When it comes to lures, this company has plenty to offer
For those that enjoy Southwest Florida inshore saltwater angling on the flats, river systems, beaches, creeks and mangrove shorelines with artificial lures, there’s one company that’s got you completely covered. From trout to tarpon, Mark Nichols and his DOA (“Deadly on Anything – The Unfair Advantage”) product line will put fish in your boat.
Nichols’ first lure invention that brought real recognition was his DOA Shrimp, a tool that should be in every inshore Florida tackle box. There are many knockoffs of this product and a few that even look more “shrimpy” but year after year this lure keeps producing. Prepackaged with sharp hooks and weights, this lure does it all for fishing slowly and methodically. Perfectly designed and weighted to fall naturally through the water column, they can also be used with heavier jig heads to get deep, works great for skipping techniques and undoubtedly is one of the best lures to hang under a popping cork. The pre-rigged Deadly Combo DOA shrimp and float package is always a top seller and very effective especially for those new to the flats game.
Anglers that like throwing soft plastic swimbaits to tarpon usually have a DOA Baitbuster on one of their casting rods. You can even hang one under a float making it even more versatile. If your tarpon want a bigger meal, toss them a DOA Swimming Mullet and retrieve it back with a straight, non-twitching retrieve. This bigger bait, presented and retrieved near bottom, is also the ticket to a trophy class night shift snook especially around big structures like bridges.
If you are a flats angler, it’s very likely that you have a pack or two of DOA Cal Grubs or shad tails in your tackle selection along with a selection of various weight jig heads to fish them with and is a great tool for catching reds, trout and snook in shallow water. These soft plastic paddle tails are enhanced with natural shrimp and baits oils, and have set the standard for these type of soft body lures.
I usually carry a flat plastic tackle box with an assortment of colors to match sky and water color conditions along with 1/8 to 3/8 ounce jig heads and also screw-lock type hook rigs that allow you to bury the hook making it weedless. This rigging makes them one of the best baits to use for surface skipping getting far back and under mangrove shorelines and docks where the big fish hide. This is also a great bait to hang under a popping cork when looking for trout or redfish on grass flats.
One lite tackle DOA product that many local anglers don’t use enough is the DOA TerrorEyz. This small soft plastic baitfish imitator is super versatile and deadly when slow-hopped along the bottom on the way back to the boat. Even though this is a smaller soft plastic it still catches big fish. Check out popular Florida TV angling personality Capt. Blair Wiggins YOU TUBE videos of him catching huge (personal best) east coast river snook by simply casting up current of local bridges and bottom bouncing them back to the boat. Try the same move at the Sanibel Causeway for similar results remembering to keep making repeated bottom contact during your retrieve. The TerrorEyz is also a great choice for summer beach and surf snook especially in their white or clear silver holographic sparkle colors.
Other soft plastics like his jerk baits crabs, and even soft bodied topwaters are all winners as well. The DOA website is also a great resource for information, rigging techniques, and how-to videos. If you get a chance to attend a seminar that features DOA’s Nichols, I highly recommend it especially if you’re just starting out in the shallow saltwater game.
This week tarpon and beach snook remain the go-to inshore game while the offshore snapper bite is red hot.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.