A couple months ago I did a little bit of research on using hard baits for surf fishing. Come to find out, there is a very popular hard bait used amongst Southern California surf anglers, which is the Lucky Craft 110. From my research I found that this lure catches BIG fish in the surf, such as Barred Surf Perch, Yellowfin Croaker and Halibut. Usually surf anglers use this lure to weed out the small dinky fish and target the bigger species. The Lucky Craft 110 does great for catching halibut in the surf, which is a very uncommon catch using traditional surf baits and rigs. The bait looks very realistic and has some nice flash to it that will attract fish.
Specs:
Length - 4.5 inches
Weight - 5/8 ounces
Depth - 1 to 2 feet
Buoyancy - Suspending
The only downside of this lure I have found is that it's a bit on the pricey side, and can be hard to find in tackle stores and on the internet. At the price of 19.99 per lure you don't want to see this lure go flying into the ocean on your first cast.
How to fish: So far from what I've researched, fishing this lure is fairly simple. It's a simple cast and slow retrieve. You can also add in a couple pauses or jerks in between. From what I hear, the bite feels very aggressive and you'll know if you have a fish on. It is important to use heavier line than usual when using this bait to help prevent losing it. There are certain times and conditions where this bait truly performs, but I have yet to figure that out yet. Its something that I have to figure out myself and put time in on the water to see what this bait is capable of.