6” Poke: West Side Special (WSS)

There's a color the top boats run that most fishermen never talk about.

I first saw it when a buddy showed me a lure he'd gotten from one of the best commercial fishermen on our side of the island. I laughed and called it "the parrot." Then I kept seeing it, on boat after boat, every time I met another serious fisherman. Each guy had his own name for it. Some added a color or shifted a shade to make it theirs, but underneath it was always the same combo: purple and pink over orange and white. We call it the West Side Special, and almost every serious boat I know runs some version of it.

There's a reason commercial and charter boats run it day in and day out, year round. It bites steady when fishing is slow and gets red hot when conditions line up. On a tough day, that's the lure that keeps the boat from going home empty.

This is our take on the West Side Special, handcrafted in Pearl City. If you want something a little different and a lot effective, put one in your spread.