You know the fall has either arrived or is imminent when peanut bunker show up. Like the bay anchovy, peanut bunker ball up in great numbers just under the surface. Peanut bunker typically range from 2 to 3 inches, and like both the bay anchovy and the silversides, peanut bunker also have a very distinctive color patterns. When they are dead, they appear to be silver, as they lose their coloration very quickly. Don’t be fooled! When alive and well in their habitat, peanut bunker are primarily olive on top with hints of pink and yellow on their silver sides and bellies. They also feature distinct dark spots behind their hills and along their sides. Remember this coloration when choosing your peanut bunker imitations.
Hogy Top Imitator: It is difficult for us to choose a single “top peanut bunker imitator” in the Hogy line of lures because we have so many excellent options to choose from. We have created an air brush soft bait (3.5″ – 5.5″ Hogy Pro Tail Paddle), a metal jig (The Hogy Peanut Bunker Jig) and our famous Hogy Epoxy Jig® Lure in olive and silver. We have also introduced a new Peanut Bunker coloration in the 7/8oz series. Each of these lures feature the natural coloration of a live peanut bunker.
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Trouble Shooting – A “Too Much Bait” Scenario: The best retrieve speed for mimicking the peanut bunker is a medium to fast retrieve. When fishing around especially dense schools of peanut bunker, when it is hard to get a bass or albie to key in on your lure amongst so many of the real thing, your go-to retrieve is tip in the water with a fast retrieve, which will often draw an aggressive response since a predator fish will have to react immediately to a fleeing baitfish. Another option when you are competing with a large number of peanut bunker is to select a contrasting color, such as Pink, Albie Crack or Purple.
