Holiday Picks From Capt. Mike:

If you’re anything like me, half the fun of Christmas morning is digging into the little stuff, the lures, the rigs, the “oh man, I actually needed this!” surprises buried in a stocking.
 
These are the baits that bailed me out on tough trips, cracked the code on tiny bait, fooled big fish in skinny water, and flat-out manufactured bites when bites were slow. Each lure here fits in a stocking, solves a real problem, and has that little spark that makes an angler say, “Oh yeah… this is going straight into rotation.”

Gift Guide:

Inshore Plugs

striped bass hogy topwater popper lure

1. Franken Popper

A big, confident walk the dog plug that draws strikes from aggressive fish even on tough days. It’s a top shelf stocking stuffer because it feels like giving someone “a very large striped bass.”

Large Striped Bass Surface Walk The Dog Lure

2. XL Dog Walker

A big, confident walk the dog plug that draws strikes from aggressive fish even on tough days. It’s a top shelf stocking stuffer because it feels like giving someone “a very large striped bass.”

Bonito Topwater Hogy Chug Popper Lure

3. Micro Chug Popper

When fish are pinned on tiny bait, this little popper turns frustration into hero moments. It’s a great stocking stuffer because it solves a problem every angler runs into: micro bait lockjaw.

New Jersey Hogy Swimmer Striper Surf

4. 7inch OG Swimmer

This is an old school shallow running, slow wobbling, full bodied swimming plug built for long casts. It's a perfect stocking stuffer because it carries both nostalgia and a cheat code for anglers fishing boulder fields.

Gift Guide:

Inshore Softbaits

Striped Bass Softbait Lure

1. 10inch Hogy Original

Hogy lure number one, our very first lure and still hand poured here in the USA. A timeless big fish softbait with that slithery, natural movement no predator can ignore. It’s a stocking stuffer that quietly says, “Here’s the best soft bait money can buy.”

Big Striper Softbait Eel Hogy Hook

2. Hogy Swimbait Hooks

This is the hook for the Hogy 10” Original. They’re perfect stocking stuffers because they complete the gift of the Hogy Original. Unweighted for explosive topwater eats, weighted for extra distance and subsurface walk the dog action.

3. 6.5inch 3oz Protail Paddle

A heavy duty, ready to fish paddle tail built to reach deep structure and swim true in heavy current. It’s a great stocking stuffer because you’re giving your angler a casting bait, a kerplunking bait, and a slow jigging bait. An inshore bait. An offshore bait… the Bubba Gump Shrimp of lures!

Slow Swimbait Striped Bass Lure Hogy Slowtail

4. 4.5inch 1oz Slowtail Swimbait

The ultimate finesse swimbaits with a subtle tail flutter that shines in clear water and picky bite conditions. They’re perfect stocking stuffers because they give anglers a solution to cold water, shallow water, and weary fish.

Gift Guide:

Inshore Casting Jigs

Hogy Lure Albie Casting Jig Fishing

1. 5/8oz Epoxy Jig

This is the legendary small bait imitator, a must have when fish are keyed in on silversides or peanuts. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer because every angler needs a box full of these.

Long Range Casting Albie Heavy Minnow Jig Hogy Lure

2. 1.25oz Heavy Minnow Jig

A high density metal that punches through wind and reaches fish no other lure can. It’s a great stocking stuffer because anglers instantly recognize it as a workhorse they’ll use on windy days.

Hogy Surface Eraser Jig Plug Casting Lure Albies Bonito Striped Bass

3. 4inch Surface Eraser

A finesse surface and subsurface stickbait that’s hard to differentiate from a jig or a plug and furthermore fishes like a softbait. This lure fishes exactly how you tell it, fast or slow. It’s a great stocking stuffer because it gives anglers seventeen lures in one.

Hogy Sand Eel Jig Striped Bass Casting Jig Lure Fishing

4. 1.25oz Sand Eel Jig

A long, slender sand eel imitator with a seductive kicking action that works on the retrieve and on the drop. It’s a great stocking stuffer because sand eels are everywhere, and this jig works on everything that eats them.

Gift Guide:

Inshore Groundfish Jigs

Hogy Groundfish Seabass Fluke Teaser Hook Jig System

1. Jig Biki Teaser Rig

Somehow this rig weaseled its way into one of our top ten selling SKUs. Our favorite review: “This rig manufactures fluke and sea bass when there just aren’t any.” It’s a great stocking stuffer because it well manufactures fish.

Tog Fluke Seabass Hogy Jig Biki Lure

2. 2oz Groundfish Biki Jig

Designed for groundfish jigging in skinny or slack water for sea bass, fluke, and most especially tog. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer because you’re giving your angler the Maserati of tog jigs for less than fifteen dollars.

Best Seabass Jig Lure Hogy Squinnow Jig

3. 3.5oz Squinnow Jig

The undisputed champion of groundfish anywhere on the East Coast. It’s a perfect stocking stuffer because it’s a Swiss Army knife jig, fun and extremely productive.

Haddock Jigging Sand Eel Jig Lure Hogy

4. 4.5oz Sand Eel Assist Jig

A long, slender vertical jig with a deadly flutter on the drop and a clean profile on the lift. It’s a great stocking stuffer because it gives a deep groundfish jig option in a compact package.

Gift Guide:

Inshore Groundfish Jigs

Hogy Inshore Striper Spinning Rod System

1. Hogy System 7' Medium (7M)

This is the finesse rod, perfect for albies, light plugs, estuary work, and small swimbait days. It’s a main event gift because it instantly upgrades an angler’s everyday toolkit.


Hogy Inshore MH spinning rod fishing

2. Hogy System 7' Medium Heavy (7MH)

Your do everything striper rod with the backbone for plugs, paddles, and mid depth jigging. It’s a main event gift because it becomes the angler’s reach for it first outfit for the next decade.

Hogy Hybrid Conventional Rod for Trolling and Inshore Groundfish Jigging

3. 5'6" Hybrid Conventional

A compact power rod tailor made for jigging, trolling, deep drops, and anything involving structure or current. It’s a main event gift because it’s the rod every angler wishes they had on tough days.


Hogy Hybrid Inshore Spinning Big Game Fishing Rod

4. 7' Hybrid Spinning

A crossover weapon that can cast plugs inshore and jig offshore, a truly modern hybrid tool. It’s a main event gift because it unlocks new fisheries without needing a whole new rod arsenal.

Gift Guide:

Offshore Plugs

Tuna Charter Grade Slider Casting Plug

1. Charter Grade Slider

A long-glide tuna stick bait that draws tuna in with it’s deadly built in wobble. It’s a perfect stocking stuffer because tuna caster uses sliders regularly. Why not go with the one pros use!?!

Tuna Casting Surface Popper Topwater Lure

2. Tuna Chug Popper

A classic heavy chug popper that throws a clean, deep splash to call up tuna feeding under scattered bait. It’s a great stocking stuffer because big-game anglers always want a loud, reliable surface disruptor in their pocket. This one comes in New England Colors.

Hogy Heavy Duty Tuna Trolling Plug Lure

3. XL Deep Swimming Plug

A simple heavy duty swimming plug designed to dig down and stay there, thumping hard even at high speeds. It’s a perfect stocking stuffer because it gives offshore anglers instant depth in their spread.

Gift Guide:

Offshore Jigs

Hogy Tuna Casting Epoxy Jig Surface Lure

1. Tuna Epoxy Jig (Casting)

It’s the tuna version of Hogy’s iconic Hogy Epoxy Jig Lure ® It’s a perfect stocking stuffer because it’s one of the few casting jigs that consistently fools pelagic fish in clean water.

Hogy Sand Eel Jig Vertical Jigging Lure For Tuna FIshing

2. Sand Eel Jig (Vertical Jigging)

Hogy’s widely popular version of a sand eel “knife jig” gets down deep and swims like a champ, perfect for tuna keyed in on sand eels any level in the column. It’s a great stocking stuffer because tuna fishermen know that when sand eels are around, this jig is mandatory gear.

Hogy Cod Haddock Jig Teaser Rig System Lure

3. Jig Biki Rig (Cod and Haddock Audibles)

An offshore standby that produces cod, haddock, and pollock on those weather days when the tuna never show. It’s a great stocking stuffer because every offshore angler needs an audible to save the trip.

Gift Guide:

Offshore Softbaits

1. 4oz Protail Paddle (Cast and Slow Jig)

Our hero softbait offshore, built to cast long, swim naturally, and double as a slow-pitch jig. It’s a perfect stocking stuffer because it bridges inshore and offshore, letting anglers chase bass one day and tuna the next.

2. Harness Jig Eel

The ultimate big-game softbait, designed for tuna with a reinforced internal harness and insane swimming action. It’s a great stocking stuffer because it gives anglers a high-confidence lure that takes real abuse.

Hogy Harness Jig Replacement Tail Softbait Tuna Lures

3. Harness Replacement Tails

Pre-rigged tails that snap into the Harness Protail body so anglers can refresh their lure after multiple tuna bites. They’re perfect stocking stuffers because they extend the life of the most important bait in the box.

Hogy Tuna Harness Protail Paddle Swimbait Casting and Jigging Lure Giant Bluefin Tuna

4. 9inch Harness Protail Paddle

A castable big-game softbait that excels when tuna are keyed in hard on pogies, especially in NY and NJ waters. It’s a great stocking stuffer because it gives pelagic anglers a pogy-match tool that casts well and gets crushed.

Gift Guide:

Offshore System Rods

Hogy Casting Rod for tuna fishing lures

1. Tuna System Casting Rod

A powerhouse rod built to cast poppers and stickbaits to busting tuna with accuracy and control. It’s a main event gift because it anchors an angler’s entire casting program for big fish.

Hogy Cast and Jig rod for tuna lure fishing

2. Hybrid Casting AND Jigging Rod (New)

A modern crossover rod designed to do a decent job at both casting stickbaits and working vertical jigs. It’s a main event gift because it lets anglers cover two offshore methods with one rod.

Hogy Heavy Duty Jigging For For Tuna Fishing Lures

3. Tuna System Jigging Rod

A compact, brutally strong jigging rod designed to lift, pump, and turn big tuna in deep water. It’s a main event gift because it’s the tool you lean on when your jig gets hammered by something you weren’t sure you could stop.

Hogy Hybrid Light Tackle Tuna Trolling Rod System

4. Hybrid Conventional Rod

A versatile offshore stick that can jig, troll, drop, and handle mixed-bag big-game duty when space is limited. It’s a main event gift because it gives anglers a reliable do-everything offshore rod that earns a permanent spot on the boat.