The boat trip to Turtle Bay, a small embayment off Charlotte Harbor near Boca Grande and the Gulf of Mexico, was smooth. This unspoiled bay is surrounded by mangroves, and there are no houses on the protected shoreline.

We motored West from Burnt Store Marina to a small embayment called Turtle Bay, near the Cape Haze Aquatic Preserve and Island Bay Wildlife Refuge. Bob’s boat is spacious and comfortable, with an open bow and live well, offering adequate storage and built-in cooler-like spaces for our gear. A “flats boat” is not necessary to fish the open waters of Turtle Bay. Bob Hookham’s fishing boat is safely stored at Burnt Store Marina in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, near Pine Island.īob Hookham (pronounced Hook-Em), invited Bill Alexander to join us on a fishing trip aboard his 24-foot sea-worthy fishing boat. It’s a deep “V” hull but allowed us to float over 2-foot-deep sand bars. They resemble shrimp-sized lengths and appeared to be a reasonable lure that could work, especially in the off-white color. The baits are semi-soft and medium-pliable, with a double layer of the patent-pending MTO mesh product process buried inside their shape. The lures were made of specially formulated rubber-like plastic with impregnated mesh. He made them only about 3 inches long in off-white and solid pink colors. Three weeks later, I met with Alexander – he came to Florida and handed me a package of specially made NED-rig-style plastic baits. So, I explained the big bad tooth fairy detail to Alexander, who is an ex-pro bass tournament trail angler. But these were freshwater bass with no razor-sharp teeth like saltwater fish have. The standard MTO baits are known to be super durable, and using just one of their plastic worms last year, I caught 11 black bass at a Florida lake to verify their durability. I asked if they could produce a small but very durable shrimp-sized plastic bait that could be used with a NED-rig style jig head. A bit frustrated, I called a friend – Bill Alexander, who manufactures plastic tail baits at his MTO Fishing Lure Company in Sylvan Beach, NY (MTO stands for Made-To-Order). They last longer, and they work, too, but I caught fewer fish, and their per-piece cost ($10-$15) was much higher than a bag of 10 plastic tails ($7-$8). We used NED-style jig heads.Īfter five years of fishing in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, with plastic tails or live bait (shrimp), I switched to hard baits. As manufactured, the baits are supplied in 4-pack units that need to be trimmed and fit onto a jig head. The problem for many of us is that we need to have $50 or more to buy soft plastics with little durability that can get torn up in one cast by a single fish, often making these baits a single-use item.

Soft plastic baits are highly effective in the inland fishery, and sales skyrocket at local fishing bait stores, especially during the post-winter (snowbird) season. My fishing partner and I have often run through a dozen plastic tail jig baits in 30 minutes or less when fish are on the feed. These teeth will cut up braided lines and soft plastic jig tails in a microsecond. The one thing that many of these fish have in common is razor-sharp teeth, which are found inside the jagged jaw edges of these fish. Speckled trout, pompano, flounder, Spanish mackerel, Snook, redfish, tarpon, and many other species are common. They eat often, adding value to anglers’ interest in fishing here. Florida is a favorite wintertime stopping area for tourists, where thousands of miles of inland fishery habitat are dominated by multiple species of saltwater fish. This is especially true for soft plastic baits fished on the inland fisheries across the southeast. There are many opportunities for broken lines, fractured leaders, seized reel drags, and the endless need to replace fishing lures. Sharp fins, sharp teeth, big fish, sharks – you name it. Saltwater fish are fun to catch but are brutal on fishing lines, reels, fishermen, and fishing lures. Alexander developed the robust new product in conjunction with partner Paul Williams. lure inventor Bill Alexander with a new plastic tail bait that is more durable than anyone could have imagined. Imagine catching 54 toothy saltwater fish on ONE plastic tail bait! I did this myself.Save money, increase effective fishing time, and enjoy more moments reeling in fish.Here is a long-lasting, cost-effective, highly robust soft plastic bait to endure the razor-sharp teeth of saltwater fish.

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