I've been meaning to post this for a while and am finally getting around to it.
Our good friend Joe, of Mai Tai Lures, kindly donated his killer blackfish rigs to everyone who went on the Bandit trip back in December. When I stopped by to pick them up, a quick stopover turned into over an hour of chatting and checking out all of his many creations.
For those who are not familiar with his work, Joe makes some of the finest bucktails available, as well as many other baits. Although they have been available in some local bait and tackle shops, his business is mainly from word of mouth, and his work is mostly all special order.
During my visit to his garage workshop, one bait in particular that caught my interest was his Nordic Eels. Nordic Eels aren't really a new lure. In fact they have been around for many, many years. However, with all the newer fancy plastic baits out now, it's a rare sight to find one in anyone's tackle bag anymore. I think that might be a mistake.
Why? One word: sandeels. Nordic Eels are a perfect representation of those long, skinny fish which have dominated the late fall striper fishing over the past few seasons (and especially this past season). Joe makes them available in several different weights and colors. And, he hand paints each one, matching the jig head to the tail colors, They are awesome looking!
Nordic Eels also hold an advantage over many of the soft plastic sandeel imitations out there, in that you can catch an indefinite number of fish on them, due to the fact that they are dressed with surgical tubing. This makes them impervious to the mouths of big stripers and even the teeth of gorilla bluefish. These baits are as close to indestructible as you can get.
The ones he sent home with me have the older style, Mustad hook in them. While these hooks work well and are very strong, Joe plans on molding them with a sharper, stronger, Gamakatsu type hook. Hopefully, he'll have those ready by the time the sandeels show up again.
Check 'em out!
