Captain McRon's Lure & Tackle Picks:

Here is a preliminary list of tackle I expect to use at Bokeelia. I recommend that you bring a good flats outfit spooled up with 10# Power Pro, and backup outfit with whatever else you might like.

Lures:

DOA shrimp ¼ oz near-clear/red flake, and rootbeer/gold flake. I am also looking at ½ oz size and glow-in-the-dark color etc. Will check Wood’s tackle box to see what DOA shrimps he likes.

Gold “Johnson” silver minnow spoon, or knock offs in the 1/8 and ¼ oz sizes.

Rig – Mirrolure top dog or pup, Storm rattlin chug bug, or new Mirrorlure popper dog lure towing a cotee 1/8 oz red jig head with a green grub tail.

Top water plugs (see Rigs above)

DOA Terroreyes of various head weights and colors

DOA Baitbuster mullet in natural colors (silver or gold) shallow and deep runners – specifically for tarpon on spinning gear.

Reflecto Spoon, #3, silver perhaps with a feather tied on.

Line/rods: 40# fluorocarbon leader for general purpose & 80# flourocarbon for tarpon leaders 1 primary and 1 spare flats outfits with 10# Power Pro (PP). 1 alternate rod with 20# PP for close quarters with an extra spool with 10# mono for mangrove skipping One heavy spinner with 30# PP for tarpon or other big fish. So that’s 4 spinners total: 1 light, 1 med, 1 heavy, 1 spare light/med. I plan to carry 2 or 3 spinners (plus yours) aboard the boat. I will carry extra spools with different lines to adapt to different fishing situations.)

And of course, Tarpon/fly gear.

Also might use – Gamblers, various jigs such as clear/light color shad tails, floating rattle traps, rebel jumpin minnow, zara spook, bomber long-A, etc.

Will not use – Old style mirrorlures with 3 treble hooks.

King Wood's Lure & Tackle Picks:

DOA Shrimps – John basically has the same colors that I like. I also have some gold/gold flake 1/2 oz. shrimp, but I haven’t thrown them in years (however, I didn’t really know the best ways to fish them back then, either). Since the last trip with Paul Hobby, I’ve also become a big believer in the whitish, glow-in-the-dark color (1/4 ounce) fished around oysters in the daytime. My favorite nighttime color in the shrimp, just as in the TerrorEyz, is root beer. It’s just about all I throw at night. For sightfishing spooky reds on the flat, I’d probably use the clear/red flake.

Silver Minnow – Although we caught our reds last weekend (see the pics I sent) on 1/4 ounce gold Johnson spoons, I almost always use the 1/8 ounce size these days, which casts pretty well with 8 or 10 pound PowerPro. Spooky fish=smaller lures. Recommendation: Mount a small but sturdy split ring on the spoon’s eyelet and put a small, black barrel swivel on it. No need for ball bearings. You’ll be very happy you did this, and you won’t have to mess with swivels on the line itself.

Rig Plugs – Me, I’m a sucker for the classics. That’s why I rig my rigs with the Luhr Jensen Nip-I-Diddee. If you compare this plug to the classic Official Bone Rig Plugs, the match is almost identical. The Nip-I-Diddee is made from carved wood, so it’s fairly expensive, but it’s got a good heft and casts a long way. Out of the box, it has two freshwater hooks, propellers and long, sturdy screw eyes. Everything comes off but the front and back screw eyes. I remove the eye for the belly hook and fill the hole with clear epoxy. The other treble comes off, too, leaving a hookless, weedless plug when you put the screw eyes back in. As a true sucker for the classics, I prefer red & white. No frills; great lure.

Rig Jigs – John’s right about the 1/8 ounce size – it’s perfect. So is the Cotee head, as long as you’re catching trout. If a big red gets hold of a Cotee, he can turn it into a figure-8. I prefer the 1/8 ounce RipTide or other similar jig head; still light, but with a forged, stainless hook. Also, for the most part, I still use a bucktail or nylon jig trailer behind the plug instead of soft tails. No reason, other than being a sucker for the classics.

TerrorEyz – Awesome lures, as y’all know. I have them in root beer, black & gold, green & silver/white, and all-white. As I said, I mostly fish with root beer. I’ve probably tossed black & gold at night, too. FB may have fished that color more than me; I can’t recall. Like the glow-in-the-dark shrimp, I’ve heard that the all-white TerrorEyz can be very productive as well.

Reflectos – John recommends #3; I have 2 and 4. I’ve caught big trout on the 4, but I haven’t fished either size very hard. Just so you know, the young Reflecto guru who told us about them at Sports Authority swore by #2. Spooky fish=smaller lures, I suppose. Great looking action on this lure in any size.

Storm Lures – Fairly new offering; definitely cheap and effective. We banged all those tarpon on the all-opalescent, off-white version, probably 4” long; looks like a finger mullet in the color of white bait. Sinks like a stone. We also did well on grouper with them last year in Captiva Pass. Tarpon fishing off of Cayo Costa, we simply yo-yoed them slowly in 10-15 feet of water and held on for dear life (we also fished circles around Paul Hobby and his DOA Baitbusters in the process). This trip, we’re looking forward to fishing these lures (in the mini sizes, too) just like a TerrorEyz for snooks.

Yo-Zuri Banana Boat – I’ve already raved about this one. It WILL slay some fish for me on this trip.

MirroLures – Hey, I’m a sucker for the classics. I still love ‘em, particularly the 7M floater in green or red back and silver sides. I should probably use the 52M’s and TT’s in deep water more than I do, also. Recently, I started acquiring the little bitty, teeny weenie 3M’s (floaters) and 4M’s (shallow sinkers), and they are really a hoot. I ordered them direct from the factory. The small poons in my backyard last summer went apeshit over ‘em. Spooky fish=smaller lures. (McDude: Here’s the deal on the three trebles. Don’t use all three. I’ve taken the middle treble off of every full-size MirroLure that I use. Doesn’t seem to hurt the action at all; in fact, I like the added buoyancy on the 7M floaters. Just take the little screw out of the middle, remove the hook, and put the screw and holder back in. Great lures, especially at the Depot in winter.)

Leader – Unless the water is really, really clear and the snook won’t hit, I’d go with John’s suggestion of 40 pound fluorocarbon. 30 doesn’t cut it for me with snook, unless they just won’t eat. As for brands, I think Seaguar is the cheapest. In the lighter weights, for trout and reds, I really like Vanish fluorocarbon. Pretty cheap, very limp, great knots. I use 12, 14, 17 and 20, depending on the conditions, with my 8 or 10 pound PowerPro. God help me if a stray snook appears on the flat.

Rods & Reels – Twenty, minimum. They make great laundry racks back at Surfsong. By the way, I’ve seen John’s Penn collection. He could bring 20 if he wanted, I can assure you.

That’s about it, other than the 4,000 Gamblers I’ll be bringing. One of my favorite colors is an avocado/glitter combo that looks quite a bit like the Captain’s grubbies. Mostly, these days, I fish the 4” version instead of the 6”. Spooky fish=smaller lures. Now you know why I’ve gone to 8 or 10 pound PowerPro...to throw all those little lures. Unfortunately, roughly 3,000 of my Gamblers are the 6” variety. Oh, well. I’m still going to throw them some, and if I’m smart, it’ll be early and late in the day.