ULTIMATE ANGLING - the Ultimate SA Fishing website
General Angling Topics => Saltwater Lure Angling => Topic started by: Tommo on April 04, 2012, 11:15:49 AM
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I Sneaked down during the week last week for a quick little session in a nearby Transkei estuary. It was just a one day trip, with six hours to fish. I am trying to make the most of what is left of the warm summer water, and get as much estuary fishing in as I can.
Each time I have gone down in the last few months I have tried a different river. I have been amazed at how productive every single one has been. The last three rivers that I have fished have been first time visits for me, and I have been going in without much information, apart from studying them on Google Earth. They all seem to have very similar characteristics though, and are pretty easy to adapt to from a fishing perspective.
My first fish on this last trip was a Gt, which took a Rapala X-Rap Walk and gave me a great fight on my 8lb outfit. It is always great at a new spot when that first fish smashes your lure, and you know that the river is going to produce!
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%202/GT.jpg)
I then got into some smaller bigeye kingfish, catching them on surface lures as well. They were awesome, attacking the lure in shoals, trying to shoulder each other out of the way to eat it. The competition factor definitely makes fish far more aggressive when they are in shoals.
None of them were over a kilogram in weight, but they put up a good fight and kept me busy for a while.
When the kingfish action began to slow down I started working the structure along the edges, hoping to entice a river snapper or perch. I got a number of perch this way, but no strikes from river snapper. They are such moody fish, that at times there is almost nothing you can do to get them to show themselves. I guess that is why I love snapper, they have to be one of the most challenging fish to catch regularly in estuaries. The perch kept me well entertained during my efforts for snapper. With plenty of swirls and boils on my slowly worked lures. I got some on the Rapala X-Rap Walk lures and some on Rapala Shallow Shad Rap 7cm worked very slowly. I just cast the lure right up against the rocks/reeds/branches and allow the ripples to fade. Then a small twitch, causing the lure to dive about 10cm and allow it to float to the top again and lie for a few seconds. I repeat this until the lure is a few metres from the original structure before working it back to me with an erratic, but faster twitching retrieve. Many of the strikes from perch come while the lure is lying still on the surface, but quite a few also hit it when it is sub-surface as you stop to let it float up again. I find that there is a better hookup when they hit it below the water than on the top.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%202/Perch.jpg)
Although I didn't get any really big perch, I just find these fish so entertaining, and they give a great account of themselves! As you can see from the pic above I have been experimenting with single hooks and assist hooks on my Shad Raps, and having some success and a lot of fun doing it.
During the middle of the day I changed tactics and started fishing deeper using dropshot and bucktail jigs. I landed a very nice Bartailed gurnard on dropshot, which put up a tremendous fight. After that I got a small Malabar rockcod, also on the dropshot, working it slowly bouncing along the bottom in a channel near some rocks. I then tried a 1/4 oz bucktail jig with an olive tail, which I also slowly bounced along the bottom of a channel, parallel to a rocky ledge on the shore. I soon had a fish on that gave me a great fight, and when I landed it found it to be a kob. I was very pleased with this, as I had been wondering whether there were any kob in the system, and now had it confirmed. Again, it wasn't a monster, but when you are using 8lb tackle everything gives you a great run for your money!
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%202/Kob.jpg)
As the afternoon began to cool down again, I went back to surface lures and worked the X-Rap Walk a bit more. I had a splashy strike in the middle of the river, and the fish immediately jumped as I set the hook. I saw the shape and initially thought that it was a springer, but soon realised that it was a seapike, as it didn't have the speed or power of a springer. Seapike are jsut so aggressive and it was quite interesting to see that a fish of this size had hit quite a big lure.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%202/Seapike.jpg)
Soon after that I had to pack up and head home, but it had been a great day. In about 6 hours fishing I had landed 13 fish, made up of 7 different species. Nothing that I had caught was going to be breaking any world records, but that is not what it is always about. It is just immensely satisfying to get onto a piece of water and sample what is available for some fun.
I thought I would just share this little experience, as I have noticed quite a bit of interest from UA members recently on estuary fishing, and I want to encourage those that love it to keep at it. It can be an awesome experience, and if pressed I think I would choose this sort of fishing above all others.
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(clap) (clap) (clap)
Tommo u a legend
:shre:
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(clap) Tommo, great report and very good catches. :resp:
I wish we had the variety of species that you guys have. :envy
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Awesome stuff Tommo :envy
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Thanks for the great report there Tommo, looks like a fun days fishing with beautiful scenery and lots of species!
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:shre:
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Thanks guys, nothing beats a day on a beautiful estuary with a light spinning rod in your hands and a box chock a block full of lures at your feet.... My idea of heaven!
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Tommo...you've got the nr 1 job!!! :envy
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Exceptional skills yet again! Amazing stuff Tommo! :shre:
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Thanks for a great report Tommo, I read it very carefully. :-)
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Fantastic fishing, how lekker to just sneak away for an awesome little day trip to wet a line & as usual sharing your knowledge and techniques.
:tkx: & :+ cred:
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Can you please give me more info regarding the assist hooks. Size? Do you make your own ? Please.
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Eish! Tommo :resp: You catch more fish in 6 hours than me in one year :hehe:
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Hi Poenskop, I make my own assist hooks up, using size 1 and size 2 Daichii hooks ( I am not sure of the model number, but I think they are actually carp hooks). I make them up in exactly the same way as we make assists for vertical jigging etc. I use some 30-50lb braid that I have left over after filling reels.
My thoughts on this was that the perch particularly were missing a lot of times when striking at a lure floating on the surface. Their mouths aren't actually all that big. But each time there is a strike you can actually hear a sucking sound as they try to suck the lure in. I thought that if I have a hook hanging from a light piece of braid it may well get sucked in when the perch attacks the lure. It has accounted for some perch, but is by no means foolproof. I have also still missed a number of them. I just love experimenting and fiddling, so I am always trying something... I do prefer using single hooks whenever I can anyway, as they do less damage to the fish.
I am also trying some other techniques to try and up my hookup ratio with perch, will keep everyone updated if I find the holy grail...
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:resp: nice report and pic's :shre:
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This thread shows how to make up your assist hooks
http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=63.0 (http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=63.0)
It is very easy, and I have had great success with them on some lures. For example I find a single hook on a small stickbait (12-15cm) to be absolutely deadly for sailfish, dorado, tuna etc. Particularly sailies, which are often difficult to get a solid hook up on when spinning with surface lures. I am now trying them on some of my smaller estuary lures, just to see what works and what doesn't.
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Thanks for the info. :tkx:
I am always worried that it might change the action of the lure. Will have to give it a go and see for myself.
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Thank you Tommo...
for always taking time to type up a decent reply, and promoting excellent fishing ethics (clap)
You are certainly a great example to others
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Thank you Tommo...
for always taking time to type up a decent reply, and promoting excellent fishing ethics (clap)
You are certainly a great example to others
:corrct:
A great ambassador for our sport.
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(clap) ... great report Tommo .... and :envy ..... :clfoto: too
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Eish Tommo. What can I say? Excellent report yet again.
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As always its a pearler with some great food for thought. cheers!
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Nice Report!!! Tommo (clap) (clap) :happ:
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:shre: - Awesome info!!
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Great Report Tommo!!
(clap)
After seeing one of your shows and the assist hooks on stick baits for sailies I have started switching out the trebles on most of lures. But unlike you, I cannot at this stage comment on the effectiveness there off :blush:
Like the idea of assists on the smaller lures.
Would be interesting to see whether the assists hooks changes the action on a X-rap or something similar. Time to play in the pool, me thinks
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Went back on Saturday to go and have another session in the little estuary. We got onto the water at 7.30am (should have been 6am, but due to unforseen circumstances it didn't happen). The weather was perfect and saturday was spring tides, so we had an outgoing tide, which was already quite low. (low was at 9.45am).
I started with a lure that I had found lying in a box in my storeroom during the week. I had been given a couple of these plastic prawns from Australia, called Prawnstars about ten years ago. They are quite different... I had never had too much faith in them, and hadn't ever actually fished one. They have a hole through the head where the line goes through, and then passes through the eye of a treble hook in the belly of the lure and you tie it to the eye of a treble at the tail of the lure. The idea is that when you flick it the tail has a snapping motion, something like a real prawn swimming. The only problem being that real prawns swim backwards when they flick their tail, and this one goes forwards. Anyway, I decided to ignore that little detail, and give these lures a go, as there have been a lot of swimming prawn around in the estuaries and the fish are eating them.
I tested these prawns in my pool a few times last week, and was quite impressed with what I saw. They have two little lead weights set on the underside of the head/thorax region, and you can remove one, depending on the water depth, to get a more natural sink rate. What I liked about the lure is that it sinks horizontally, much like a live prawn drifting down, and actually looks quite good in the water while sinking. I battled to see the tail flick when I gave it a twitch, but then realised that it is a very fast action, and I am unlikely to see it happen with the naked eye, while looking from outside the water.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2123.jpg)
Side view of the lure, you can see a split in the middle of the tail in front of the back hook, where the lure bends when it flicks.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2124.jpg)
View from below showing the two removable weights. For water 2m deep or less you can remove the front weight and the lure sinks a bit slower, and more naturally.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2125.jpg)
Front view of the lure, showing where the line goes through the head.
Anyhow, I figured I had learnt enough about the lure's action in the pool, to feel confident that I could make it look enough like a prawn in the water to hopefully fool a fish, and I had decided to give it a good go on Saturday, which is why I started with it.
I did half a dozen casts, allowing it to sink right down and giving it a flick, then a few seconds to sink again, as I had been practising in the pool. I then saw some splashes on the surface behind me. I quickly flicked the lure in that direction and gave it a very fast retrieve, keeping it just below the surface, while flicking it quickly. There was an immediate boil on the lure and I was VAS. The fish took a bit of line, then the hook pulled. I quickly flicked it back to the same area and repeated the quicker retrieve. Again the lure was hit within seconds, and this time the fish stayed on. It gave me a lovely fight on the 8lb tackle that I was using, and we netted a little GT next to the boat a few minutes later.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2101.jpg)
I was quite chuffed to have at least caught something on the lure. To be honest, I was still not totally convinced, as I hadn't been using the action that I had felt would work best for this lure when I hooked the fish. Also when the kingies are in little shoals and feeding, they will eat almost anything that is moving fast. So I felt I still needed to work with the lure slowly and see what happened.
In the meantime Cliff was casting his fly and he got into a little bigeye kingfish in the same area.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2107.jpg)
No monster, but fun on the fly!
The water was getting quite low, so we moved down closer to the mouth area and carried on our fishing. I changed colours of my Prawnstar, to see what the other colour would look like in the water, and it looked quite nice and natural to me. I stuck with it and started working it slowly along the bottom in a deepish channel, giving it a flick every three or four seconds, then allowing it to settle again. It got hit very hard and I was on. Now I was chuffed, as this was the retrieve I had been hoping would work. The fish fought hard and deep, with some head shakes. I thought it may be a small kob, but was surprised when I got it up and we saw that it was a Cock Grunter. This was great news, as the prawn had obviously been lifelike enough to fool a real prawn eater!
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2110.jpg)
That fish really made my day, it was the culmination of a plan, and my scheming at the poolside at home had borne fruit! I love it when a plan comes together!
The North Easterly got up pretty strongly after that, making it very difficult to get our drifts right. We went far upriver, to try and get some shelter from the wind and find some fishable water. Right at the top, where we could go no further due to rocky rapids, I managed to catch a perch right in the rapids on a little Rapala, which also gave me a lovely pull in the fast water.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2118.jpg)
I really love perch, they are such amazing fish. They are aggressive enough to hit a surface lure at the right times and always give a good account of themselves. Being resident fish, you know that they are there, so when the fishing is tough you can go and work at them, and sooner or later you should get one.
Anyhow we decided to call it a day after that, the wind was blowing hard, and we figured we had had the best of the day. We packed up and drove home, already talking about the next trip and what else we can try out.
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Thanks, Tommo. Very interesting prawn, that. It looks very well made as well. It's interesting how one must learn and practise to achieve the intended action from specific lures.
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That is some awesome fishing. Interesting lure that. (clap)
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Great stuff thank you :shre:
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A pleasure! I have ordered some shrimp imitation lures from Bass Pro in the States, looking forward to getting them. I have always said that prawns are a major food source in our estuaries especially in late summer/autumn. We don't have many prawn imitation lures in our stores though. I have collected a few over the years, and done pretty well with them.
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Tommo
What do you think of these. I've been looking to get some of these and some mirrolures.
http://www.basspro.com/Yo-Zuri-Crystal-3D-Shrimp/product/10215425/231832 (http://www.basspro.com/Yo-Zuri-Crystal-3D-Shrimp/product/10215425/231832)
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That grunter must of put a huge smile on your face, mission accomplished :ult:
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This is my homepage on Google Chrome.
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Poenskop, I had a look at those shrimps. They are very pricey, and I felt that I was more keen on some of the soft shrimps, such as the DOA range and some other similar ones. That hard YoZuri one is still really a jerkbait, with a swimming lip. There are some very cheap versions available locally from Strike Pro, which I am trying out. I have modified them a bit. (cut off the soft rubber feelers on the back hook, and glued on mono feelers onto the body and put on single hooks.) I do prefer the soft shrimps though, and working them with a jigging action, rather than a jerkbait acion.
The mirrOlures on the other hand.... I ordered half a dozen, and had to stop myself from ordering more, they are just so good, and the prices are brilliant. I got some more 7MR series, and some of the suspending Mirrodines and the Mirromullet and a Mirrominnow.
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Thanks Tommo.
I will have a look at the soft Shrimps. I hear you about the Mirro's. I've already got 12 but can't help myself.
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Here are a few pics of some of the other shrimp imitations I have in my tacklebox. I look forward to my order coming from the USA to add to them.
Firstly here is the hard jerkbait shrimp from Strike Pro that I have modified slightly. Only cost about R50, if I remember correctly.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2127.jpg)
The one below is a Rio's Prawn, from Australia. I have caught some nice fish on these. It is also a hard resin, and works like a slow sinking twitchbait. Very realistic. I am not sure if they are still made.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2126.jpg)
This next one is a softie from Storm, no longer available in SA. Unless some stores have old stock. I like the look and action, just wish that the legs pointed straight down.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/craigfish1/Tkei%203/DSC_2128.jpg)
Hopefully I will be posting some pics soon of the new lures, when they arrive. Then hopefully a few of them sticking out of the mouths of fish!
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HEy Tommo, love your posts makes me very jealous living down in the cape.
I just wanted to ask how far south you have found the snapper. Bream i have caught on bait in the bushmans river but never targeted them on lures. The eastern cape rivers are normally quite long and a mission to get to the top.
Going to the breede river this weekend and going to try my luck with a grunter on surfice. No luck yet and last weekend they were elusive. the bait guys only got one or two. the little leeries couldnt leave the jelly prawn alone which was fun
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Hi Bushbuck 2, The furthest south that I have caught River Snapper is the Kobinqaba river, at the bottom of the Transkei. I know that they have been caught further south than that though, certainly around East London area. I haven't targeted them in any of the rivers further down the coast, but I am sure that if you find a river with some nice rocky structure you could find snapper probably close to PE somewhere...The Transkei rivers are ideal, as many of them are really short, with lovely rocky structure and pools at the top end.
Have a blast at the Breede, I hope you get some grunter!
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Thanks tommo.
I must say i have only in the last 2 years got into saltwater lure fishing and tagging, absolutely amazing. I have converted all my bass lures and dont think i have been bass fishing since. I have mainly you and your articles in the various magazines to thank :tkx: .
Fishing Yourself Single is one of the best books i have read, couldnt put it down
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I am pleased that you are enjoying the saltwater lure fishing scene. It is great fun and very challenging. It reminds me a lot of bass fishing, but with more variables thrown in, such as tides, different species etc. It is never boring!
Great that you enjoyed the book and articles too, thanks for the kind words. It makes it worthwhile if it is motivating someone out there to get enthusiastic about the fishing game!
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Its funny how similar the bass retrieves are, and has helped a great deal. When i show some of my mates lure fishing its so hard for them to get it right. eve simple things like walking the dog. I often see guys using old bait setups with very sorf rods what just dont get the same out of the lures.
Now i just need to learn the benefits of using a boat and making money to fuel my addiction
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as always a great report :shre: Tommo, i was browsing the internet and came across the lure check out the link this prawn lure really has an awesome action and life like swimming action!!
Tail Flick'n Prawn Lure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbt4sJo4R18&feature=player_detailpage#)
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that is an awesome prawn imitation. I cant see how it wont work
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That looks good, Deepblu, I went onto ebay and checked them out, it is $8.95 for a pack of five. (aussie dollars). Not a bad price for lures!
It is a good looking shrimp imitation, and could actually be rigged a few different ways as well, depending on the action you are looking for. The action demonstrated in the video is excellent though, I think I am going to get some....
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thanks Tommo, so our mates from down under they not just pretty faces :hehe: , i agree with you im sure if 1 plays around with them and try different swimming actions the results will be good keep us updated when and if you get them would love to see the out come. they really have a natural action and colour to them.... damm if only i knew about them earlier could have got my brother inlaw to bring some up he is here from OZ at the moment
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That looks good, Deepblu, I went onto ebay and checked them out, it is $8.95 for a pack of five. (aussie dollars). Not a bad price for lures!
It is a good looking shrimp imitation, and could actually be rigged a few different ways as well, depending on the action you are looking for. The action demonstrated in the video is excellent though, I think I am going to get some....
Hey Tommo,
I got mine in the mail today. Gee they nailed me for postage so landed up paying over 16 Ausie dollars. Bit expensive but they are really nice. a lot softer than i had thought just hope they hold up and i dont loose the only hook they supply. I know they sell similar hooks down here at the shops so going to see if i can find some. Im sure one can mould them and use them over as the bass guys do with their plastics. never quite the same but at this price might be well worth looking into
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hey Tommo i just wanted to hear if you ever got those lures from OZ tail flickn prawn lure? and if you and any luck on them?
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Hi deepblu. I didn't get any of those shrimp, I wanted to order some as i had friends coming out from Oz, but was too late. I missed the chance. Next time I have mates coming out I will order some.
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Im working on making a similar prawn but will include a lil glass rattle in the head area, think its going to be dynamite. Will post some pics when its done. Getting plastisol today
Tommo, what rods are you using for this estury fishing. I have a setup with a shimano vengance 8ft, with a 4000 and 16lb powerpro but thats a bit heavy for what i want to use it for. I want to match a rod with my 2500 with 10lb powerpro for more finnes fishing. I looked at one of the shops this weekend but they only really have vengance 8ft. There was one nice diwa for 650 bucks. Really looking for a nice light rod with some backbone for working lures and plastics
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Hey Bushbuck2, As you know I am a Shimano man. My number one estuary rod these days is the Shimano Cumara 7'2" medium Heavy. A brilliant rod, very light, with a fast action, which makes it really good for working lures in the estuaries. The other rod, which is good and a lot cheaper is the Shimano Crucial series, the 7'2" is ideal. I know that there are some cheaper rods available from Daiwa, Quantum, Sensation etc that would also be fine, but I haven't used them, as all my tackle is Shimano.
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Hey Bushbuck2, As you know I am a Shimano man. My number one estuary rod these days is the Shimano Cumara 7'2" medium Heavy. A brilliant rod, very light, with a fast action, which makes it really good for working lures in the estuaries. The other rod, which is good and a lot cheaper is the Shimano Crucial series, the 7'2" is ideal. I know that there are some cheaper rods available from Daiwa, Quantum, Sensation etc that would also be fine, but I haven't used them, as all my tackle is Shimano.
Thanks a lot, Ya im a shimi man myself, unfortunately i dont have sponsorship :). Was actually looking at those two rods, very nice. When i have the prawns perfected ill send u a few. Still tweaking the mold etc
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When i have the prawns perfected ill send u a few. Still tweaking the mold etc
Lots of guys interested in the Prawns.... you going to market them? Huge gap in the market for these?!
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Hey Bushbuck2, As you know I am a Shimano man. My number one estuary rod these days is the Shimano Cumara 7'2" medium Heavy. A brilliant rod, very light, with a fast action, which makes it really good for working lures in the estuaries. The other rod, which is good and a lot cheaper is the Shimano Crucial series, the 7'2" is ideal. I know that there are some cheaper rods available from Daiwa, Quantum, Sensation etc that would also be fine, but I haven't used them, as all my tackle is Shimano.
Hi Tommo. were u sponsored those rods. why i ask is i contacted the fishing specialist here in cape town and they said that simano here in sa have neither of the rods in MH with a fast action. Apparently u cant get them. Would be a pity was excited to give it a go. My 8ft vengence almost cost me a wrist the last time i went out.
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I was sponsored them by RapalaVmc, who are the agents for Shimano in SA. These rods are definitely available in SA!