As trout anglers, we all have a few favourite lures, the ones that go everywhere with us, even if we don't use half of them. Everybody has that one lure that you use anytime of the year, any lake, something they can always fall back on if all else fails. Your favourite lures are a part of you, and if you are unfortunate enough to loose one, it is a sad time, I often sit and moan just for a second as your pride and joy is gone, that little edge you had over most anglers is gone forever. The question is if we could have four lures and four lures only. What would you choose as your four favourite lures that would improve your chances of catching a Tasmanian wily brown. I asked this very question to some of Tassie's well known trout guides, tackle rep's, experienced anglers and the not so experienced anglers. These were my findings: The cobra style of lure was defiantly the most popular. The three most popular brands were the Tassie Devil, Lofty's and King Kobra. Out of these three the Tassie Devil is the most popular brand with the trusty old green and gold no.6 being the most popular, by far. Other colours in the Tassie Devil that received a mention were the Christmas tree pattern no. 51 and the red and black herring bone no. 15. The fluro lures being suggested on a bright sunny day. Another Cobra that got a mention was the Monks lure (which is no longer in circulation) in the black and gold pattern. The next most popular lure was the deep diving, bibbed lure. Out of these the Rapala being the most commonly favoured. In particular the Rainbow and Brown trout received the greatest approval. Both the 5 cm and 7 cm version with the floating being the most popular. The CD 7 cm gold Rapala also entered the race with it apparently working wonders on Arthurs. Next there were four deep divers that were closely related being the Tilsans, McGrath, Nilsmaster and Rebel Crawdaad. Again the Rainbow and Brown Trout patterns were the most popular. The McGrath in the deep pink was a favourite with the yellow attractor being worth a try in waters such as Arthurs and Dee Lagoon. The Crawdad in the brown and yellow was apparently dynamite on bigger fish in Lake Pedder and Gordon.
Next on the scale was the good old Wonder Wobbler and closely related spoon patterns. From what I gather from customers there are three favourite colours being the redfin pattern, the greenfin and the frog pattern. The Ashley Spinner that always gets a mention didn't quite rate as high as I expected, although still got its fair share of votes. Again the green and gold featured and all of the dark patterns seeming to have their share of success. When it came down to the river scene the common Celta seemed to receive the most positive response. Although only mentioned once the Jensen Insect is a top little lure with a reputation that is hard to follow. At the end of all this I really began to think, if I could only take four lures to my favourite little stretch of the Tyenna River, what would I take?
First would be the 5 cm floating Rainbow Trout Rapala. Second would have to be the green and gold Tassie Devil. My third and fourth lures would be more adapted to lake fishing and would be a Nilsmaster and the not so common fluoro, deep diving Halco combat, which I sadly recently lost. Some lures which surprisingly did not get much of a mention were lures such as fish cakes, flatfish, candles and thunderbolts which are all quite successful lures in the right time and right place. Overall I was given the picture that trout anglers seem to be focused on traditional patterns and lures, normally sticking with the same brand of lure, same style and a lot of the time the same colours. From what I can imagine it would be almost impossible to be restricted to only four lures. After all they do say lures catch fisherman not fish.
A small selection of anglers from the many surveyed.
Stephen Bax - (The Fishing Connection) Tassie Devil (Green and Gold), Rapala, Ashley Spinner, Wonder Wobbler.
Rob Richardson - (The Fishing Connection) Rapala CD 7 Gold, Monks Lures Christmas Tree, Tassie Devil No 13,Crawdad (Rebel)
Michael Jones - (Bottom End Sport fishing Club) Tassie Devil (Gold and Green), Rapala, Ashley Spinner, Wonder Wobbler
Peter Gysen - Tassie Devil, Rapala, Celta, Nilsmaster
Roger Butler - (Red Tag Trout Tours) Tassie Devil (Green and Black), Frog patterns spoon, Celta, Wonder Wobbler
Craig Little - (Trout Guide) Red and Black Herring Bone, Fluro Tassie Devil, Tillins Frog Pattern, Tilsan Brown Trout
Paul Ellis - (Ellis Agencies, Shimano Rep.) McGrath Deep pink, Rapala (Rainbow and Brown Trout), McGrath Yellow Attractor.