 RipTide
Realistic Shrimp
by Captain
Tom Van Horn
Two years ago in May, I was introduced to the RipTide new Realistic Shrimp while enjoying a day on the water
with Larry McGlashan of Woodies Rattlers, and Louie Gibbs of Culprit
Riptide. Although our morning on the Indian River Lagoon only produced a handful of nice sea trout and a few small redfish, the knowledge I gained about the process involved in the manufacture of soft plastic baits, proved to be extremely beneficial. As our day progressed, Louie introduced me to a series of new baits under development at Rip Tide, and he left me with a box of samples freshly out of the mold. As a guide and lifetime Florida angler, I'm always looking for
new and improved ways to enhance my ability to catch fish, and with the looks and action of the Realistic Shrimp, I was eager to give this bait a try. The Realistic Shrimp is the perfect name for this bait, because its slow true fall through the water imitates a shrimp flawlessly, and on my next charter, its looks proved deadly to a boatload of fish. We started the day jigging with the root beer gold flake and hot watermelon colored shrimp baits Louie provided, and we
experienced continuous action, catching numerous sea trout, and ladyfish. Within two hours, we completely eliminate the entire supply Louie had provided, and to this day, the Realistic Shrimp is one of my go to baits. Some of my favorite techniques for fishing this bait are; while drifting the deeper edges of the flats, I fish this bait on a 1/4 to 1/2-ounce jig head. A long cast with the wind,
and a steady retrieval with an occasional twitch is productive for sea trout, ladyfish, bluefish, jacks, and Spanish mackerel. For flounder, I use the some technique, but just drag the bait slowly across the bottom with a pause every few feet. For redfish on the skinny flats and snook and reds around docks and other structure, I switch to the natural and gold' n glow colors, and fish them on a slow sinking stoopid rig. The Stoopid Rig is made using a circle hook and a Hitchhiker (see photo), and it provides for
a slow sinking twitch bait with excellent action. The Stoopid Rig also is a killer bait for tripletail on flotsam in the open near-shore waters. At night and in dark water, switching to the nightglow color will improve the bite, and last but not least, I always add a Woodies Rattling hook or worm rattle to the bait, which enhances the bait by adding the element of sound. For me, the Realistic Shrimp is a proven alternative to the
real thing, and I highly recommend the addition of this bait to any saltwater angler's arsenal. Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Phone: 407-366-8085
email: mosquitocoast@cfl.com Winter Time Tackle
by Ron Presley I am not sure the fish know what season it is. The mercury is on a roller coaster ride and the winds want to persist in blowing to hard, at least too hard to have comfortable fishing. This is the time of year when we start thinking Spring is just around the corner, but in reality
we are likely to have some more colder winter weather. I know if you are reading this in Minnesota and I call 40's and 50's cold winter weather you just laugh and say I'm crazy. But here in Florida when those air temperatures persist the water temperature follows and the fish definitely respond by seeking different habitats. With the likelihood of more of those "winter" temperatures ahead, I
want to tell you a little bit about the plastic baits in my tackle box and how I use them in the cooler weather. Two good plastic baits to use in these conditions are the Rip Tide Realistic Shrimp and the Rip Tide 2 inch crab. The Realistic Shrimp comes in 15 different color combinations so you should be able to find your own favorite color. My first choice is the
Rootbeer color with a Chartreuse colored tail. I always start with my favorite but if it does not produce I will swap out colors until I find what they want. These shrimp have a wide body and little legs that stabilize its slow steady fall. The weighted hook that comes in the three-pack is perfect to make the lure fall in a horizontal position, imitating the look
of a natural shrimp when swimming. If you are fishing deeper water and want a fast decent to the bottom you can rig them on a jig head and reach the deeper debts much faster. In either case, you need to work you baits very slowly in the cooler water temperatures. Let the Realistic Shrimp fall to the bottom and set for a moment. Then, don't retrieve with your reel, but simply lift
the tip of your rod enough to get the shrimp up out of the grass a few inches and them let it fall back. Now take up the slack with the reel and let it set. Simply repeat this process – SLOWLY – until you have covered your intended water. I really prefer the three-pack Realistic Shrimp because Rip Tide has gone out of their way to match up the perfect weighted hook with the floating response of the lure. The result is the steady slow and true fall that I mentioned
before. When it comes to imitation crabs, I don't know of any that beat the Rip Tide Realistic Crab. This bait comes in 5 different colors to suit your fishing habitat. There are numerous ways to rig this bait but I have two that I use consistently. One, if you do not need weight to add to your casting distance, simply take about a 5/0 circle hook (I use a red one) and pin the Realistic Crap from the bottom side and
through the top. Work the pot hole in the grass for the ambushing predators. Crabs simply do not move very fast, so remember this is not a cast and retrieve bait like the Rip Tide Mullet. In fact you can work the Realistic Crab in the same manner as the Realistic Shrimp described above. Remember to keep it slow all the time and even slower in the winter when the water temperatures cause the fish and the bait to slow down naturally. The other rig I use on the Realistic Crab is to pin it on a jig head. I usually use the Rip Tide Heavy Duty Pro Jighead. These heads have a really sharp heavy duty hook and the head includes halo eyes for a little extra flash. Simple take a 1/8 or ¼ ounce jig head, depending
on your application, and turn the crab upside down. Insert the hook on one side of the crab about 1/8 inch in from the side. Penetrate the plastic across the body of the crab and come out about 1/8 of and inch from the other side. Now the crab is on it back and the hook is pointing away from the body. Simply rotate the jig so the hook is now facing away from the top of the crab. When you cast this rig out the crab lands upright with the hook pointing upward and the jig head is
mostly hidden by the crab's body. Once again, you have to fish it slowly but your casting distance will be much improve with the added weight of the jig head. I hope these tips help you catch a few more fish in the colder winter months. I plan to use them this week with the colder weather we are having. Hopefully the recent rains will bring the water levels up in the
local rivers. Both the Banana and the Indian River have been very low. When you encounter these conditions, just remember the fish will adjust to find the temperature where they feel good, so as water levels drop just move your search out a little further and you should find those same fish that had occupied the area before. Captain Ron Presley
Inshore Fishing Adventures
Phone: 321-454-7285 Click here for more Tips & Tactics | 
