Long Casting Metal Lures

[Luc42]

Looking for some advice on how to use long casting metal lures in the surf such as Shimano Colt/Current Sniper or similar type of jigs.

I need to add to my bag of tricks other than C-Rigs and Lucky Crafts so I can be versatile and catch fish in different conditions.

[Fullmetal37]

I’m interested in this as well. I just picked up some jerk baits used more by the east coast/nor cal guys. TBH I kinda hate the LC 110. It doesn’t cast well, has terrible stock hooks, is kinda ridiculously expensive. Yo-Zuri/Shimano/Daiwa/Rapala all have popular options used by the east coast folks that I never seen thrown here.

Also just picked up casting metals/jigs. I haven’t played around with them much but I’m pretty sure it’s just bomb it out, retrieve, pop, retrieve. Most of these don’t have a ton of action on its own unlike spoons like the croc/kastmaster

Interested to see other replies

[William Ritchie]

Mega Bait and P-line laser minnows work ,you just have to keep them moving faster . You can play with the bend slightly for more action . There was a fellow named "Joe " that fished Torrey Pines for a couple of years that landed a surprising number of halibut on the Mega Bait . He used spinning gear so not much worry of backlash . He was always cranking and lifting the tip . Good luck !

[Mike M]

You can also long-cast drop shots for halibut and croaker. A 3" chartreuse gulp curly tail grub on top of a 1oz sinker works well at my local beaches. As a bonus, it is relatively easy to hook them weedless.

[mrfishes]

I've fished all of the ones mentioned above and many others. My personal favorite is the Hogy heavy minnow. Always have several in my bag when distance is important. It doesn't have the most action on the sink, but it will out cast any other metal, weight for weight, and has enough action on a quick retrieve to get smoked.

[kastmaster]

I've enjoyed using 1/2 ounce kastmasters and krocodiles in the surf this year. Slow, wobbly retrieve has fooled keeper halibut, larger surfperch, YF croaker, and giant jacksmelt. But, if salad is moderate or worse, you can't fish these effectively. Same would go for a Lucky Craft anyway. I own the latter, but rarely use it in the surf cuz the amount of water I can cover is immediately reduced.

[Midnightpass]

I've enjoyed using 1/2 ounce kastmasters and krocodiles in the surf this year. Slow, wobbly retrieve has fooled keeper halibut, larger surfperch, YF croaker, and giant jacksmelt. But, if salad is moderate or worse, you can't fish these effectively. Same would go for a Lucky Craft anyway. I own the latter, but rarely use it in the surf cuz the amount of water I can cover is immediately reduced.

I have suggested these before, but the Johnson's Silver Minnow cast pretty well and is very weedless... I haven't used them much here, but have done very well in the Caribbean and Mexico with them in really cluttered waters..
Butch

https://www.basspro.com/p/johnson-silve ... ZUQAvD_BwE

[Andrew_WOT]

LC110 is shallow lure, 2-3ft, can go over submerged reefs or other things at the bottom, where metal lure would stuck, plus retrieve can be slower with pauses without sinking.
Shimano Minnow Flash Boost can go deeper, 4-6ft, and depending on the depth you are fishing can be more effective at targeting halibut.
https://surffishingsocalsd.com/new-lure ... e-results/
But as mentioned already Kastmaster and Krocodile are great metal alternatives if conditions are right.

[camobass]

Metal lures.
- krockodile. Get different sizes and different weights in the same length. Find the one that kicks right in the surf you’re dealing with. Try and let the surge work it for you then slowly wind when it slacks. Baja staple.

[Mike A]

I have a few different size krocodiles as mentioned by Camo, these 2, well 1 is a Hopkins, the other is a knock off Hopkins. Pretty much the same except for shape. Long skinny is 2.5 oz, the other is 2.25 oz

[kastmaster]

I have a few different size krocodiles as mentioned by Camo, these 2, well 1 is a Hopkins, the other is a knock off Hopkins. Pretty much the same except for shape. Long skinny is 2.5 oz, the other is 2.25 oz

Caught many bluefish and some striped bass with Hopkins way back when......