Despite the introduction of millions of saltwater fishing lures, anglers find a few old school lure designs to be essential for catching fish. These include lead head jigs, metal jigs, spoons, plugs and poppers.

Lead Head Jigs

This family of lures include many of the oldest, simplest and most popular designs. These lures are available in sizes for any fishing situation, including lure weights from 1/16 oz. to monster jigs of 32 oz. or more. Lead head jigs are divided into 2 basic categories; bare hooks and skirted lures. Both types of jigs are well known for catching fish and have a wide variety of applications in saltwater fishing.

Bare jigs are meant to accommodate soft plastic bodies or in some cases natural baits. A myriad of soft plastic bodies are available, including designs that mimic shad, herring, bunker, silversides, eels, ballyhoo and other species of baitfish.

Skirted jigs usually have a painted head and are dressed with a body made of deer hair (called bucktail), feathers or synthetic materials. These jigs can be fished alone or combined with soft plastics or natural strip baits such as pork rinds, squid, bloodworms, fish belly, eel skins, cut crab or other local options.

Metal Jigs

These types of jigs are among the oldest and simplest of lures. They come in an astonishing range of sizes, shapes, colors and hook configurations. The most basic metal jigs are diamond jigs which are used for mackerel, striped bass, cod, haddock, pollock, halibut, weakfish, flounder and other species.

Another long time favorite style is a family of flattened metal jigs. These come in several variations, with size, shape, finish, color and hook choice being the main aspects which affect their use. Flattened jigs have a specific function due to their action. Most cast well and sink with a fluttering movement during their descent. Anglers typically allow these jigs to fall a few feet, then give a sharp upward pull, before allowing the jig to continue sinking. This "lift and drop" style of jigging is repeated as the angler tests the water column from top to bottom.

Anglers that fish for deep sea species such as tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi and king mackerel also find metal jigs to be extremely effective. Pelagic species have been known to fall for diamond jigs and other lures for years, with jigs often being dropped down when a trolled fish was hooked or fished together with chunked baits. More recently, offshore fishing enthusiasts have embraced metal jigs in new configurations. Slab jigs, made popular in Asian fishing have gained widespread acclaim for their effectiveness at catching fish. These jigs tend to be slender, brightly colored and feature special hook arrangements. Some anglers even purchase special rod and reel setups, designed specifically for jigging.

Spoons

Spoons are essential saltwater lures. Used most often while trolling, spoons come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Trolling with spoons is a time honored technique that requires a certain amount of experience. Rigging spoons is critical, with leader length, the use of drails (weights) and proper choice of swivels being important factors. Speed is often another very important variable when fishing spoons. For example, large spoons are sometimes used along the East Coast while fishing for striped bass, bluefish, red drum, cobia and other large predators.

For peak performance, lure speed must be adjusted by watching the rod tip for a tell-tale "thump-thump-pause" action. This pattern occurs at different speeds, depending on lure model, size and other factors. The series of thumps and pauses is created as the spoon wobbles several times and finally makes a complete rotation. A correctly rigged large spoon will wobble 2-4 times before rotating, repeating this action continually. Spoons come in sizes of about an inch to monsters of 12 inches or more. In addition to being popular in trolling, some spoons are well suited for casting or jigging.

Swimming Plugs

Plugs are another option when saltwater fishing. While plugs vary greatly in size, shape and action, they all share a few common aspects that contribute to their effectiveness. Plugs have a hard body, either one piece or jointed. Most plugs today are produced with plastics which are formed in a mold. This process allows lure makers to insert a segment of wire which includes the front eye as well as connection points for one or more hooks.

A few plugs are rigged with a single hook although most are armed with 2 or 3 sets of treble hooks. The depth and action of the plug is determined by its size, shape, weight and other factors. Some plugs have a lip or cupped protrusion on the front which acts as a steering device. Plugs with large, angled lips tend to run at greater depths while other variations have a small, less angled lip which serves makes the lure sway back and forth rather than track downward.

Surface Poppers

Poppers are closely related to plugs and the distinction of the two designs sometimes merges. Both designs originated as wooden lures, carved by local fishermen who became masters at designing these special rigs. Not only did they have to create the correct shape, but had to devise suitable hardware for connecting line and hooks. Poppers float, their action coming when they are casted and then jerked or twitched.

Like plugs, the shape of the front face determines the action. Most designs feature a cupped or slanted face, which acts as a plunger when the lure is retrieved. Some designs are more needle like, with no cupping. Having features of both plugs and poppers, these types rely on a twitching action rather than a pop to draw strikes from predators.

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