Frequently Asked Questions

  • You can always purchase directly from us at our Shop. OutCast Lures are also available at many tackle shops around New England and beyond. If your favorite shop doesn’t carry them yet, ask them to give us a call.

    We also attend a few tackle and fishing shows around the east. Look for us at your favorite shows, or find our dealers there.

    Be sure to add your info to our mailing list. We send out notices on new shops, new lures and other Outcast news periodically.

  • This is one of the most common questions we hear from our users. And the answer is often dictated by the equipment you will be using.

    OutCast Lures are designed to maximize the casting distance of our plugs, but a lot rides on matching the lure weight to your particular rod/reel combination, namely the characteristics of the rod. Most (if not all) commercially manufactured and custom built fishing rods are designed to handle a specific lure range. This info is often listed on the rod blank along with suggested line weight (given in “pound test” range). A 10’ surf rod might specify a lure weight range (ei: 3.0-5.5 oz). Or the seemingly same set-up might have a higher or lower range. This is most often based on the “action” of the blank, which indicates how the fibers and layment of the rod are triggered to perform at their best.

    While casting lures lighter than the recommended range can have some minor issues (the rod may not fully “load” in the casting action meaning lure speeds might be slower, leading to poor line flow) you can often make small adjustments to your casting style to compensate for underweight plugs. Additionally, lure presentation may be effected, as stiffer H & HL rods may not have the proper give to allow the lure to “twitch”.

    Casting lures that are heavier than the specified range can lead to serious damage to the rod itself. If you feel like you are struggling to get your casts to reach your intended targets, it may well be that you are overloading your rod.

    All OutCast Lures are individually weighed and marked on the packaging with the finish ounce weight. If you have a variety of plugs, you may want to use a sharpie to mark the plugs themselves for future selection. When buying OutCast plugs at a dealer, be sure to look for the weight information and use only those plugs that will match the set-up you plan to fish them with.

  • The pencil popper is a very popular lure, and the OutCast Pencil is legendary. The lure is designed to be retrieved along the surface, darting and skipping all the way.

    The plug may stay below the surface immediately following a cast. A fast pickup of slack line will help to minimize this.

    Once the popper is on the surface, keep your rod tip high and start a steady retrieve with your reel handle. A slight twitch of the rod will help to induce more action on the surface. If you find fish are striking at the plug but not getting hooked, try slowing the retrieve but add more rod twitches.

    We’ve found that keeping your rod tip pointed just over your rod hand shoulder, you’ll be able to retrieve the lure at a slightly slower rate, leading to fewer missed strikes. This also allows you to take a few quick turns on your reel as soon as the fish strikes, helping to drop the rod angle to a better hook setting angle.

  • I like where your head is at! Let’s consider a few simple questions before we fire up the diesels, shall we?

    Many offshore game fish will readily go for our plugs. And the hardware is up to the task, up to a reasonable point. Our plugs are built around fight fish up to about 100 pounds. So if you’re going to throw plugs at fish in this range, you’re probably good to go. Dorado, Wahoo, and “schoolie” tuna will come to fear you.

    The stainless steel thru-wires are rated well above the #100 range, but the hooks and split rings may need to be upgraded to withstand the hard mouths and wild ride they will face if your target fish are on the bigger end of the scale. Consider swapping the supplied hooks with a welded ring eye 8/0 or 9/0 VMC 3X Strong Siwash hook paired with 300# class triple split rings. Heavy wire leaders and robust connectors will significantly restrict the action of any plug, so where reasonable, try crimping a heavy monofilament or fluorocarbon leader (with chafe guards) directly to the plug. This will allow the lure freedom of movement, while also adding an abrasion guard to your set-up. A 3’ pre-rigged leader will be sufficient on most cases, giving you a good landing or tagging grip, but still allowing for a solid casting drop.

    Keep an eye on our website or sign-up to receive our newsletter to learn about more offshore gear from OutCast Lures planned for 2020.

  • We appreciate that everyone wants to fish their new lure immediately, but keep in mind we are a custoo lure shop. Each of our lures is meticulously handmade and hand-painted, ensuring the utmost quality. While this process may require up to 5-7 days before your order is ready to be shipped, we do maintain stock of our most popular bodies and color options, which may result in a quicker delivery time for your order.

    Rest assured, we strive to expedite your order and get your lures to you as quickly as possible.

  • The Danny Swimming plug as a great option for targeting big striped bass and other pelagic game fish. The metal lip provides the action to these iconic plugs, and each OutCast Danny is balanced and tuned to swim right, right out of the package.

    But occasionally you may want to adjust the lip to make your plugs swim slightly deeper, or vice versa. Holding the plug with both hands and with the belly hooks facing you, push gently with both thumbs on the lower flange of the metal lip to bend upwards (slightly!). This will make the lure run more shallow (staying just below the surface with a normal retrieve). Conversely, if you find the plug is not swimming aggressively enough, bending the lip down slightly will help to increase the action of the plug. You may find that different water condition, like heavy surf, also require slight adjustments to the lip.

    The only caution is this: the metal can fatigue with too much frequent bending. So be gentle, and remember that a very small movement will have a noticeable effect.

    If you’d prefer to not mess with the lip, similar results can be had by bending the front connection loop (where you tie the leader). Bend this up to dive deeper, and down to stay at the surface.

  • Absolutely! While we supply each plug from our shop with top quality VMC marine grade treble hooks, many anglers prefer to replace these with matched single hooks, or even just a single hook on the tail. In cases where multiple treble hooks present a safety concern while landing fish, or if you are planning on releasing your fish back to the water (which we highly encourage for many species that are faced with heavy fishing pressure), swapping out to single hooks makes great sense.

    We recommend using a high quality VMC Siwash hook with closed ring eyes for both tail and body hook positions. You can reuse the split rings furnished with your plug, or upgrade to larger split rings to accommodate a heavier gauge hook. Most of our plugs come with either 2/0 or 3/0 trebles, in 3x gauge. Be sure to match equal of better grade when making the change. You don’t want to risk loosing the fish of a lifetime with a lesser strength hook and split ring. Also be sure to keep an eye on how the weight difference my effect your casting efficiency, and in some cases, how the lure “swims”. If you find that a swimming plug like a Danny or Surfster isn’t acting the same after changing out the hooks, consider adjusting the metal lip to compensate for the weight difference.

  • First, we hope you had a great day. Maybe you didn’t land as many fish as you had dreamed of before you rolled out of bed at 2:30am, but hey, YOU WENT FISHING!

    All OutCast lures are built from durable materials, but these will benefit greatly from a little care and maintenance along the way. First off, salt is the enemy of all fishing tackle. Make it part of your routine to rinse off all lures you’ve used (and even those that may have been exposed to other wet lures) every time you get back to your home. This can be a simple spray from the garden hose, or a dip in a bucket of fresh (and freshly filled!) water. The best option is to rig up a drying line where you store your gear. Hang lures by the tail hook to allow them to dry fully before you put them back into your tackle bag.

    This is also a great time to inspect your plugs for nicks, dings, tooth marks or other damage to the finish. Typically these are not deep enough to effect the lure’s outer coating, but in cases where bare wood is showing, you may want to apply a small dab of clear nail polish, or if you’re a fly-tyer, some head cement. This will help to keep water away from the plugs wooden core. Cedar is naturally water resistant, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a little help.

  • Glad you asked. Well, at least we’re glad we have an answer since you asked. It ain’t pretty, but it is strait forward, honest and provides you with some autonomy lessons. Click here.

  • Ordering a custom lure is a breeze! Simply visit our order page and select the "(CX) Custom" option from the color menu. After processing your order, we will reach out to you via email to gather details about your desired custom color and finishing preferences. Please allow an additional week of processing time for us to ensure your custom order is delivered on time to your specifications.

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