I need to go out and buy my tackle for upcoming S. Padre fishing trip. I will be fishing bay out of boat typically using popping cork and live shrimp but would also like to know what artificial plastics and whatever else would work well for specs and reds. Also will be surf fishing and would like to know if there are any lures, soft plastics that would work there as well.

THANK YOU in ADVANCE

Saltwater Assasins, Texas Trout Killers, Texas Red Killers, Spoons (gold, and silver), Mirror Lures, DOA's, Berkley Gulp Baits (white shrimp), Spec Rigs, Shrimp tails. That should be a good start. I am sure others will add a few. Keith, wanna help a fella out?

Thanks much Justin,
Somewhere here I've read a lot about a soft plastic shad called Wild Eye. I just went to
Academy and they actually had lots of these in different sizes and colors. What's your take on these if you've ever used them.

Thanks again, that's quite a list.

Piepuncher(Keith) can tell you much more than me on the bait described above, as I have never used them. I have heard him say the mullet color works well. Let's see if he can add to this list for ya, as he is very familiar with the area you are traveling to.

Yeah Justin, I just read another post by Piepuncher where he indicated mullet colored Wild Eyes work well. Hopefully Keith can tell me what size too and if these work best in the bay or surf, etc.
THX again

i like the 4" in the mullet color but don't forget to have a couple of bags of norton sand eels. if you have a hard time find some of the above mentioned baits check out a online store they carry alot of the good stuff you cant get unless you close to the gulfcoast area.

heres link to check it out www.satackle.com

Thank You troutmaster. Fortunately I have been able to find everything at the Academys up here in Plano

You guys nailed it. I usually only use the wildeyes when fishing big water(jetty area or beyond)! If in the back bays, I like the TTK in liquid shrimp and if in dark or murky water, I like the plum treuse or pumpkin. TTK's work great with light jigheads. For schooling fish, the wildeye is hard to beat. If you notice the fish are feeding on schools of menhadden, the shad colored wildeye works great. So far this year, I have been doing lots of bait fishing but that will change as the summer heats up. The waters will start filling up with all kinds of fish as the waters warm.
If I am wading, I usually take a skitter walk or topdog, TTK's in liquid shrimp, couple packs of wildeyes in both mullet colors and the shad color(3-4 inches). Before I used the TTKs, i use to use asassins but the TTKs can take more of a beating than the assassins. Both work great, take your pick. When using the assassins, Texas red was my goto color but I have had GREAT success since switching over to liquid shrimp TTKs. No need to go overboard when buying plastics, i have tons that I may never use but its nice to know that i have them if I need them. Anyways, good luck and let us know how you did. If you get a day where you can get out and fish the jetty, keep the wildeyes close, you will find all kinds of schooling fish in the summer along the jetty system.

keith

Just got back from Academy and again feeling a little flustered. The only Wildeyes I found in mullet color were 5" length. But thats all they had so I bought them. The only Gulp product I could find (other than worms, and crawdads) were pumpkin colored shad, bought those too. Other than that I bought some ivory / silver colored minnow (they look kinda like texas trout killers). I'm assuming the minnows and pumpkin shad need to be used with jig heads so I bought some of those too. What are TTK's PiePuncher?

TTK's=Texas Trout Killers

I always save my cash until I get down there and then hit up a tackle store and get the baits above as well as what is hot at the time...

You will go crazy trying to find a decent SW selection in Dallas

Bass Pro Shops actually has an excelent selection of salt water baits. Most of the Academy's dont have much of a SW selection at all. I am sure Cabelas caries as much as Bass Pro, but I tend to stick with Bass Pro for fishing needs.

Thanks folks, I will make a trip to Bass Pro for more stuff and will also save some for when I get down there like you suggested Grnhead.

also check out Norton Bull Minnows, in pumpkinseed/chartreuse and the new "shamu" colors, add a bit of chartreuse to the tail on the shamu and you got yourself a great bait in stained water on a cloudy day.

The academy down here in sugarland, around the first colony mall center... has about 5 rows of sw and 4 of fw selection... and that the lures alone.... they have a couple more sections for the rods and reels