Added on Thursday, March 31, 2011  Gary Hurley

Spring Gear Guide

 

Sufix 832 Braid

Braided line technology has revolutionized the way many saltwater anglers fish, and Sufix has taken braid technology to a new level. Their new 832 Advanced Superline features a GORE Performance Fiber made of ePTFE woven in with seven Dyneema fibers to enhance the line’s performance in virtually all fishing applications. The high-tech fiber resists degradation from saltwater, sunlight, and virtually all known chemicals, meaning the line won’t lose strength over time like many others.

The GORE fiber also increases the line’s tensile and knot strength up to 40% over competitor’s braids of identical diameter.

Abrasion resistance is also much better in the 832 line compared to the competition, and abrasion tests which reduced other braided lines break strength by nearly 40% barely fazed 832, leaving it with 95% of its original strength.

Toughness is only part of the equation, as the GORE fibers also have an extremely low coefficient of friction, meaning the line is super slick and improves casting distance as well.

Sufix’s R8 Precision Braiding Process combines the Gore and Dyneema fibers, and using eight carriers (or strands) in the braid (instead of the four used by many manufacturers), gives the 832 line superior strength, roundness, and consistency over other braids.

Owner Inshore Jig Heads

Known for manufacturing some of the finest hooks on the market, Owner has incorporated one of those premium hooks into their new Inshore Jig Head. The black chrome Super Needle Point hooks are paired with a unique jighead that is certain to find favor with anglers who cast soft plastics for striped bass, speckled trout, flounder, and red drum.

Available in sizes from 1/8-3/8 oz. in red or white, the heads feature high profile 3D Living Eyes to add even more appeal to the host of realistic soft baits available to salt water anglers.

A dual wire ‘keeper’ locks soft plastics to the jighead, and unlike single wire designs, it won’t tear the bait. With many of today’s scented soft baits costing $1 each or more, the longer a bait stays on the hook and looking good, the more money an angler keeps in his/her pocket.

All the Inshore Heads share a 3/0 hook, perfect for a variety of sizes of soft baits, and most fish that anglers will encounter, from just-legal flounder to bruiser reds.

Pro-Cure Super Gels

Experienced anglers know that scented baits outfish flavorless offerings, especially in the soft bait world. Pro-Cure’s Super Gels allow anglers to add flavor to any lure they want, meaning a bait can be picked based on action, not scent.

Available in a host of flavors (Shrimp, Mullet, Menhaden, and Inshore Saltwater should be of particular interest), Super Gels are made from real bait combined with amino acids and Pro-Cure’s new UV Enhancement (adding visual as well as olfactory appeal) for the ultimate in gamefish attraction.

Unlike many scent additives, Super Gels have a super-sticky formula which stubbornly clings to whatever it’s applied to, meaning it lasts cast after cast and minimizes the amount of re-applications needed.

Super Gel isn’t just for soft baits, either. The sticky formula will last dozens of casts on hard plugs and jigs and will even add a scent dimension to trolling lures.

Vicious Line

While most of the innovation in fishing lines lately has come in the braided sector, Vicious Fishing is devoting research and advancement to monofilament lines as well.

Out of the company’s products, their Ultimate, Offshore, and Pro Elite Fluorocarbon lines should hold the most interest for local saltwater anglers.

The Ultimate Line is a co-polymer monofilament made with the company’s exclusive A.C.T. technology, giving it extremely low memory and stretch and, at the same time, extremely high abrasion resistance. Available in 4-30 lb. tests in clear, lo-vis green, and clear-blue fluorescent, Vicious Ultimate is ideal for the inshore saltwater angler who wants to stick with monofilament while also enjoying the benefits of modern line technology.

Vicious Offshore utilizes the same A.C.T. technology, but packs it into a line designed for the stresses of big game fishing. Offshore is available in 10-100 lb. test in clear, lo-vis green, and hi-vis yellow.

Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon is available as both line and leader, with the leader material likely holding the most interest for local anglers. It’s a 100% fluorocarbon material made with superior resins, resulting in a near-invisible, highly abrasion resistant line ideal for anglers tangling with finicky fish or heavy cover.

Drone Spoon Electrics

Developed in the early 1900’s, it’s doubtful that any saltwater lure has fooled as many fish as the venerable Drone spoon. L.B. Huntington and Company, manufacturer of the spoons, has taught the old spoons some new tricks, releasing their “Electric” series last year. Instead of silver, gold, or a painted finish, the Electric Drones are powder coated one or more times to achieve some flashy metallic base colors, to which various colors of prismatic flash tape can be added. Seven base colors are available—violet, purple, blue, green, teal, orange, and red—and with a wide variety of flash tape options, the color combinations are virtually limitless.

With so many colors to choose from, anglers can “match the hatch,” tailoring their Drones to a predominant baitfish in a given area, go the opposite route to create a lure that stands out like a neon sign, or anything in between,

Electric series Drone Spoons maintain all the wobble and erratic action that has made the originals famous, so they’re sure to become an even deadlier weapon in the troller’s arsenal.

St. Croix Mojo Inshore Rods

Responding to the popularity of their other Mojo series rods, St. Croix has introduced the Mojo Inshore line, with eight spinning and seven casting models. The 7’ and 7’6”rods have custom tailored actions and heavy duty, yet lightweight components that make them perfect tools for everything from casting near-weightless soft plastics to finicky speckled trout to throwing big bucktails to inshore brutes like cobia, red drum, or striped bass.

St. Croix’s proven SCII graphite makes up the backbone of the rods, which feature Batson Forecast aluminum oxide/stainless steel guides, Fuji DPS and ECS reel seats, and a host of other premium components.

Premium grade split cork grips give the rods a sophisticated look while shaving weight, resulting in a finished rod that weighs a mere 4-7 oz., depending on model.

Mojo Inshore rods feature a 5-year warranty supported by St. Croix’s unmatched customer service.

Diawa Exceler TSH

Diawa’s popular Exceler series of spinning reels are revamped and back for more in 2011, ready to tangle with inshore and nearshore gamefish throughout the Carolina coast. The reels feature a new twist as well—each comes complete with a spare spool of a differing size, allowing anglers to tackle the tasks of two spinners with one.

The reels are available in sizes from the 2000, an ultralight holding 135 or 100 yards of 6 lb. test, to the 4000, which carries either 170 or 210 yards of 14 lb. mono. With a pair of varying sized spools, anglers can keep a spare rigged with lighter or heavier line, monofilament or braid, in order to handle changing situations or several different target species with a single reel.

Each Exceler features Diawa’s Digigear system for smooth cranking, four corrosion resistant ball bearings, a Twist Buster line roller, Advanced Locomotive Level Wind for trouble-free spooling of monofilament or braided lines, and a host of other features designed to make it any angler’s go-to light saltwater weapon.

Shimano Waxwing

Winner of the 2010 ICAST Best Hard Lure Award, Shimano’s new Waxwing jigs are the next generation of subsurface swimming jigs. The lures feature upper and lower ‘wings’ (hence the name) at the heads that give the jigs their unique action. The upper wing creates the zigzag swim motion with the erratic ‘kick’ that made the lures so successful in product testing, while the lower wing stabilizes the lure and keeps it from rolling and twisting the line.

Waxwings are incredibly simple to fish. Anglers simply cast the jigs where they want, point the rod tip at the lure, and begin cranking. The wings take care of the rest, imparting all the action anglers need to tempt bites from just about any predator fish that enjoys smaller fish as part of its diet.

Waxwings feature through-wire construction (with the exception of the smallest model) to withstand the abuse of savage strikes and battles, and wear a tin-coated double hook aft to ensure positive hookups. They’re available in four sizes and 14 colors, with UV reactive lateral lines that make them appear even more real as they wobble through the water.

Bomber Badonk A Donk SS

Capitalizing on the success of their Badonk A Donk walking topwater, Bomber has introduced the Badonk A Donk SS, a slow-sinking bait designed to walk-the-dog through the subsurface strike zone.

Featuring the same Saltwater Grade construction as the Badonk A Donk and Bomber’s other saltwater offerings, the SS has what it takes to handle punishing strikes from red drum, stripers, speckled trout, and other marine predators, and get them to the boat time and again without failing.

The 2.5”, ¼ oz. lures contain fish-attracting rattles and are available in 10 Flash and five natural colors to replicate nearly any saltwater forage fish.

Sea Striker Contour Inshore Rods

For value-conscious anglers looking for a quality rod at a very reasonable price, Sea Striker’s Contour Inshore Rods deliver big bang for the buck. With spinning models ranging from 5’6” to 7’ in medium-light to medium-heavy actions and 6’6” and 7’ casting models in medium and heavy, there’s a Contour available to cover just about any conceivable inshore fishing situation.

The rods feature 100% XT7 graphite blanks that run all the way through the handle, giving them the sensitivity to detect light bites and the strength to pry hard-charging fish away from structure.

Premium features found on much more expensive rods abound on the Contour series, like top-quality cork grips with graphite butt caps and aluminum oxide guides equally well-suited to braided or monofilament lines.

All Contour rods come with a five-year warranty, unheard of at their price point.