SportFishing and Charters Forum - Manns Stretch lures (Good for Stripers?)

Does anyone have any experience trolling Manns Stretch 20+, 25+ or 30+ lures? These are made to be trolled with braided line. Do they really dive as deep as they advertise? Do they catch bass? These seem pretty fool proof and much cheaper to start out with than a wire line setup. Thanks.

Dom

Here’s the link to them:
http://www.mannsbait.com/TopPerformers/TP-StripedBass.html

The question should really be "Who doesn't troll Mann's Stretch series?" Yeah, they're good but I've never heard of them used for Bass. ;?

What do you guys usually use them for? Offshore?

Dom

Killers for bass, bigger the better,always use mono no braided here. They perform great.

prokats - 4/19/2006 10:41 AM

Killers for bass, bigger the better,always use mono no braided here. They perform great.

How do you know how deep they’re diving? Does it depend how much line is out? Do you think these are good for a beginner? Thanks. Dom

Yes, the work...but usually prefer a little faster trolling speed especially if you want to see them get deep as advertised. 4 knots or so seems to be the ticket for Stretches.

And yes, if you are only trolling 2 or 3 rods, they are easy to use. Just be sure to stagger them in your spread or you'll end up with a huge mess...trust me.

I prefer parachutes, mojos and spoons over stretches but that's just me. Some of my buddies troll the hell out of them and do very well, I'm just not a huge proponent of them due to their tendency to foul other lines and that 4 knot speed is not the best speed for pulling my other baits.

Glenn

I was planning on starting with 1 or 2 rods until I get some experience. So 4 knots should be okay for bass? Glenn, what colors do you recommend? Also, do you use the 20, 25 or 30? I usually fish in 15-40 feet of water. Should I just get a few of each?

Dom

Great choice in the Raritan. I troll them on braid, sometimes only using plugs. Also troll one down the middle when trolling spoons or umbrellas. 150 feet out gets them down on braid, the way you know if they are getting down is the rods should bounce alittle when the lips drags the bottom. When you pull the rod in the lip of the plug usually looks like it was drud across sandpaper.

I started offshore fishing pulling 25's around platforms for snapper, jacks, mackerel and barracuda. They are excellent lures. As Glenn says you'd better stagger them well to prevent foulups. My favorite colors are chartreuse (dorado) and black/chrome. If I were to choose one it would be black/chrome since it's produced the best for me. The 25's are the best compromise in terms of size and performanceimho.I've since started using the 50+'s,Halco's and Yozuri's since they tend to troll better at the higher speeds you need for topwater lures.

The lighter the line you use the deeper they will go, just like the instructions say. :thumbsup:

-Braid & lighter #test mono helps them dive deeper.
-Stripers tear them up, I pull them slow for srtipers
-Just about everthing else in the Ocean eats them. Bluefish, Mahi, King's, Bonita...

I always have one in the offshore spread & it's usually a producer. There heve been times when the blues were so thick off of O.C. MD that we couldn't even turn the clickers on before the stretches were hooked up.

Pull more than 2 of them in the spread & you are asking for trouble, they will wander from side to side...

Dom lots of great observations. Very true to stagger them and only use up to three. When you purchase one there is a chart to tell you what pound test and how many feet of line to use. The 18 n's and 30 are great run them together to cover the water collum. Good luck see you out there I go out of Mamaroneck.

Wow. Lot's of great info in this thread. Thanks for all the help guys. I'm ordering a few of them now. Hope to test them out this weekeend and catch some striped ones. See you out there!

BTW, I'm out of Mill Basin, Brooklyn. My boat's name is "Anna Bella".

Dom

One more thing. I was running four at a time with a saltwater rattletrap down the center in the wash about 20 ft back. Now that sucker was nailed constantly. :thumbsup:

Great lure, many folks use them in the Chesapeake for rockfish. However, I hate treble hooks. If I like a lure with trebles I will take trebles off and use singles or clip the trebles. I believe trebles cause too much damage for the fish and the fisherman.

Chartruese in any flavor/size is a good bet as is Red/White...it depends on what they are eating and the water clarity. Some of the chrome ones (chrome/black, chrome/gold, chrome/blue) are solid as well. I pull 25's and 30's again depending on the size of bait they are eating. Some of my buds had some success with all Pink as well this past year. This one was caught on a chatruese/green stretch 25 off VA BEach.

http://pic13.picturetrail.com/VOL485/1673381/8650500/129695855.jpg

You can definitely troll them slower but I've seen Stripers nail them at up to 4.5 knots. I think 3 knots would be a good place to start depending on the tide...then slow down or speed up and see what happens. Oh, and whoever brought up bluefish is right on...damn blues LOVE stretches and will destroy em for sure.

I almost exclusively troll Stretch 25+ Gold/BlackBack. However, I troll on wire line. With the wire line you can get the lure deep at very slow speeds. Since the lure floats, it will bob up and swim down in the water column as the wire goes slack and tight with the pitching of the boat. I ussually never go more than 2-3 mph.

I have been removing the lead treble on my Stretch 25's without a problem. Makes handling those unavoidable slammer blues much easier, as you can generally just grab the plug to assist the landing.

I use the Chartruese 25's as well for bass. I picked up a bunch of shi&%y colors on ebay and painted them with neon spray paint, they work great.

I just ordered a few of these. These should be okay to start out. Thanks for the help everyone.

Stretch 20+
Blue Back Mylar

Stretch 25+
Splatter Holograpic (Chartreuse)
Redhead Holoegraphic
Chartreuse

Stretch 30+
Chome/Blue

What hooks do you guys replace the trebles with??? Model # would be great, thanks

I finally tried Mann's Stretch lures for the first time yesterday. I caught 2 monster blues. One on a Stretch 25+ Redhead, and the other on a Stretch 30+ Blue/Chrome. I just wasnt really sure how deep they were swimming. Probably not deep enough since I caught blues. I'll learn eventually. Thanks for the help everyone.

Dom

I forgot to mention, whenever I tried trolling 2 at once they would tangle with each other. I had one rod in each gunnel rod holder on opposite sides. The lines also got a little close to the motor sometimes. What’s the best way to run multiple lines with tangles? I’d love to run 4 lines, but 2 would be okay for now. I have a Parker 2320 (see sig). Thanks. Dom

run different lengths and depths to prevent tangles. Count the bars on the level wind is the easiest way.

Hmm. Good idea. I'll try that.

I'm using braided line. If 150' of 50# mono gets the Stretch 25 down 25', then I figure about 75 feet of braid should do about the same. Maybe even less.

I run up to three on my boat at once. Get the outrodders from boatersworld for 69.00 and use them to lay the rods out horizontally. Helps them run alot better and keeps them spread out really well. I also use braid, 50lb, and 150 feet is plenty in 20-25 feet of water.

CAPTJohnny - 4/25/2006 4:45 PM I run up to three on my boat at once. Get the outrodders from boatersworld for 69.00 and use them to lay the rods out horizontally. Helps them run alot better and keeps them spread out really well. I also use braid, 50lb, and 150 feet is plenty in 20-25 feet of water.

That's pretty much the exact setup I use, except for the braid since the same rods and reels troll deep offshore too.

Where do you put the third rod?

Looking at your boat, I'd put it in the center rocket launcher. I have a center transom rodholder and rocket launchers, but as I said earlier I run four 25's and a rattletrap in the center. Capt. Johnny's mean machine has about three dozen rodholders!! :o

Ok, I'll try the center rocket launcher. Pulling 5 lines must be a lot of work. 1 bluefish can make a huge mess.

Do you know anyplace online that sells these outrodders? I can't find them anywhere.

Dom

Smith makes a nice rod rigger. Here is a link for BW, but you can find them cheaper:

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/479560104.htm

BW carries other cheaper brands as well. http://www.boatersworld.com/product/477420012.htm

You can do a google search once you get some specific model names. Check ebay as well.

People are starting to make their own out of welded aluminum. A local tackle shop had some.

Kg

The second one is what I'm looking for. I don't want anything thats permanent mount. Thanks Keith.

Dom

The second one is the one I have. Been using it for six years now and it's still like new.

As for your tangles, I run the two outside lines long with the rodrigger (or outriggers), the inside ones about 20ft shorter and the rattletrap about 20ft closer again from the center transom rodholder (a "V" pattern I guess). Watch where your longest lines enter the water and put the next set in front of that point and so on. The key is to watch your turns and make BIG turns. I always tangle initially since I'm used to running topwater lures, but there's no real skill once you remember.

twotems .... what fish are you targeting using all deep diving lures?

Ice Cream Man - 4/25/2006 11:05 PM twotems .... what fish are you targeting using all deep diving lures?

Fishingmainly shallow wrecks or oil platforms we're getting Cubera Snapper (the big boys), Barracuda, Jacks and some Spanish mackerel.

twotems, thanks for your help. I'll pick up 2 of them from and test them out Saturday. These lures are awesome. :thumbsup:

Dom

Glad to be of help. You will pick up some Mann's that won't swim properly right out of the box and frankly there's not much you can do about it. They're great lures but I'm a bigger fan of Halco GT's and Halco Crazy Deeps. The crazy deeps have a removable lip and come with an extra smaller lip that allows you to change the depth at which they swim. The GT's are large heavy lures that swim well at all speeds. Both have rattles in them and take some serious punishment. Good luck.

I noticed one of my 25+ lures kept tracking to on side. It wouldn't swim straight at all. I'll check those out too.

Dom

96TL - 4/25/2006 11:56 PM I noticed one of my 25+ lures kept tracking to on side. It wouldn't swim straight at all. I'll check those out too. Dom

Try adjusting the ring on the lip (left or right) with a pair of pliers it may or may not help (hasn't really helped mine). When your GT's get hammered (which it will) and start to swim strangelydab superglue in all the puncture marks. You've probably got water in the lure due to the tooth marks. If your Crazy Deeps start to go wobbly reduce your leader to the smallest size possible and they'll be good to go for a few more trips.

Who sells these Halco lures? Any websites?

Dom

Just google Halco. You'll find plenty of places that sell the GT's but the Crazy Deeps are a bit harder to find in the US. They're Australian lures. Try Basspro, but I think I got some at Capt. Harry's.