sluggo 12"

[american spirit]

just wondering if anyone uses the 12" with any consistency. i tried em last year and found the 9" were more productive. that being said, i use the 9" weighted with a single gami live bait hook, and 12" unweighted and with a single 8/0 mustad oshaughnessy hook.

you guys use them, unweighted vs. weighted, single hook vs. tandem, what size hooks.

[bart]

when i fished the nine inch slugs I would use a 6/0 gami hd live bait hook. stuck four finishing nails in the head around the hook and added a little zap-a-gap. caught fish to 30lbs on them. You need a fast action rod to work them right though. my old allstar 1088 was perfect. not much talk about slugs lately though, seems like the craze is over. super productive lure no doubt...

[michaels]

I do have the 12" sluggo's but as of yet have not tossed them.. I'd rather be whipping a live eel.. Takes some getting used to..

[JFigliuolo]

With the cost of the 12"... I'd throw an eel instead, rigged or live.

[Clogston29]

i agree with jfig, once it becomes cheaper to fish a riggie, why bother with plastic.

i'm sure they'd work though. probably have to experiment with weighting and retrieve during the day. i've caught some decent fish on the big surf asylum rubber from a few years back.

[michaels]

The price of eels are starting to catch up.. They are now over 2 dollars each.. I used to buy them 8-10 each time.. Now i buy them by the pound.. I'm also able to pick out the one's i want.. Being able to pick them out and my own eel tank has made it a little easier on the wallet..

[influx99]

I've caught tuna on a 12" sluggo, that's the only time I've thrown them. I run about 8" of pencil lead through it extra heave-ability and match it with a 9/0 Hogy grip hook. With that combination I can still work it on or right under the surface.

[Sea Flat]

The large Hogy's are actually cheaper than the large Sluggos, also, to me, they last a bit longer.

I think that when you use that large of a bait you will not get as many strikes, but the ones you get will be from more quality fish.

[michaels]

So true....

[MikeToole]

I've used them double rigged with and without weights and the results haven't been that good. They are fairly stiff so unlike the hogy there is little motion. Kind of like a big needlefish. I've had much better luck with the 9" either sigle or double hooks.

[piemma]

I had a durabilty problem last year with the 12". could have been the way i rigged them but they seemed to tear easier.

[chefchris401]

I prefer the 12" hogie over the sluggo.

I think the 9" is more productive cause it fishes easier and has more action.

The big hogie 14" or 18" has crazy action too.
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[american spirit]

i haven't given up on 12 incher yet because i'm trying to have a bigger presentation this year in hopes that i increase my chances on bigger fish. we see. maybe i should just have a freezer full of riggies. my problem is finding a place local that actually has big ones.

[Pete_G]

Really great for tuna, good for bass, but the price of them makes it hurt when a bluefish chomps one. Factory rigging is really strong (200# tuna strong) and all but the best home rigged ones tend not to track as nicely in the water.

I tend to think of it as a glide bait or almost a walk the dog bait rather then something with a lot of wiggle. Hogy is what you need if that's what you're looking for.

At the end of the day I usually have one on me but the price of an eel results in me fishing that far more often when fishing from the surf at night.

The white one during the day though is a different story, I always have plenty on me especially when fishing shallow water from the boat for stripers.

[influx99]

Consider the big Shankas as well, also made in MA. I've gotten tuna on them too. $10 for 3, I believe.
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[Haus]

12 inch double rig in squid color worked great for me last year. Toss the 9 inch as well in black.

[keeperreaper]

Got Strypers bait 11" is unreal for action and durable too. The things catch tuna jigging them, casting and ripping across the surface, and even dead sticking them. One of the decent plastics for bass. A lot of the canal guys use them.
Bronko and I had some ridiculous days bassing off of the outer beaches in the boat and down in the rips off of Monomoy and Nantucket this year with them. I think Alan has some video of the "pintail" which I believe is the name the bait goes by.

[ridler72]

I ended up casting a plaster of paris mold to copy the 12" Sluggo and even built on a Calstar blank to sling it from the kayak. I rigged it weightless with an 8/0 Forged hook weightles and weedless with Shanka's 10/0 offset hook.

Overall I didn't see any increase in size of bass for tossing a 12" versus a 10" Slug type home pour. The 12" is 2 7/8oz-3oz, and the 10" is 1 1/4oz and can be tossed easier all night if needed if your covering water. With all those Mini Macks and blue backs last year 10" was a good choice and an even better choice was Northbar Bottlesdarter. They loved that....so didn't I.

If your surfcasting the extra weight may be the selling point with a 12" Slug. I think this year I'll explore the double wide by hogy. Working weightless plastics at the surface is fun though. Should be illegal.

[Green Light]

Originally Posted by american spirit

... my problem is finding a place local that actually has big ones.

....I hear you! It's like each year the eels get thinner and smaller while the price goes up. (At least at the shops I frequent.)