Damon's top nine trout and salmon lures for 2005-2006

There are many lures on the market at the present. The soft plastics have taken the fishing world by storm. I must admit that I am no fan of them myself. I still enjoy using more traditional lures such as balsa minnows, deep divers, spinners and cobras. I find the smart hard body lure fisher can still keep up with or even out fish the plastics with the right formula.


Trolling Tips

There are a few key elements to make a successful lure troller. The first and the most important is boat speed. I find the most productive speed is dead slow, even trolling with cobras. This gives the fish more time to decide if he will strike or night. I find the best trolling speed about 2 km/h. If  you can't slow down your boat maybe the use of a troll-a-matic device that attaches to the cavitation plate of your outboard that slows your trolling speed down immensely.
Another very important aspect of trolling is to cover the water column efficiently with a spread of lures. The use of a shallow running lure and a deep diver or the use of a lead core line or down rigger will give you a great chance of finding where fish are feeding.
Top 10 Trout/Salmon Lures

No.1
Mcgrath deep diver

This would have to be my favourite trout/salmon lure. It is made of balsa and come with two sets of chemically sharpened treble hooks. The thing that I like about Mcgrath's is that they have a great shimmy action at low speed  that is irrisistable to most trout and salmon. They are Australian made and come in a large range of airbrushed colours. My favourite colours for trout are yellow attractor, yellow C.D, frog, white tiger, green and brown and brown trout. For atlantic salmon I prefer the colours fluro carp, fluro tiger, cobra, deadly attractor and green carp. They work best trolled or cast with a slow retrieve. They will dive to a maximum depth of 3 meters.

No.2
Rapala tail dancer 5cm

This is another top deep diver for trout and salmon. They have an excellent tail wagging action when trolled, or cast and retrieved. Like the Mcgraths they work best in deeper impoundments and dive to around the same depth. Unfortunately the Australian rapala market has a limted colour range and the best colours are available from the worldwide rapala market. If  you would like to access these colours come and have a chat to me at Charltons Fishing. My favourite colour is fire tiger.

No.3
Pro-Troll/Echips lures and flashers

These lures are only new to the Tasmanian tackle scene but should take it by storm. They have been designed for trout and salmon in the USA and have proven themselves as a front runner in the lure market. I was fortunate enough to try some of these lures before they became available and have had some success. The main two that I like in the range that I tried were the trout killer and the sting king. The E-Chip lures and flashers all have a small inbuilt emitter built into the lure which creates small electronic pulses through the water column which immitates a wounded bait fish. They also come in a great range of colours. I have had some good results on the Lake Barrington salmon with the Pro-Troll E-Chip Flashers. I trolled these deep on a lead core line before my lure.  

No.4
Tillins King Cobras

One of the oldest cobras on the market and Tasmanian made. Thy have a great action and run very shallow. They are great for drift spinning amongst snags. It is very easy to control the depth of the lure. They also troll really well either flat line or on a lead line. I tie my own teaser flies on a black magic KS size 1 single hook. This method gives the lure extra length and an articulated motion. I have had great success on Lake Barrington atlantics using this method. King cobras also have an extensive colour range with some very natural looking colours. My favourite colours are nos. 42, 44, 46, 63, 71, 62, 47 and 58. All of these colours are red hot on trout and salmon. King cobras are also the only cobras with the green jewel cut eye, which glints light reflection to help entice any wary fish into strike mode.

No. 5
Sting Cobras

Another great Tasmainian cobra and produced in Launceston by Robert and Tony Morecroft. Sting have a great airbrushed finish and are heavier than most cobras. They work best at slow speed where they have a great tail action. Stings come with a single true turn trolling hook and bead. You also have the option of swivel rigged, split ring rigged or teaser fly rigged which are all available in pre packs. Stings also work well trolled deep on a lead line. They have some great colours such as the glow grub and the grey feather which are very innovative and top fish catches.

No.6
 Tillins Ashley Spinners

After working in a busy city tackle shop you get a fair idea of what works and what dosen't. Tillans Ashley's are by far Charltons Fishings biggest selling fresh water lure. They have been around for over 40 years and have proven themselves to be top fish catches. They are designed for spinning for either from a boat or off the shore. Some anglers give them an action by a stop wind start wind motion. This is very effective. Like the King cobras they have a superb finish and are very uniformed. Their foil based colours are favourites such as numbers 14A, 14B, 14C,14D, 22 and 29. Ashleys are also Tasmanian made on the banks of the Tamar River.

No.7
Rapala Glass Shad Raps

Another top trout/salmon catcher. They are a deep running lure with a tight running action even at low speed. Glass Shad raps are a clear transparent  plastic lure with an inbuilt rattle to attract fish from a distance. They have a few good colours but my favourite is the fire perch. My son Ben has had a lot of success on this one. There is  a picture of him and a lovely atlantic salmon that he spun up on the front cover of this seasons inland fisheries code book with a rapala glass shad rap in its mouth. It is Bens favourite by far. Rapala shad raps dive to about 2.5 meters, but it does depend on the size that you are using. I would not go fresh water fishing without one of these in my tackle box.

No. 8
Rapala Husky Jerk

A great lure by Rapala. They are a suspending lure, which means that when you stop winding they stay neutral in the water column making it very easy to control the depth. They come in shallow  and deep diving versions and also come in a plastic glass finish and a balsa style just like the shad raps. I like using these lures in the larger sizes like 10 and 12 centimetres. They really sort out the size of fish that you catch. They troll well on both flat line and lead line. My favourite colours are fire perch and baby bass.

No. 9
J.J's Stunt Jumpers

This is a great trolling lure for trout and also very popular for native species on the mainland. They are a deep diving lure that come with two interchangeable bibs. The first will dive to around 2.5 metres and the second to around 4 metres. Stunt jumpers were designed in Australia but are now mass produced overseas. They come in some great tout colours and are very effective on big fish. Another lure that I highly recommend that you have in you tackle box.

If you have any problems accessing these lures give me a call or come in and see me at Charltons and I will try and help you out. I hope you have a great start to the new trout season starting on August 6.

Good Luck

Damon