Hi Scott.
Thanks for stopping by Saturday at the show.
The guys here all gave sound advice about how to fish the T-HEX..thanks!
As mentioned,the T-HEX is streamlined and heavy for it's size,so it tends to get down quick.Very productive when it's snotty and the surf is rolling.
And I made them to mimick thinner bodied bait fish like sandeels, spearing, anchovy,silversides etc.....
They work well throughout the water column,from dragging,bouncing the bottom to up top.Like you mentioned,vary the retrieve!!
I made the PB-40 spoon to immitate wider bodied bait fish like peanut bunker and butterfish.This lure fishes different than the T-HEX, as the lip in front,and the wider flat body causes it to flutter on the fall,and plane up with a nice wobble on the retrieve.With a very fast retrieve I can get the PB-40 to skip on the surface which drives the fish crazy,and it's a hoot to see it get smacked like that!
As with the T-HEX,the PB-40 spoon can be fished on bottom,mid level and on top.
And both work well with the bucktail,a tubetail or a single bare hook tipped with a squid strip,grub or curly tail,a DOA CAL plastic,or a 4-6" thin rubber eel.(which is killer on the PB-40
)
Here's a piece from an article I did with the New Jersey Angler a few years ago:
........any questions,just fire away. Hope it helps!
".... a good metal lure is one of
the most versatile artificials an angler can have in his/her arsenal.There
are so many varied ways to fish them.The
T-HEX can be worked throughout the water column.From down deep to up on top.
For fluke(summer flounder) slowly bouncing or dragging the
T-HEX along the bottom will put it right in the zone the fluke feed in.As is,or with a
squid strip along with the bucktail is a great combo for the flatties.Also
replacing the bucktail with a single bare hook and adding a soft
plastic,like a mister twister or grub tail gets lots of hook-ups too.I like
to use the 1,1.5 or 2oz model for fluking.
For the bluefish,I suggest a more aggressive retrieve.Anywhere from a
moderate speed in the mid water areas,up to a blazing fast retrive which
will get it up, and at times,on top, skipping the surface.The blue eyed
demons have a hard time resisting this action.I'd also like to add that
false albies and bonito have regularly been taken with the smaller T-HEX's
with this fast retrieve.
Striped Bass tend,for the most part, to like the
T-HEX Metals on the slow
side.All 4 of the sizes have produced bass,from schoolies up to some
respectfully large fish.And they work throughout the water column.On a slow retrieve with the larger models,it will bounce and skip bottom resembeling a sandeel escaping or trying to bury itself.Puffing up sand along the way.
Mid-column with a steady retrieve is probably the most productive.And definetly try a pause and reel style to your casts.At times,this can be the difference between getting a work-out just casting heavy metal,or a work-out catching fish!
As I said earlier,for the most part the bass like a slow metal.But for 2 weeks on Cape Cod a couple of years ago the opposite
was true.Seems the bass wanted slim and fast moving lures.The
T-HEX fit the bill well,as the the shape mimicked the primary bait,sandeels,and was able to get out to where the bass were feeding.80-120 yards off the beach.Our group put some nice fish up to the mid 30# mark on the sand that year.
But as I like to tell people who ask,vary the retrieve on the metals.Work
it fast and work it slow.From top to bottom.The fish will tell you best
what's working."
:thumbsup:
