The Best Inshore Saltwater Fishing Lure in the World

What’s the best inshore saltwater fishing lure in the world? Ask 10 different anglers and you’ll get 10 different answers. Some lures have more specific applications than others, some shine in specific conditions, and some are very species-specific. So, in truth there’s no good answer to this question. But if I were pressed on the subject, I know what my answer would have to be: a four-inch pearl color paddletail.

This little piece of plastic magic is small enough for a 12-inch speck to inhale, but large enough to catch the interest of a 50-inch bull red. It can be rigged weedless, or on a jighead. It can be fished with a light head in the shallows, or can be bounced along the bottom in deep water on a heavy jighead. It’s effective when retrieved quickly, and it’s effective when slow-rolled with a seductive tail-wiggle. It can be cast and retrieved, or jigged vertically. And it will also catch plenty of fish when trolled. Heck, you can even take this lure to the lake and catch bass on it.

Sure, it has downsides, as any lure does. When toothy fish are around you’d better have one of those bite-proof “super plastics,” or the fish will snap that paddle right off the tail. There will be days when other color patterns will beat out pearl (though most of the time, this is an uber-reliable color).  The more supple a plastic you choose the better the action is, but the more delicate the tail will be.

You may have a different favorite, but if you stepped onto my boat and opened up the tacklebox right now, you’d see 50 or 60 four-inch pearl paddletails, maybe a dozen each of other sizes and colors, and a nice assortment of spoons, plugs, and a few oddballs. Maybe 80 percent of the time, it’s the pearl paddletails I’m reaching for. I do practice what I preach – and those four-inch pearl paddletails do catch an awful lot of fish.