7 Striper Lures for Boulder Fields

Because bass cruise these areas looking for fewer, larger meals (like one or two lobsters instead of a couple dozen peanut bunker), large striper lures are often the ticket to success.

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• A diving metal-lip plug like a Beachmaster Cowboy brings a large profile and a lazy tail-wagging action right to the top of the rocks, where big stripers are waiting to pounce.

  

• A glidebait that swims in an S-pattern on a straight retrieve, like the Alan’s Custom Lures Predator, mimics a large baitfish that’s lost its school, exactly the type of meal stripers seek among the rocks.

  

• A large soft-plastic stickbait, like the Gravity Tackle 13.5-inch GT Eel, can be snaked through boulder fields to fool large stripers in the same way an eel would. Rig one on a jighead or weighted swimbait hook matched to the depth and current speed so that the lure swims just off the bottom on a slow retrieve.

  

• In shallower boulder fields, a surface swimming metal lip, like the OutCast Lures Surfster Swimmer, can be the ticket to big catches. The nose-down, tail-up action leaves a perfect wake for a big bass to follow.

  

• An overlooked lure for nighttime fishing among the rocks is the bottle-necked popper. One model, the Ocean Born Flying Popper, has the long-casting benefits of a bottle-neck popper, but on a slow, steady retrieve, it swims just like a metal lip.

  

• Anglers can get downright surgical with a slow-sinking wooden needlefish like the Poombah Plugs Needle. Count the lure down to the right depth and swim it past ambush points or along the edge of the structure where stripers are sure to be cruising.

  

• In deep boulder fields or those with strong current, you’ll be better off with a fast-sinking needlefish, like the Super Strike Heavy Super “N” Fish. This lure casts a long way and can be fished with the precision and effectiveness of a bucktail jig.

  

Related Content

Article: Bucktails in Boulder Fields for Stripers

Article: Striper Skills – Rocky Shorelines with John Skinner