This article originally appeared in On The Water magazine as a  "Lure of the month"

Super Strike Darter

I was struggling to keep my balance in the darkness as my Korkers slipped against kelp-covered rocks that cover the bottom at Montauk Point. The tide had dropped sufficiently to attempt wading to a boulder a hundred yards away from shore. With only moonlight to guide me, I finally spotted an eddy that forms as waves wash over the boulder. No sooner had I managed to climb up on the rock, a wave came barreling in my direction hitting me in square in the chest and sweeping me off the boulder. Bobbing in the water I checked my gear. After making sure everything was still attached to my belt, I made a mad dash to the rock before the next set of waves arrived. This time I managed to balance myself and lean into the next wave as it rolled toward the shore. I made a cast up-tide and began quickly to retrieve the slack until I felt my Super Strike darter start to zigzag in the current. Another few cranks of the reel and the unmistakable bump of a striper was transmitted through the braided line to the rod. With a quick hook set, the fish took off down tide, peeling line off the reel while the rod was pulsating under the fish’s weight.

The darter, a quintessential Montauk lure for many years, is gaining a new following along the entire striper coast. Strangely enough, the current resurgence of interest in wooden lures has had a minimal impact on darters. The primary reason for the scarcity of builders willing to produce darters is their reputation as the most difficult plug to build. Unless the slope, on the face of the darter, is cut with precision and the lead weight is placed exactly where it’s suppose to be, this plug is no better than a piece of firewood. Heck, a piece of two by four with a metal lip will have more action than a bad darter. That’s why legendary lure maker Don Musso of Super Strike Lure fame hit the jackpot when he switched his production from wood to molded plastic in 1985. In speaking with Mr.Musso, I found out that it was extremely frustrating for a perfectionist like him to make a hundred wooden darters and to only end up with 8 to 10 that were absolutely perfect. Because each piece of wood has its own characteristics, grain and weight, it was impossible to make perfect copies of darters. He was also frustrated by the chafing and drubbing the plugs would get after they caught a few fish and exposed the wood in the process. The wood would get waterlogged and would have to be resealed. In addition, he was convinced that he could achieve a better balance if he could place the weight horizontally in the middle of the lure instead of drilling holes in the belly. After numerous modifications, one of which included placing a stainless steel “cap” on the lip to prevent damage when it bumped into the rocks, Don decided that the best solution was to try making a darter out of plastic. Besides durability and uniformity, the lure’s hollow body design gave him ample room to place his weight horizontally inside the cavity of the plug and balance it perfectly. The rest as they say, is history. His early darters in the late 1960’s bore little resemblance to the darters produced today. They were shorter, wider and weighed approximately 3 ounces. But then in the early 1970’s sand eels become the predominant bait in the surf and fat, chubby darters lost their effectiveness. Mr. Musso went back to the drawing board and designed a sleeker, lighter version that was made out of maple until the production was switched from wood to plastic in 1985.

The most commonly used technique when using a darter is to cast up current and pick up slack line as quickly as possible. Once your line comes tight you only retrieve as fast as the current “lets” you. This means that the strength of the current will dictate the speed of your retrieve. When there is very little or no slack in your line the hits can be viscous, especially if you are using a braided line. You can try to add a slight “jerk” with your wrist to your retrieve every few turns of the reel. Sometimes this herky-jerky movement forces the fish to react to the lure as it seems to be trying to get away from them. One retrieve usually reserved for those nights when fish are finicky or on nights when the moon is at it’s brightest is to work your lure vigorously upon landing in the water. Grab your rod and vigorously shake it a few times as you would with a pencil popper before starting your retrieve. Generally when a plug lands in the water, fish will rise off the bottom to take a peek. Shaking a darter before starting a retrieve is one way to get their attention.

Where to place your darter relative to the structure you are working is as important as your retrieve if not even more so. Darters are designed to be used in areas with strong currents but where they really come into their own is in the “rips”, the areas of very fast water moving over an irregular bottom. Even a novice can identify these by the different water movement on its surface compared to its surroundings. White water, swells and eddies can be part of these structures and are generally the first place seasoned surfcasters explore when working a particular beach. These areas are used as ambush points by the gamefish, which effortlessly glide through them while baitfish, are swept helplessly by the strength of the current. When casting into these rips your cast must be far enough up tide that by the time you pick up your slack and start working your darter, it will be moving through the most desired part of the structure. Consequently when your darter has washed out of the rip, down tide, reel it in and cast it again. It would be foolish not to mention that when fishing under moderate to crowded conditions in areas of fast current flow, you must cast in unison with the guys to your left and right. Each angler must pay attention to the cast of the guy next to him especially when up tide. This person needs to be allowed to cast before you do and get his plug to work before you make your cast up tide over his line in just about the same location his plug landed a few seconds ago. I know it sounds convoluted but when done right it is actually like a water ballet, without the little pink tutus, of course!

Large-scale modifications to this plug are probably out of the question as even one too many coats of paint can send this plug onto the scrap heap. However, there are a few tricks you can attempt that will increase your casting distance and help the plug dig in better. First and foremost, a common modification is to replace the front 3/0 hook to a 4/0.What this does is add weight to the plug for better casting distance but more importantly the weight in the front makes the plug “dig” better under rough conditions. I would advise against using a split ring to attach a treble to a darter as this enables the front treble to swing around and catch the plug’s nose. This will take your plug out of commission every time it happens. Also remember that when adding a split ring to a lure, the split ring itself becomes the weakest point. Regarding the back hook, I prefer a single bucktailed  6/0 Siwash hook in place of a treble. Nothing like standing waist deep in a fast moving rip while battling a lively (do they come any other way?) bluefish with a few sets of trebles trashing about. Attach a Siwash via a split ring instead of direct, as this will give the hook more flexibility to fold itself against the darter body on the cast, resulting in less air resistance.

The last modification of the Super Strike Darter is the most difficult one. You can drill a small hole in the bottom of the plug and fill the bottom cavity with water and then seal the plug. I personally prefer a Beachmaster wooden darter if I want something heavier but I’ve seen it done and can attest that it works but like anything with a darter it has to be done perfectly. In recent years Super Strike has greatly expanded their color selection making it easier to match any bait found in our waters.  If I had to pick one color that I would never leave home without, it’s yellow. There is something special about a yellow darter zigzagging in a rip, illuminated only by moonlight. The only better sight is a large bass attached to it.