At right: In the angler's right hand, notice the umbrella trolling rig, and the Stanley 5-inch Wedgetail lures which were used as teasers. They triggered a strike from this hefty 34-inch striper near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis.

Walk into practically any tackle shop and you'll find plenty of soft plastic lures on the shelves. There are all kinds of colors, sizes, shapes and manufacturers to choose from. Yet there's one plastic bait in particular that's been catching on in a big way with saltwater anglers all along the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and beyond. It's the Stanley 5-inch WedgeTail, with its life-like motion and vibration that trigger strikes from many of our favorite species.

As the name "WedgeTail" suggests, the most unique fish-catching characteristic of this bait is the tail. The slightest twitch or movement of the lure instantly creates a come-hither wiggle in the tail, which emits a fish-attracting vibration that fish can detect at great distances, enabling predators to zero in on the lure. The 5-inch baitfish-imitating WedgeTail is available in 14 natural, vivid colors.

Rigged weedless and weightless, the WedgeTail provides a natural and effective presentation for speckled trout in shallow grass-beds, and for stripers lurking in the vegetation on Susquehanna Flats.

Rigged on a lightweight leadhead jig, the 5-inch WedgeTail can be cast and retrieved along the pilings at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and also along dock pilings, tree stumps and other fish-holding structure. Sometimes a steady retrieve will bring the most strikes, while other times it may be best to occasionally stop the retrieve, allowing the lure to sink toward the bottom. Then quickly raise the rod tip to make the lure jump off the bottom, and then resume a steady retrieve. The WedgeTail wiggles enticingly as it slowly sinks, so be prepared for strikes on the drop!

Above: Stanley 5-inch Wedgetail soft plastic lures were used to decorate this umbrella rig, which was slammed by a big Chesapeake Bay rockfish.

On a heavier leadhead, the WedgeTail can be jigged along the bottom over shoals, in sloughs, and on wrecks, rockpiles and artificial reefs for seatrout, flounder, stripers, cobia, red drum and bluefish.

The WedgeTail has even been seeing a lot of action on the offshore grounds, where its incredible movement and vibration have tempted dolphin and tuna. Versatility is one of the strengths of this realistic soft plastic lure!

The 5-inch WedgeTail is the newest addition to the Stanley WedgeTail series of lures. In addition to the 5-inch WedgeTail, Stanley also offers a 3-1/2-inch WedgeTail Minnow, and a 7-inch WedgeTail Shad, Mullet and Herring. For more information, visit fishstanley.com, or call Stanley Jigs, Inc. in Huntington, Texas, at (936) 876-5713.