A learning experience

[Steenie]

I had an interesting learning experience today with needlescale queenfish (salad fish). Yes I know, it is not a "wow" species - but it illustrates my experience nicely. I went for a morning spinning session and threw my arms off for about 2 hours with spoons without a touch. So I decided to do something really different. Instead of the normal variation in retrieve speed I casted a chase no.5 bullet spoon out far and before it hit the water I flipped the bail arm over and started retrieving at maximum speed. So when the spoon landed on the water it fell with a splash and then skidded on the surface without sinking. The result? Boom, boom, boom, three of these feisty fish took the spoon in short succession within a couple of casts.  Clearly they were there the whole time. It was me that had to do something different with the spoon to entice a bite! So it is critical to remain creative and not to fall into a rut of what the "text book" says!

[ahmed]

    

[shaunyboy]

  shot steenie

[Gerhard]

Nicely done...


Yea sometimes the fish want a lure like a spoon retrieved at top speed just below the surface.


Other times you need to let the spoon sink to the bottom and move it slowly...


Or you need to wind it it at super speed once it hits the bottom.


The secret is to always keep thinking on what kind of retrieve can I use next if the current one is not working.


Then what lure can I use next if the current one is not working...


Keep experimenting until you found what the fish wants to eat.


All part of the fun of spinning and hunting for fish with a lure...

[Steenie]

Nicely done...


Yea sometimes the fish want a lure like a spoon retrieved at top speed just below the surface.


Other times you need to let the spoon sink to the bottom and move it slowly...


Or you need to wind it it at super speed once it hits the bottom.


The secret is to always keep thinking on what kind of retrieve can I use next if the current one is not working.


Then what lure can I use next if the current one is not working...


Keep experimenting until you found what the fish wants to eat.


All part of the fun of spinning and hunting for fish with a lure...

Thank you - what you are saying is absolutely correct.

[Moolla]

Well done Steenie! 

Your dedication to spinning is inspirational.  Keep up the good work. A PB is round the corner.

[SAfish]

Good one, Steenie. I also try new things and will sometimes lift my rod tip high on a fast retrieve to make the spoon break the surface and then lower my rod tip to make it run just below the surface. I would repeat this a couple of times and hope the splashing spoon will attract the fish. 

[Steenie]

Good one, Steenie. I also try new things and will sometimes lift my rod tip high on a fast retrieve to make the spoon break the surface and then lower my rod tip to make it run just below the surface. I would repeat this a couple of times and hope the splashing spoon will attract the fish.

You are absolutely correct. Rod tip position is absolutely critical, and the matching of a certain retrieve speed with certain rod tip position. One can easily see what difference this makes when retrieving plugs. I like your idea on the alternating rod tip and retrieve speed with spoons and will certainly experiment more with this after yesterday's event.
 

[BAUMANNATOR]

I had success with garrick by using the Hopkins (or known here as the sea iron), which is flat, skipping along the surface. It slaps the surface, dives a bit and then comes up to slap again. It cast further than a plug and is extremely versatile. Retrieved slowly it is deadly on kob and shad. It is very popular in America as a striper lure.

[Lofty]

I had success with garrick by using the Hopkins (or known here as the sea iron), which is flat, skipping along the surface. It slaps the surface, dives a bit and then comes up to slap again. It cast further than a plug and is extremely versatile. Retrieved slowly it is deadly on kob and shad. It is very popular in America as a striper lure.

So where can we(I)source this.... some T.A talking...

[Gerhard]

I had success with garrick by using the Hopkins (or known here as the sea iron), which is flat, skipping along the surface. It slaps the surface, dives a bit and then comes up to slap again. It cast further than a plug and is extremely versatile. Retrieved slowly it is deadly on kob and shad. It is very popular in America as a striper lure.

So where can we(I)source this.... some T.A talking...

http://www.jigstarafrica.com/index.php/en/component/virtuemart/lures/castinglures

[BAUMANNATOR]

I got them from Target Line and Billimoria in the Easter Cape a while back. They are locally called the Sea Iron Casting Spoon.Otherwise known as the Hopkins Shorty.

[Steenie]

I got them from Target Line and Billimoria in the Easter Cape a while back. They are locally called the Sea Iron Casting Spoon.Otherwise known as the Hopkins Shorty.

Looking good! Can imagine that it "slaps" the water surface nicely! But do you change that horrible treble to a single hook?

[BAUMANNATOR]

To be honest I got the blanks for a song and made them up with singles. Then they caught on and the price went up and were sold like in the picture. When going for kob down there I rigged with weedless hooks,cause they don' have a bias (belly), so u don't have a specific side that rides up. When targeting garrick I prefer the stinger hook on the front ,as the garrick imhales its prey and  the assist gave better hooksets.

[jball7204]

As a fellow shore spin fisherman I believe there is some cred due all round here:

1. Steenie for sharing the experience and discovering a trick. Also for picking up a few Queenies off the beach in a spinning session which is a bit rare here as far as I'm aware, and more importantly, picking the right spot where the fish are moving. That's 70% of the job done right away and the other 30% is to find what entices them, which he did. 

2. Gerhard for his info 

3. SAFish for another great tip (I normally pump that spoon far out for kingies/snoek etc. and as it gets closer to the midbreak slow down and move it around a little more to try pick up a shad on seaside or shoreside of the midbreak gully). 

4. Baumannator for the tips on a good spoon (and especially the stinger for Garrick - never tried that). 


Good thread started, thanks Steenie. Fishing tomorrow morning?

[Steenie]

As a fellow shore spin fisherman I believe there is some cred due all round here:

1. Steenie for sharing the experience and discovering a trick. Also for picking up a few Queenies off the beach in a spinning session which is a bit rare here as far as I'm aware, and more importantly, picking the right spot where the fish are moving. That's 70% of the job done right away and the other 30% is to find what entices them, which he did. 

2. Gerhard for his info 

3. SAFish for another great tip (I normally pump that spoon far out for kingies/snoek etc. and as it gets closer to the midbreak slow down and move it around a little more to try pick up a shad on seaside or shoreside of the midbreak gully). 

4. Baumannator for the tips on a good spoon (and especially the stinger for Garrick - never tried that). 


Good thread started, thanks Steenie. Fishing tomorrow morning?

Thank you very much - and I agree some really good tips dished out by a number of members. My last spinning session was Tuesday. Fully tied down by work until now. Will definitely go spinning tomorrow morning early!

[Steenie]

Experimented some more this morning with some of these techniques in really nasty swell conditions. I got soaked a good couple of times. Threw a pink glow couta casting spoon far out and started the retrieve early so that spoon slaps the surface, slow down to let it go subsurface slightly, speed up again etc. etc. Nice to suddenly see fins zooming in on the spoon and then boom - on! Got two needle fish (wrongly called gar fish) just after sunrise. Again not a "wow" species - but my gut feeling tells me that my first queen mackerel is coming!

[Steenie]

Another view

[colin]

   . Hi Steenie do you think the colour was significant in these catches ?? Am going down and wondering if I should succumb to T,A.

[SAfish]

  It just shows you that you have to try and find what will get the fish to strike. Well done, mate.