# SGI Trout/Redfish Topwater-Jerkbait



## CDN (May 16, 2017)

Headed down to SGI the first week in June. I have built a good bit of experience of fishing down there since 2012, so by no means and I am an old salty expert, but I have had great success. My weapons of choice have been live bait and Gulp. This year, I would like to throw a lot of topwater and jerkbaits for trout and reds, both in the surf and the bay. Can anyone make any recommendations as to brands, styles, sizes and colors? Thanks in advance for any help!


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## Dustin Pate (May 16, 2017)

For jerkbaits I like to keep it simple. I fish a knock off Bass Pro jerkbait. The XPS series works really well. A weightless rigged Zoom fluke works well. You can rig it with a belly weighted hook as well. 

For topwater a MirrorLure Top Dog or Spook work for me.


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## fairweather (May 16, 2017)

I like the DOA jerk shad in a color which I believe is described as mullet.


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## CDN (May 16, 2017)

Dustin Pate said:


> For jerkbaits I like to keep it simple. I fish a knock off Bass Pro jerkbait. The XPS series works really well. A weightless rigged Zoom fluke works well. You can rig it with a belly weighted hook as well.
> 
> For topwater a MirrorLure Top Dog or Spook work for me.



Thanks Dustin, you are always the first guy to help out. Like you, I keep my jerkbaits simple. I have really started fishing them a lot more this year for bass and hybrids, and have had HUGE success with Rapala X-Raps. thinking of trying a #10 down there. I have caught fish on a Fluke down there, Flukes are universal!! I will look at getting a Top Dog, thanks again for the advice!!
I will post a report when I get back.


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## CDN (May 16, 2017)

fairweather said:


> I like the DOA jerk shad in a color which I believe is described as mullet.



Thanks! I will pick some of those up too!


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## fairweather (May 16, 2017)

Actually, the color I like in the DOA is called Arkansas Glow. I suppose it looked like a mullet to me.


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## huntindawg (May 17, 2017)

CDN,

Trout love X-Raps.  I've had a lot of success in the bay with the ones that are about the size of a finger, sorry for my lack of knowledge on number size of them.  Color may not matter but the ones I had were the glass and silver/blue.  Just like bass, they love to come up and hit it when it's sitting still.  I don't recall ever hooking a red on one but I did hook about a 8-9' spinner shark on one last year.  Joker hit about 10 feet from my kayak and immediately came up out of the water about 5-6 feet high spinning.  Talk about needing a shorts change.


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## diamondback (May 17, 2017)

Bone one knockers are great and will get some awesome strikes from reds and trout. Super spooks are also a great bait that a lot of folks won't tell about. Try one in trout color. Baby spooks work too. Usually in bone. For jerk baits I like a rattling rogue in gold or a bomber long a in gold. All these work great in the bay. I usually won't try them in the surf because it's too hard to work them correctly if it's not smooth.


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## CDN (May 17, 2017)

huntindawg said:


> CDN,
> 
> Trout love X-Raps.  I've had a lot of success in the bay with the ones that are about the size of a finger, sorry for my lack of knowledge on number size of them.  Color may not matter but the ones I had were the glass and silver/blue.  Just like bass, they love to come up and hit it when it's sitting still.  I don't recall ever hooking a red on one but I did hook about a 8-9' spinner shark on one last year.  Joker hit about 10 feet from my kayak and immediately came up out of the water about 5-6 feet high spinning.  Talk about needing a shorts change.


I bet! That'll wake you up!! XRap is my number one jerkbait for bass fishing here at home, so I was planning to try them out. XR08 and XR10 are my favorite sizes. Thanks for the input


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## CDN (May 17, 2017)

diamondback said:


> Bone one knockers are great and will get some awesome strikes from reds and trout. Super spooks are also a great bait that a lot of folks won't tell about. Try one in trout color. Baby spooks work too. Usually in bone. For jerk baits I like a rattling rogue in gold or a bomber long a in gold. All these work great in the bay. I usually won't try them in the surf because it's too hard to work them correctly if it's not smooth.



Thanks for the info. I have some of those, except for the Bone One Knocker. Does the gold seem to attract the reds?


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## diamondback (May 17, 2017)

Gold is good for reds but they will hit just about anything when they are biting if you put it in front of them. They will crush the spooks and one knockers on top. Fish shallow flats the first 2 hours and last hour in the evening. Don't wade with fish on a stringer.


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## burtontrout (May 18, 2017)

CDN I will be down there the first week of June as well.


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## perryrip (May 27, 2017)

Try matrix shad plastic swim baits in colors green hornet, magneto, limbo slice. Can order them on line from matrixshad.com. Zoom salty super flukes in crazy chrome and rainbow shad also work well on jig heads. Matrix shad plastics last through several trout or reds and don't tear up like softer plastics.


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