The 10 Best Lures For Jack Crevalle (With Fishing Tips!)

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Jack crevalle are lean and mean and pound for pound, one of the hardest fighting fish that swim.

With big, aggressive, and powerful fish-like jacks, you need loud, strong, and (most importantly) durable lures to match.

Check out my top 10 best lures for jack crevalle.

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Table of Contents

The 10 Best Lures For Jack Crevalle

Rebel Windcheater

The Rebel Windcheater is the lure of legends. Rebel was a company that started making inexpensive lures out of plastic that were durable and effective.

There are stories of fishermen having to repaint their Rebels after one surfcasting outing because they got so many hits their paint would be ruined!

This lure was a plastic minnow with a flat nose and a lip to give it a wounded fish action. It was weighted and built with durable hardware so it was perfect for hard-hitting jack crevalle.

It was called a windcheater because the weight made it perfect for casting into high winds. A windcheater casts straight into the wind and it goes far.

Someone described them as the snipers of their collection because they went long distances with pinpoint accuracy. A windcheater is perfect for surfcasting or aiming into the heart of a jack crevalle feeding frenzy. 

Rebel no longer makes a windcheater, but Bomber still does.

You can still find the old ones on eBay and other markets. If you find one, check it out carefully before fishing with it; some of them are quite valuable! 

Silver Casting Spoon

There’s no lure more universal or simple than the spoon.

Casting spoons are just a teardrop-shaped piece of metal with a hook attached to the rear. The body has varying degrees of concavity that give it the wounded fish flash, vibration, and rattle that attract jack crevalle.

Casting spoons are heavy and cast far. They’re perfect for the fast, nonstop retrieve that you want to use for jack crevalle.

They come in many different colors, but for jack crevalle you want silver.

Cast this into a school of baitfish the jacks are attacking or run it over structure where they’re hunting and you’ll have hooked a big one in no time. 

Use a swivel, because they spin in the water and it will prevent your line from twisting.

Rapala X-Rap

While looking somewhat like the classic floating Rapala, the X-Rap is a whole different beast.

It has a translucent plastic body, ball bearings for the noise that jack crevalle love, foil inserts for flash, usually a tuft on its tail, and is designed to cast for distance.

The X-Rap also has neutral buoyancy, meaning that once you get it to the depth you want, it stays at that depth, making it great for going for jacks that are feeding under the surface.

A straight, fast retrieve is almost always your best bet for jack crevalle, and the X-Rap delivers the traditional Rapala wounded minnow action.

If you start moving the rod tip around as you are retrieving, the lure really starts to jerk, rattle, and flash.

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Tsunami Popper

Everyone is familiar with the basic popper; it’s part of every little kid’s first tackle box.

The Tsunami Popper is a turbocharged version and it’s one of the best topwater lures for jack crevalle. 

Like the classic popper, it has a big cup-shaped mouth that causes the noise and water disturbance that brings in the big jacks.

It has an elongated body that fattens a little bit toward the back and is back-weighted for accurate, long casts. 

A common modification is to replace the bottom treble hook with a sturdier treble attached to a swivel, which is then attached to the bottom of the lure. This makes it a little more durable when you hook a big one. 

With its weighted back, this lure is great for casting from the shore, a pier, or a boat.

Retrieve it fast, chugging it with the tip of your rod as you do, and it will create an absolute noisy commotion that motivates jack crevalle to attack.

Mirrolure Big Game

Mirrolure Big Game trolling lures are great for offshore and inshore trolling, but don’t let the name fool you. They’re also great for cast and retrieve fishing. 

These are a diving, minnow-type lure, with a built-in rattle. The plastic lip version is a shallower diver with a tighter wiggle.

The metal lip version dives deeper and has a more snakelike action. The metal lip also gives it a little extra flash. 

By trolling or casting, you can catch jack crevalle at different depths below the surface. 

Gotcha Plug

Gotcha Plugs are one of the most common lures you’ll see being used from piers, from shore, and even from boats close to shore.

There’s a good reason for this. They are a great, inexpensive lure that really catches fish. 

Gotcha Plugs are a tubular minnow-type lure that sinks. Because they’re heavy, you can cast them tremendous distances. 

With the Gotcha Plug, you can fish any depth. The depth you fish at is determined by how far you let the lure sink before you start your retrieve.

On a straight retrieve, they essentially have no action; you give it the action by moving your rod, which causes the bait to jerk and flash.

With jack crevalle in a feeding frenzy, don’t even worry about the action, just do a straight, fast retrieve. 

The beauty of the Gotcha Plugs is that you can try all different depths without having to change your lure. Once you find what depth the jack crevalle are at, the flash will bring them in. 

Large Bucktail Jig

This isn’t a numbered list, but if it was, the large bucktail jig would be number one.

It’s a classic for shore/pier fishing for jack crevalle. This is one of the simplest lures out there, being just a weighted head with a bucktail attached to the back end. 

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity; this is an absolute killer for jack crevalle. Even though it sinks, it’s a great topwater lure. Cast it at a pack of attacking jack crevalle and start reeling in as fast as you can.

The speed, noise, and disruption caused by the head and the bucktail rushing through the water will play into the jack’s aggressive nature and trigger it to attack. 

If the jacks aren’t on the top, you can also let it sink and try different depths. 

DOA Bait Buster

It doesn’t look like much, but the DOA Bait Buster is a major performer.

Depending on the kind of hook that’s attached, it can either be a shallow lure, a deep lure, or a trolling lure. 

The body of the lure is a rubbery minnow shape with two floppy, curled ribbons at the back that are shaped (sort of)like a tail.

When you do your fast retrieve, these tail ribbons flap around causing a commotion and vibration that’s very attractive to jack crevalle.

DOA Bait Busters come in a wide variety of colors, but for jack crevalle, start with the metallic silvery ones with glitter, especially if you’re fishing during the mullet run. 

Yo-Zuri TopKnock

Just like the name makes it sound, the Yo-Zuri TopKnock moves across the surface of the water, knocking loudly. 

This lure has a minnow-shaped body with a large ball bearing inside it that makes the knocking noise as it’s retrieved.

The knocking is extremely loud and combined with the splashing made by the lure’s cup face, it creates exactly the kind of commotion that jack crevalle love. 

The weight of the ball bearing also makes this a long casting lure, even into a headwind, so it’s great in the surf, from a pier, the shore, or even a boat. 

This is another great lure to throw into a surface jack crevalle feeding frenzy also known as a ‘jack-attack’. 

River2sea Whopper Plopper

With hands-down the best name of any lure on this list, the River2sea Whopper Plopper is another great lure for creating exactly the type of topwater chaos you want for jack crevalle. 

Whopper Ploppers come in several varieties, with some designed to be quieter than others. For jack crevalle, you want maximum noise so get the models with the glass beads inside. 

This lure is designed to make different levels of noise based on how fast you’re retrieving it. For jacks, you want to be at top speed.

Here, the lure’s tail will start flapping, disrupting the surface, throwing water, and making the loud plopping sound that gives the lure its name. 

See Also: The Best Time To Catch Jack Crevalle…Explained!

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