They are suitable for casting at up to 3.5oz and we make larger jigging sizes in 6.5oz and 8.5oz for deep-water applications.
• Casting Retrieve: When casting, this lure is best fished with a faster retrieve to get the maximum amount of action from it; this is particularly true with Hogy Sand Eel Jigs from 2.5oz and above. The smaller, 1.25oz version can be retrieved at a much slower speed.

• Casting Application:
  • Open Water, Feeding Fish: The Hogy Sand Eel is a long casting lure and is a great go to when fish are spooky and feeding on sand eels. The lure is also dynamite in heavy wind situations.
  • From The Surf: Many shore anglers prefer the Hogy Sand Eel in situations where sand eels are pushed into the beach.
• Top Colors: Olive is for sand eels!

3. The Hogy Heavy Minnow “Long Range, Small Profile”

• Notes: We created the mold for the heavy minnow based off The Hogy Epoxy Jig lure. While this lure is about the same profile, it is more than twice as heavy which will result in slightly less action, but make up for it with an ultra long cast. It’s an unusual combination of a small size jig that casts a mile, making it a go to for hard to get to stripers feeding on small bait in the wind.

• Casting Retrieve: This is a medium to fast retrieve lure. It is the perfect shape to mimic small bait fish such as silversides, juvenile squid and juvenile herring.

• Casting Application:
  • Stripers feeding on small baitfish: The Hogy Heavy Minnow is available sized down all the way to 1/2oz. It’s wide, relative to it’s length, so it is heavy yet not too fat but small. Since it’s made primarily out of painted lead and features an aerodynamic shape, even the smallest sizes cast very well. Its profile is ideal when silversides, peanut bunker, and bay anchovies, and even juvenile squid, are in the area.
  • Surf: It’s an albie favorite in the surf when these little tuna seem to always be hanging just outside the range of your longest cast with a lure that is the right size to match what they are feeding on. You might be able to reach them with a three-ounce plug, but albie aren’t inclined to hit something that large.
• Top Colors: Pink, Silverside, Olive and Shrimp are ideal colors to imitate the baitfish mentioned above.

4. Hogy Peanut Jig “Wobble Peanut”

• Notes: We brought this small “peanut” into the fold with the large influx of peanut bunker in recent years between Cape Cod and New Jersey. Obviously the “Peanut Bunker” coloration pattern is a true imitation but we have many other colors that imitate other small baits including squid and juvenile herring. This lure has a deadly wobble at a medium retrieve speed.

• Casting Retrieve: The design of this lure, which matches the deeper, thinner profile of a peanut bunker, results in a wicked swimming action at a slow to medium retrieve with the rod tip at a 45 degree angle towards the water surface if fishing on a boat and a horizontal to slightly upward presentation from the beach. These highly finished lures are hand airbrushed to offer a highly imitative appearance at slow speeds. The first in the series was the “peanut bunker” color but we have since offered patterns in all the hot baitfish patterns.

• Casting Application:
  • Finicky fish: If stripers are being finicky, fish the perimeter of the school on a slow to medium retrieve speed. Let the fish get a good look at the lure, especially if they are feeding on peanut bunker.
• Top Colors: Peanut Bunker, eChix (Electric Chicken) and Blue are excellent imitators of peanut bunker, squid, and juvenile herring.

6. Hogy Diamond Jigs

• Notes: Diamond Jigs are a classic striper lure that has been around forever. Their popularity comes and goes. Although diamond jigs come in a wide variety of weights up to 16 ounces or more for boat application, the lighter versions in the one to two ounce range are an effective option for shore anglers; in fact, around Montauk, when it comes to subsurface presentations with lures other than plugs, the diamond jig with a tube teaser challenges the bucktail in terms of popularity and effectiveness. The most popular teasers for Diamonds are small tube teasers or soft baits. Diamond jigging can be a deadly technique for stripers that are in large concentrations feeding on baitfish on the bottom. Diamond jigs 3oz and larger are well suited for depths of 20-feet or more. Most anglers will drop the jigs all the way to the bottom and jig with long lifts of the rod, allowing the jig to flutter as it falls, which is often where the strike occurs.
• Casting Retrieve: Diamond Jigs are mostly associated with vertical jigging in New England but are effective casters, particularly when rigged with a softbait teaser such as the Hogy Dancing Diamond Jig configuration.

• Casting Application:
  • Surf: You can almost think of the Diamond Jig as a vehicle to get the softbait out the desired distance to where the fish are holding. With the Diamond Jig wobbling in front of the Hogy Sand Eel, the soft bait will be dancing behind it, hence the name, “The Dancing Diamond Jig.” Hogy also offers Diamond Jigs with classic tube teasers, which again combine the casting qualities of this jig with the combined attraction of its shine with the tumbling, twisting movement of a section of thin diameter tube slid onto a long shanked hook.

• Top Colors: Olive and green teasers are the most popular. We offer sand eel and tube teasers in our versions.