Distributed here by Okuma fishing in California, Sav age offers a variety of super-lifelike lures for both freshwater and salty anglers. Some of these lures include 3D Crawfish, 3D frogs, 3D crab baits, mesh-infused worms, a variety of shrimp baits, spinner baits, a hybrid pike, a Manic Prey Series and much more. Two of the most interesting lures in their saltwater arsenal that are sure to appeal to northeast anglers are the Savage Sandeel and the Savage Squish jigs
Sand Eel Jig
The Savage Sandeel jig is an absolutely amazing reproduction of one of the Northeast’s most popular and important saltwater baitfish species. Sand eels or “sand launce” are the preferred forage for a variety of inshore and offshore species including, but not limited to weakfish, bluefish, fluke, stripers, Atlantic bonito, skipjack, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore, dorado, cod, pollock, sea bass and more.When swarms of sand eels are packed tightly in an area, predators of every sort, including mammals like whales and porpoises, are usually close by taking care of business. Gamefish are ready to bend the rods if you can“match the hatch.”
Enter the Savage Sand Eel Jig, which is as good a reproduction of a sand launce or“sand eel”that I have seen to date. This striking and unique lure is a supernaturals and eel imitation.These soft-bodied swimbait lures have a strike-enticing swimming action that is second to none, courtesy of the soft but rugged bait body with paddle tail that comes alive with only minimal water movement. The Sandeel is perfect for vertical jigging, casting or trolling. Top-quality Japanese carbon steel saltwater grade hooks can withstand hard strikes from aggressive gamefish and have recently been upgraded from 2X conical point hooks to a more durable 4X variety. Anglers have figured out that migrating bluefins and yellowfins are absolute “suckers” for these life-like sand eel imitations and have been using these to take some impressive catches, so Savage Lures upgraded their hooks accordingly to deal with these larger predators.
In the past few seasons, I have used competitive sand eels jigs that didn’t have half of the action, coloration or qualities as these Savage Sand Eels and literally can’t wait for the offshore season to get here to try these out on the briny for the thunnus tribe. I would also project that these Sandeels will be absolute “killas” when worked around the edges of 15- to 25-fathom wrecks for doormat fluke, humpback sea bass, cod and pollock.
Squish Jigs
Vertical jigging for pelagic and bottom dwelling gamefish has been popular in the Northeast since the early 1960s. It started out with the simple diamond jig and has since moved on from there with many other jig styles from Cali “iron” jigs to butterfly jigs, slab sides, hammered finish jigs and more. According to the folks at Savage Lures, the only downfall to knife and butterfly jigs is how quickly they can move through the strike zone before a fish can react.The Savage Gear Squish is a center balanced jig with a keel that moves erratically sideways through the water column to keep the bait in a fish’s strike zone longer. To use it, just free-spool the Squish to the desired depth and then put the reel in gear and use a jerk and fall retrieve, which is basically rotating the rod in a tight vertical circle while keeping up a steady cranking motion on the reel handle.
The erratic side-to-side fluttering action triggers strikes from all kinds of gamefish. Each Squish Jig is equipped with a pair of ultra-strong 8/0 assist hooks rigged to heavy duty superbraid line. One of the most unique aspects to the Squish jig besides its singular shape is its “two-faced” look, which features a squid pattern on one side and a fish pattern on the other. Knowing that gamefish always seem to strike near the lure’s eyes, Savage has designed these with a total of three eyes on each Squish Jig, with one on the fish side and two on the outboard amidships extremities of the squid side.
Savage Gear definitely manufacture slures with an“attitude” and you can see for yourself by visiting their website and checking out some of the many videos that they have created to demonstrate how these lures work out on the water.
