Surf Hogs

[nofish]

Anyone been using these hogs? I like them but I have had zero luck so far with them to the point where I'm thinking about giving up on them. How are you fishing with them? Fast or slow retrieve, do you let them just settle down and move them slowly? I could use some pointers on these if anyone is using them?

[Kevin J]

never used but I have heard good things about them. For me, and when all else fails ( redfin, needle, danny) I turn to the sluggo. Yes, Im caught up in the fade but those thing really do work. At first, I was rigging them and cursing everytime a blue would come by. Now I use the Pt. Jude wobble head. I put a #7 rear hook in the back of the sluggo and pull it thru with dacron. I take the dacron and tie it off to the wobble head center hole (you don't have to do this, you can just put it on the hook however you may miss some tail hits). Dip it in some eel stink and off it goes. Give it a try. Casts excellent, quicker than rigging a sluggo, and does hurt (as much) when teeth find the tail. Just throw another one on the wobblehead. Everyone has there favorite lure/bait, for me (this year) it's the sluggo on a Pt. Jude Wobble head.

[LIBassBoy]

I will tell you right now they are better than sluggos...I used them for 4 maybe 5 years and SurfHogs have totally replaced them. I had one nite where i ran out of hogs, switched to a sluggo and nada..and annother where i kept up with a buddy fishing live eels fish for fish, that is the first and only time ive ever whitnessed that happen with an artificial. they dart and bounce really nice thru the water, have rattle eyes, and stink. Nebe sent me some olive ones back in June and that has been my favorite, but black probably produces just as well..
Two weights in the head on either side and one in the tail..so effective it will surprise you.

[merch]

It’s been my experience that most long slender soft plastics will work. Playing around a little with weights and rigging you can get them all to perform well. Even those ridiculous rubber eels at Benny’s will do the trick. It comes down to what you expect the bait to do and how you use it. Unfortunately a few years ago the sluggo craze began and all of a sudden if you weren’t fishing with sluggo’s you were’t fishing correctly. This is untrue. These baits do have their time and place buit that is just like any other plug you might use. Don’t get me wrong I use them and really like them for their casting and fishing ability when rigged properly. I use them to glide and twitch just under the surface in a light current for the most part. I haven’t used them on a wobblehead but I’d imagine it would be very productive. Look at it this way, if you buy surfhogs rigged to go a 2 pack will cost you $10-$12 or 2-3 bucks individually. I’m not usually willing to spend that kind of money on two pieces of rubber that will only survive one bluefish attack anyway. I’d rather spend $5 on a 3 pack of sluggos of which, some I rig. But don’t forget, you are still allowed to fish them with an 8-9/0 offset hook (Excalibur) although this is contrary to what every magazine article will tell you. Sluggos fish well this way. They are an excellent way to probe an area and you don’t have to spend all that time pre-rigging them. I still recommend weighting though. My point is that long slender rubber baits do work well but they are not the “magic lure”. Remember we were all catching fish on other things before the sluggo craze.

[thewaterfordstriper]

does anyone have a picture of one of these that they can post?

[nofish]

Hello Waterfordstriper,
I can't do a picture for you, but The Saltwater Edge has on online store that not only has a picture but you can buy your very own there too. You'll enjoy reading their comments for each item as well. They give excellent service and if you buy them by tomorrow afternoon they will be at your door the next day and you can use them smothered with smelly jelly on Friday night.
Good luck

[Pete_G]

Surf Hog Page: http://www.saltwateredge.com/CTGY/SHL

[thewaterfordstriper]

thank you pete for the picture.
thats an interesting profile. do you rig them as you would a sluggo?

[nebe]

hi guys- a little birdie told me some folks had questions-

nofish, i will give you some tips on how to fish them- if your fishing shallow water, and are fishing them with 2 hooks, you do not have to weight them- simply cast them out and reel slow with occasional twitches. If the water is deeper, load them with sluggo weights, or try carolina rigging them (my new favorite) When the water is deep, i like to use the count down technique to find bottom every time and do well picking bass off the bottom. Finally, and the most important thing is that if you are used to fishing sluggos, you need to fish mine in the day and see how they act.. because they are wider, they have to come in slower- and if you ask me slower is much much better for cow bass.

Merch points out something that is very true- all slender baits work, however, I have designed my eels to give a strong presentation of the silhouette of a fat tasty eel, I impregnate the rubber with bunker oil so they smell fishy and i take the time to glue in each eye one at a time. Im a firm believer in the fact that bass key in on eyes, or at least if the bass makes eye contact it may entice a strike. Another thing about the eyes i use is that they rattle, which sends out vibrations similar to a wounded or panicking baitfish.

As for the pricing- the way i price my eels is according to my labor- I takes a while to make up the leaders, crimp them, fit them into my molds, and trim the rubber around the hooks after they are set up. It also takes a long time to glue in all those #%$#%^# eyes-

I offer a bulk pack in both styles of eels i make that is non scented, no hooks and have no eyes (the eye sockets are there though) the pricing is right there with sluggos.

Eben

[nofish]

Eben thanks for the reply it was informative. Instead of the carolina rigging though I have never used it before so I will give that a try. I've been putting them on a wobble head but just haven't hooked up with them yet. It's just been disappointing. The only thing I've caught with them so far is seaweed. I'm bound to get one sooner or later though. Thanks