How Do I Work This Lure?!...Part III

The sub-surface lure may be one of the most underutilized lures on the Georgia coast, even by me.  This lure is a great mullet imitator for trout and reds and excels in water less than 3 ft.  I like to use this lure over submerged oysters where there is a lot of sparse or broken grass present. 

Sub-surface baits are truly finesse baits, as they are worked SLOWLY.  After casting, allow this lure to “settle”, as it will barely sink at all--usually remaining in the top foot of the water column.  Typically a slight pull and twitch is all that is needed, and then repeat the process.  Another popular retrieve that works well is to actually walk the dog below the surface.  Both the Rapala sub-walk and Sebile Stick bait work well with this retrieve.   In fact, one of my former tournament partners caught a 9.4 lb trout, winning a trout tourney using a sub-surface lure with a slow twitch and pause. 

One advantage of this lure is that it will cast a mile, and is very accurate.  Probing and picking out shallow pockets of grass can be very effective.  Earlier this spring, in Brunswick’s Turtle River, we had over 30 keeper trout (including three over 20”) throwing the Mirrolure Mirrodine.  The Catch 2000 from Mirrolure has been a redfish killer on the Redfish Tour for years.  The lures pictured, in order from left to right are:  the Rapala Twitchin’ Rap, the Rapala X-Rap Sub-Surface Walk the Dog, Sebile Stick Shad, Mirrolure Mirrodine, Mirrolure Catch 2000 and Mirrolure Catch Jr.