gold coast plastics

[yellahunter]

just new to soft plastics and want to try them around the gold coast/tweed. Only problem is that i dont have a boat, can anyone give me some suggestions on where i should start and what lures are most effective

thanks ;D ;D

[vertico]

berkley dropshot minnows in watermelon or blue pearl are pretty deadly on bream, flathead , trevally and many other estuary sportfish. The only suggestion I can give for someone landbased is around the seaway rockwall. should also be able to pickup some tailor when the time is right.

[1337]

Mate pop into Coomera Bait And Tackle @ coomera next to the cheapa auto spares and Dean or Steve will look after yah. Best price on bminnows on the coast with a good range plus a heap of other good fish catching plastices. They are ausfish approved and will gladly help you on your way.

[keen_as_mustard]

yella,

flathead and bream are easily chased from the bank using softies - where are you based, north or south gold coast? the more places you rty, the more you can find! the lakes on the coast hold plenty of fish, as do the creek mouths and bridge pylons.

to get started give the flatties a go, probably easiest of all the fish to catch on plastics. 3 inch shads (Squidgies, etc) work well on small jigheads

have fun

marty

[yellahunter]

sounds good fellas, i managed to pick up some 3 inch berkley dropshot minnows, and managed top swim them this afternoon but no luck, i tried talle creek but can go anywhere,

whats the best action and retrrievals for these lures? i was slowly retrieving with a few twitches but didnt look to attractive?

any ideas?

[Bent]

Look for anything different and drop a cast as close as you can, is the best advice I can give you be they storm drains, creek mouths, jetties, mangroves, bridge pilons or whatever.

The flatties and bream are pretty compliant at the moment and add the occasional trevally or jack (generally in the REALLY interesting locations) and a double figure catch for an hour is average (for the locals, but for a new arrival 5 or 6 is not out of the question).

Get a good idea of how far you can cast and start casting to a likely looking spot as soon as possible ( without neglecting areas closer which will still produce fish) even if this means getting funny looks from the dog walkers; its equally funny to see there faces when you hook up to a good fish 20 meters from the water.

Hope this helps

good luck

[vertico]

The best technique I have learnt is a slow retrieve keeping your plastic along the bottom as much as possible. Three twitches of the tip of the rod and wait like 1/2 second then wind up slack repeat until you get some hits . When you get some hits stop what you are doing and see if the fish will pick up the plastic. If not continue with the above technique all the way into shore. What rod / reel and line are you running ? This can be the determining factor in catching fish Iam serious.

[yellahunter]

ok that gives me a better idea on how to fish them,

i am running a very light 1-2kg spin rod and a very small spinning reel, shakespeare 4 ballbearings,

thinking of hitting the broadwater tommorow morning, il see how i go.

[yellahunter]

also what size jigheads do you use on the berkely dropshots mate ;D ;D

[vertico]

Fireline will improve your chances in 2- 3 kg

use whatever jighead for the conditions, but for aroun 3 -4 m of water and sweet FA current run a light jighead but just be sure it gets to the bottom like a 1/16 or 1/8th

[beefaman]

Yup, 1/12th or 1/8th should see you cast a good distance and keep the SP on the bottom for the flatties. The retrieve Vertico descirbed would be a good one to start with....remember, there is right and wrong when it comes to retrieves ;D

[vertico]

slow retrieve!

[yellahunter]

fished for an hour this morning, found a nice little spot where i actaully managed to hook a decent lizard only to be bitten off, well rubbed off i guess. do you guys use stronger leaders when fishing sp's i was using around 6lb line.
i guess the fish just took the lure a fair way down.

oh well it happens i guess ???

[yellahunter]

also picked up a spool of 4lb fireline this arvo, is that a little too light?? ???

[1337]

4lb is what 99% of anglers use for bream spinning. The stuff breaks around 8lb anyway. As for leader 6lb is fine for bream (although 4lb will suffice and get you more hits) but perhaps alittle light for sizeable flatties. Leaders really depend on where/what sort of structure you are fishing but.....

[beefaman]

Anything between 6 and 10lb should be good for flatties. 4lb fireline is fine [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

[keen_as_mustard]

yella,

I use 14lb Berkley Vanish for leader (generally about a rod's length) and 6lb Firleline for mainline - rarely get bitten off. The best knot to use between leader and mainline is an albright.

BTW - make sure your jighead is dead straight in the plastic - always test your lure to see if it "swims" straight. Test this by lowering it in the water and watching it fall down - aslong as it doesn't spin it will be good. Depending on the jighead you use, a dab of super glue can help hold the plastic on the lure

I see you tried Talle creek - do you live in that area. I live in Elanora and can probably show you a few spots where I have got a few in the past, however I do most my flattie fishing from a boat in the broadwater and the pin.

There are many slight variations on the technique Vertico described - I generally twitch fairly hard (lifting the lure about a metre off the bottom) in the hope of setting the hook in a flatties mouth. Many people believe flatties hit the lures as they fall and then lie on the bottom with the lure in their mouth.

Let us know how you go

Marty

[yellahunter]

just got back from fishing again, this morning we managed to get 3 small flathead, got them all fom the broadwater close to the spit,
on dropshots and squidgees

went fishing late this arvo at currumbin creek, had 1 hit near the bridge pylons, i think these bream are going to be a hard one :-[