Capt. George Tunison

Do you have too many lures? Can you have too many? I became lure and fly obsessed at an early age. Does your boat look like a mini-Bass Pro Shop when you go snook fishing? The Christmas tree has now become dangerous to kids, tipsy relatives and pets because of the 100 lures hanging from it? You could say for sure that I like lures, maybe too much. I’ve got soft baits, hard baits, feather flies, bass, pike, walleye, smallmouth, musky, snook, pan fish, tarpon, sailfish, seatrout, shark and lake trout lures, tackle and storage boxes, plus a few dozen old rods and reels.

I forgot to mention all my fly gear. It really got out of control and started taking over the house so I was forced by someone I know who wasn’t happy to get a storage (expensive) unit which also made someone I know happy. Life’s much easier that way.

That being said, if I was forced to take only three lures, just three, leave everything else at home, for a day of shallow-water summer fishing here in Southwest Florida, you would think I would have a very difficult time deciding what gets onboard. Actually, after two decades on local waters it’s an easy decision when going after warm-water trout, redfish and snook.

My first choice of the “big three” would be to have a box of 3-inch paddle tail grubs like DOA’s classic CAL series in three basic colors and a selection of different jig heads to go with them. It doesn’t get much better than a lure that works all year long in hot or cold conditions and effective in all parts of the water column. A lure-all fish hit that can be slow crawled on the bottom, slow or fast hopped along the bottom, fast or slow straight retrieved from bottom to top, skip casted or even buzzed on the surface. Inexpensive, with tons of brands and color options to choose from, it’s an easy number one pick.

A solid second choice would be to carry a small selection of spoons. Gold for inshore and chrome for closer to the Gulf. Arm yourself with a long limber-tipped 8 to 8.5-foot quality spinning outfit allowing mile long casts and you now have the ultimate flats search outfit. The more water you cover in a day’s fishing usually means more hook ups. Learn to fish a spoon from top to bottom but never ever retrieve it too fast causing it to spin which makes fish point and laugh, and scares others. Just reeling fast enough to make it rock back and forth, sides flashing like a wounded baitfish in a straight retrieve, gets the job done. Everything hits them but redfish go crazy for them and snook aren’t far behind. Tie your braided line to a high quality, ultra-small and very strong swivel to prevent line twist. After years of using many brands, nothing beats strong SPRO swivels. Add the longest leader that you can comfortably and accurately cast and remember to never spin your spoon.

My number three pick for chasing our three popular inshore species would have to be a surface plug. In ankle deep to 3-foot water, a floating plug is a deadly lure. Be it a time tested classic Zara Spook or Rapala’s modern and very effective Skitter Walk or a boatload of other brands, they all produce when it’s top-water time, especially in early morning or after dark. From bluegills to billfish, who doesn’t enjoy the thrill of a top-water strike?

Almost making the list would be a DOA or other plastic shrimp, which are fantastic, highly versatile lures. Another almost choice would be a suspending MirrOlure MirrOdine which also became an overnight classic for inshore species.

Opinions vary and everyone has their favorites but these three inshore picks will get it done this summer.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.