Bargain Bin Banger: How a Discontinued $5 Yo-Zuri Delivered a Slam

Happy Monday Spacefish!

When you catch a snook, seatrout, and redfish all within a single day, that’s what we call an inshore slam, and as spring slides toward summer here on the Space Coast, sunrise might just be the best shot you’ve got at pulling one off within a 90 minute window.

This time of year is one of my absolute favorites. Water temps are climbing, fish are feeding early, and topwater season starts delivering some of the most exciting strikes in inshore fishing. With a little skill, a little luck, and the right launch, you can check off all three boxes before most people finish breakfast.

Recently, I found myself making a late-night Wal-Mart run for one simple reason: I needed cash back so my son could pay his Lego Club dues at school. Now, I could’ve just grabbed a soda at the front register; but seeing as I’m currently in a physical shape that I prefer to call “festively plump,” I decided to take the scenic route to get some extra steps in.

Unfortunately… the scenic route led straight through the fishing section. That’s where I found it: a dusty, bottom-rack, bargain-bin Yo-Zuri lure for $4.96. The 90F Pencil SW. A lure so discontinued it might as well’ve had a retirement plaque hanging next to it. At 3½ inches and ½ ounce, this metallic silver, blue-backed relic looked like something forgotten by time, but for less than five bucks, in this economy, it felt about as reckless as buying a soda anyway. So naturally, I bought it.

A few days later I got a chance to go fishing. I launched at sunrise from Long Point on the eastern side of the Indian River Lagoon with one mission: give this now defunct, discount-bin topwater exactly one hour to prove itself. Like Brett Favre coming out of retirement, except hopefully with fewer scandals and more topwater blowups.

At the time I picked up the Wally Marshall Special Edition Yo-Zuri, I honestly thought Wal-Mart was just clearing out mediocre inventory. I had no clue this lure was discontinued and apparently selling online for triple what I paid. Still, even at full price, I’d probably grab a Rapala Skitter Walk or Heddon Super Spook Jr. first.

But here’s the crazy thing, within 90 minutes, this forgotten bargain bait produced a full inshore slam…. Snook. Trout. Redfish. And while this lure absolutely got crushed, I’ll still stand by a truth I’ve said before and will say again: Where you throw is way more important than what you throw.

Yo-Zuri 90F Pencil SW: Pros & Cons

Specs at a Glance:

• Length: 3.5 inches (90mm)
• Weight: 1/2 oz
• Type: Floating Topwater
• Sound: 3-ball high-pitch internal rattle

Pros

One of this bait’s biggest strengths is how it moves in the water. Instead of running flat, the rear sinks slightly, giving it a tail-down posture that makes it especially appealing to redfish and other inshore predators that naturally feed upward. I have caught a decent number of Redfish on topwater before, but I seem to catch more on the Yo-Zuri. I used a similar Yo-Zuri pencil on a few trips a few years ago and remember an increased number of Redfish catches compared to using other plugs.

With three internal brass balls, this plug throws off a sharp, high-pitch rattle that can call fish in from a distance, especially during low-light topwater bites. This bait doesn’t require a ton of effort to get moving. With a light twitch and steady cadence, it can produce solid walk-the-dog action without wearing your arm out.

Cons

Compared to more aerodynamic topwaters like a Heddon Super Spook Jr. or Rapala Skitter Walk, the 90F can be a little less forgiving in windy conditions. It doesn’t always bomb long, laser-straight casts.

While it walks well, this lure performs best when worked quickly. Slower retrieves can make it feel less responsive than other topwaters that glide more naturally at multiple speeds. When paused, the bait tends to sit almost vertically with the tail down instead of resting flat. This can be a plus for redfish, but it also means it’s not always ideal if you prefer a more traditional pause-and-glide presentation.

The factory treble hooks get the job done, but serious anglers may want to swap them out for stronger trebles or inline singles for better durability and fish handling. I had two really quality fish, a 30ish inch red, and a good solid seatrout that I reckon to be about 20-22 inches. The redfish bulldogged down in some grass and the bait got snagged and the fish was able to pull way. The seatrout was hooked on the back treble and shook it out when it came up and gave a head shake near the kayak.

Final Verdict – The Yo-Zuri 90F Pencil SW may not outshine a Super Spook or Skitter Walk in every category, but for the right price, especially bargain-bin pricing, it’s a fish-catching sleeper with solid durability, loud presence, and a posture that can absolutely get crushed in the right conditions.

Picking Off the Runner

I made my first cast at 6:37 a.m. By 6:51, the Yo-Zuri had already produced its first seatrout. At 7:11, a redfish joined the party. The snook made me work a little harder.

I had pushed deep into a shaded little cove as the morning sun started creeping higher, targeting the kind of mangrove shadow line that just screams ambush point. At precisely 8:07 a.m., that snook hit, and just like that, the inshore slam was complete in exactly 90 minutes.

At that point, I felt like I’d already punched the clock and put in a full day’s work. Mission accomplished. From there on out, the rest of the morning was just about enjoying myself.

I kept working that shrinking shadow line for a while, but after the slam, I started noticing a pattern: fish were still following the topwater, still boiling on it… but not fully committing.

So instead of forcing the issue, I started “picking off the runners.” Any time I’d get a missed strike or lazy swirl behind the plug, I’d immediately fire back in there with a DOA CAL Shad on a ⅛-ounce jighead, basically throwing a soft plastic at fish that had already shown themselves but drifted a little too far off first base. That adjustment paid off with several more trout in the 15 to 20 inch range.

By around 9 a.m., the topwater bite had faded enough for me to retire the bargain-bin hero and convert that setup over to a MirrOdine. My topwater combo was my Lew’s Inshore Speed Stick spooled with 15-pound braid, 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, and a six-inch section of 30-pound mono bite tippet (shoutout to John Page). That little mono extension gave me extra insurance around bigger fish and helped keep a few floating inches near the plug.

Once the topwater rod got reassigned, I clipped off the bite tippet, tied it directly to the fluoro, and got back after it. The MirrOdine and DOA CAL both stayed productive, producing plenty of trout, jacks, ladyfish, more snook, and even another puppy drum. Nothing huge, but steady action.

Later in the day, I tucked into a wind-protected backwater culvert and got tarpon tapped on the DOA. That’s when I broke out one of my new experiments: a chewed-up MirrOlure Lil John with the tail clipped down into what my boys now call the “Robin Hood Rig.” I salvage the last 1.5ish inches, just enough to put on a jighead, and I cast to rolling Tarpon and slowly glide it across their line of vision.
I’ve been testing it on juvenile tarpon for the past 2 weeks, and this trip finally paid off. After jumping a few 15- to 20-pounders recently, I finally landed a baby tarpon around five pounds right in the kayak. No glamour shot on this one, he launched, thrashed, hit the deck, spit the hook, and bailed before I could play photographer, but the aerial show alone made it worth it. Quick, clean release!

Conclusion

To stick with the baseball analogy for a moment, an artificial-only inshore slam feels a whole lot like knocking one out of the park. None of these fish were true wall-hangers, but a slam is still a slam. Even if it’s not a towering, upper-deck bomb, it can absolutely feel like an inside-the-park home run; earned through hustle, smart decisions, and putting yourself in the right position. And honestly, hustling one out still beats striking out every single time. This trip marked just my second-ever artificial grand slam without “cheating” with live bait, so trust me, I’m not taking that lightly.

Moments like this are also a great reminder of just how much confidence the right kayak setup can give you. My Hobie Outback from Kayaks By Bo continues to be an absolute workhorse, helping me cover water efficiently, sneak into productive backwaters, and stay on fish from first light through the late morning bite. Whether I’m chasing shadow lines, slipping into tight coves, or making on the fly lure changes, having a dependable platform underneath me makes all the difference. Because sometimes, the difference between a strikeout and a slam isn’t the lure, it’s having the freedom to get where the fish are.

Stay safe, be happy, and go enjoy this late spring warm up bite, get those topwaters out and go see the sunrise, I promise you won’t regret it. Until next time!