Tops and Tails

TOPS AND TAILS

Let me tell you…red fish are just downright fun to catch on surface popping lures! I was lucky enough have a few sent my way from longtime lure company, PICO lures. The Pico Pop has been around for quite some time along with the original Pico Perch that kicked things off in the early 1930’s.

PICO Lures got its name from the area where then owner, Fred Nichols, loved to fish. That being Padre island, starting off as Padre Island Co. it was quickly shortened to a easy to remember name, PICO!

Topwater popping baits have been around for quite some time and I regularly throw them while bass fishing but I had never targeted red fish with them. The first thing i noticed when I checked them out online was the colors available. One of my go to colors, Bone, was listed and they had an orange or chartreuse belly. Thinking to myself ” red fish are gonna smack that thing sky high”.

MORNING BLISS

The day couldn’t have been better. Light winds and partly cloudy skies had me at the ramp ready to go right at day break. This time of year is special in our bay systems as the mature red fish ( those being over 29″) are getting ready for the annual run to the gulf to spawn. While we had solid rains early in the year, the abundance of shrimp in the marsh provided a smorgasbord for those transitioning red fish. I was lucky enough to fool a few on this particular morning with a few different top water baits.

-Pico Pop- They wanted this bait on the pause after 2 or 3 sharp twitches of the rod tip to get that “chugging” action. There were more than a few that slammed the lure while sitting still. I believe the feather trailer on the rear hook pulsates slightly with a slight ripple on the water and was drawing in the fish.

-One Knocker Spook/ Custom Snake Head- Though a few fish hit this lure when paused, they seemed to respond better to a slow “walk the dog” action. The pitch of this bait was different, calling in the fish from the grass lines easily.

Enjoy the video below of some solid action and hope you get the chance to try some different top water presentations for red fish soon.

Check out the Pico Pop here!
https://picolures.com/Pico-Pop_c_15.html

Dustin Nichols – Jackson Kayak National Pro Staff