Strategic Angler Espada Series Review

The Espada series deputed by Strategic Angler in 2016 and has quickly distinguished itself as a primary option for the Northeast light tackle tuna crowd.  The original  prototypes were tested in the waters of Cape Cod on Bluefin Tuna by well reknown light Tackle Tuna pioneer Captain Domenic Petrarca from Coastal Charter Sportfishing, in addition to No Boundaries in French Polynesia.  Two versions came out of this testing processes and a a floating and sinking model debuted in 2016.   The Espada series features a beefy wiring system  (2.4 mm thick x-heavy wiring) and a streamlined body to match large bodied pelagic forage species (mackeral, herring, ballyhoo). 

Key Features

  • Orientation: Vertical floating, tail down
  • Action: Walk the dog, surface side to side glide, diving bubble trail
  • Length: 9.25 inches (235 mm)
  • Average weight: Floating Version 3.5 ounces (95-100 grams), Sinking Version 4.5 ounces (120-130 grams)
  • 0.093 inch (2.4 mm) thick x-heavy wiring
  • Tail hook compatible
  • Working speed: Very slow to medium
  • Angler Skill Level: Experienced

Hook Configuration

  • Belly/rear:  3/0 trebles or 2/0 trebles
  • Belly/rear:  3/0 treble with 7/0 single
  • Belly/rear:  8/0 to 10/0 singles
  • Tail only:  4/0 treble, 3/0 treble, up to 12/0 single

Espada hook configurationEspada rear hook only configuration

 

 

 

 

Recomended Terminal Setup

Espada recomended terminal setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review

With a full season under our belt utilizing both the sinking and floating version of the Espada we can safely recommend this as a well built, versatille lure for any serious fisherman to add to their arsenal.  Custom tackle generally is not for especially lure in the $80 - $100 range like the Espada's.  But with anything else in life you truly get what you pay for here as these handcrafted lures not only look like peices of art but hold up to the wear and tear that popping for large pelagics does to gear.  If your going to invest the time and engergy into getting geared up to target large Bluefin tuna, and find yourself in a surface feed frenzy of bluefin tuna your going to want to have confidence that your bait can not only elicit a strike, but can hold up to these beasts.  If this is what your looking for we cannot recomend an Espada enough as they have proven to us to get bit, and to take a beating and keep coming back for more.

We had success targeting medium to large size ( 100-250lb) blue fin tuna off Cape Cod this year using the sinking version.  The sinking gets the bait down into the stike zone quicker and produces a nice subsurface roll that mimicks an injured baitfish.  An added benefit of the sinking is you get away from the melee of bird activity on the surface that occurs with surface feeds.  When the fish were keyed into and feeding on halfbeaks this past fall the Esapada's were deadly.  One thing to note is you have to work this bait to give it life the angler needs to be experienced to match the hatch.

We had sucess on the floating version for tuna where the conditions were right and we had fish on a clean surface and produced a boated fish.  Also experienced success early during the spring striped bass migration and had fish up to 35llbs on the surface with the floating version.  

After the performance of the lure this year and the pristine condition it was after heavy usage in 2018 (check out video review below) truly believe anyone serious about targeting Tuna on light tackle spinning setups needs to have an Espada in their offering.  With the cost of production tackle now upwards of $30 a lure the investment into a proven killer that is going to last multiple seasons is well worth your investment.  If im offshore and in the middle of tuna busting and I need one bait that i can trust I'm going to reach for an Espada.

Video Review

Check out our detailed video review of the espada on our youtube channel.

Results

Each Espada is hand crafted by Merv at Strategic Angler requiring hours of work and finishing for each lure.  With multiple layers of epoxy, and the 2.4MM heavy wire contruction, this lure up to the task of tackling large pelagic specific including GT and Bluefin Tuna.  After a heavy season of use, multiple hookups the Espada show minimal damage of minor knicks and some wear on the epoxy from the trebles, where the plugs should hold up for many seasons to come.  Due to the effectiveness and longevity you have to seriously think about upgrading your tackle to include a few Espadas.  The Currents team is giving the Espada a solid 9.3 score out of 10.

strategic angler espada currents rating Score currents espada score

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