Artlure Methods & Tips

[WalkersKiller]

Artlure is a very precise, interactive type of fishing and many people get the conception that it doesnt work... This is a wrong statement as often people who try artlure for the first time choose a lure or plastic, cast it a few times with the same retrieve and dont catch anything... This is a big mistake... Artlure is (Most of the time) a 'waiting' game as there are many variables to be taken into consideration when fishing with lures...

The first aspect is what lure to choose! There are so many lures and soft plastics on the market these days its hard to find an out and out superb lure for all conditions. Thats why artlure can be challenging; you should constantly change your lure after a few casts if you are fishing in the same area and you know there are fish there. A lot of the time colour even makes a difference, even though fish cant perceive colour, it might just be the way it 'glows' or shines off the sun. You always have to change things up to see what the fish are taking on the day...

The other thing one should take into consideration is the retrieve. I have seen many anglers over the years throwing lures and soft plastics and keeping one retrieve and not catching... This does work but when you are not catching on your normal retrieve you need to change things up... Try slower retrieves, faster retrieves, jerky retrieves; retrieve the lure close to the top of the water or bounce it off the bottom. The retrieve in my opinion is just as important as lure choice because what you are doing when fishing with lures is you are either trying to immitate a bait fish or prey item or you are looking for a reaction bite! Now i know fish are not smart but im pretty sure they can sense when something is moving unnaturally through the water and then of course they wont bother looking at it because they do not see it as a threat or as a food source...

So the main objective is to change up your style when you are not catching and try different methods and lure types... If you are fishing with a soft plastic try adding more weight or taking off weight and then see how it effects the action and your strike rate.

Artlure is an 'Art' and it takes catching, practice and experience to catch fish constantly, the same with any fishing really. So dont give up and keep trying if you are not catching fish... Remember you have a better chance of catching a fish with your lure in the water than you do with your lure out of it 

 

WK

[Zetti]

Nice post!

[WalkersKiller]

Nice post!

[REEFMAN]

Gonna have to give this form of freshwater fishing a bash one day... can't be that much more different to saltwater dropshot, right?

Which fish do you target with Artlure?

[WalkersKiller]

Gonna have to give this form of freshwater fishing a bash one day... can't be that much more different to saltwater dropshot, right?

You definitely should Reefz, its similar to saltwater dropshot same concept  except you fish a lot lighter, generally with small feathers, soft plastic and hard lures...

[REEFMAN]

What do you target?

[Homie]

Kurper, barbel, Klop for carp.
When I lived in Pmb, I used to catch scalies and bluegills using small curlytail grubs

[WalkersKiller]

What do you target?

I mainly Target  small species such as Barbs, Kurper, Tilapia, Papermouth and other fish you wouldnt normally catch in freshwater, I fish as light as possible to enjoy the fight, i love catching different species... Waiting for Summer again so I can get back into it properly!

@ Homie I never knew you were a freshwater guy? 

[Homie]

Havent done any freshwater angling since 2004 !
I lost a lot of pics since the move to GP. None of the pics were digital... all old school, film and develop ! lol !

[Kumz]

Great Post ... 

[WalkersKiller]

Great Post ... 

Kumzie!

[Naruto]

Thanks for this post WK!

WK, what type of line would you reccomend we use for artlure? I have been told that some lines actually scare off the fish...

[WalkersKiller]

Thanks for this post WK!

WK, what type of tine would you reccomend we use for artlure? I have been told that some lines actually scare off the fish...

Honestly I dont think it really matters Clint, I have also heardthe fish get spooked but IMO it doesnt matter...

[sada fishing charters]

great post! i started off fishing artlure when i was 16 and i love it with a passion, when peple ask me what i do, i say i fish lol
anyway, i had the same preception (is that spelled right?) about "pap-gooi" as some people do about artlure. When i fell pregant obviously our fishing lifestyle had to change and we started this "pap-gooi" thing, (the horror  ) but now i quite enjoy it. Artlure is though, and will also be, my first love though and i cant wait for the twins to get old enough to go out on the boat! 
I have noticed that with certain species and if the water is crystal clear it might spook the fish, but that has also never been a concern in my life either!

[WalkersKiller]

  Sada...

Artlure is awesome and you can target any fish in the water which is why I love it! Pap gooi is great though you have to admit, so when the twins get bigger you must show them how to pap gooi as well 

[sada fishing charters]

definitely. There is no greater joy than sitting next to the water and hearing that reel run!

[WalkersKiller]

I agree, especially if the fishing is slow and out of nowhere zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the best sound in the world!

[Half-Pint]

I think artlure in freshwater is the only type of fishing I have never ever caught a fish on! Oh and maybe swim baits and match fishing but those are pretty different types of fishing. I don't know what it is maybe the theory of if you have confidence you will catch because I have spent hours casting for bass in dams only to come home with exceptionally clean lures

[WalkersKiller]

Brad artlure is generally fishing small lures and soft plastics for any freshwater fish, its tough going, I am still struggling to prevent myself from blanking every time I do artlure, I guess its one type of fishing that you have to be at the right place at the right time in order to get the fish 

[sada fishing charters]

If i go fishing in a bad mood i also tend to catch less (or no fish).And because more likely than not you are on a boat so you can go and look for the fish, where as if you have a bad spot next to the dam and you cant cast distance then you are pretty much in a pickle. And if the bigger species like carp, bass and barbel arent on the bite you can almost always guarantee to catch a kurper.
When I stilled fished leagues on artlure we did species fishing, and generally there are about 8 - 13 catchable species in any given dam.
 
When we fish rust de winter for example, early morning is carp fishing, the dams tend to be quiter, the wind is generally down and the water is still so you can see the  bubbles (or tails easier) always fish with you shadow behind you and if the wind is blowing let the boat move in the direction of the wind otherwise if you travel against the wind little waves will smack against your boat and scare off any potentail carp.
 
Once we had the carp in the boat we would try bass next, early mornig bass are lazy and deeper and we generally used soft plastics (zoom curly or brush hog - purple shades in clean water, white shades in muddy water) with a weight, slow retreaval on the bottom in deeper water. Then we would go look for barbels, by then the sun is out and the barbels start to come to the side. If they arent out then you can try a crank bait where they are surfacing in deeper water, or even "callilng" them next to structures in the water. Barbel are also spookier in the mornings than later in the day. Spot casting with a pumpkin seeds can also work well.
 
Then we would move on to the smaller species, dwarf kurper, vlei kurper (banded tilapia), canary kurper, gielie, blue kurper. Generally on structures, big rocks, grass in the water on the side, logs ect, but if the structure looks like a good spot for a bass you probably wont catch any small species there. For them we would use a no 12 or 14 hook (except the drarf and gielie, for them we would go as small as a 24) with a curly tail, white in general works best.
 
In dams like vaalkop (when boats were still alllowed) and roodekopjes small spinners or "efzets" trolled worked well for butter barbel in the river systems. You can also spot cast for them if you know where they are, they have reaction bites like barbel.
 
but, when artlure on the boat fails,  , we then use artlure tactics with earthworms instead of plastic lures ~ never on a league though!
 
I think at the end of the day it is trial and error, fishing different techniques until you find one that works for you, and being confident. I believe nothing catches fish better than a little bit of confidence in what you are doing.