When you understand how much crustaceans (shrimp, crabs, etc.) are part of the diets of many of our flat fishing targets like redfish and sea trout (both in the drum family) and even snook, for that matter.
This may dictate using one of my all-time favorites, the DOA Terroreyz in the famous root beer and gold flake color combo! Other colors that closely match the appearance of local (fiddler, mud, mangrove, etc.) crabs can also be effective, but the fact that it has that appearance and skips so well can make it a weapon of choice for those fishing conditions.
And unlike a lot of other crab-like lures (or flies) that cast like a feathered brick, this one has a profile that can be pitched quite some distance or skipped under cover or docks and then "popped" (quick bounces) off the bottom, which adds that puff of sand "smoke" (as I like to call it) and does a very good job of looking like either small Mud or Fiddler crab trying to make a quick exit stage right!
Let me give you a few tips to make this bait work better when skipped/pitched up around docks, under mangrove trees, or pretty much any type of structure, including the edges of oyster beds.
Press the barbs down so they penetrate quicker into the fish, and it makes it much easier to roll one back out of your friend's ear or other section of skin you just sunk it into on the back-cast made! 😉
Like many lures, the loop knot is needed here for sure!
I like to have at least three or more feet of as heavy of fluorocarbon leader for these puppies that I can get away with for those conditions. If worked correctly and slowly once you get it slung under a dock and moved at the speed of your typical crab does, which is very slow... Those fish will have a long time to stare it down, so using that kind of leader in those oyster-laden war zones is critical not only for strength but also for being near the same appearance in light transmission as the surrounding water.
Make it sound real! Add a small bass worm rattle (I like the glass ones) so when it moves and more like twitched, it clicks like small crabs can and do.
Make it even more real! Add some of your favorite crab scents to them, and not only does this help with the more real aspect, but more importantly, it helps cover the human/sunscreen smell that is now on them after you tie it on your leader. 😉
And speaking of skipping a lure! I dug way back in the archives when the late great Captain Leon Davis took Brother Blair fishing (both when Blair and I looked a lot younger 😁) to help you, even though they used another DOA offering that you can read more about by clicking here:
This one, though, is a master class on skipping a lure under pretty much anything and producing positive results while (not) wasting the time and expense of live bait!
Hope this helps! As you watched, technique and location are many times more important than what is being pitched in many if not most cases. 😎
In the meantime,
We invite you to take in a few Flats Nation Podcast Episodes to help "Scratch that Fishing Itch" when working or traveling and you cannot hitch up the Skiff and go, on these links:
Our newer Flats Nation YouTube Channel can be found by clicking here. If you find our videos entertaining and educational, share them with family and friends! Dave has advised me of some great guests in the works on a wide range of topics and product coverage soon.
Also, The "Flats Nation" Merch and Swag collection, if you like our content, has some new works, from T-shirts to our newer Technical wear, just in time for Tarpon Season, which can be found Here:
Tight Lines, and God Bless!
Dave and the Team
