Stinger Hooks on Barra Plastics

[Bad_Bazza]

Hi People,
After getting back from Awoonga and having suffered the frustration of numerous "hits" without hookups I sat down and thought about attaching stinger hooks to my plastics.
I have read about attaching them with wire but wire is so inflexible and therefore likely to take a lot of the action out of the plastic.
I thought that heavy braid (130lb or 200lb) might be a better option still allowing the tail to swim freely. I have 80 lb dacron and I question if that would be heavy enough.
I have series of questions arising from these thoughts that with all the experience out there I am sure that I will get the right feedback.
Firstly is there a thread relating to this subject. If there is can someone direct me to it.
Secondlyhas anyone experimented with the braid stinger attachment.
What knots would you use to attach a) the braid to the stinger hook b) the stinger hook to the main hook.
Thirdly any comments on, or experiences with this setup.
Looking forward to your replies

Baz

[warrior]

how are you baz,fished awoonga the other week and used the stinger set up on the slickrigs,there are people who swear by this method and others who say it doesnt matter,the one barra i got on this method was on the stinger so it worked for me,i used an owner hook with quite a large eye i thread the small peice of plastisc which is on the hook when you first buy the lure down inside the plastic and cut it of where it finishes half way up the original hook,then thread the owner on and making sure it is swinging along the back of the slickrig then put a lumo soft bead on the end to stop the hook from sliding of when casting,it worked for me .havnt seen your method of tying the stinger on but i think having the hook connected to the main hook would be a lot stronger.hope this helps a bit cheers AL

[barramad.]

BB,
Short striking can be a problem with plastics for different reasons. When the fish are actively stalking, theres absolutley no need for anything other than the standard setup. When the fish are less active and stationary (like in recent weeks at Awoonga) - when suspenders are your best option.......thats when the fish will tend to short strike. The fish are also wising up to the plastics saturation, that is glaringly obvious as well.

Well placed stingers can fix shortstriking, and as you stated sometimes it can compromise the action. In saying that the Taylor boys come up with a great "porcupine rig", during the ABT, which they credit their great success to,anything that swam near them got hooked .

I'd suggest playing around with some of your own idea's, I use wire to attatch my trebles through the inside of the body (as do the Tayors). It does not matter how stiff the wire is, all its used for is to attatch the hook to the eye, and the trebles sits snug under the plastic.
It take a lot of time to get exactly want you want, but its worth the effort knowing you have developed something that increases your catch rates.
Making a heap of different ones, then swimming them is the surest way of getting the best results.
Ive tried a tonne of different variations, some work, alot foul on the cast, and alot stop the inbuilt action.
Ive now got ones that work awesome, but there is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.
Ive seen a few variations now, including ones with braid used to attatch the treble, and they all have merit. Whatever works best for you.
Have a crack yourself, Im sure you have some good idea's already, after all, its not rocket science. Who knows,you may come up with the ultimate one that no-one else has!
The rewards will be sweet.
Good luck!
JW

[Bad_Bazza]

Thanks guys for your help, I guess it is about confidence in what you are doing.
Warrior,
Mate what size hooks were u using as stingers?
I liked your advice on sliding the tubing down into the lure for stingers sounds very effective.
I did not go down the stinger hook road as a basser friend had been fishing the night before and he had problems with the Siwash hook eyes opening and the fish self releasing.
I have stingers on every spinnerbait I own but as I only had size 2 Siwash hooks with me for the trip and after the advice from my friend decided not to go down that road.
JW,
Thank you for your thought provoking information especially the tip on using HB suspenders in that situation. I will keep that very much in mind for future trips. I have experienced the same situation at Monduran over three trips so I will put it to good use down the track.
I will also spend a lot of time experimenting in the pool between now and February when we go back up to Awoonga.
Once again thanks guys for your advice.

Baz

[Feral]

If you missing hits on plastics with Barra I reckon its often because they are not actually biting the plastic but giving it a smack with their head because you have "annoyed" them.

On a recent trip to Awoonga I saw this a lot, several of the fish caught (on hardbodies, coz plastics getting missed) had the trebles hooked in the outside of the Barra's head, not in the mouth.

[Roo]

Storm lures has soft plastic shad type body out now that is also suspending!! and is fitted with a treble under the body as well as the standard top hook. could be just the trick

roo

[Mak579]

roo

The Storm Suspending Shads definitely work well on barra, it's my second favourite SP, they're irresistable when worked very slowly.

I have found the standard hooks are not barra quality, I also upgrade to the largest treble possible (that doesn't impact on the performance of the lure) as the largish shad body of the lure does inhibit hookups sometimes!

Matt C