A beginners Interduction to MirrOlures

[gottaflylee]

A Beginners introduction to MirrOlures.

I was ask to write this a very short while ago for my local tackle store and I thought some may find it handy to read here also. For those that fish MirrOlures, this will not help you much but for those that are just starting out, this my explanation of some of them.

I do love the look when someone new looks at all the choices in the colors and styles of MirrOlures in the store, I can tell that most have no clew at what they are looking at of for. I hope this will help those people out as well as the ones of you that fish them from time to time.

Understanding the nomenclature of MirrOlures can be confusing from time to time, I hope this helps.
The first number is the stile of the MirrOlure, such as 52M is the original MirrOlure. Put a R on it and that would be a "rattle" 52MR. The last number or sometimes the letters, (such as EC which stands for Electric Chicken) would be the color such as the # 11 which would be a white with a red head. Are you catchen on to how it works now?

I suppose I should start with the kinds of MirrOlures and what they do and how, when or where to use them. I have never figured out why MirrOlure uses the number system as to the colors or size but once you understand they use both numbers for styles and colors then it is somewhat easier to figure it out.]


The 52M...a sinking Twitch bait, 3 & 5/8' long and weighs 1/2 oz. and a narrow profile. Finger Mullet size and great in deeper water or surf where you need to get down. Same bait in a Series 3 will get down a little faster and has more reflective flash to it.

52M



The Series 3 in a 52M


The 52M, TT...TT stand for "Tiny Trout" This is the one with the spots you see on them. It has a wider profile then the standard 52M and will sink slower and get a little deeper in current as it acts like a planning surface. I like this one in still deep water as it will stay in the fishes face longer when a bigger bait is needed.

52M TT



When I first started fishing Speckle Tout, my grandfather thought me that the Blue fish were on top of the Trout and you needed to fish for them as close to the bottom as you could and the M52 was what you need to use. As the years have gone by, I have discovered that do 2 things that my grandfather missed, they look up and they suspend, this is when the this next group shine.


In the year 2000, MirrOlure came out with a new style bait called the Catch 2000, a suspending bait 3 & 1/2" long and 1/2 or the smaller Catch Jr, a 3" 3/8 oz bait. This is one of the best baits they have that is the least used or maybe misunderstood. A cigar shape lure that will cheat the wind when you have to cast into the wind, designed to fish the top 3 feet of the water with a big side to side and up or down darting action of a hurt fish. Now in saying that, it stays in the top 3' of water, I will fish them in much deeper water as Trout will look up and suspend. These are also available in the Series 3 models

Catch 2000



Another overlooked MirrOlure is the L29 MR. This is a lipped floating bait that is 4 & 1/2" long and 5/8 oz. I like this in shallow or deep water. In deep water I will weight the very back of this bait to make it have a flatter rise and it will rock back and forth as it rises, enticing strikes. Cast past where the fish are and pull it down to them with a long pull on the rod. In the shallows and Oyster rocks, leave off the weights off and lightly pull it under the water and let it pop back up to the surface, This is a big fish lure!

L29 MR


Next would be the MirrOdine, this bait first came out is the 17 MR, a 2 & 5/8" long 3/8 oz bait (this is my favorite of this group) next was the 27 MR, 3 & 1/8' long 9/16 oz. After that came the 18 MR, a 2 & 5/8 long 7/16 oz bait and bring up the last on this style, the 14 MR, a 2 & 1/4" long 3/16 oz bait. You can also get them in a "Broken Glass" which is much like the Series 3 In the 52 and Catch series This is a great bait for fishing areas where Menhaden or Bunker are present or your looking for a smaller profile bait.

17 MR


27 MR


The 19 MR, a 3 & 3/4" long, 3/8 oz bait, fishes around a depth of 2'. A great bait when you find glass minnows on marsh edges or need to fish oyster area in 18" or less of water. I love this bait on the high tide marsh edges here. Also works well on Ladyfish and Spanish feeding on small baits.

19 MR


The MirrOmullet 16 MR & 26 MR first came out in a 3" long 3/8 oz floating bait and now they have a 3 & 1/2" long, 1/2 oz bait. These are perfect for days that it is still and no wind and can de worked like an injured bait in very shallow water. Lots of flash with little sound, another misunderstood bait that is not used much, great in shallow water flats.

16 MR






Now there are many more MirrOlures out there and color is another whole subject that I will get into another time with you guys, so stay tuned for that. The above is a "starting point" for you. Take what I have given you above and decide what depth you will be fishing in and go from there.

Remember that these are twitch baits and to fish them properly, you should "tap" the rod tip, not pull it. Be sure that you push the rod tip back forward still keeping in contact with your line. You can not fish a MirrOlure to slow and your strike will come when the lure is sitting still, not being twitched.

MirrOlures in the current you want to fish the swing. Cast a little up current and let the current do the work for you. Keep your rod tip down and a bow in your line and just "tap" the rod tip and don't reel unless there is a lot of slack. Most of your strikes will come as your lure reaches the end of the "swing". Once the lure straightens out behind you reel in and start over.

Remember where your "bump" comes from as most of the time that is where the school is sitting and you want to repeat that swing. When you get a hit, resist the urge to "Set the hook", instead, tap the lure again and let the fish "Wallow" in it, they will get hooked. If you are only getting taps, change the color opposite of that you are using and you should start getting bites.

Last but not least, rods and line. I prefer I medium fast or heavy tip rod, something that will not give or bend so much when you "tap" the rod, 6'6" to 7'. For line I want braid, with Power Pro, I like 20 pound and I don't care about color so much. I use a shot of 16 to 24 inches of fluorocarbon and tie the MirrOlure on with a loop knot, I do NOT use a snap. With the 52 M and Catch 2000 I use 20 pound fluorocarbon, for the lighter MirrOlures like the 17 MR and the 19 MR I will at times drop down to 12 pound Fluorocarbon. A lot of folks still like 6 pound Mono but I like the "no stretch" of the braid and set my drag very light when using it.


I hope this helps some of you a little. Remember that I teach MirrOlure school for those that really want to learn how to fish them.

Stay safe on the water,
Capt. Lee Parsons

[ice cream man]

Capt. Lee ...... great info., very helpful. Thanks. ...... ICM

[Robja]

This is great info Lee. I am going to have to print this off and study it more. I bought a bunch of mirrolures and I see why i do more fishing than catching cause I have been using the wrong ones for some of the places I have fished them. Thanks again.

Jay

[Agitated88]

Excellent read Lee...thanks for sharing your experience(s) with us!

[KeepItReel]

Great info Lee. I had a question about the hook set you describe, I am used to setting the hook aggressively, but with a light drag...probably going to be a hard habit to break. Are you saying that you just give it a soft tap (or soft hook set) and the just reel tight? It is always amazing to me that a fish can tap the lure and not get hooked when I stab myself ten times just trying to tie it on the line!
Thanks.

[Fishman]

Lee thanks for posting this. It will come in handy as I am an amiture Mirrolure user.