[SURFCASTER24]

How are you suppost to work a needlefish in the surf, do ya cast it out reel it in slowly or do special movements like u do when you work a pencil popper??

This post edited by SURFCASTER24 08:30 PM 08/04/2008

 

[toyotaoffroad91]

slow retrieve i like to do a slight twitch every 5 cranks...i use al gags or superstrike sinking needles..

 

[SURFCASTER24]

i will go give it a try when i go fishing again.

 

[blasko]

There are different types:floating, sinking, and loaded. Generaly they are worked with a slow retrieve, can be steady but also can be a start and stop retrieve. As mentioned a twitch can be used. I work them very much like a bucktail. Water depth and current are factors on deciding on sinking vs floating.

 

[frankiesurf]

blasko wrote:
Water depth and current are factors on deciding on sinking vs floating.

Could you elaborate? I have had no luck using these things and would like some more info to try to figure it out.

 

[blasko]

Lets say you are fishing somewhere with current like shagwong or the pocket of an inlet, you want the needle to get down into the zone: that is when you want a sinking needle-this is also where guys started loading them- some people have 3 of the same needle w/3 different amounts of load in them for different stages of the tide.

Floaters are good when fish are obviously on top, shallower conditions like back bay/n. shore areas.

Needles can be tricky to gain confidence in because nothing really happens when you retrieve them-they just kinda get dragged in with no action-so people give up on them quickly. They can be very effective on calm nights, but i have had great success when the get tossed in the white wash

 

[snapperman]

on the north shore when bass are noisily feeding on sand eels or spearing at night in shallow water, a very slowly fished floating needle is really good. i like the swiming needles. the choppy needle in the smallest size is usually what i use for this.

other then that i dont use needles often cause i have more comfidence in other lures.

 

[kcee7]

Concept of a needlefish is easy. Slow steady retrieve. But it takes time to develop that and getting your needle to work just where you want it in the water column. Rich Trox is excellent at working a needle. He should be able to provide some tips.

This post edited by kcee7 03:16 PM 08/06/2008

 

[ZenoH]

First plug out of my bag on any night.....All the advice is sound on this thread.
I find they work much better with a sweep or current then on open beaches or slack water. I do a twitch every third or forth crank.
Darter might be "the" Montauk plug but needlefish is not too far behind

 

[blasko]

Like I said earlier, they are very much like bucktails in the sense you can work em lots of ways-I can't stress the white water part enough though. Cast beyond the break and work back into the wash and hold on. Lots of times I am just keeping tension on the line so I can feel the hit as the plug gets tossed and tumbled-thats when it gets slammed.

 

[RichTrox]

from a back bay perspective.....

Like Z, this is frequently my first plug, or when traveling with two rods, which I frequently do, it's on one of them. They also cast great.

Needlefish are tough plugs for some people to get used to because you don't feel much. I use two types, and fish each a different way. If I'm fishing a spot where I think the fish are deep, and not actively feeding on the surface, I'll go with a Super Strike. They sink and will hold their depth if reeled slowly, so I use it like a "countdown" plug. They can be fished in the upper or lower water column, and anywhere in between. As Blasko pointed out, some will load them to get even deeper. I will sometimes put a teaser in front of a SS needlefish. Retrieve is slow to medium, and although I do not twitch, many swear by it, so try it both ways and see what works for you.

If there is a lot of surface activity, I have a couple of floaters (not sure who made'em) and I fish them by casting slightly up current and as they swing by, I pull my rod back smoothly (not jerking) and then drop the tip. This makes the plug move up current and then drop backwards. Aside from moving like (and creating a wake like) a real needlefish, I also think bass have a hard time laying off anything going backwards. Most of the hits come after I have dropped my rod tip.

These are the two methods I use exclusively, but as the previous posters have indicated, there are others. -Rich

 

[ZenoH]

Rich
I am curios what would you describe as the rate of success floaters versus sinkers?
I too use SS a lot but I also use a lot of wood sinkers. Some intermediate ,suspended like Afterhours too but never a "floater"
That's why I am curios..............

 

[RichTrox]

Hi Z,

Hands down, the SS needle produces the best for me, probably because it is what I fish the most. Much of my bay fishing revolves around bottom contours, so I am usually more interested in getting down than fishing the surface. I have had occasions at a few locales where the "floater" worked well under certain conditions, one of which is a bright moon. One spot I call the "hassocks" is basically a very large flat bordered by sod banks. Tide moves strong thru the area. There are several submerged sod banks that are below the surface, not visible even at low tide, a medium cast from the shore. The average water depth is maybe 6 foot.

For whatever reason, this flat can hold a lot of small white bait at times and if fish are drawn in by the bait, they will usually lay behind the "hassocks". Any kind of sinking plug usually gets stuck in the hassock and then has to be yanked out covered in grass. The floating needle goes right over the top, produces a nice v-wake, and draws strikes under those conditions. A small metal-lip would probably do the same in that spot. That is the type of spot I might grab it for.

As for it being a floater, it might be a suspender

, as believe it or not, I've never really inspected it at that level

. All I know is that on a slow retrieve, it comes in on the surface. If I get a chance, I'll verify whether it floats or not. So my answer is that the floater is more of a specialized plug for me, not a go-to plug.