Simple soft plastics techniques

Angela Woods
All this talk about soft plastics. "I would like to try them, but they all say I need a 2-5 kg fast tapered rod, special and expensive 2500 size reels, braided line, fluorocarbon leader material and jig heads in 10 different weights. It sounds all to hard and expensive, and what happens if I don't like it".
Well, you don't need all that stuff just to try it. It can cost under ten bucks for a packet or two of pre-rigged plastics. If you are keen check out how you can give it a try. And hey! A packet of plastics costs about the same as bait and most don't smell at all. You've gotta love that.

Lines aint Lines


Have you ever stood in a tackle store and been confused or amazed at the amount of fishing lines available to today's anglers? Have you stood there thinking, which is the best one for what I want to do and what the hell is Dyneema or Co Polymer? Well don't be disheartened, as a tackle shop owner I can understand how confusing your choice can be as every year manufacturers produce newer, slicker, better casting lines with more abrasion resistance etc etc etc and bombard retailers with samples and stories of how this is the newest stuff and everyone's going to want it. How do sort out what the marketing hype is and what is actually a good line? Well I know you'll hate to hear this but price is usually a good indicator.

Lines and getting the most from a trolled lure

Bill Presslor
One of the most critical factors in achieving optimum performance from any trolled lure is line selection. The line you choose for a particular application deserves a lot of careful consideration, after all it's your main connection to a fish. Though it has been said countless times, a lot of anglers seem to pay little attention to this detail when it comes time to spool up for a fishing trip. The age-old adage about getting what you pay for certainly rings true when it comes to line selection. The technology and choice available to anglers in the form of monofilaments, co-polymers, braided superlines, and fluoro carbon lines is really quite staggering. The array of manufacturers and brands of lines, along with the price and availability, seems to have expanded enormously in the past ten years. The most important areas for consideration with trolling applications should be lead length (dropback or line out), line diameter, stretch, and abrasion resistance. Manipulating all of these factors can have a huge impact on your success.

Surface fishing

Leroy Tirant

In Tasmania surface fishing for trout has been a long standing tradition. "Top spinning" with wood and wattle grubs is still a favored past time for many, but in recent times anglers have been starting to become aware of hard bodied lures and soft plastics that can be used for the same purpose at less expense. Nearly all fresh and inshore salt water species available around Tasmania's coastline will take a surface lure fished with a variety of retrieves. Anglers have to remember that fish spend a fair amount of their time in the upper reaches of the water column either because of water temperature, or because that's where they are feeding. When they are high in the water column or near the surface, fish spend a fair amount of time looking up and are always opportunistic when looking for a feed. I guess the most appealing prospect when fishing with surface lures is that its visual fishing. Quite often you will see the fish before it strikes, which can lead to stressful precious seconds before it grabs the lure and of course the amazing strikes that leave a hole in the water where your lure once was. It can at times be a more productive method, often out fishing other techniques.

Bait collecting

Leroy Tirant
Owning and working in a tackle store I get the privilege of talking to fisherman all day long about all types of fishing. And regardless of how long they've been fishing for I am usually able to come up with something new for them to try; even more so when it comes to bait fishing. Like any form of fishing using the right bait, collecting and storing it properly can make the difference between catching fish and going home empty handed. I find a lot of anglers for one reason or another get stuck into a routine of using just one type of bait, and whilst this may be fine if you catch fish with it every time, what if you don't?

Leadline trolling - An effective and essential technique for Tasmania

Trolling guru, Bill Presslor takes a close look one of his favourite trolling methods - leadline

Most freshwater trollers have at one time or another had at least some experience with lead core lines. Whether you love it or hate it, lead core catches fish!
Basically, lead core line, a lead wire covered by woven nylon, has been around for over fifty years and was developed as a means of trolling lures deeper than they could be trolled by traditional means. Used in conjunction with downriggers, planer boards and surface or flat lines, lead core lines can add versatility to any trolling spread. They are often the most productive option when you need to get your lures that little bit deeper. In lakes such as Arthurs Lake, Great Lake and Dee Lagoon lead core lines are bound to improve your catch rate.

Deepwater jigging for trout and Atlantic salmon

Leroy Tirant

How often have you been trolling around and have seen fish on your sounder showing up in depths of 20-40 ft or more? Even in today's modern world where an angler can buy a 5cm lure that will dive to 20ft or so it can still be frustrating trying to get your lures to the right depth to target these deep fish. But there is a fantastic exciting and easy way to target deepwater fish!

Tackle for soft plastics

Starlo and Bushy
One of the great things about soft plastics is that you can fish them reasonably effectively using almost any sort of tackle. In fact, you can work a soft plastic on any gear you'd use to fish natural baits with, including a humble handline. Of course, you won't be able to cast very far with a handline, and it will present various other limitations, but in offshore bottom fishing, for example, it would still offer an acceptable method for bouncing a plastic or two up and down in front of a fish. Plastics can also be worked reasonably well off deck winches or short, stiff boat rods and non-casting centrepin reels (again, mostly only in up-and-down scenarios, where casting isn't necessary or important).

Winter boat storage

Tim Anderson.
As the doom of gloom of winter makes it presence known thoughts turn to next season. To make "next year" a more pleasant experience, boaties should use the quiet period to conduct regular boat and trailer maintenance. Of course this should be a constant thing with boats, but winter is a time to take a closer look and fix thos little things that you might have put off.
The following is by no means a comprehensive list however it is suggested that these checks are conducted. Most of the following will only require a quick check while others can be time consuming and costly if left unattended. I have focused mainly on the trailer for this article which is often the part of your equipment which will can cause serious grief.

Spinners-Oldies but Goodies

Andrew Richardson.

Last year I decided it was time to get rid of some junk. You know, the stuff that hangs around in the shed for years, kept on the premise that it might be useful some day. The type of stuff that only ever becomes required three days after you've thrown it out
Being somewhat of a hoarder I find these occasions (yes there have been many!) necessary but not enjoyable, and I tend to spend my time procrastinating by looking through my wares rather than getting to the point and deciding upon an items usefulness, as opposed to its uselessness.
On one of these particular occasions I came upon an old pale blue tackle box being housed in a box not yet unpacked from our most recent move - four and a half years ago-

Custom rod building

Leroy Tirant
Having a fishing rod custom built for your specific needs was a necessity back in the 70 and 80's as commercial manufacturers had a limited range on offer. High speed spinning off ledges for Tuna, game fishing for Marlin and surf casting were really moving forwards in leaps and bounds as anglers became aware of the fishing potential in these areas, as well as others. The need for specialist tackle saw a new breed of legend grow, and that was a custom rod builder. Rods needed to tackle fish in these new fishing frontiers where tactics and methods were being developed simply didn't exist. People also began seeing the advantage of having a casting rod made with the grips and reel seat fitted to the length of their casting stroke, as this let anglers cast with a natural style rather than trying to adjust your self to casting a factory built rod.

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