Capt. Frank Crescitelli, tournament-winning captain and guide, has earned an envious reputation for his uncanny ability to consistently score everything from stripers to tuna in the waters of the Northeast. Eventually, he and a team made up of some of the region’s best anglers and captains combined their many years of experience to design a line of plugs that have become proven fish-catchers in a relatively short period of time.
Dubbed the Fin Chaser Series, the lineup includes five designs that both stripers and blues find especially appealing. Among them are the M-80 Popper, Old School Swimmer, Striper Slider, No.2 Pencil and the Bunka Boy. All feature a unique dorsal fin extending along the back of the plug, and the best hardware money can buy. All plugs are stainless steel through-wired, boast Wolverine Triple Row split rings rated at 275 pounds, 3X strong VMC Perma-Steel rust resistant hooks, heavy duty hook hangers and built-in rattles.
When bunker are the primary bait, it’s tough to beat the Bunka Boy. At 6-5/8 inches and two ounces, this deep-bodied swimmer is the favorite of many sharpies when bass are busting into bunker within casting distance of the beach or boat, and is especially effective after the sun goes down, or at first light. The thinner-bodied Old-School Swimmer measures 6-1/4 inches and weighs 1-3/8 ounces. It’s more along the lines of your traditional minnow style swimming plugs but with a unique swimming action that sets it apart from the rest of the class. Top shelf hardware gives it exceptional holding power for a lure in this class should a jumbo striper intercept it some quiet night along the surf line.
%pullstart%At 6-5/8 inches and two ounces, this deep-bodied swimmer is the favorite of many sharpies when bass are busting into bunker within casting distance of the beach or boat.%pullend%If catching stripers and blues on topwater plugs is your game of choice, there are a trio of plugs that will be worth your while to put into play. The M-80 Popper, at 5-3/4 inches and 2.25 ounces, boasts excellent castability to help you reach out to feeding gamefish, and the large cupped head creates plenty of commotion to entice strikes from fish outside the normal strike zone.
The Striper Slider plays off the recently renewed popularity of the old Zara Spook. Scores of boat and beach casters have been transfixed by the smashing strikes induced by these plugs as they dance across the surface. The slider measures out at 5-1/4 inches and weighs 1.25 ounces.
No saltwater plug lineup would be complete without a pencil popper and Capt. Frank addresses that with the No.2 Pencil. It features a unique design with less taper and a wider head than most pencils, and it stirs up quite a commotion when worked properly. It comes in at 6-1/4 inches and tips the scale at 1.75 ounces. If you are into pencil popping, keep an eye out for the new Shore Catch Series Pencil Popper which will be available early next year. A small amount of these plugs made it onto the market this season and I was fortunate enough to field test a few of these plastic-bodied plugs. I’ve been impressed with their side-to-side action and good casting qualities in the short amount of time I have been throwing them.
Guides Choice Tackle is dedicated to developing conservation minded gear and practices, and has pledged five percent of pre-tax sales to conservation.
