Lures & Saltwater Jigs

How to choose a lure for sea fishing

Choosing a lure starts with your fishing style and the depth. When casting from the shore, distance matters most, so metal jigs and heavy hardbaits are popular. In shallow coastal water, sea bass minnows and sinking minnows work over rocks and weed, and vibration lures are good for covering a lot of water to find fish. Hooks and split rings on saltwater lures must stand up to salt and the pull of big fish, so check them before every trip.

Softbaits are highly versatile at sea. Shads and paddle tails work on a jig head both from the shore and from a boat, while sand eel imitations and heavy saltwater softbaits are fished deep for cod and pollock.

Boat fishing is often done vertically. A traditional pilk is still highly effective for cod, pollock and mackerel. Slow pitch and speed jigging jigs, along with knife, inchiku and kabura jigs, are designed for vertical jigging, and their action depends on their shape and where the weight sits. Choose the jig weight to suit the depth and current, so you stay in touch with the bottom.

For surface fishing you will find poppers and floating and sinking stickbaits that bring fish feeding at the surface up to strike. The largest topwater lures are built for giant trevally and tuna. Trolling has its own plugs and squid imitations, and big game lures are used for tuna and other large ocean species.

Squid jigs, including egi and deep water squid jigs, are designed for squid fishing, which is a speciality in its own right. Keep lures of different weights and colours in your box, because light, depth and current change quickly at sea.