Proven Fish-Catching Lures For Rhode Island`s Fall

Pro’s Choice....Top Plugs For Fall Striper Action
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Rhody’s Big Three
Proven Fish-Catching Lures
For Rhode Island’s Fall Run
By Joe Lyons
O
ur formative experiences as shore-fishermen
factor greatly into how we perceive the angling
community as a whole and how much trust we
put in the words of others. If you were fortunate enough
to come to fishing early in life and were taught by family
members or friends, count yourself among the chosen
few. Most of us – and more all the time – discover the
sport much later.
Those who were trained by an older relative or friend
save a great deal of time and money filling their plug
bags. They are unlikely to fall for an infomercial touting the latest and greatest lure or leave a tackle shop
with useless items from the closeout bin. Unfortunately,
early on in our surf-casting careers, we late-arriving
hobbyists tend to get taken into buying someone else’s
sucker bait more than once. It makes for a lot of jaded
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fishermen.
But what company launches a new lure without the
promise of it being a high-producing, big-fish lure? Still,
I’m surprised when tackle companies spend significant
amounts of money for full-color ads in magazines and
30-second spots on fishing shows, yet they do not
bother to through-wire their lures, or they outfit them
with light-duty hooks and hardware. I can tell you
from experience those are two of the most important
features a good saltwater angler looks for when selecting a go-to lure.
A surfcaster is well served by being suspicious, but
some fishermen are incredulous to the point of being
close-minded. My three lure selections for Rhode
Island’s autumn surf were made based upon what I feel
works best now, that is, what I would pick if I could only
bring three lures for the 2005 autumn run. Just because
something is fairly new to the scene, I do not believe
it should not make the short list. Furthermore, today’s
choices may not be the same selections I would make
2, 5 or 10 years from now.
What does all this have to do with my three favorite
lures? Well, I found myself conflicted about what to
include, so my selections are not confined to only classic surf lures used primarily at night. Fishing Rhode
Island during the fall months is a daytime pursuit for
many. I also fish in the daytime – I particularly like the
early mornings of the fall run, so for me to not include
at least one lure considered primarily a daytime lure
would not be an accurate representation of how I approach my fishing.
Rhode Island’s fall run is characterized by rapidly