Psst... Want to know the secret to find the Best Saltwater Lures For Surf Fishing? It's simple: use our handy overview and learn how to catch gold!
We're navigating you towards the top-rated saltwater fishing lures on the market. We've dived in deep, selecting the very best lures that will hook a catch on any occasion, saving you time in finding the best fishing gear for your specific needs.
There are many different types of saltwater lures available, such as topwater lures that work best for places where fish are feeding near the surface. Deep saltwater lures for catching fish in deeper waters. Trolling saltwater lures to tow behind a boat. But, for this overview, we're focused on the top-rated lures for surf fishing. Ideal for anglers that love casting a line from shore, the pier, or the surf.
In a hurry? Here’s the test winner after 10 hours of research:
- The best alternative to live fishing bait
Best Saltwater Lures For Surf Fishing (Buying Guide)
Each surf fishing lure and surf fishing rig on this list has its characteristics and benefits, yet all are a fantastic alternative to using live bait. Every angler can profit from adding a selection of saltwater surf fishing lures to their tackle box. As this guarantees you're prepared for any fishing scenario and every saltwater fish species. Mix and match your favorites, and get ready to strike a winner!
Discover the top-rated, best-value lures for saltwater surf fishing in our handy overview below.
PS: if you're only focused on catching bass, making sure to check out our other Buying Guide on the Best Bass Attractants.
1. Spro Bucktail Jig Lure
- Natural Gliding Action
The versatility of a classic bucktail jig is undeniable. As this little gem can help you catch snook, redfish, fluke, trouts, and many more fish species. This nifty saltwater lure also allows you to catch fish in both shallow and deeper water, depending on the type of bucktail jig used. These days, this type of saltwater fishing lure is available in a large variety of colors and styles, allowing you to pick a perfect match for every occasion.
Our go-to Bucktail Jig is made by Spro. Why? Because not only is the Spro Bucktail Jig available in a whopping 15 colors, but it always comes with very budget-friendly pricing that simply makes it outstanding value-for-money. Don't be fooled: even though this is one of the cheapest bucktail jigs on the market, it's also one of the highest-rated by other anglers. Showing that you don't have to compromise on performance, to benefit from low pricing.
The Spro Bucktail Jig is designed to really 'come alive' when in the water. The lure features bulging eyes, a special holographic finish, and vivid colors that impressively mimic live bait. Another perk of this style by Spro is that, unlike other bucktails, the design is constructed to glide through the water instead of hanging straight down. When jigged, the body is constructed to stay nearly parallel to the bottom to main a natural, lifelike appearance. Another reason we rate the Spro Bucktail Jig is that it comes with a durable, sharp Gamakatsu hook.
We also appreciate that Spro has ensured this Bucktail Jig is availlable in a variety of weights, including 1/4-Ounce, 1/2-Ounce, 3/4-Ounce, 3/8-Ounce, 1-Ounce, 1.5-Ounce, 2-Ounce, all the way up to the heaviest option 6-Ounce. Which lure matches your needs best also depends on the currents and type of fish you plan on hooking. If you only plan on buying one, you can't go wrong with the 3/4-Ounce all-white bucktail jig by Spro.
2. MirrOLure's MirrOminnow Twitchbait Lure
- Mirrominnow Features A Suspending Baitfish Profile With A Transparent Luminescence Insert And Slender Body Shape For Unmatched Realism.
MirrOlure is a classic go-to for quality fishing gear and its Suspending Twitchbait Lure is a firm-favorite amongst angling enthusiasts. This design is ideal for surf fishing and makes a great alternative to using live bait. The lure is designed to mimic a glass minnow, a popular baitfish for catching saltwater game fish.
The MirrOLure's Suspending MirrOminnow's Twitchbait is designed both glass minnows and rain minnows, depending on the color scheme chosen. The MirrOminnow features bright, reflective, luminescent inserts and has a slender body shape. This slender lure only weighs a few ounces, making it easy to cast in any surf fishing scenario. We also like its affordability, which makes it a great deal and budget-friendly addition to your tackle box.
3. Heddon Super Spook Jr Topwater Jerk Bait Lure
- HOOK DESIGN: 2 super-sharp hooks, especially important for scholing striper and other hard-charging species; Fish don't simply hit the Super Spook. They attack it
Topwater jerk bait lures are ideal for catching fish with a 'walk-the-dog' technique. If you want to master this technique of slightly twitching your rod during the retrieve, causing your lure to move in a side-to-side motion, picking the right bait is the first step to getting it right. Lures made for this technique are long and tapered, kind of like cigars. For walk-the-dog topwater fishing, we have a few personal favorites such as the Yo-Zuri Sashimi Pencil, and the XPS Slim Dog. But if we had to endorse any topwater jerk bait lure for walk-the-dog fishing, we'd advise you to get the Heddon Super Spook Jr.
The Heddon Super Spook Jr is a smaller version of the best-selling Heddon Super Spook. Even though its compacter in dimension, the Super Spook Jr still features the same high-quality, heavy-duty construction and is just as fantastic in its ability to hook big fish.
This saltwater lure features rugged line ties and hooks to ensure it can stand up to explosive fish charges. Whilst its realistic finishes give it a lifelike appeal to closely resemble live bait in any topwater fishing scenario. The Heddon Super Spook Jr is suitable for all freshwater game fish and comes highly recommended by other angling enthusiasts with dozens of 5-star ratings.
4. Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait
- The adrenaline-pumping X-rap slashbait has Xtreme attitude with its hard-cutting, aggressive darting action
Another great choice for 'walk-the-dog' surf fishing is the Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait lure. This lure only weighs approximately 0.44 ounces, which makes it great for long-casting. As an expert brand in fishing gear, Rapala is also a firm favorite amongst anglers, giving you the peace of mind that you'll receive an authentic, high-quality alternative to live bait that truly lives up to expectation.
The Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait lure has a running depth of 3 to 8 feet and comes with various 'attractive' perks. Not only is it available in 10 colors, allowing you to mix and match based on the fish species you're trying to hook. But the style also has a special rattle to help attract even more saltwater game fish. This lure features a hard-cutting, aggressive darting action on the move, whilst it also suspends and rolls at rest to entice fish to strike. Ensuring double the hooking potential.
5. Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet 12.5OZ Bucket, 4-Inch
- The best alternative to live fishing bait
The Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet falls in the soft plastics jigs and lures category. This affordable lure is praised by other anglers as one of the best alternatives to live bait. Not only does this swimming mullet look very realistic with a lifelike head and body design, enhanced by a high-action swimming tail. But the lure is also soaked in a powerful attractant that expands your strike zone with up to 400 times more scent dispersion. Simple, yet innovative, this top-rated artificial baits option is a clever way to boost your retrieving potential!
The Berkley Gulp Mullet is the result of 15 years on intensive research and product development, maximizing its potential to attract fish and entice them to strike, hard. Developed for use in saltwater fishing scenarios, this type of lure is perfect for hooking bass, mullet, trout, perch, fluke, and more. Another big perk of the Berkley Gulp Mullet is that you can simply reinsert the lure back into the bucket to resoak it with attractant, reactivating its scent dispersion.
A highly-rated favorite amongst anglers
Other saltwater anglers swear by the effectiveness of the Berkley Gulp mullets. Confirming its excellent both as main bait or as a teaser. There are many reports where angling enthusiasts say this is the best saltwater fishing bait, 'out fishing' all other types of soft plastics lure styles. And this lure's dozens of 5-star reviews are a testimony of its performance in saltwater conditions.
A word of warning: this is not the most durable piece of saltwater surf fishing bait. The tail on this bait can be quickly pulled off, or torn, by an aggressive game fish. And, once the tail is gone, so is it's potential. Meaning that there's a possibility you'll through multiple mullets per fishing session, making it slightly less cost-effective. That said, for the amount of fish you'll attract using the style's special scent dispersion, it does maximize the actual chance of a catch. So, if you don't mind the one-time-usage risk, this could be your new soft plastics favorite for upcoming surf fishing adventures.
Verdict
Every option on this Best Saltwater Lures For Surf Fishing List is a quality choice in fishing gear. But which one is the 'best', is quite impossible to tell. Why? Because as you probably already know, the 'best' lure for the occasion can vary greatly depending on where you're fishing, what you're fishing, with what fishing rods you're casting a line, and even the time of day that you are fishing. A one-bait-fits-all solution is rare. And even though some styles on this list, like the Spro Bucktail Jig Lure, offer great versatility, they may still fall short depending on the fishing circumstances. We'd, therefore, advise you to stock up on a mix of saltwater fishing lures, ensuring you can mix and match artificial bait to hook a great catch.
Rest assured, all saltwater lures on this list tick the boxes on value and performance. As confirmed by their 5-star customer reviews by other avid anglers. Meaning you can't go wrong by adding any of these budget-friendly products to your tackle box!
Winner
As we just explained in our verdict, it's virtually impossible to pick one product that reigns supreme for saltwater fishing. That said, we can share our favorite: the Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet soaked in fish attractant. Whether these soft plastics lures truly produces up to 400 times the scent dispersion is debatable. However, for us, this has been a winning formula on many inshore fishing trips, retrieving snook and even tarpon. And though this mullet is great for surf fishing, it also performs excellently in open water, making it a versatile addition to your fishing gear.
Whether you're after striped bass, fluke, bluefish, redfish, trout, and more: the Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet tackles a whole range of fish species. We would suggest using the Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet with a sharp, quality jighead for increased performance (consider the Gamakatsu Darter). The only downside is that this bait does wear and tear easily when hooking a big catch. But we reckon it's a fair trade-off for its excellent fish attractant perks and affordable pricing.
Disclaimer
For this overview, we elected to include surf fishing lures that we think are definitely worth your attention. Top-rated by other angling enthusiasts, available in multiple colors and weights, and reasonably priced were the main criteria for the selection. We didn't want to overload you with information, which is why we've chosen to only highlight 5 products. We will dedicate more upcoming posts to different types of fishing bait, such lures for trolling, heavy-duty stainless steel options, crankbait, and more. Keep an eye on our website for future posts and more fishing tips, including new artificial bait and other fishing gear reviews.
