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Holy Scup!
so this is a relatively new obsession, partially spurred by the Toastman busting my chops ..something about "you can catch a bass but you can't buy a scup to save your life?"...I forget the exact words...but he was kind enough to point me in the right direction noting that John Skinner had put together a bucktailing for scup video that seemed to be just what I needed....armed with some new(but simple) gear and a little adjustment to my presentation and retrieve I've been setting out in the early hours in search of the elusive scup......
the bait is simply a small Spro bucktail jig paired with a Zoom Fluke trailer and a jar of Smelly jelly Squid flavor.....
Skinner suggested that bucktailing helps to weed through the smaller fish and locate the larger fish and I immediately found this to be true....the smaller fish generally nip at the bait without getting hooked...the exception being an occasional foul hook..
a constant distraction is the exciting and unexpected bait sprays when a small blue or bass chases a school of baitfish to the surface a few feet from you and while I was rigged with a Jumpin Minnow at the ready I kept reminding myself to keep focused on the prize....
where I was really missing the boat when I began throwing jigs at these fish was using the retrieve that I use for bass..by working a steady retrieve I was forcing the fish to trail the bait and nip at the back end while never really having an opportunity to find the hook...lots of rubber bitten off, an occasional impressive tug then slack line was all that I had to show after several trips....watching Skinner, I noted that he'd used a shaky lifting of the rod and then let the jig settle to the bottom and rest, then another shaky lift of the rod....hook ups never required a hook set, the fish hooked themselves because the resting portion of the retrieve allowed a fish to get over the top of the bait and plant it's bottom oriented mouth over the center of the bait.....viola!
next was actually locating the fish without the aid of a fish finder....this simply required some slow drifting and jigging and watching the water to determine a transitional area on the bottom......they seem to like a slight drop from a sandy bank that is a short paddle from our beach and seemed to be in this area pretty consistently along with a quite a bit of bait and a few predatory types.....
so I jigged away this morning as the sun peeked through the clouds and a short time into my trip my little SweepFire combo was suddenly doubled over...I initially thought it might be the other species I'd been craving and next on my list...a fluke...as I had a hard time moving it....but as it neared my kayak I realized I'd found what looked to me like Scupzilla......this was exciting..couldn't wait to tell Toastman!
just out of curiosity I checked the AI website when I got home to see what the club's record kayak scup was...1.84 pounds.....I threw Scupzilla on my little digital scale and it read 1 lb 14.1 ounces.....some quick calculations told me that I had a shot so iced the beast down in a ..ok, I only needed a little personal cooler....I headed for an official weigh station and have to admit I felt a little odd saying "I'd like to weigh in my Scup please" but....there it was..... 1.87 lbs...a pending new record.....
delighted, I raced home and into the house...up the stairs and with my weigh slip in hand I located my wife, presented the slip to her and stated " Record Scup!"
she immediately burst into laughter, eyes watering and half applauding(which I think was meant to mock me)...she said..."Oh great, he's gone from Stripers to Scup"
I'm glad she had a good laugh
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Originally Posted by scottw 
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