“Bill Scholze Fishes for Saltwater Fish with the D.A.R.T. and the RT Slug”

Part 5: Fishing the RT Slug from Coast to Coast

Editor’s Note: Bill Scholze of Stuart, Florida, tournament pro and member of the Mister Twister Pro Staff team, has competed in redfish tournaments using the RT Slug and the D.A.R.T. He also fishes for snook, speckled trout and other saltwater fish for fun using these baits. “There’s hardly a fish that swims inshore along a coastal area that won’t take the Mister Twister Exude RT Slug or the Exude D.A.R.T.,” Scholze says.

Question: Bill, do you use the RT Slug to catch anything else?

Scholze: Yes, I’m catching mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel on the RT Slug as well. Spanish mackerel like the baby-bass-colored RT Slug and any of the green colors, including chartreuse. For mangrove snapper, I’ll rig with a mangrove-red RT Slug. This color is one of the best I’ve ever used. If I could only use one color in this region, I’d choose pumpkin-pepper with a silktreuse tail. If I’m fishing closer to Jacksonville, Florida, I’ll fish the native-shrimp color in both the D.A.R.T. and the RT slug.

Question: Do you fish the D.A.R.T. often?

Scholze: Yes, I love to use the D.A.R.T., and I especially like the golden-bream color.

Question: How do you decide whether to use the RT Slug or the D.A.R.T.?

Scholze: When I’m fishing in my boat, I’ll have two rods rigged with an RT Slug. One will have a baby-bass-colored RT Slug and the other will have the pumpkin-pepper and silktreuse-tail-colored RT Slug. On a third rod, I’ll have a D.A.R.T. in the mangrove-red or the golden-bream color with a 1/8-ounce Mustad weighted hook. I’ll fish the D.A.R.T. just like I fish the RT Slug. I’ve learned whether I’m fishing the RT Slug or the D.A.R.T., if I can see the redfish I’m casting to, and I cast out 3 feet in front of them or 3-feet behind them, the redfish will take one of these two baits.

On Florida’s west coast, I’ll use the D.A.R.T. as my primary bait and the RT Slug as my back-up bait. But on the east side of Florida, I’ll use the RT Slug as my primary bait with the D.A.R.T. as my back-up bait. My favorite colors for the RT Slug and the D.A.R.T. in any region are pumpkin-pepper with a silktreuse tail, new-penny, baby-bass, golden-bream and native-shrimp. In certain regions of Florida, anglers will prefer one color over the other. The same is true when you compare the RT Slug with the D.A.R.T. It’s been my experience that the fish on Florida’s east coast prefer the D.A.R.T., and the fish on Florida’s west coast prefer the RT Slug. These lures are deadly-effective for catching snook, flounder, trout and redfish, and you’ll be successful fishing these lures inshore in salt water.