Would you rather catch one hundred small fish or one big one? If you are fishing for glory, one way to weed out the little ones is by using a big bait. Not only do big fish look for large meals, but fishing a bigger lure will keep smaller fish from getting in the way. We’ve loaded a tackle box with five of our favorite mega plastics.
5 Large Fishing Lures to Catch Bigger Fish
Hogy Lures
Pro Tail 7″ 1.5-oz Eel
$7.95 | hogylures.com
From mountain lakes to the coast, big striped bass are looking for a big bait. Hogy’s Pro Tail swimbait has a wide profile and slow, rhythmic swim. Work it at any level of the water column by changing the retrieve speed.
Striped bass and other predators often feed at dawn and dusk. Hogy uses ultra-violet, heavy-duty plastic for improved low-light visibility. High-quality, VMC hooks have been tested on the meanest sea monsters.
RonZ Lures
Original Series 8” 2-oz Black Pearl
$8.00 | ronzlures.com
Try not to freak out when you spot a huge, brown cobia cruising just below the surface. Cast a RonZ Original Series a few feet ahead of the fish and draw it into view. Calm your nerves, as the cobia swipes at the lure. If it misses, pause the retrieve and let the lead head dive. When the line goes slack, come tight. You got a cobia on!
Owner 3X hook makes sure the trophy stays glued. RonZ’s famous wedge-shaped lead head and streamlined rubber tail streaks through the water and dives fast.
Z-Man Fishing Products
StreakZ XL 8” Soft Jerkbait
$8.68 | zmanfishing.com
Who said a big guy can’t be sensitive? Z-Man’s StreakZ XL is eight inches long, but the 10X Tough ElaZtech rubber jiggles like jelly to seduce finnicky largemouth bass. Rig on a jighead, weightless, weedless hook or behind a Carolina or Texas rig.
Pause the StreakZ and the ElaZtech does the rest. The slightest touch sends gyrations up the tail. The StreakZ XL is salt impregnated to add weight for longer casts and quicker descents.
Sebile
Magic Swimmer Soft 8” Bait
$10.49 | sebile.com
A weedless jerkbait is perfect for pulling largemouth bass or speckled sea trout out of the grass. Sebile took the concept and pumped it up. The Magic Swimmer Soft is a 4 1/8-inch jointed soft plastic jerk bait with a recessed, weighted, weedless hook hidden inside the body.
Perfectly balanced to hover in the water and dart erratically. When a fish strikes, the rubber body slides up the line and out of trouble. Rig it Texas or Carolina style for a deadly bottom bait.
Live Target Lures
Menhaden Swimbait
$11.99 | livetargetlures.com
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, menhaden, mullet, croaker and more must be flattered with Live Target’s Swimbait series. Designed to be anatomically correct with color schemes perfectly matching an actual baitfish, the Swimbait looks like the real deal.
The true test is in the water. Making a bait look like a fish is easy but moving like a fish is tough. Live Target’s oscillating tail swings with a tight vibration giving the bait a life-like wobble. Big lures are easy to snag, Swimbait’s heavy-duty EWG hooks is protected by a dorsal fin doubling as a weed guard.
Plano
Custom Divider StowAway
$11.99 | planomolding.com
Wondering how to keep your large-sized lures organized? Plano’s Custom Divider series is specially designed for big plastics. In addition to straight dividers, the Custom Divider has angled dividers to create more space for odd-shaped lures. Clear plastic provides plenty of light and heavy-duty construction will secure heavy hardware.
The low-profile latches flip down to avoid accidentally opening the box. The Custom Divider comes in a variety of sizes. Go with the Rustrictor model for an added layer of corrosion protection.
This article was first published in the Summer 2019 issue of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Plano’s Custom Divider tackle boxes are specially designed to fit large fishing lures. | Feature photo: Ric Burnley
