Try one of these slow-sinking and suspending twitch baits and hang on
An Unfair Lures Rip-N-Slash fooled this cold water trout for wade fisherman Brandon Skinner. Photo by Capt. Nate Skinner
November is a time on the upper Texas coast when things start to cool down. Cold fronts are arriving on a fairly regular basis and both air and water temperatures are falling. It’s an excellent time to pursue speckled trout and redfish in Galveston Bay and its surrounding estuaries.
Pressure from on-the-water crowds is considerably lower as many anglers turn their attention to other outdoor sports like hunting. Gamefish behavior also can be somewhat predictable as they transition into their fall and winter patterns.
As water temperatures plunge into the 60s and below, specks and reds will adjust their diet. As shrimp exit the bays with the onset of winter, these predators will begin to target mullet and other larger fin fish as prey. Anglers must make adjustments with their bait presentations accordingly.
Here are five incredibly versatile and effective slow-sinking and suspending, mullet-imitation plugs. These twitch baits will entice strikes throughout the cooler months of the year and will render some colossal catches. Not to mention, they are some of my absolute favorites.
This lineup of plugs will keep you hooked up as water temperatures begin to plunge. From top, 52MR MirrOlure, Rip-N-Slash, Paul Brown’s Fat Boy, Paul Brown’s Original Corky, Soft-Dine XL. Photo by Capt. Nate Skinner
52MR MirrOlure
From now through the end of February, my favorite go-to plug when drift fishing over oyster shell is the 52MR classic MirrOlure. The sinking twitch bait comes in a variety of fish-catching color schemes and has the line attachment rigged on top of its head. This makes it an outstanding lure to use when fishing out of a boat, as it allows the bait to slowly sink through the water column in a horizontal position, just like a wounded baitfish. This bait works best in 3 to 8 feet of water. My preference is to cast the 52MR in MirrOlure’s number 28 color scheme, which is red, gold and yellow.
Rip-N-Slash
The Rip-N-Slash is a slow-sinking hard bait made by Unfair Lures. It casts a country mile and is great for both wade fishing and drifting applications. The lure comes in two model sizes — the 70mm and the 90mm. I prefer the larger, 90mm, model because it more accurately imitates the larger meal the fish are in search of. My two favorite colors for the Rip-N-Slash are Pink Ghost and Hot Orange.
This redfish couldn’t resist inhaling a Fat Boy. Photo by Capt. Nate Skinner
Paul Brown’s Fat Boy
Manufactured by MirrOlure, the Fat Boy is a suspending twitch bait known for producing monster strikes. It gets its name from its chunky profile. Although it moves through the water like a hard bait, it sports a soft body. This makes it feel like a real baitfish, so the fish chomp it and won’t let go. I’ll use this bait both while wading and drifting, and I prefer it in the following color schemes: Pink/Silver, Tequila Sunrise and Dayglow.
Paul Brown’s Original
Paul Brown’s Original Corky once held the Texas state record for speckled trout, with a fish weighing in at more than 13 pounds.
The slow-sinking plug, now produced by MirrOlure, has a more slender profile than the Fat Boy, and it sports a soft body. The shape of the lure’s body can be tuned to help the bait stay shallower or deeper, depending on what the situation calls for. Pink/Silver, Tequila Sunrise and Chartreuse/Gold with a white belly are the best colors.
The Soft-Dine XL is a trophy trout catching machine during the cooler months. Photo by Capt. Nate Skinner
Paul Brown’s Soft-Dine XL
As one of the newer additions to MirrOlure’s Paul Brown line up, the Soft-Dine XL doesn’t disappoint. It has tantalizing action, soft body and produces strikes from finicky fish. My favorite colors for this slow-sinking and suspending twitch bait are TX Chicken, Pearl with a Chartreuse back and Dayglow.
The best retrieve when working any of the aforementioned baits involves an erratic, twitch, twitch, pause rhythm. Most of the time the strike occurs on the pause.
Don’t go fishing over the next few months without having these baits in your box. Cast one out and hold on.
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