[Dodge]

Salti

I have always been primarily a bait fisherman, and seeing lures are a benefit on the yak started with SPs and HBs and when the going got tough [often] I took the easy way out and reverted to bait.

After a while I was no further advanced because of this approach;so a couple of months ago decided to stick to luring and not take the easy option in learning, as lure success is to well documented by other anglers.

There have been many fishless trips, but at the same time much learning has entered between the ears and maybe is now starting to show some signs of improvement in outcomes.

When Aus changed imperial to metric, like many I couldn't come to terms and kept converting in my head; until one day a mate said "throw away your inch tape and work metric only" and it made the difference in understanding.

I think this is the approach with learning lures, or bait...bite the bullet and go one way or the other

 

[hairymick]

Good post mate.

My thinking is similar to Richo's, however i still like to use baits a lot.

re lures, I troll two at a time. The most productive, by far for me have been the Ecogear SX range, however in an effort to find a cheaper lure that will provide similar results, I have bought a range of others. I only troll one SX and try a variety of others on the other rod eg Scorpion, mirashad, baby vibe, attack minnow,poltergiest etc etc.

Re SPs, I know bugger all about them but allways have a pack or two and have a play with them once a feed is in the bag. One day, I might be confident enough to just take the SPs but not at the moment.

 

[Peril]

Confidence is very important in fishing. Not only do we tend to persevere with a technique in which we have confidence, we tend to do it right, not cutting any corners.

For example, I have no confidence in my ability to read a beach except when the structure is bleedingly obvious. As a result I tend to move up and down without any real intent and then paying less attention to casting and retrieves. In short, I'm crap at beach fishing. Yet if someone tells me where to stand I will plug away at that spot until told to move and take care with my technique.

Fishing lures is no different. If you don't believe its going to work for you it probably won't because, intentionally or not, you won't be giving it 100%. Fish next to someone who is pulling in fish with lures when you're not and you'll likely start paying attention to what they're doing and fishing with more intent.

In the end, it's all about enjoyment. Fish the way you want to and take pleasure in it.

 

[troppo]

When I think about lures and their comparitive performance, I get confused. For example, I only have a small handful of lures, but trying to use them all at once just in case one will be better than another gives me a headache. And it is hard to cast when there is six lures on one rod! [joke]

So, I don't think too much about them but I do try to use something which I assume fits not too badly with the situation. For example, I was out fishing today. The water I was in has flathead and bream types of fish. So I used a smallish fish type lure (Bomber Long A) and a tiny one, a sx40 clone (Sprog). Tried trolling both on two lines but had troubles, so just did one then swapped over.

The thing with lures for me is trolling. I love paddling and it's double fun dragging a lure. So, if I was only using bait, the hours I spend paddling to that spot on the horizon that looks like it may be good (and when I get there the tide by this time is out so just dry sand flat) would be lost time. So, lures help me make better use of my fishing time.

Another thing about lures is variety. Today I caught some good fish, flathead, trevally, on fishy lures. But I also took some prawns and caught some good bream.

So, if ya like bait, lures can be used to increase ya chances of catching fish. If ya like lures, bait can be an alternative that can sometimes be just what is needed.

 

[SharkNett]

.

 

[troppo]

Thanks, Hammerhead.

 

[kingfisher111]

Simply brilliant Hammerhead, also works with waterskiers! Steve.

 

[Scott]

Salticrak, I know where you are coming from brother. I had always fished HBs for bream. After over 15 years of success on HBs I strongly resisted the trend of using SPs. I would take them with me but use HBs unless the fish were not on. Then I would switch to SPs. Obviously given the fact that I was struggling on HBs how could I expect SPs to do well.

One day I bit the bullet and didn't take any HBs. This forced me to use SPs. Now a couple of years later I rarely use HBs as I have so much confidence in SPs. As the old saying goes, the lure (or bait) in the water is the one you catch fish on. Persevere and use lures with confidence and success will follow. I haven't used bait for years with the exception of whole squid ect for sharks as unlike mere fish, sharks are far to smart to eat a lure.

Catch ya Scott

 

[hairymick]

as unlike mere fish, sharks are far to smart to eat a lure.

Heya Scott, beg to disagree,

I got a 8foot tiger trolling a big konahead for spaniards behind my launch near Gladstone Qld a few years back.

 

[Scott]

Mick, I admit that it does occasionally happen (have caught a couple of rat makos on pakulas and big rapalas) but you would have to be an optimist to target sharks on lures.

Catch ya Scott

 

[hairymick]

Yeah mate, true enough. Sorry mate, I was just having a smart arse moment.

Up until I started with this forum, I never really considered targeting sharks at all. Allways considered them a puss fish to be despised. With the numbers of whalers that are in the bay here though, I am seriously re-considering my position.

When I get my SOT finished, I might target a couple just for the hell of it.

 

[Breambo]

I'm a bit nervous to target sharks around here because the ones i've seen are big and theres lots. Six to eight foot bronzies were common for the blokes who used to live bait off the Bream Hole. That all history now with all the fishing restrictions.
I still nervous when I get my first big shark, any tips. :shock:

 

[Scott]

Breambo, in my experience, the best way to get rid of one is to feed it a bait. Let it pull you around for a while getting a sweet sleigh ride and then cut it off when it gets close to the boat. When they get cut off they normally head for the horizon. I feel that as long as you don't try to pull one to the surface alongside the yak the danger element is minimised to the point of being practically non existent. If you want a photo of one boat side play it out until it is hanging vertically in the water.

You are lucky up there in that due to lots of nice whalers you wouldn't have to burley, just put a good size bait on the bottom. I fish around 4 metres of heavy mono and around a foot of wire when targeting them from the yak. This lets me easily release them and they are not towing around a long heavy trace when released that could get tangled around rocks ect and subject the fish to a slow but certain death.

Catch ya Scott