hands down, #1, a white bucktail. so versatile, cast in light surf, large surf, wind, no wind, and it catches anything, especially striped bass. put on a piece of pork rind and you have the single best catching lure. period.
#2 - hab's
needlefish 2.0 oz. when you need to reach that far off shore bar, reef, or rock this lure will reach them. it can be retrieved for sub-surface, top water, or slightly sinking. it swims, unlike some needles, which is the key to it's success. the quality is one of the best, if not the best, in the biz. and, how many large has it caught in recent years? that should say enough.
#3 - tattoo's tackle diving swimmer - if i need a metal lip lure that swims and is versatile, it's the diving swimmer. i can bend the eye up or down to meet the conditions i am in. it comes in a variety of paint schemes, including baitfish patterns to match the forage better. the quality, like hab's, is about the best in the biz. i've been in surf condtions where pretty much any metal lip would have beben throw around and i should have been throwing a gs2 or gs3 to stay in the surf. i bent the eye on the diving swimmer down and i had to pull this lure out of the surf at the end of my cast. it help the surf that well!
#4 - tattoo's tackle sea dog, 3oz. i rarely throw any topwater lures, as i rarely fish in the light, except for late eves and early mornings in the mid-late fall. 2 years ago i was fishing w/ tattoo and i was throwing a metal lip lure. he had on a 3oz sea dog. he took 7 fish before i had my first. that lure flat out worked. i started fishing them and was surprised how easily it was to work. it was far easier and less tiring than a pencil
popper, and did it take bass! i have heard how people have even used the sea dog at night successfully, which is one idea i will be trying this fall.
if i could have one more, which in certain places may be my #2 lure of choice, it would be a cotton cordell
red fin 7" slightly loaded. i've caught fish with this lure when other lures were just not working and i had other anglers around me throwing almost everything. something about this lure...