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| This over the slot striper blasted my pencil popper. My favorite pencil is a Left Hook Raptor. It also appealed to this fish. The fish was released. |
For me, there is nothing more exciting than seeing a big striper (say, over 40 inches) come up and blast a surface offering. That's why I just love fishing surface plugs. As many of you know, I really like the spook type plugs such as the Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil and the Rebel Jumpin' Minnow. These work great where long casts are not needed and where stripers tend to be fussy. I also use homemade standard poppers a lot when bluefish are around since they don't seem to be too picky about what type of plug they want to destroy. In places where a long cast is needed I usually go right to a pencil popper. They cast like bullets and they will cut through the wind like an arrow. My favorite pencil is one few use. It is called a Left Hook Raptor. This plug has a thinner profile than most pencils, and it is loaded with lead. So, you have to impart some effort to keep it dancing on the surface.
Most people fish their surface offerings way too fast. I like to reel as slowly as I can while pumping the rod tip in short rhythmic pulls. The pencil should wiggle slowly but enticingly back and forth on the surface.
This week I landed good numbers of fish on surface plugs. The most memorable was a fish over 40 inches that hit a pencil popper. The take and splash was like a cinder block coming down from the heavens!
