• Hogy Pro Tail Eels: The Hogy Pro Tail Eels are excellent imitators of sand eels and this model has proven to be an excellent option for shore anglers around the outer Cape beaches and areas in Cape Cod Bay where this baitfish is one of, if not the most, available food source for bass. Shore anglers also find the Pro Tail Eel a good option when there are squid around due to their long slender profile. They are internally weighted like the Paddles and are best suited for a subsurface presentation, whether cast-and-retrieved.
• Casting Retrieve Options: Hogy Pro Tails may be fished with the rod at any angle, although it is most common for shore anglers to fish with their rod at an angle above horizontal, with something in the range of 45-degrees a good option for a starting point in order to keep from hanging up on the bottom. The chosen retrieve speed when using a Pro Tail is, logically, most often determined by the depth of the water, but consideration must also be given to what type of baitfish you are trying to imitate.

• The deeper the water, the more options are available, including a more erratic, up-and-down jigging retrieve, while shallow conditions are typically fished with a straight retrieve, sometimes with twitches thrown in. The straight cast-and-retrieve option is best suited to the Pro Tail Paddle in shallow water since the inherent action built into the paddle will attract fish as long as there is water running across it.

On the other hand, since the Pro Tail Eel is a good imitation of a sand eel, bouncing it in the sand can be productive since hiding or digging into the sand is what gives this baitfish its name.

Casting Application: Even when working deep in the water column, a shore fishermen must first cast their offering before using whatever combination of retrieve options are best based on things such as water depth, speed of current, wind strength and direction, placement and presence of structure, and, most obviously, whether fish are showing or not. In general, shore anglers will be faced with one of or a combination of the following scenarios that will determine what they do with their cast.

• Open Water Feeding Fish: Try to lead the front fish if possible. A good way to target bigger fish is to let the lure drop under the school. Often, that’s where the big fish are. Be ready for hits on the drop, especially with the Paddle model, since the vibrating tail will give the lure good action as it falls.
• Over Structure: The Hogy Pro Tail is a good search bait when used over structure. The variety of weights they come in allows an angler to select one that will reach the level of the structure and work it effectively while reducing the chances of hanging up.
• Casting in Heavy Current: The Hogy Pro Tail comes in a variety of weights, up to 6 oz. Select the lure size needed given the current speed and depth, cast uptide and let the bait drop as it swings.
• Distance in Heavy Wind: The smooth, more aerodynamic interphase of the weighted head and soft plastic body helps Pro Tails achieve greater distance. A snap cast will help punch the bait with some extra distance.
• Blind Casting: The Hogy Pro Tail is an ideal blind cast bait: the tail vibrates for attraction, the lure can be fished at all depths and speeds and it’s relatively snag resistant when fishing from shore.

• Notes: Unweighted soft baits imitate just about every baitfish around, especially eels, squid and sand eels, three of any striper’s favorite meals! They have amazing action and come in two sizes and a multitude of colors. The best way to rig them is with a Hogy Swimbait hook; there is a hook size designed to interface with each of the softbaits we offer, including the Originals.
• Although Hogy Originals are unweighted, thereby limiting their casting distance, as stated in the introduction, in too many situations inexperienced shore anglers are focused on distance, while a shorter, targeted cast is often far more effective and that is where the unweighted Hogy Original shines.
• In fact, even though they are easily rigged with a Hogy Weighted Swimbait Hook to gain a little more depth and casting distance, when fished with the appropriate casting outfit, the Original series fished unweighted from shore has proven to be a favorite style of fishing for savvy anglers, hands down.
• Casting Retrieve Options: The Originals were designed with fish attracting movement as a primary element, no matter what speed or technique is used. Generally speaking, an unweighted soft plastic is best fished with your rod tip pointed down towards the water, imparting a series of twitches of the rod tip followed by a brief pause as the slack is picked up, allowing the bait to tumble and wobble, producing a perfect imitation of a wounded baitfish.
• If you know fish are in the area, but are hesitant or refusing the retrieve you are using, then dropping the rod tip right to the surface of the water and reeling rapidly straight in can cause a “reaction strike,” where a fish is forced to strike at the lure as opposed to having the chance to follow and “study” it before making a decision whether to feed or not.

Casting Scenarios

• Open Water, Feeding Fish: When fish are blitzing, a Hogy Original is limited in terms of whether you can reach the fish or not. That said, if you are able to cast far enough, the Original series, especially the seven-inch size, is a great option since it is far less likely to spook fish due to its quieter landing. Still, casting right into breaking fish is typically never a good idea, no matter what lure you are using, so try to lead the fish if the school is moving or work more towards the edges if they are staying relatively stationary. Since unweighted Hogy Originals are neutrally buoyant, casting into breaking fish, reeling to make contact, and then allowing an Original to tumble slowly, providing a perfect imitation of a wounded baitfish, is a great technique when faced with actively feeding fish.
• Casting to Structure: In spots that feature hard structure such as rocks, docks, and marsh banks, the Hogy Original is a great choice for two main reasons. First, they provide a quieter entry, thereby reducing the chance of spooking the fish, and the gentle “splat” they produce can also gain a fish’s attention in a positive way, in some cases matching the noise that feeding baitfish make. Secondly, a Hogy Original’s seductive, fish attracting action can be produced without a great deal of forward movement, thereby allowing it to hang in a fish’s strike zone longer, even as it slowly drops in the water column. When fish are oriented to structure, they often will be reluctant to move any great distance to feed, but an Original put right in their face, twitching and tumbling, appeals naturally to a fish’s predatory nature.
• Blind Casting: Although limited in terms of casting distance, when used in a proper fan casting pattern, the Hogy Original is known for its ability to attract fish even when they aren’t showing in relatively featureless water.

Colors: The bone color is a great starting point since most baitfish have some white in them, especially in belly area. When fish are feeding on squid, which does occur in shore fishing scenarios, especially up in Cape Cod Bay, amber and bubblegum are top producers as “imitators” of colors that squid are known to exhibit, but even when squid aren’t present, these two colors are excellent “attractor” options.

• Notes: Swimming plugs come in a vast array of different shapes, sizes, colors and material. Smaller 5-inch sizes are great for schoolie-sized stripers and those keyed in on smaller baits and 7-inch sizes are more appropriate for larger fish or those keyed in on large baits such as mature herring, large squid, mackerel and bunker. Swimming plugs are very easy to fish and are a good choice for relatively inexperienced anglers since the action is “built-in” to the lure.
• The Hogy Slider features a wider, more erratic swimming movement as opposed to the frantic, vibrating action of a lipped bill plug.
• Casting Retrieve: Fishing the Slider is similar to fishing the Hogy Dog Walker, with the former a subsurface lure and the latter designed to stay on top. With both, holding the rod tip anywhere from horizontal to the surface of the water is most often preferred, as is experimenting with retrieve speed. In order to produce what I (Dave Peros) call a “controlled slack line presentation,” where slack is introduced into the retrieve to create the proper side-to-side “slide,” take into consideration water conditions such as current speed and wave conditions. As is the case with fishing any type of plug from shore, also take into consideration the height you are standing above the water or how deep you are wading since the angle of retrieve is critical to how a plug swims. At times, consider changing the height you are holding your rod tip in relationship to the water surface as the plug gets closer to you in order to keep it swimming correctly. This lure has neutral buoyancy, meaning it has a horizontal descent when sinking. This is a very natural presentation so a series of pauses are recommended on the retrieve.
• Casting Application:
  • Open Water, Feeding Fish: Similarly to other sub surface lures, work the perimeter of the school. A slider will give you extra weight to enhance casting distance, but without a fast sink rate. This is a go to lure when stripers are feeding on large baitfish.
  • Over Structure: A slider is at home over structure, particularly in a blind casting situation. Long steady retrieves allow you to cover a lot of ground.
  • Casting in Heavy Current: A slider will swim happily in current. A slider will not dig in and swim too deeply in current.
• Top Colors: The usual: pink and amber, green, black and blue and olive to imitate squid, mackerel, herring and bunker respectively.

• Notes: The spook is probably one of the more underutilized lures for stripers. I would argue it is a cross between a swimmer and a pencil popper. They are easy to cast and draw crazy strikes. If there was a downside to them, they don’t fish well in rough water and are slightly more technical in presentation, requiring constant observation and adjustments in retrieve to ensure the best presentation. Similar to pencil poppers, spooks often fish better on a slower action rod, which tends to produce more slack because of the increased tip vibrations. In the day, the slow, honey colored 3M blanks produced by Lamiglas were perfect for pencils and I imagine they would do a good job with spooks, although the wide range of rods offered today feature plenty of rods that are excellent for plugging with any type of wood or plastic creation.
• Casting Retrieve: While history suggests that it was anglers from southern climes who first discovered that this style of plug, originally designed for freshwater bass fishing, was equally effective in the salt, anglers in the northeast and elsewhere have fallen in love with it as well. As mentioned above, properly working spooks takes some attention to detail, mainly because they fish best when using the aforementioned “controlled slack presentation” (See the section for the Slider above). “Walking-the-dog” is a common expression for the way a spook moves when fished properly since the head of the plug swings left and then right (or vice versa), similar to a dog that is not well-trained on a leash and continuously moves from side-to-side, checking out every scent and site it comes upon. Some spooks can be fished similarly to a pencil popper, employing a push-and-pull of the rod while reeling slowly to get the tip waggling, causing the plugs head to swing from side-to-side.
• Casting Application: My favorite time to fish a spook is in calm conditions. A spook with a good rattle will draw attention from pretty far away. An ideal situation would be working it slowly over big boulders or some sort of structure. For whatever reason, I do best with spooks early in the morning or at sunset.
• Top Colors: The usual: pink and amber, green, black and blue and olive to imitate squid, mackerel, herring and bunker respectively.

• Notes: The Hogy Epoxy Jig Lure is a very unique jig in that it’s largely made out of a light weight but durable resin. This is important to mention because the clear epoxy offers natural light refraction through the lure that simulates the translucent nature of many baitfish. The lure also has a heavy length to weight profile so that it casts well, but because it has a slower sink rate than a metal jig, the Hogy Epoxy Jig features a deadly wobble at any speed. They come in a variety of lengths and colors, as well as weights ranging from 3/8oz all the way to 4oz.
• The Hogy Epoxy Jig has established a well-deserved reputation as a great bonito and false albacore lure, therefore leading many people to assume that it fishes best with a very fast, erratic retrieve. Unfortunately, this take has caused many anglers to miss out on its ability to catch bass and blues from shore, especially when they are feeding on smaller baits such as silversides, sand eels, juvenile sea or river herring, and even peanut bunker. When bass are keyed in on tinker mackerel, as they occasionally are in the Cape Cod Canal, a larger, green Hogy Epoxy Jig is an excellent choice, in terms of color and profile. Although a variety of soft plastics and plugs have become go-to options for shore anglers targeting a variety of species, it is important to remember the importance of metals such as the Kastmaster and Hopkins, which you could find in pretty much every plug bag carried by anglers who were happy to keep their feet on some patch of terra firma. The Epoxy Jig owes its roots to this family of lures, which goes all the way back to the old tin squids that the beach crew shined up by polishing them with sand. It’s clearly not made of metal, but it meets the need just as the classics did, and still do: They cast far; they can be retrieved at a variety of speeds and cover different depths of the water column; and they imitate a wide of variety of smaller baitfish – only better.

• Casting Retrieve: The length/weight ratio of the Hogy Epoxy Jig is balanced such that there is no wrong way to fish it. You can make an Epoxy Jig come to life by varying retrieve speed and rod movements and positioning. For example, the higher the tip and faster the retrieve, the more the lure will skip on the surface.

• Casting Application:

• • Open Water Feeding Fish: Go with what I have come to call the “Skippy retrieve!” It’s as much fun as it is effective. Keep your rod tip pointed toward the sky and reel quickly while imparting sharp rod tip twitches. The lure will simulate a fleeing baitfish skipping in the water in a very frightened manner.
  • Over Structure: Slow retrieve with very short pauses so you don’t snag.
  • Casting in Heavy Current: Epoxy Jigs do well in shallow water with heavy current. You can cast the lure up tide and fish the swing. Hogy Epoxy Jigs have a sexy tumble when fished on a dead drift.
  • Blind Casting: Rotate through all the retrieves. The varied commotion is very effective in eliciting strikes when fish are in the area but behaving in a finicky manner.

Top Colors: Pink, Olive, Silver and Green are great imitators of squid, sand eels, herring and mackerel in that order.

• Notes: The Hogy Sand Eel Jig is literally my way of imitating the appearance and action of a sand eel as closely as possible in metal, hence the name J The Hogy Sand Eel Jig has a long slender body that cast very well. By far, the top selling color is the natural olive and silver, though these lures are also made in pink and green to mimic deeper water juvenile squid and mackerel. They are suitable for casting at up to 3.5oz and we make larger jigging sizes in 6.5oz and 8.5oz for deep-water applications.
• Casting Retrieve: When casting, this lure is best fished with a faster retrieve to get the maximum amount of action from it; this is particularly true with Hogy Sand Eel Jigs from 2.5oz and above. The smaller, 1.25oz version can be retrieved at a much slower speed.

• Casting Application:
  • Open Water, Feeding Fish: The Hogy Sand Eel is a long casting lure and is a great go to when fish are spooky and feeding on sand eels. The lure is also dynamite in heavy wind situations.
  • From The Surf: Many shore anglers prefer the Hogy Sand Eel in situations where sand eels are pushed into the beach.

• Top Colors: Olive is for sand eels!

• Notes: We brought this small “peanut” into the fold with the large influx of peanut bunker in recent years between Cape Cod and New Jersey. Obviously the “Peanut Bunker” coloration pattern is a true imitation but we have many other colors that imitate other small baits including squid and juvenile herring. This lure has a deadly wobble at a medium retrieve speed.

• Casting Retrieve: The design of this lure, which matches the deeper, thinner profile of a peanut bunker, results in a wicked swimming action at a slow to medium retrieve with the rod tip at a 45 degree angle towards the water surface if fishing on a boat and a horizontal to slightly upward presentation from the beach. These highly finished lures are hand airbrushed to offer a highly imitative appearance at slow speeds. The first in the series was the “peanut bunker” color but we have since offered patterns in all the hot baitfish patterns.

• Casting Application:
  • Finicky fish: If stripers are being finicky, fish the perimeter of the school on a slow to medium retrieve speed. Let the fish get a good look at the lure, especially if they are feeding on peanut bunker.

• Top Colors: Peanut Bunker, eChix (Electric Chicken) and Blue are excellent imitators of peanut bunker, squid, and juvenile herring.