Most often, the key is getting these offerings deep. Many casters err in that they begin their retrieve immediately upon the lure hitting the water. Instead, hesitate for a five or six count, allowing the swim shad to settle toward the bottom, and then commence your retrieve, working the lure right to the beach or jetty. Often, a bass will follow it and make the decision to strike at the last moment.

I'll often include block tin squids and Hopkins or Kastmaster metals in my surf bag when there's an onshore wind and rough surf. These conditions make for difficult casting. These old reliables aren't glamorous, but consistently produce when the surf is heavy.

Frequently, stripers will take up stations at the mouth of an inlet, and the most effective lure to probe the swift depths is a 2- or 3-ounce leadhead jig and pork rind. Make certain to use a pork rind strip 3 or 4 inches long, as it'll double or triple your catch rate. Cast up and across the current, permitting the jig to settle to the bottom and then bounce it along. Strikes will usually come just as the jig lifts off the bottom at the end of the swing, where the stripers are waiting in the rips.

Still another successful inlet technique is to use a metal-lipped wooden surface swimming plug. With an ebbing tide, stand at the end of the jetty bordering the inlet and cast out into the tide rips formed by the current. Often the current is sufficiently strong that you can "walk the dog," meaning walk back and forth across the rocks with the plug swimming actively on the surface, much like a bunker or hickory shad struggling in the current. The surface strikes are enough to give you an adrenaline rush, believe me!

There are times, however, when extremely rough conditions make it difficult to fish the surf, or when rainwater runoff muddies coastal bays and rivers, and onshore winds and rough seas make trolling difficult. All of these conditions will diminish the effectiveness of lures. While I love fishing with lures, as you're always active and doing something, I'm not averse to using natural baits when I encounter less than ideal conditions. Then it becomes a waiting game, where patience is the key.

But for sheer satisfaction of persuading a linesider to strike a replica of a baitfish fashioned of wood, lead or plastic, you just can't beat fishing with lures during the spring . . . just wait for the lilacs to bloom. That's when you know that stripers will be back and feeding with gusto!