SP's - finally!

[Mattg68]

after hearing & seeing SP's every'bloody'where lately (including in my sleep), I was determined to catch something with the little buggers, so after stopping off here & there along various points in the Brissy River this week I finally cracked it today, & cracked it I did.

after 20 minutes of casting up along pylons & such I threw out a random cast away from said targets & 'wham'!!! massive hit & 2 seconds later 'splash' out it jumps about 10 inches above water, it was getting dark at this stage & I couldn't tell exactly what it was but it fought hard & was totally stoked when into the banked I pulled a 61cm / 1.3kg flathead. 'holy crap' was all I could say for the next 5 mins, what a ripper. the very next cast 'bam' again & I land a just legal size bream but back it went (looked small after the flatty).

so after 15 more mins of some small touches I thought - 'well that'll do me, off home & try some more tomorrow'. I can't say how great it feels to finally land something with these things after so many goes at it. waaahooo!!!

damage by: gulp 3" lime tiger / 1/8 nitro head 2/0 hook, 20lb fluro carbon leader into 12lb braid on shimano fx4000 under silstar crystal tip 3-6kg. this combo although not top of the range is a little ball tearer (my fav).

Matt (ps, sorry about photos, taken with a low res handycam in bad light)

[beefaman]

Welcome to the dark side mate. Very nice flatty to open your account with too. Congrats

[zealot]

Know how you feel Boi onto my fourth bag of gulps and still nothing ?

[mylestom]

Congrats on that first fish, one of many in future.

Word of caution, keep plastics in a dark container, my missus reckons everytime she looks into the tackle box they have bred.


They are very addictive and the range is fantastic.

Go the SP.


Trev

[Scalem]

Well done on the SP's

I can fee your excitement, and don't they smack a plastic hard! A little encouragement, you can cut the line strength of the leader by almost half, I am certain you will get more hits... Don't be frightened by going lighter, most fish are hooked in the side of the mouth anyhow

Scalem

[T1]

Good stuff Mat!

I am 50/50 with SCALEM as i fish with 16lb and 8lb Leader and more often than not I am thankful for having the 16lb on at the time. I would also entertain the TT jigheads - can't say enough top things about the strength of these hooks!

Good luck with your SP's as they continually 'breed' in the hiding spot...

Take Care T

[kingtin]

Well done mate. Took me a while to catch my first on placcies but when they hit, they hit harder than bait! Done me best with your piccies

kev

[Pistol_P]

Nice flattie mate...well done.
Leader strength as mentioned by the others is worth a thought.
If its flatties your after stick with the 16lb as they can inhale plastics quite easily and not always hook up in the corner of the mouth.
Bream however I go as light as 4lb leader for them.

Cheers
Pete

[Tinn]

Glad to see they worked for you all you need now is a bit more luck with the camera If I were you I would stick with the 16lb leader gives you that bit more strength for the big ones. Best of luck

[Mattg68]

thanks fellas, yes the leader was a bit heavy, it was the only fluorocarbon I had but will be getting something lighter for sure.

scalem, yes he did smack it hard as well, huge shot of adrenalin.

thanks kev for the piccies, awesome work mate, what program did you use for those? gotta get a decent still camera.

T1, trev, yeh I'll check out the TT's for sure, I reckon these things will be like gremlin's - get water on 'em & they'll duplicate. maybe I can use that excuse with the lady, hmmmmm....(insert thinking/dreaming musack here).

thanks again

Matt

[kingtin]

thanks kev for the piccies, awesome work mate, what program did you use for those? gotta get a decent still camera.

Matt

Photoshop CS Matt. Unlike earlier Photoshops, which simply lightened (or darkened) a piccy, the newer version now allows you to simply lighten the shadows without overlighting the highlights. The 'speckling' that you see in the pics is a major downside of shooting in low light situations.

kev

[PinHead]

good onya..u have managed to do something I have not done and will probably never do now..catch a legal fish on those damn plastics.

[gregdeeth]

great way to open your sp account

[84mick]

Great catch there mate, gotta love the SP's!

Mick.

[dogsbody]

I can tell that your rod is not the only thing that isn't top shelf. Buy less placcies and buy a decent camera .

Oh and the flattie is not bad.....I bet your down there now flickin ya softies.

Dave.