Poppers & Stickbaits

[WestOzDesertFisher]

What are some good poppers, stickbaits or any surface lure I can use to throw at angry fish?? I’d be targeting big trevs, macks, tuna, coral trout, cobia or anything that’s hungry enough to have a go at these lures. 80g is probably the heaviest I could throw and I don’t wanna pay big bucks for a single lure. I like the looks of the Halco Roosta 135’s and R2S Dumbell’s but that’s it so far so looking for advice. Particularly interested in the stickbaits. Any recommendations are welcome and all info will be appreciated.


Thnx
WODF

[Flex]

Finding stick baits in bait and tackle shops is damn hard. The only place I have seen em around Brisbane is the big tackle shop at stones corner. He sells Nomad stick baits/poppers plus a few others.

I can honestly say I have tried most of the main stream brand large poppers, And I found Halco roosta's to be the most productive, they seemed to outfish all the others I tried. plus they are damn cheap too.

But if someone can tell me a decent place to get a good stick bait for under $30 i'd be very appreciative.

[nuggstar]

what fish are you hopeing to get and how big, sounds like ya chasing big stuff.

[matt__hill]

fishhead at redland bay have some jai stickbaits and poppers for under $30 too. they are proven fish takers too.
he has a website so have a look

[scuttlebutt]

Roostas are great lures, I've caught plenty of fish on those. Most big stickbaits are well over 80 grams though, especially once you put hooks on them.

Rapala make some nice looking stickbaits like the x-walk but they might be a bit on the small side.

If you're fishing for trout I assume you're fishing reef areas, so you'll end up losing a lot of lures unless you're using heavy gear. I started with 30lb braid and small roostas and now use 80lb braid and 150 gram stickbaits worth an arm and a leg!

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/3/10/27/f_IMG2899m_389e7d3.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/10/27/f_IMG2899m_389e7d3.jpg&srv=img01)

[Pistol_P]

80lb Now Steve..??

Any dustings on the 80lb ...???

Yes as Steve said...Good big blooping poppers and stick baits are very expensive.
If you want small poppers around 80g I would stick with the Roosta poppers.
They are very good.
If you can stretch the budget to $35 for one popper......There are some small Cuberas now that weigh 80g.

Pete

[dog tooth]

you could also check out the daiwa stickbaits
i think they are around $35
check out :D blue water . net .au :D

they have some nice stuff

[Pistol_P]

fishhead at redland bay have some jai stickbaits and poppers for under $30 too. they are proven fish takers too.
he has a website so have a look

Actually Matt is on the money there.

The fishhead website is well worth a look.
They have good Jai stickbaits (as Matt said) and the Jai poppers are also very good.
I lost a Jai 'Kingfish popper' recently to a BIG GT.....They are about 120g though.
They are around the $30 mark which are very good value for money.

Pete

[2manylures]

Have you had a look at Rapala's 12cm skitter pops?

Fishwest make {if still available} make/made an excellent range of indestructable high speed stickbaits.

Arbogast made some 6' & 7" timber wire through constucted lures called "prancers & dashers" {one is a twin fiz}. Also 9" AC plugs with a soft tail on them.

L&S mirrolure make some indestructable lures with fizzers & standard stick baits.

I don't think you'd pay anymore than $20 a pop for any of the above.

[WestOzDesertFisher]

what fish are you hopeing to get and how big, sounds like ya chasing big stuff.
Yeah nuggs hopefully the big stuff haha

Nice fish BTW scuttle!

[WestOzDesertFisher]

Thanks guys, I’ve made a list of some poppers and stickbaits I’d be willing to give a crack. Let us know what you all think.

Poppers -
Halco Roosta
R2S Dumbell
Strike Pro Lazerlite
Cotton Cordell Pencil

Stickbaits -
Nomad Dogtooth
Black Jack Ulua
Daiwa Dorado
FCL Labo Squid Pencil
Gunz tailwalk

Also when i actually get the lures would it be an idea to retro fit them with Owner stinger66 barbless trebles and hyperwire split rings?? I would imagine so. Thanks again guys.

Cheers

[scuttlebutt]

I'm sure a range like that will work if you're fishing the right places. My personal favourite out of your selection would be the Ulua. Great action, just work it along the surface like you would for a chugger.

Replacing the hooks with Owners is a good idea. ST66's should be fine for up to PE5, above that ST76's are probably more reliable.

cheers,

steve

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/3/10/30/f_IMG3223m_a266bc2.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/10/30/f_IMG3223m_a266bc2.jpg&srv=img33)

[WestOzDesertFisher]

Thanx scuttle, what are some of your best fish with the stickbaits?? Very impressive fish! Don't be scared to post up some more pics.. or anyone else for that matter :P

Cheeeeers

[scuttlebutt]

I mostly fish for GT's. Here's a few clips I've made

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=76lk-AbnGCw

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=t0nFpz1-5Yc

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SqcaGbRlV94

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/3/10/30/f_Gbangerm_9da54a3.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/10/30/f_Gbangerm_9da54a3.jpg&srv=img01)

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/3/10/30/f_75cmbassm_fbc69c6.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/10/30/f_75cmbassm_fbc69c6.jpg&srv=img01)

cheers,

steve

[GPB]

Time for some new clips Steve, 'WHAT WIND' ::)

How was the weather up there over the last week?, Brandon was out at 'Jewell'

PS: The Calstar always looks great :thumbsup:

Bun

[scuttlebutt]

Thanks Bun, still been pretty windy up here but finally looks like dropping off shortly. Haven't been out for so long but should get a couple of trips in during the week.

cheers,

steve

[WestOzDesertFisher]

Gday again scuttle, can you recommend a good braid for this sort of purpose?
Ohh yeah, i watched ya vids.. awesome stuff!

[scuttlebutt]

I use Tufline XP. It's very reliable and relatively inexpensive.

cheers,

steve

[WestOzDesertFisher]

Cheers mate, i got that in 30lb but don't think it will stand up too much against the big 1s lol

At what depth wouldn't you use the surface lures?? i know they are highly effective in shallower water but wouldn't have a clue about deeper water.

Thnx again, all your info has been really helpfull

[Pistol_P]

The blackjack ulua's work very well.

Although I havent caught a fish on them....I have raised heaps of fish on them when poppers just werent working at all.
The GT's were just in shut down mode on that trip but the sticks did manage to raise them.

If you want to expand your popper range grab some of the Blackjack 'Cubera's'
They worked extremely well for me recently in Fiji.

I recommend the Decoy 'GT special' hooks.
I prefer them over the owners as in the really big sizes the owners are very heavy.

Pete