Had a look at the stats recently over which posts are read and the LRF and HRF gear discussions seem to be by far the more popular posts. With that in mind I have decided to write a further post on LRF to update you with the latest gear available on the market.
So time to have a look at some of the updates to the LRF gear available on the market.
Lets have a look at some new rods in the form of the YAMAGA Blue current 74 and 80. This pair of rods have a super sensitive feel but both are stiffer in feel than my MC Zaltz ZAT, yes still using this beautiful rod. However the 74 is rated at 1-8g and the 80 at 1-11g. This draws me to these rods as during this season I have found I have used metals a lot more than I have done in the past. This has been down to the poor weather and tougher conditions we have endured this year. The Zaltz rated 0.5-5g has handled the metals within the rating well but the soft tip does make me nervous about going to much over on the weight of the metal lure. The Blue Current gives you that extra bit of weight option when choosing the lure weights. Peace of mind considering the number of LRF tip sections I have heard of snapping this year alone. The second rod is from the TICT range. TICT have produced a number of LRF bits in cluding rods and end tackle. The Inbite 710 TB is a lovely looking rod. With a casting range of 0.9-12 g it covers all the angles for the same reasons as the yamaga rods. From a wagle in the shop it also has the same responsive feel. I have not fished any of these rods yet but I do prefer a shorter rod for LRF. My initial thoughts and feelings go with the Yamaga Blue Current 74. It has the weight range I need with the lighter feel I prefer and is a shorter rod similar in length to my Zaltz. All three rods fall in the mid price bracket with the TICT taking the more expensive end over the Yamaga rods.
There has been a new entrant on the reel front. For a specific LRF reel I have seen a number of Daiwa Gekkabijin MX 2004 being used within the group I fish with. This is a pure finesse reel and quite affordable to boot. This is a shallow spool LRF reel which is silky smooth and able to really adapt to conditions when fishing light gear. The Gekkabijin ticks all the boxes for a specific light game reel at an affordable price. This still falls within the mid range price bracket.
Finally to the end gear. First off the people at TICT have produced a range of jigs and plastics for your LRF fishing needs. The jigs have been designed with roles in mind. The Dart Jighead M is designed to zip from side to side when twitched on the retrieve. The action has to be seen. This little jig really gives the lure a life and the quick darting action gets the fish interested. I have used these jigs and I find them simple to use with a great action for your effort. The Bull Head 'Strong Shaft' is a strange looking fella. The concave design gives a resistance to the retrieve. This serves to do a couple of things. Firstly the resistance means you can fish a lighter jig and still feel the pull of the lure. This also keeps more tension on the line during the retrieve. The shape of the jig also means you get a better pressure wave created by the jig and lure on the retrieve. This could mean that the fish home in on this action and find the lure. I have yet to try these jigs but have been asked about them a lot when fishing Tict gear so will have to give them a try.
Finally the lures have also kept on coming. TICT had a handful of new lures arrive including the Brilliant in 2.5 and 1.5" , Fisit 2.5" , Lizard Tail 2.4" and Venus 1.5". I have used the Brilliant and it has a great action on a dart jighead. With a good sized paddle on the back end and a ribbed body its a cracking little lure. I also like the look of the Lizard Tail which will likely be the next lure I try in this range. Also fishing well for larger LRF species and crossing over into a bit of smaller HRF work is the Lunker City Fin-S. These have been working well for me and I particularly like the Arkansas Shiner colour which has also done well as a colour fishing the larger Slug-go for HRF. Worth a look for a change of tactic and seeking out the larger LRF fish. Although they have been around for some time I have just starting using this lure as a mainstay of my LRF soft plastic arsenal.
To finish with I would like to introduce you to a few of the hard plastic lures / metals I am starting to use. This is a follow on from the metals I have already posted about and my interest in metal and hard plastic lure is increasing as a viable tactic for LRF. I have got three new lures types to experiment with. The Daiwa SC Shiner which is a great little suspending lure and very hot with Mackerel but also a tempting Bass treat. The next is the Jackall pyun pyun lure in 4.5g. This has performed well for Mike SULLIVAN over at Rockfishing Revolution for the period he has been using them and so I will take on the lure for a further period of testing. And finally a new metal in the form of the Jackall Mameta metal lures. This is a cracking little sinking lure which comes with an assist hook attached to the eye. Superb looking metal with a little extra "sting" :)
So there we have it. A few updates to my original post as things are moving on all the time. Interestingly it also moves with your experience and I have found I use metals a lot more than any other lure a t the current time. Plastics still produce the goods. Mytactics have also changed to suit the condition and following the session with my folks the other day Ill post up some simple tactics and how I attach end gear. This is borne from the questions I was aksed at that session which will be the same of most new anglers to LRF.
Till then, Tight lines.
Monday, 13 August 2012
Friday, 10 August 2012
Introducing lure fishing to a new generation...
Yesterday was a really inspiring day for me. I took three nephews out with my dad and brother in law to introduce them to lure fishing. None have any real fishing experience and certainly never held or fished a lure rod or soft plastics, which was going to be the order of the day.
So a couple of days ago I took the guys down to Art of Fishing for a look at the kind of gear we would be using for our day out. My dad was after a set up so we left with a Garbolino Magister paired with a Shimano Nexave 1000FC. This was to be spooled with some Sunline Siglon Flouro in 3lb. Armed with a pocket in set and some Power isome we were set.
So yesterday we packed the gear, including three wired young gents, and we made our way off to the mark. I chose a mark which was easily accessible and parking was bang on the fishing area. We were to fish off hard standing to avoid clambering over rocks as one of the guys was quite young. After an inordinate amount of time setting up rods for all we were straight into fish :)
One of my nephews was fishing a Shirasu jighead with a glow white Ecogear Minnow SS. It wasnt long before he was into his first lure caught saltwater fish in the form of a rather hungry mini Pollack.
On the other side of the mark I was fishing with another Nephew and we were using a drop shot rig of a 5g drop shot with a size 14 hook and a small chunk of red Power Isome. After an infuriating number of taps the rod finally bent into a take and he retrieved his first lure caught fish, a lovely little Wrasse.
We fished on for a little while longer but the annoyance that is tombstoners blighted the mark and made it both unsafe and innappropriate to fish any longer (the language was terrible). So we packed up and headed off to a different mark just for a final cast or two. This mark was quiet with no one else around. We continued to fish and on a simple Isome rig on size 14 with a SSG split 2 inches above the hook we had the surprise of the day when this little fella popped up.
Think it is a sand goby although never seen anything like this before. A great finish to the day and a retreat for tea and medals! I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Was great to see the little guys getting excited over lure fishing and their catches. The sun blessed us all day which made the day even more special for them and they went home chuffed with the tales of the "big" catches. First question when we got home.... "so are we fishing again tomorrow?"
So a couple of days ago I took the guys down to Art of Fishing for a look at the kind of gear we would be using for our day out. My dad was after a set up so we left with a Garbolino Magister paired with a Shimano Nexave 1000FC. This was to be spooled with some Sunline Siglon Flouro in 3lb. Armed with a pocket in set and some Power isome we were set.
So yesterday we packed the gear, including three wired young gents, and we made our way off to the mark. I chose a mark which was easily accessible and parking was bang on the fishing area. We were to fish off hard standing to avoid clambering over rocks as one of the guys was quite young. After an inordinate amount of time setting up rods for all we were straight into fish :)
One of my nephews was fishing a Shirasu jighead with a glow white Ecogear Minnow SS. It wasnt long before he was into his first lure caught saltwater fish in the form of a rather hungry mini Pollack.
On the other side of the mark I was fishing with another Nephew and we were using a drop shot rig of a 5g drop shot with a size 14 hook and a small chunk of red Power Isome. After an infuriating number of taps the rod finally bent into a take and he retrieved his first lure caught fish, a lovely little Wrasse.
 |
| Josh has his first lure caught Wrasse |
We fished on for a little while longer but the annoyance that is tombstoners blighted the mark and made it both unsafe and innappropriate to fish any longer (the language was terrible). So we packed up and headed off to a different mark just for a final cast or two. This mark was quiet with no one else around. We continued to fish and on a simple Isome rig on size 14 with a SSG split 2 inches above the hook we had the surprise of the day when this little fella popped up.
Think it is a sand goby although never seen anything like this before. A great finish to the day and a retreat for tea and medals! I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Was great to see the little guys getting excited over lure fishing and their catches. The sun blessed us all day which made the day even more special for them and they went home chuffed with the tales of the "big" catches. First question when we got home.... "so are we fishing again tomorrow?"
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Catch report 08/08/12 - Sunsets and Bass
Took advantage of some glorious weather to visit a mark on the south east coast with Mark QUINTON. Mark knows this coastline like the back of his hand and we have explored bits of it over the summer. Today was a new spot for me and it looked amazing. We arrived as the sun started to lower in the sky, the water was crystal clear and the swell was calm and pushing at the end phase of a flood.
Started out with trying to get my first of the year off the top. Using a Zenith Z-Claw and firing it out on the 9'6" GL Argento RV the lure worked like a dream. Whilst i got used to fishing off the top again (its been a while!) Mark hooked into a fiesty Bass!! The fish were around which was a pleasing sign. Shortly after Mark's fish I saw the familiar swirl on top as a bass shot up to take my lure and dissappear back into the blue. This one didnt put up too much of a fight but did try and snag me on a rock. Quick assist from Mark saw the fish back in the open water and landed safely. A Beautiful fish, shown here resting in a pool before release.
Things went a bit quiet so time to change tactics and I popped a Megabass X120 SW on and first cast brought the cracking sound of line peeling away from the reel. This fish was up for more of a fight and took some controlling to land it. Another beautiful silver and was more than happy to flare its dorsal to show how unhappy it was!!
Time was running out and the dark was quickly racing us and our fishing time. So time to shift to a new rock outcrop and try a different approach in the water. I have to say the Megabass was performing well. a cracking lure that flew out like a bullet on the Argento and was retrieving really well. Generally sticking to a fast straight retrieve with a couple of jerks and pauses thrown in. The new position worked and the reel screamed again!! This was a better fish, probably the bigger of the three and was playing me. He moved from one outcrop of rock to another trying hard to snag my line so he could make a bid for freedom. After a tense 3 or 4 minutes with braided line brushing up agaunst barnacled rocks he was back in the open and quickly retrieved to be landed. Great condition fish at 2lb this was the best of the night.
Time to leave and we retreated back to the cars under a brilliant red and orange sky as the sun set. Great to be out fishing with mark again and you cant get better than this as a view and fishing mark. Good session to test the rod and lures. I really like the Argento. Casts a long way with minimum effort and has tremendous power. I would say on the fish we had tonight, smaller than usual sessions, it wasn't a hard fight and you do need bigger fish to really get a feel of the fish but on the flip side it really handled these fish with ease. The Megabass lure was the star of the night for me. Worked really easily and hooked up on ever take. True beast of a lure which ill use a lot more.
Next Ill be out taking a few youngsters out for a day on the LRF. Report to follow if I survive the experience :)
Started out with trying to get my first of the year off the top. Using a Zenith Z-Claw and firing it out on the 9'6" GL Argento RV the lure worked like a dream. Whilst i got used to fishing off the top again (its been a while!) Mark hooked into a fiesty Bass!! The fish were around which was a pleasing sign. Shortly after Mark's fish I saw the familiar swirl on top as a bass shot up to take my lure and dissappear back into the blue. This one didnt put up too much of a fight but did try and snag me on a rock. Quick assist from Mark saw the fish back in the open water and landed safely. A Beautiful fish, shown here resting in a pool before release.
Things went a bit quiet so time to change tactics and I popped a Megabass X120 SW on and first cast brought the cracking sound of line peeling away from the reel. This fish was up for more of a fight and took some controlling to land it. Another beautiful silver and was more than happy to flare its dorsal to show how unhappy it was!!
Time was running out and the dark was quickly racing us and our fishing time. So time to shift to a new rock outcrop and try a different approach in the water. I have to say the Megabass was performing well. a cracking lure that flew out like a bullet on the Argento and was retrieving really well. Generally sticking to a fast straight retrieve with a couple of jerks and pauses thrown in. The new position worked and the reel screamed again!! This was a better fish, probably the bigger of the three and was playing me. He moved from one outcrop of rock to another trying hard to snag my line so he could make a bid for freedom. After a tense 3 or 4 minutes with braided line brushing up agaunst barnacled rocks he was back in the open and quickly retrieved to be landed. Great condition fish at 2lb this was the best of the night.
Time to leave and we retreated back to the cars under a brilliant red and orange sky as the sun set. Great to be out fishing with mark again and you cant get better than this as a view and fishing mark. Good session to test the rod and lures. I really like the Argento. Casts a long way with minimum effort and has tremendous power. I would say on the fish we had tonight, smaller than usual sessions, it wasn't a hard fight and you do need bigger fish to really get a feel of the fish but on the flip side it really handled these fish with ease. The Megabass lure was the star of the night for me. Worked really easily and hooked up on ever take. True beast of a lure which ill use a lot more.
Next Ill be out taking a few youngsters out for a day on the LRF. Report to follow if I survive the experience :)
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