Ever seen a ghost? Hard to say, isn’t it? Could’a been something there, could’a been a trick of light. So it is for gamefish seeing Storm’s new UV Ghost-finish baits — a trick of light and action tells the eye something inanimate is alive. So when fish are especially spooky, throw ‘em a Ghost.
Storm’s ever-productive multi-species baits, the Smash Shad, Hot ‘N Tot® MadFlash, Thunderstick® MadFlash and Thunderstick® MadFlash Deep are now available in six new Ghost-finish color patterns: Ghost UV, Ghost Blue UV, Ghost Pink Lemonade UV, Ghost Pink UV, Ghost Purple UV, Ghost Wonderbread UV.
“In clear to lightly stained water — where fish can see you as well as you can see them and get spooked easy — you often want to go with more translucent colors,” Storm Pro Angler Tony Roach. “This is true for bass, walleye, pike and pretty much anything you want to catch.”
Translucent materials allow some light to pass through them, but are not completely transparent — visualize the difference between a frost-covered window and a clear window on a winter day. Underwater, translucent lures absorb and adopt the color and quality of available light, mimicking how light plays off the iridescent scales of baitfish.
“As light quality, penetration or angles change underwater, translucent lures adapt accordingly in subtle, but significant ways,” Roach says. “In really clear water, or even slightly stained water on sunny days with no wind, a Ghost finish gives you an advantage. As your bait moves through areas of changing light quality, it won’t present a uniform profile — it will subtly change with the conditions.”
In crystal-clear water in sunny and calm conditions, the new Ghost UV and Ghost Blue UV color patterns will likely be your best bet. “You want the fish to be able to see your bait, but you don’t want it to stand out like a sore thumb,” Roach says. “When it’s flat-calm and the water surface is smooth as glass, more light penetrates the water column and it’s not broken up like it is when there’s a chop. So the fish get a really good look at your bait, especially at slower retrieve speeds. That translucent Ghost finish will help balance the odds in your favor.”
Combining translucent Ghost finishes with UV color enhancements gives anglers the best of both worlds — especially in deeper clear water, stained water and clear water on overcast days, when less light penetrates the water column. UV-enhanced colors make maximum use of available light to help fish locate baits.
“More so than fluorescent or any other skin coat, UV reflects the utmost amount of light energy,” Roach explains. On the deeper and darker side of clear to lightly stained water, your best bets will be Storm’s Ghost Pink Lemonade UV, Ghost Pink UV, Ghost Purple UV and Ghost Wonderbread UV color patterns.
Smash Shad
Trolled or cast, Smash Shads run with a perfectly timed and steady top-to-bottom rolling action that mirrors a panicked minnow on the run. A high frequency, multi-ball rattle system helps call in hungry fish from afar.
Big predator fish like walleyes, pike and smallmouth bass feed on big perch and ciscoes — baitfish that Smash Shads imitate well, especially the 2 3/4-inch model. Featuring a deliberate, steady cadence on the swim with a tight, aggressive kicking action, Smash Shads produce well when retrieved fast over shallow water.
Hot ‘N Tot® MadFlash
Boasting a deep-diving and irregular searching action, the Hot ’N Tot MadFlash features a durable metal lip and a highly buoyant body. Troll or cast it in still or running water when you need extra action on a slow retrieve or when you need to dive deep to find the fish.
The 2-inch Hot ’N Tot MadFlash weighs 3/16 oz. and dives five to 14 feet, depending in line size and retrieve speed. The 2 1/2-size weighs 3/8 oz. and runs seven to 20 feet.
Thunderstick MadFlash & Thunderstick MadFlash Deep
Trolled or cast, twitched or jerked, all species of gamefish will hit a Thunderstick MadFlash.
The 3 1/2-inch Thunderstick MadFlash weighs 1/4 oz. and runs one to five feet deep, depending in line size and retrieve speed. The 4 3/8-inch model weighs 1/2 oz. and runs two to seven feet. Thunderstick MadFlash Deep models run 6 to 15 feet (3 1/2” version) and 10-24 feet (4 3/8” version), respectively.