Month: May 2019

Where can I find / buy Jail Baits?

In addition to our online store or shop, you can now purchase Jail Baits at the following list of tackle shops:

  • South Side Bait & Tackle, Charleston SC
  • Haddrell’s Point, West Ashley & Mt Pleasant Locations, Charleston, SC
  • Crosby’s Seafood, Folly Beach, Charleston, SC
  • Neuse River Bait & Tackle, Grantsboro, NC
  • Chasin Tails Outdoors, Atlantic Beach, NC
  • Ocean’s East, Virginia Beach, VA

We will update the list as more tackle shops stock them!

Jail Bait Rigging Tips

The Jail Bait is a revolutionary new Sheepshead and Reef jig.  It uses a feature called the Bait BakPak.  This is simply a rubber band, but how its used is the true innovation.  The Bait BakPak allows crabs to remain alive, and other baits to be positioned directly above the hook points.  We have found the best way to use it is to double the rubber band over the eyelet.  This prevents it from slinging off while fighting a fish.  

PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release

There’s a New Sheriff in Town, and the Sheepshead are Scared

Eye Strike Fishing’s Jail Bait™ Reef Jigs use a new approach to round up convicts 

North Charleston, SC – (May 2, 2019) – “You gotta set the hook before they bite” is a common way to describe the difficulty of hooking a sheepshead, one of the most desirable inshore game fish.  Eye Strike Fishing®, a leading designer of fishing tackle featuring oversized eyes and high-end components, is proud to announce Jail Bait™ Reef Jigs; a new concept that aims to solve many of the challenges of catching these evasive fish.

Consisting of a double hook embedded in a lead weight featuring – you guessed it – an oversized eye, the jigs feature a simple, yet innovative feature called the Bait BakPak™.  The Bait BakPak™ is simply a rubber band, but how its used and where its positioned is key to its effectiveness.

“Rigging fiddler crabs or other baits such as oysters or barnacles on a small hook has always been a problem – either it kills the crab or it falls off.” says David Fladd, product designer for Eye Strike.  “The Bait BakPak™ allows a crab to be held firmly and keeps it alive, and when a sheepshead tries to bite, those double hooks are right there below the bait resulting in better hookups.”

Any sheepshead angler knows that there aren’t many places inside a sheepshead’s mouth for a hook to hold.  Ralph Phillips, a legendary Charleston angler and Partner at Eye Strike®, agrees, “Their teeth look like a dentist’s nightmare. Because there is a direct connection to your line, and the hooks are directly below the bait, you tend to hook them in the outer lip.  You can truly feel the bite better with the Jail Bait, and when you set the hook, they find the lip.”

Why an eye?  Phillips and Fladd admit part of it is marketing, but the few sheepshead they have caught on their Eye Strike® jigs have been on a pearl colored eye.  “They may associate the color with an oyster or barnacle, we don’t know, but it sure adds to the eye-appeal.”

Capt. Justin Carter with a Jail Bait Convict

Captain Justin Carter, former IFA Kayak National Champion & Angler of the Year, and full-time guide for Redfin Charters in Charleston, SC has been the primary field tester for Jail Baits in the prototype phase. “When I take clients sheepshead fishing, they often struggle to feel the bite.  Jail Bait™ jigs have taken the hookup ratio to the next level.  Because of where the hooks are positioned, the fish get hooked in the lip almost every time”.

The 2/0 black nickel VMC® hook is plenty strong and sharp, and due to its positioning, the rigged bait tends to make it semi-weedless.  This is important when fishing reefs, where plenty of snags are around to grab your hook. 

Since the Jail Bait™ is designed for vertical jigging, its not just for sheepshead.  “We have done very well on our nearshore reefs using them, and have even caught grouper in relatively shallow water” says Phillips.

Eye Strike® Jail Bait™ Reef Jigs are available in ½- and ¾-ounce weights and pearl colored eyes.  For more information, including rigging tips, visit eyestrikefishing.com

Eye Strike® co-owner David Fladd with a sheepshead caught at a nearshore reef using the Jail Bait™

Click here to download the press release in PDF format

About Eye Strike Fishing

An innovative designer of original jigheads featuring oversized, 3D eyes, Eye Strike Fishing has been steadily increasing its offerings since 2014.  Product lines include TroutEye®, RedfishEye™, StriperEye™, WeedlessEye™ and TexasEye™ jigheads and range from 1/8-oz to 1-oz.  Six eye colors are offered and all products feature premium hooks.

Contacts:
David Fladd, Eye Strike Fishing, 7341B Peppermill Parkway, North Charleston, SC 29418 dfladd@eyestrikefishing.com (843) 324-4272