If you've ever spent a cold morning out on the Chesapeake or any coastal stretch looking for trophy fish, you've probably seen mojo trolling lures doing the heavy lifting. They aren't exactly the most high-tech looking things in your tackle box—they look a bit like a giant's version of a bucktail jig—but there's a reason they've become the gold standard for striped bass. They just flat-out catch fish when nothing else seems to wake them up.
What Exactly Is a Mojo Anyway?
At its simplest, a mojo is a heavy, lead-headed jig dressed with long nylon or bucktail hair, usually paired with a large soft plastic swim bait or "shad" on the hook. We aren't talking about the little jigs you'd use for flounder or schoolie bass; these things can weigh anywhere from 8 ounces to a massive 48 ounces.
The whole point of a mojo is to get down deep where the big girls are hanging out. When the water gets cold and the stripers are hugging the bottom, you need something with enough mass to stay in the strike zone without getting swept away by the current or the forward motion of your boat. The hair on the lure gives it a "filled-out" profile that mimics a large baitfish like a menhaden or a bunker, and the soft plastic tail adds that rhythmic thumping vibration that fish can feel through their lateral lines.
The Magic of the Tandem Rig
While you can certainly fish a single mojo, most experienced anglers swear by the tandem rig. If you want to see why mojo trolling lures are so effective, you have to look at how they move through the water in pairs.
A standard tandem rig involves a three-way swivel. You've got one heavy mojo (maybe 24 or 32 ounces) on a shorter leader, and a lighter mojo (maybe 8 or 12 ounces) on a much longer leader—sometimes up to 20 or 30 feet long.
This setup does two things. First, the heavy lure acts as your downrigger, keeping the whole rig near the bottom. Second, it creates the illusion of a small school of baitfish. The lighter lure trails behind and dances around, looking like a straggler that's fallen behind the pack. In the fish world, a straggler is an easy target. It's not uncommon to get a "double header" where two fish smash both lures at the same time, though usually, the trailing lighter lure gets the most action.
Getting the Depth Right
The biggest mistake people make with mojo trolling lures is not getting them deep enough. You want these things bouncing just off the bottom. I don't mean dragging in the mud—you'll snag every rock and piece of debris from here to the horizon if you do that—but you want it within a few feet of the sand.
To get the depth right, you have to find that sweet spot between boat speed and line out. Most guys like to troll at about 2.5 to 3 knots. If you go too fast, the lures will plane up toward the surface. If you go too slow, they'll just sit on the bottom.
A good rule of thumb is to let your line out until you feel the "thud" of the lead hitting the bottom, then give the reel a couple of quick cranks to lift it up. Every ten minutes or so, it's a good idea to check back in. Drop it until it hits, then crank it back up. This ensures you're still in the zone, especially if the depth of the water is changing as you move along a channel edge.
Color Choices: Keep It Simple
You can find mojo trolling lures in every color of the rainbow, but honestly, you only really need two: white and chartreuse.
- White: This is your go-to for clear water and bright, sunny days. It mimics the natural belly of most baitfish and provides a clean, realistic silhouette.
- Chartreuse: When the water is murky, stained, or it's a cloudy "overcast" day, chartreuse is king. That neon glow cuts through the gloom and makes it much easier for a striped bass to track the lure down.
Some people like to mix and match—maybe a white head with a chartreuse tail, or a "nine-eleven" combo where one lure is white and the other is green. There's no hard rule here, but if the fish are being picky, switching the color of your trailing lure is usually the first adjustment you should make.
The Right Gear for the Job
You can't exactly fish these lures with your standard medium-light spinning rod. Trolling a 32-ounce weight plus the drag of the water requires some serious backbone. You're going to want a dedicated trolling rod, something with a relatively stiff action but a tip that's sensitive enough to show you if the lure has picked up a piece of grass or seaweed.
A conventional reel is a must. You want something with a loud clicker and a smooth drag system. When a 40-inch striped bass hits a mojo while the boat is moving at 3 knots, the strike is violent. There's no "nibble" involved. The rod will simply fold over and the reel will start screaming. If your drag is set too tight, you risk snapping the line or pulling the hook right out of the fish's mouth.
Speaking of line, most people use braided line in the 50 to 80-pound range. Braid has a thinner diameter than monofilament, which means less water resistance and easier diving for your lures. It also has zero stretch, so you can feel exactly what's happening down there.
Why the "Hair" Matters
It might seem like a small detail, but the nylon or bucktail hair on mojo trolling lures is actually a big part of why they work. When the lure is moving through the water, that hair breathes. It expands and contracts slightly with every pulse of the boat or wave action.
This movement makes the lure look alive. Without the hair, it's just a big hunk of lead and plastic. With the hair, it becomes a pulsing, shimmering target. Also, the hair helps to slow the descent of the lure slightly, giving it a more graceful "glide" rather than a dead drop. It's all about the presentation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One of the most frustrating things that can happen is a tangled rig. Since you're often dealing with long leaders on a tandem setup, it's easy to get things twisted if you aren't careful during the drop.
Always "thumb" the spool as you let the rig down. Don't just throw it in neutral and let it fly. By keeping a little tension on the line as it sinks, you ensure the trailing lure stays behind the main weight. If you let it free-fall, the lighter lure can wrap around the main line, and you'll spend the next twenty minutes untangling a bird's nest instead of fishing.
Another tip: check your knots. These lures are heavy, the fish are heavy, and the boat is moving. That's a lot of pressure on your connections. Using a heavy-duty crimp or a very strong Palomar knot is usually the way to go.
Final Thoughts on the Mojo
At the end of the day, using mojo trolling lures is about efficiency. They allow you to cover a huge amount of water and keep your bait in the strike zone longer than almost any other method. They might not be the most "artful" way to fish—you aren't delicately casting a fly or working a topwater plug—but if your goal is to put a trophy fish in the boat for a photo (and maybe a dinner), there's nothing better.
Next time you're out and the fish seem to be deep and lethargic, pull out the big guns. Drop a tandem mojo rig down to the bottom, settle into a slow troll, and wait for that rod to double over. There's nothing quite like the rush of seeing a massive striper come up alongside the boat with a big chartreuse mojo hanging out of its mouth. It's a classic for a reason.