Topwater Lure Test: Super Spook Jr. vs LIVETARGET Mullet (Round 1)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
It’s topwater time!
In new video series, I’m going to be testing out two topwater lures against each other: the Super Spook Jr. vs. the LIVETARGET Hollow Body Mullet.
The Super Spook Jr. attracts attention with rattles and larger splashes at the surface while the LIVETARGET Mullet looks very lifelike and does not make as much noise.
They’re each about 3-4″ and I’ve caught fish on both of them before, but I wanted to see how they do head to head.
The results of this experiment surprised me as something that usually never happens actually happened here.
See what that surprise was, as well as the best spots to catch fish and what to do if fish aren’t hitting your topwater in this video.
Check it out below.
Super Spook Jr. vs. LIVETARGET Mullet [Round 1]
This was filmed on a calm September morning a few days after the full moon with clear skies.
Given how calm it was and how shallow I was fishing (12-inches to 24-inches), I was thinking that the LIVETARGET Mullet was going to have the edge.
Here’w what happened:
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To make this experiment as accurate as possible, these two lures were rigged on identical rods and reels with the same leader line (30 lb Ande Premium Monofilament) and 10 lb braid.
Also, after three casts with one lure, I switched to the other.
Since it was a very calm day, I thought that the silent LIVETARGET Mullet might have a slight advantage, but that was not the case!
I caught all of my fish on the Super Spook Jr.
Usually, when I’m testing lures that are similar, like these two are, I catch fish on both lures, but that wasn’t the case today!
Now, I know this was just one morning of fishing so this isn’t a fully conclusive test, but it does have me leaning toward sticking with the Super Spook Jr. when throwing topwater.
And here’s the good news: not only did the Super Spook Jr. catch more fish, but it’s also less expensive!
Where To Catch Fish With Topwater Lures
It’s one thing to know which lure to use when throwing topwater, but if you really want to catch fish you need to be in the right spot at the right time.
On this morning, I started off fishing a shallow grass flat with lots of finger mullet.
The mullet were about 3″ — the same size as the topwaters I was using.
Later in the morning I moved to a spot that had both oyster bars and grass flats.
So the lesson taken from this trip is to first find structure with bait around, and then keep covering ground until you find feeding fish.
How To Catch Fish When They’re Not Hitting Topwater
Although I didn’t catch any fish with the LIVETARGET Mullet, I did get a lot of fish to follow it all the way to the boat.
This is a good sign that proves there are hungry fish around, and there’s a little trick that you can pull that will increase your chances of hooking up.
Once the fish have given their location away by either blowing up on a topwater or following it to the boat, you can throw a soft plastic paddletail or jerk shad to them.
This will usually get them to bite and is an especially great tactic if you have two people on the boat.
Another time that you might want to switch to soft plastics is when the sun gets higher.
On this trip, the topwater bite slowed down around 8:30 but I was still able to catch some fish when I switched to the Alabama Leprechaun rigged on a weighted hook.
Conclusion
For this first trip testing out the Super Spook Jr. vs. the LIVETARGET Hollow Body Mullet, the Super Spook Jr. was the clear winner.
I know this is just one morning of fishing, so I’ll need to do some more tests to come up with a final verdict.
But I wanted to go ahead share these initial results with you so that I could get feedback in case you’ve used either of these lures…
Have you used them before?
What’s your experience been?
Let us know down in the comments section below!
And if you know someone who likes to throw topwater lures, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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SuperSpook Jr catches everything. I have caught Striper, Largemouth, SmallMouth, Pickerel, Snook and Tarpon on them. Something about that noise. I switch out to singles also, but it seems to not walk as easy for me after that…
Yea I mentioned this lure to you I believe last year it’s probably the most lifelike in appearance of all lures that’s for sure but sadly here in northeast fl where I fish in murky water most of the time because of it not having a rattle it’s not very good here either I think the fish find it hard to see where the spook having a loud rattle find it no problem I have never used it though in the spring time when the water temps are just warming to be topwater productive and the water also being a bit clearer because of lack of algae being present maybe it would work better but the bigger sized one would defiantly not match the hatch per say anyways thanks for the info and all you do😁
Great to hear from you Steven! Yes, I recall you mentioning the mullet lure a while back. With murky water, I’d definitely focus on topwaters will more noise just like you said. Tight Lines!
I gotta add a few spooks to my tackle box.
There’s no such thing as too many:)
Thanks, just grabbed 2 spooks and inline hooks to add to the arsenal.
Great news!
Greets,
I was catching prolifically, on Heddon “Flatfish” various sizes, way back in ’81.
Heddon lures are always top class. They work and are now less delicate.
Rgds.
Cool! I have not yet tried any lure like that before.
I really like the use of single vs treble hook on the lure. Is that something you are doing yourself or are they available without the treble? If you are replacing yourself, what size and style hook do you recommend? Thanks.
They unfortunately do not come with single hooks, so I just replace the hooks as soon as I get my plugs. For this one in particular, I use 1/0 hooks but 2/0 can work well too. There are two charts for hook size selection on this page showing sizing by treble and by popular plugs: https://fishstrong.com/collections/saltwater-hooks/products/owner-single-replacement-hooks
When switching to single hooks make sure to compare weight of the hooks. Just because they are single hooks does not mean they are less weight. Especially on the lighter weight topwaters weight of hooks can be a difference maker.
Hey Luke.
Just as a side note… The hollow body mullet has been really effective for me fishing grass and lily pads for bass. I can walk it through the open areas but the weedless design allows me to work it right through the cover.
Also caught a couple of little snook on it working under docks.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Arthur!
I have and use both lures. The Live Target Mullet is far less productive then the Super Spook Jr. I have gotten some fish with the mullet. For me the mullet is not worth the price.
Thanks for sharing your findings DuWayne!
I’ve not used the Live Target Hollow Body Mullet yet, but I’ve used the Heddon Super Spook Jr. extensively. It’s a terrific lure, and the bone color and chrome color seem to be productive just about everywhere I’ve used them.Tomorrow, I’ll be throwing something rarely seen any more. I’m going to throw a Heddon Zaragossa. Look for them back around the 1920’s. I’ll be fishing with Chuck Heddon. Hoping to catch some antique fish with the antique lure. 😉
Thanks so much for sharing the helpful details. How awesome that you’re fishing with Chuck Heddon! I hope you catch some great fish on the Zaragossa.
Great article! I prefer Super Spook profile lures as well. In addition to the standard offerings from Heddon, I’ve found Buggs Fishing makes some cool custom ones with in-line hooks out of the box here: see https://buggsfishing.com/product-category/custom-tops/).
During the late summer here on the Indian River Lagoon I’ve begun experimenting with some bigger profile top waters targeting big Jacks during the early mullet run: Williamson Surface Pro, Nomad Design Rip Tide, (each of which ship with in-lines as well), and a custom Evergreen SB 125. I like them all, and I’ve been able to land some nice fish. However, I’ve noticed with the bigger profiles my hookup rate with sharks has really gone up. In each of my last three trips to Long Point just north of Sebastian Inlet, I’ve hooked into three sharks (two crazy aerodynamic blow ups that really brought a shot of adreleline). It’s happened enough I’m now considering running a 6″ or so 65# nylon wire off the end of my shock leader as kind of hybrid between a traditional topwater setup and dedicated shark catching rig. Appreciate any upcoming tips on the safe landing and handling of inshore bull and/or black tip sharks on topwater lures!
How cool that you’re getting so many topwater shark strikes! For them, you may want to just use the back hook so that you can more easily unhook them. Yes, I’d go with some wire if targeting sharks because it’ll make sure they don’t break off.