Buggs Lures

[katt72]

I was doing a little lure research, when i stumbled upon an article about Buggs lures. I researched and read as much material onthese lures. I see alot of good reviews, and fishing reports of these lures being used. I orderd a few to test for my own personal pref. Are these lures worth the $$, being that I'm new to using lures for coastal fishing?

[Neumie]

I like them and mainly use them for sightcasting for reds. They're fairly durable as well and, IMHO, worth the cost. I like the Permital Bugg in Blue Crab & Backcountry and the Double Bunny Jig in Natural, PBT, Green Ghost & Night's Watch.

[Yaklash]

I have several types of his lures, but have mainly used the Curly Tail jigs. I won't say that I use them all of the time, but in certain situations, they are hard to beat....those being close quarters sight casting to reds, or hitting points or ledges for flounder where the area is small and a regular action would move you out of the strike zone in two bumps. The fly materials baffle the splash down, so you don't spook reds and they also impart action (motion) sitting motionless on the bottom, so you can work them very slowly in those small areas and still get the attention of the fish.

I always have a couple in my wading box.

[Salaqua]

I really enjoy Buggs Lures. I have caught flounder, black drums, and redfish on them. I use them about 75% of my fishing time. Granted, I do a lot of marsh fishing but I have also caught reds with them in the flats. The Curly Tail ones have been most productive and can be used with a straight retrieve like a soft plastic. I also use the new Trout Thumper that Heath designed, when retrieved or wet, it looks like a similar shape to a DSL though this lure has an added feature with coming with a weed guard.

The customer service is great as well.

[katt72]

What combination of lures would you use, time of season, & colors used during those times?

[Endo]

In my opinion no, not worth the extra $$.

It's not that they won't catch fish, but I haven't found a situation that they will catch more than just using a soft plastic.

If the shallow reds are being finicky and won't pick up a normal sized soft plastic, I just drop down to a smaller size, specifically the small sized chicken boy plastics. They always work.

I just don't have as good as luck with the Buggs. I've pulled all mine out of my box and they are collecting dust in the garage. They work and look neat, but I just don't need them. But it's a personal preference thing, like a lot of fishing choices boil down to.... it's what you feel confident with. The fish probably don't care.


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[Drifting Yak]

Try them during the summer in the marsh drains. The tails that come with them are fine but, for a change, try switching them to 3" Gulp Swim Mullet in a color that suits you (4" are too big). You can swim 'em, jig 'em or move 'em slowly across the bottom.

[texasproud11]

Endo,

How about sending those bad boys my direction!? I'll put them to good use!

[kickingback]

Buggs are an excellent sight casting lure! It has all the right movements and can sit on bottom easier without snagging. I have used them and they work well. I always carry one or two with me when I go into the marsh.
I met the maker/owner at the Houston Fishing Show and he is good people. He has to sell them for that price if you do the math on the materials used. I tie my own now. You can buy the heads at FTU or online or you can buy some jig heads from EBay that will sit well on bottom to prevent snags.
I still buy Buggs if I see one that looks great and want something new but the majority I have are self tied.
You can tie flies like the one above that katt posted. Easy to make and killer on the flats!

[TroutSupport.com]

What combination of lures would you use, time of season, & colors used during those times?

This is actually a really BIG question. We could fill 3-4 really good threads with information about what lure, when, why, and what color. What does it all come down to.. well basically, match the hatch (at least in size).

Summer - bay is filled with small bait. Use smaller baits like spook jr, mirrolure she pups, paddle tails, and smaller rat tails like little johns. Colors.. there is a wide variety here I recommend selecting 2 proven dark colors and 2 proven light colors and build confidence with them. Confidence is more important that if you have the right color or not. The fish did not receive the memo or email about what colors they should or shouldn't eat. I've broken every color rule there is. I'm sumerize color at the end.

Fall - stick with the smaller stuff.

Winter - In most winters the small bait has left the bays and you can use larger baits like super spooks and fatboys more in the winter. Caveate is that most bigger fish will react well to a larger bait anyway. Large redfish and large trout look for larger fin fish like mullet, menhaden, croaker, and piggy perch anyway. But in the summer, with all the small bait around they don't have to chase the bigger stuff.

Spring. Depends on what part of the system you are fishing.. more inland and the fish are still eating larger bait; closer to the pass they start eating smaller baits earlier.

Color... use a color proven for that area that falls into the following.

• Dark day - dark bait
• light day light bait
• clear water - natural color
• dirty water un natural color

There are very good charts on color out there from TTF and Mirrolure, and there are about 1million colors and new ones daily. Good discussion here .... http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... ?p=1766571

I think it might be more useful for a newb to throw out there what consistently catches fish and then let you build on that.

Can't beat
Spook junior in bone
Gold spoon
Hunch back
Little John Soft Plastic ( or other small sorft plastic bait)
Gulp Shrimp on jighead
Some sort or click cork to put above plastic lures when they want something suspended.
One knocker spook in bone or bone diamond

You could probably catch 90% of all the fish with these lures.

Do the Buggs Lures have its place? The seem pretty durable... seems like everyone likes them for sightcasting. will they outlast a soft plastic? Some people really love them. I don't think you wasted your money.

What's most important is finding the fish. Focus your time and effort on learning, finding, and locating feeding fish and then get a lure in front of them that sorta matches the hatch, at least in size of what the forage is around you and they tend to have a hard time resisting. But sometimes they do and that's where a fly rod comes in. So, learn how to find the fish, read the water, then get your favorite most confident lure in front of them and have fun.

[texasproud11]

Tobin,

What are your favorite little jon colors as it coordinates to water and day conditions you mentioned above?

[The Roach]

Tobin - thanks for education as usual...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TroutSupport.com]

Tobin,

What are your favorite little jon colors as it coordinates to water and day conditions you mentioned above?

The following is what I have confidence in. I also believe to some extent it doesn't matter what color. What I like about the little john is it cast well on a jig head and its profile looks like it could be a lot of things from a shrimp gliding in the water forward to a small sand eel or small fin fish darting. And they are tough enough to last a while.

Golden Bream on any dark ish day even in clear water. dark day / Clear or dirty.
Another good one is Watermelon red flake.. but it's more of an orange gold flake.. looks very shrimpesqe. Buddy of mine caught a 27 on it in Baffin 2 weeks ago. Good in clear to sandy.
Bone in clear water and especially if there are shrimp around.
Opening night with char tail in clear water.

Like I said, those are just what I have confidence in, I think with the fishes ability to find anything moving any color you gain confidence in should work fine.

I just bought a pack of the 'kitchen sink' it's a gold, silver , and black flake in clear base. but I haven't used it yet. will probably be sandy clear water on a bright day. I wish they had a black, but at the same time, one of these days Im going to fish with a solid clear soft plastic in muddy water just for the heck of it to blow my own mind. Capt Steve Soule I have to credit.. "for every 'rule' theres always a caveat" . Some of you guys should get together and book a trip with ole Steve... we all learned a lot from him in the DVD and spending a day with him on the water is even more helpful. Perfect for any kayaker even though he fishes out of a skiff.

You welcome, glad we can help you guys catch more fish.

[texasproud11]

Awesome! I'd love to get him to trek down to POC and teach me a few things. He seems super knowledgeable on your DVD's.

[TKFStubb]

Troutsupport,
Thanks for your informative breakdown...
Buggs are an important part of my arsenal. In springtime, it's hard to find soft plastics that imitate the size and coloration of baby crabs, minnows, and shrimp. Buggs do a finejob of this. I keep my Buggs box right under my seat and when I get into an area where the principal forage is baby crabs, small minnows, or smaller shrimp, I start fishing the appropriate Buggs exclusively! MATCH THE HATCH! And, yes, they are worth their weight in Gulp.

[Yaklash]

Got an email from Chris Hippell, creator of Buggs about his new Trout Thumper lures. Should be available for order now, but not sure they'll be on the shelves at FTU just yet.

Looks like a bigger profile than any of his other lures and his description of how to work it, it sounds like less of a traditional soft plastic jig motion and more of a steady retrieve.

[Ultrastealth]

Other than a true fly, buggs are probably the best lure that there is for sight casting to skittish reds in skinny water. They don't make much of a splash, and they are small enough not to startle fish. You don't need to move them much either. Just cast out in front of the fish and creep it along very slowly when he can see it. I've never had one refused.