CAPTAIN DAVE SUTTON ON SALTWATER FISHING WITH SPIKE-IT
Jerkbaits for Jack Crevalle
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: Captain Dave Sutton of Homestead, Florida, a fishing
guide in the Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay
National Park and the Upper Florida Keys, takes anglers
to permit, tarpon, redfish, snook, speckled trout, dolphin,
wahoo, grouper and snapper. Sutton, who has fished these
waters for 16 years and has guided for the last 6 years,
has discovered that using the new Spike-It products
for these saltwater fish pays off for him.
 On
another fishing trip, I was taking a party out to a
fairly well-known wreck called the Rockpile. I set my
anchor, and we could see a school of fish working the
reef below the boat. We thought they were permit, a
close relative to the pompano, so we started casting
with Spike-It soft-plastic Holographic jerkbaits, in
the Opening Night color. I had two rods with the Opening
Night color jerkbaits on them, and I had two rods set
up with live crabs. My two anglers were casting the
live crab because that's a favorite bait of the permit.
I picked up the rod with the Spike-It Opening Night
color jerkbait on it with 10-pound-test line and made
a really long cast. I used a small 1/8-ounce bullet
head weight to pinch onto the line. I put that lead
about 18 inches up the line from the Holographic jerkbait
in Opening Night for two reasons: the lead allowed me
to cast the bait further, and after I twitched the bait,
the lead caused the jerkbait to fall faster. I wanted
to work the Opening Night jerk bait, and then when I
stopped twitching the lure, I wanted it to fall, which
was when I got the most strikes.
 When
I use these Spike-It jerkbaits, I give them a lot of
rod tip action. I'll make three quick twitches, let
the bait fall about a foot or two, give three more quick
twitches to bring the bait up and cause it to dart and
then let it fall again. Most of the time, I'll get a
strike when the bait's falling.
On this day that we were fishing for permit, as I was
bringing the Opening Night-colored jerkbait back in,
I got a vicious strike. The line flew off the reel with
the drag squalling like a long-tailed cat with its tail
caught under a rocking chair. I handed my rod off to
one of my customers to fight the fish. I reeled in both
of the live-crab rods because this fish my customer
had on was going crazy and running everywhere. For 24
minutes, the battle raged. I really didn't know whether
we would get that fish into the boat or not. But, finally
the fish came to the boat, and instead of being a permit,
we had landed a 21-pound jack crevalle after an unbelievable
fight. I already knew that a jack crevalle would fight
until almost dead. My customer thought that was one
of the greatest fighting fish he'd ever caught. He couldn't
believe he'd caught the fish on a soft-plastic bait.
 Although
the jack crevalle isn't a glamour fish, it fights as
hard if not harder than a permit. The jack uses the
flatness of its body and the force of the water to pull
against the rod. When you've got one on, you feel like
you're trying to land a piece of plywood that's turned
sideways.
For more information on how you can fish with Captain
Dave Sutton, contact him at djsutton@bellsouth.net or
go to www.saltwaterflyfisherman.com.
To learn more about Spike-It's top-quality lures, paints
and other fishing products and the Color-C-Lector, go
to www.ISpikeIt.com
TOMORROW: REDFISH AND SNOOK
ON SPIKE-IT PRODUCTS
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