Crystal Coast Lures

Fishing off of North Carolina's Crystal Coast has been a passion of mine for over 25 years. The deep blue gulf stream water holds an abundance of marine wildlife. The fastest and most aggressive of these pelagic fishes is the wahoo. The smaller wahoo may hunt in loose packs of two or three, but the larger fish are solitary individuals hunting alone. Since there are no "schools" of wahoo to catch, getting one to come tight on a line is a real challenge.

Catching the incidental wahoo on the troll in the spring and fall while looking for tuna and mahi fueled a desire in me to catch them as the target species. Thus began my development of my lures.

Early on there were many slow days on the water, whether due to lack of fish or poor lure design. Then, in the early 90s, I began reading about high speed trolling in Florida. I bought a few of their lures and gave it a try. Some of the ones I purchased stayed in the water at 20 knots and some did not. The ones that did stay in the water would catch the fish, but only withstood a few high speed trolls before they were ready for the graveyard.

I began experimenting with resins, rubbers, silicones, and the like. After many failures, I was happy with a resin that would not shatter with impact that offered UV protection so that it would not come out of the ocean yellow after a few fishing days. The same went for the hook and leader. I reeled in many tangled messes because the lure flipped over on itself because the leader was not right or the hook combination was not running true.

So how do I use my lures? For those of us running out of Morehead City, NC it is 40 miles to the gulf stream. The wind is usually out of the SW. My boat is 28'. This all means 2 hours of running at 18-20 knots. So why not fish? I clear the inlet and all the traffic and put out 2 rods. 2 to 4 lb in line trolling weights (usually 2) followed by a lure, set the autopilot and run. Once we get where we are going, the trolling weights come off. One lure is sent to the deep on an in line planner rod and the other is used as a shotgun or on a long outrigger. I will change color based on weather and the size of the flying fish or other bait that I am seeing. If I decide to pick up an run to a different spot, the high speed setup goes back out. When we land a fish on high speed, I work the area at 12-15 knots to try and find a buddy. At this slower speed you can also pick up maui and the occasional tuna. When it is time to head to the hill, I fish almost to the inlet. Even if the water is too cold for wahoo, a citation king will make an 80 scream!

I believe these lures are indestructable. The skirts will not last forever but the lure has been designed so that they can be changed quickly and easily for less than $10. If you can't find skirts you like, send the lure back and I will change the skirts for $10 plus postage. Any other issues, I will resolve with a replacement or refund.