# Bucktails and pencil poppers



## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

Does anyone use bucktails and pencil poppers in the sc surf? Any success? I've been really into John Skinners teachings lately and have all kinds of bucktails tied up and some pencil poppers in my box as well. Ive been fishing them a lot lately with no success. Being as most of the stuff I read about pertaining to surf fishing is from anglers up north, I'm starting to wonder if I'm fishing more like I'm in Jersey than in SC. Also 99% of my fishing is done from sunset to midnight. Anyone have anything on this?


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

We don't have the stripers so that knocks out lot of throwing plugs for us. Blues would hit them but they probably hit cut mullet better.

Plenty of flounder on bucktails and gulp like he uses.


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## pmcdaniel (Nov 13, 2013)

Lures are difficult to see in the dark. You can add scent though.


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## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

I've had success jigging bucktails back in Hogs Inlet with fluke, but that's about it. I'm fairly new to the surfcasting as far as actually hitting it hard. I've had mild success chunking weight and bait, but my adhd kicks in and I gotta start walking. Hah would better success come in the daytime as far as artificials? (Tins, bucktails, plugs, ect.) Should I just forget about my plugs? I know there are endless variables, I'm just trying to get a better understanding of our areas surfcasting. Most everything you find on the internet pertaining to the subject is coming from the northern states. It just doesn't seem to be very popular here I guess


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## Elgreco (Aug 12, 2014)

When the Spanish are real thick they might go for a popper. Bucktails with gulp work great for flounder. Never really tried from the surf though.


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

Blacktips and spinners love poppers.


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## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

Thanks for the input guys! I really appreciate it. My brother and I are gonna be working from pawlys island to Holden beach all next week surf fishing/ fly fishing.hopefully well figure something out. Eager to give the artificials a go in the daytime. Well see how it goes


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

I just moved from Md to SC this year. I've fished a lot with bucktails & with plugs. However, most of it for me has been in the Chesapeake Bay, from a boat & not in the surf. Many of the same plugs those guys use on the north beaches will work any place if you can get them in front of the fish. They'll work for many species of fish, but not always in the same manner they might for Striped Bass. Keep in mind, much of what Skinner writes is about Striper fishing, although it can also work well with many species. That's of course if the fish are present. Which as Smoothlures said, you won't likely find many Stripers here in the surf. When I could find the Stripers in the bay, I would toss the plugs, bucktails, spoons & various plastics. Same lures used in the surf, but what worked usually depended on the depth the fish were active. I wouldn't just tie on a lure & cast, without knowing there were fish to cast to.

I've fished the surf in MD & DE some, but not a lot. I used to tell folks who asked about MD surf fishing, that they could fish for many weeks & never see a fish. It wasn't like fishing further north as there has to be something there to bring the fish close to the beach. When they're there, they can be caught. Problem is figuring out when they're there. For Stripers, if you understand the migration patterns, then they can be caught from the beach, but you got to be there when they are.

I've fished the surf & the inlet, plus the creek at Pawleys. I did better in the creek than in the surf. Also have tried some fly fishing, but so far no success. Again, it all boils down to finding the fish. Back in Oct 2010 we vacationed there & did OK with flounders & Black Drum. We tossed bucktails, but ended up catching everything on bait we caught with a cast net. We saw some Blues caught too in the inlet, but didn't catch any ourselves. There were Redfish caught too by others in the surf & the inlet, but we didn't catch any of them either.

I've caught Redfish on flies wading the grass. That's something I really like doing. Haven't given it any time at Pawleys, but expect it can be done there. It's another of those things that you have to be in the right place at the right time or really know the area well. That's probably your situation with the plugs. If I was you, I would still have a bucktail tied on a rod, but really won't spend a lot of time with the plugs. They could work, but the probability is low. Bucktails work anywhere. I would also be soaking some bait & casting the bucktails as I felt like doing it.


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## steelerfan (Jul 15, 2013)

You would think that in the creeks when bait is jumping and being chased around, hard lures, like rapala minnows, would work. For some unknown reason, only soft plastic like gulp seem to produce any fish. I have scratched my head for years in the creeks and at Pawleys island backwater about this. Just one of those things. Lol.:fishing:


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## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

bigjim5589- I understand exactly what your saying. If I could find the fish, I feel sure I could entice a bite. I'm just not to that point yet I suppose. Hah I'm starting to get the hang of reading the beach, it just seems our beaches are pretty well flat and structureless most of the time. I'm sure I'm wrong, but the few mile stretch I normally fish seem to be this way. Over time I'm sure I'll learn. It just takes time. 

Steelerfan- it is odd isn't it? All these damn lures we have and only 10% of them seem to produce most of the time. That gulp really does work tho. Using a bucktail tipped with a 4 inch gulp mullet jigging for fluke, I out fish my buddies live bait every time. Either that or he sucks. Hahah


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

I suspect if enough time was spent fishing these areas, that using such lures as X-Raps could be very productive. I would add some spoons in there too. I did well with them around the Chesapeake. Plastics & Gulp certainly do work well too.

Personally, I like trying different lures. I now live close to Lake Marion and there are Stripers in the lake. That was one reason I wanted to live here. I'm planning on trying many types of lures, even some of the wooden "surf" lures I have & I have quite a few.

As I mentioned above I like fly fishing for Redfish. I finally caught my first Red on a fly a couple of years ago. It only took me about 40 years to accomplish that. I'm a pretty good fly angler, but the primary issue was opportunity. I tried several times in NC growing up, as my father was from NC & we would visit my grandparents each year. I had a few chances, but never could get the fly close enough to a fish. I tried in SC too, but not a lot and weather or timing didn't always work in my favor. My success was due to a fly fishing buddy who lives on the Eastern Shore of VA, and he told me about seeing the Reds & catching a few near his house. I caught my first one within about 20 minutes of arriving at his house. The tides was good & he took me to where we had seen them the day before. I literally stepped off the roadway shoulder & made a cast. Timing & opportunity.

Again, my lack of opportunity was why it took me so many years for such a small accomplishment. That could be a similar situation with using lures here along the SC coast. Heck, I know of a guide in the Pawley's area who regularly puts folks on fish with lures & flies, but he's out there every day. That's not something most of us can do. I suspect if any of us could spend the time fishing, month after month, day after day, we too would be better at not only finding the fish, but catching them on whatever lures we decided to use.

There is never a substitute for time spent out there on the water!


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## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

My mom lives on lake Marion to so I've been thinking about trying for strippers out there too! I'd love to find them schooling and throw a fly at them. Like you said tho. Time and opportunity. I'll bring bring the boat over there sometime and try them out. Your welcome to tag along!


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks for the offer! I may take you up on it! I have a jon boat & a Gheenoe & both are in need of work before I can take them out. 

What area of the lake does your mom live? I'm in Manning, down RT 260 near the dam.


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## Beaverman93 (Oct 15, 2015)

She's right on charles drive before the damn at randolf landing. Sounds close to you. Well give it a go sometime dood


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Sounds like a plan! Yes, she's very close to where I live.


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## Scofran (Nov 10, 2015)

Beaverman I caught two flounder, john Skinner style. It was high tide in-between spring maid and myrtle beach state park piers. Right of the surf. Look up Dunn street it has public beach parking


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

I started using pencil poppers since moving up to Maryland for school. Shoreline fishing is Maryland is definitely very seasonal. There is extremely limited shoreline access in the bay but I have landed plenty of stripers on topwater lures. In fact, topwater is my go-to technique in the fall. 
poppers are definately used in the lakes for inland stripers

In SC, the plugs people use would be the following:
Mirrolures- all varieties- topwater, suspending, and sinking
Yo-Zuri Crystal minnow- good versatile lure
got-cha plug- casting from higher platforms for bluefish and spanish mackerel

If I wanted to catch a fish on lures in the inlet in SC, I would probably go with a gulp shrimp or mullet on a jighead.
Other lures: sting silvers, bass assassin paddletails, 3 inch swim shads.

I could def see small bucktails tipped with shrimp work for pompano in the surf if they are around- like in Florida

Topwater can work for speckled trout early in the morning around inlets- I have seem people limit out at the North inlet of Pawleys in the fall with low tide at sunrise when shrimp are pushing pushed out of the limit. Bluefish will chase and hit topwaters but I do think metal lures and got-cha plugs are more productive.


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Good post bluefish1928! I've got some of all the lures you've mentioned. They work in MD too! I too would rather fish a topwater lure any day, but it doesn't always work the best. Great fun when it does! 

I agree with you about shoreline fishing up there, and access is not good. To really take advantage of the fishing that's there, some type of watercraft is best. I used to live 20 minutes from Sandy Point, but my boats are both small, a 16' jon & a 16' Gheenoe. The weather really had to be great before I would risk launching at SP & heading to either the Magothy or the Severn. 

Are you in school at the Naval Academy? There's some good fishing at times from the NA property if you can get access. When I was in high school & college (70's) I had a buddy who had a boat & we fished all along the NA shoreline in the Severn and even at night. Back then it wasn't a security issue! 

We fished from the old Rt 450 bridge too at night. Part of it is now the fishing pier at Jonas Green State Park.

Times sure have changed.


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