The MirrOlure Family
by Ray Sasso
Author with a 40lb bass.
Forgotten by many northeastern fishermen, the MirrOlure is an exceptional line of quality baits. My reintroduction to this line occurred on a 1999 wading trip on Florida's Indian River, just South of the Sebastian Inlet. This trip was one that will remain etched in my mind forever. As we arrived at the river, pelicans crashing the water feeding on vast schools of bait greeted us. After a short time wading to our desired spot, we began casting MirrOlure 7M baits in red/white and red/yellow/gold, and the MirrOlure Top Dog. By the end of the week our group had taken, trout, snook, barracuda, jacks, and an unknown toothy little critter all on two styles of baits! With success like this I know these baits will easily transfer over to northeastern fishing, especially when the peanut bunker appear.
The classic line of MirrOlures that most of us are familiar with comes in several sizes. The TTM is a 3-5/8" 9/16oz lure that works at depths of 1' to 4'. The 7M is the same length but weighs in at 3/8oz and can be fished 0' to 6'. The 52MR is again 3-5/8", weighs in at 1/2oz, and works at depths of 3' to 5". The 65M 3-1/4", but weighs one full ounce, and is for depths of 10' to 20'. The 77M is a bit larger at 4-1/4" and 1-1/8oz and works at depths of 5' to 10", a good choice for boat anglers looking to pick up fish just under surface schools of bait. To work these baits slight jerks of the rod tip work best. Try varying your rate of retrieve until you find what action the fish are keying in on. If strikes are hard to come by, try letting the bait sit for a few moments in between jerks.
A lure that I am very enthusiastic about due to its success with bass and blues this past season is the 4-3/4 inch Top Dog and its 4" sibling. This rugged little guy is great for the walk the dog type retrieves. It's similar in action to the Zara Spook but built for tougher fish and rougher water. Work this red eyed gem around the edges of schools of bait. The 103MR is a standard 7" minnow style plug with one exception, its built like a tank to bounce back after the toughest fish. New to the MirrOlure line up is the 3-1/2", ½oz catch 2000 rattling suspending bait. I can't wait to try this one on schoolies and weakfish.
All in all, I feel that the MirrOlure line up will be a definite asset to anyone's plug bag.
