03/09/2020
Going through some old pics last night while doing a bit of a computer clean up I was thinking how much I love fishing with lures,so thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures/captures and give a bit of a run down on where,when,how and on what to help those who are maybe struggling a bit with certain lures,techniques or species to catch more fish on lures.
If you find it at all informative or interesting give it a like and/or share and I'll do more as well as some videos in the future.
We're starting this journey down memory lane with one of my most memorable captures, which is a shave over 50cm Estuary Perch,the reason I chose this fish was because it was taken doing my favorite style of fishing,using one of my all time favorite lures in absolutely picturesque skinny water which is definitely my favorite area to fish,not only is it just a lovely place to be on a warm afternoon but if you're away from major cities there is an abundance of wildlife .
Where:
Northern Rivers NSW
A small tributary of a major river system,in this system I've found in the warmer months the larger EP hang in the area where the water starts to be fresh enough for water lilies to grow.
When:
Off memory for this particular session it was a warm overcast morning in late September but you can get them during all of the warmer months.
Tackle:
2-4kg light spin outfit,6lb braid and a good quality 8lb mono leader.
Although it's nice to use expensive gear and it can make a difference to your fishing, any light spin or casting outfit will do the job and the same goes for braid but a quality leader can make a big difference,for surface fishing it's best to use a monofilament leader as mono floats and fluorocarbon sinks which can drastically affect a lure's action,also I like to fish as light as possible for the same reason as well as being less likely for a smart fish to see it.
Lure:
This particular fish was taken on a Scizz Tackle popper in the mat black,most colours will work on a given day but I've found the darker colours,blacks,dark greens and browns to work the best for Estuary Perch.
Although I use walkers,crawlers,cicadas etc quite a bit I've found on most days a well used popper will outfsh all of the above,they are surprisingly versatile.
Technique:
For the Scizz popper when targeting EP/Bass I rotate through 4 different techniques,
is what I call the bloop which is a short sharp hit with the rod tip which makes a deep bloop sound when done correctly with the right popper,use very long pauses in between bloops.
is the drag,as the name implies you drag the lure about 20-30 cm at a time at a fairly fast speed,this will make a more subtle sound but will spit a lot of water in front of the lure,usually do three quick drags then a good pause.
is the standard pop,which is in between the 2 previously mentioned and the way 90% of people use a popper,this is done by doing 3 or 4 short tugs on the line making a pop noise with a short pause in between after each set.
is the walk,left this one for last as I find this is the most effective of the 4 techniques but it's probably the hardest to master,as the name states you use the popper as if it's a walking lure,this isn't going to be easy to describe so bare with me lol,you use very short sharp twitches of the end of the rod with a tiny tiny pause in between each with a pause in between sets of 2 to 10 twitches,each twitch should only just move the lure so is pivots from one direction to the other,if you get this right the lure will almost turn 90 degrees from side to side making very subtle pop sounds and spitting a little water,the benefit of this method is you get a lot of action in a very short distance so the lure stays in the strike for a lot longer,I've actually had the Scizz popper weights designed to make this technique easier ,a lot of poppers can be difficult to walk.
On the day:
I was a couple of hours into a very productive session landing numerous good Bass and Estuary Perch, I'd worked my way up to a very good stretch which unfortunately has been completely stuffed up due to a change in flow due to a huge fallen tree,I was throwing the popper back into the lily pads using the walk technique in between them,just as I reached the edge of the lilies the water erupted with the unmistakable surface hit of a big EP,they hit like a little Barra lol,she buried into the lilies but after a bit of coaxing made it to the net.
If you got through it all then good job ,I hope you found it informative.
If you're interested in purchasing any of Scizz Tackle's products just click on the link below.
https://admin.shoptab.net/store/18143/linkback
