You know those times when stripers are busting on the surface, just beyond casting distance? You throw everything in your bag, yet still come up just a few yards short, so you stand next to your buddies trying to will those fish in closer to the beach. But if you had a Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot in your plug bag, you might be well within reach of those fish, well before your fellow surfcasters!
Chris Bishop from Yo-Zuri spends a lot of time fishing our Northeast waters, especially during the spring and fall run of stripers, testing and finely tuning new Yo-Zuri lure offerings. I bumped into him several times during the fall madness at the Jersey Shore last year as he was tossing the 3-1/2-ounce Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot at outside stripers and hooking up, as I fumbled through my bag for something similar. Lucky for me – and for you – the 3-1/2-ounce Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot is now available in local tackle shops.
This weighed, lipless stick bait casts like a missile; once it strikes the surface it falls horizontally, wobbling side-to-side like a crippled baitfish on the drop. From there, reel back and lift on the retrieve to bring to the surface again, then allow the lure to fall back down again – rinse and repeat. On a steady retrieve the Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot swims with a pronounced wobble, while a jig or twitch of the rod tip sends it darting. Through-wire construction, a durable lead-filled body, and triple strength saltwater grade treble hooks, the Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot is a worthy addition to the surf bag and the offshore tuna arsenal.
Bishop described this well-tested weapon as a “game changer” for a variety of situations and species. “You can fish from the surface to the bottom and any range of water 200 feet of less,” Bishop said in a recent video announcing three new colors to the Hydro Monster Shot lineup for 2024, Blue Pink, Double Silver and Double White, all with scaled pattern and plenty of flash (total of 10 colors). “We were jigging striped bass off the bottom in 65 feet of water in Montauk last year on the rips with this bait fishing it just like it was a bucktail,” said Bishop while also noting he’s also taken tuna on this lure while burning it across the surface.
The Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot has been available from 3-1/8-inch, 1-ounce up to 5-inch, 2-1/8-ounce, but the new 5-1/2-inch, 3-1/2-ounce long-range missile for striking fish at a distance is new this season, just in time for offshore tuna and another outstanding fall run down the Striper Coast.
Sometimes, distance matters.
