Gulps & Powerbaits : A Con-job or are they for real ?

[Dezzer]

The plastics work! It definitely takes a bit of getting use to but I haven't looked back to the dark side for 2 yrs now. No smelly hands and economical when you consider the price of fresh bait for each trip (unless you collect your own). I've never been through more than 1 packet per trip, 9 is pretty good going scalem!
Having said that I still can't get the bloody things to work in deep water even though they obviously do going by the reports on this site.

[rogersto]

I'm taking up yellahunter's offer of a toss into currumbin creek.

Although I've got some reservations about the bottom of the tide in the evenings, who knows what one can catch. Top of the tide would normally be a better bet, we'll see what happens.....

[charlie bouy]

If at first you dont succeed.........

Keep at it and work out your own technique, maybe slow is down a bit i get nearly all my hhok ups as they drop back down and they way whats down there might havbe a chance to hit the SP rather than just nip the tail..... there not raiders

[charlie bouy]

Ps....

In 6 To 12 Month I Would Like You To Start A Thread Titled

" I Would Like To Apolgise To All Ausfish Sp Fishers And Personally To Berkley And Gulp Powerbait"

You Could Then Proceed To Go On.....

" I Have Now Learnt That Paitence And Persistance Is A Virtue"...and .... "i Reccomend Everyone Try Colour-x At Spot-x Cause I Bagged Out Of Flattie And Bream The Other Day"

[rogersto]

An apology, hardly likely....

As a matter of fact, considering the fact that I had a run-in with QLD Fair Trading with my claim that "we are the coast's #1 ISP by a long shot", they kind of voiced an objection to that claim because apart from some customer testimonials there's no actual evidence backing up that claim.

However, I have in my posession two packs of gulp, the pumkinseed mullet says "Outfishes ALL other bait (even live)!" and the shaky shad gulp simply claim to "Outfish all other bait". No disclaimer, you know when you get hit upon by one of those Amway people proclaiming how you can get stinkin' filthy rich in network marketing - there's this disclaimer that says income figures are for educational purposes only and are not typical and are dependent upon ones efforts.

I certainly haven't found that buying the right stuff, a couple of intructional DVD's and doing that those guys were doing, and landing some fish using those things, what's more going out with 2 rods, and hooking up with yabbies but not with gulps - well they're overstepping the mark with their advertising and hype.

There's obviously some merit to these things, hence I shall persist. Only because there's enough people in these forums claiming varying levels of success. They can't all be paid off or sponsored by berkley, or have some other connection that financially benefit them. Actually I'd be inclined to think very few, if any.

Come to think of it, SP's have a lot in common with Amway, Network marketing and such, all are portrayed to be much easier and simpler to do than they are in reality - the reality being there's a little bit more to it than meets the eye.

A bit like golf, most people will find it extremely difficult to get the basic swing fundamentals right by watching some Butch Harmon or Steve Leadbetter golf tutorial videos, and in reality you need to spend some time with a golf pro to get your swing fundamentals in the right direction so you get the clubface hitting the ball squarely, thus resulting in a straight shot.

Seems to me with the placcies you need the same persistence and better still go out with somebody who's using them with some level of success, hence the live bait yabbie junkie like me who decides to take the plunge hits a dead end, whilst a guy who goes out with his mates every now and then, and has one of them using placcies instead of pillies or yabs learns first hand in real life from his mates what he's doing there, and then takes the plunge investing in some jiggaroonies and an assortment of placcies of all shapes and colours resembling a zoo....

what I will be doing though is you tube videos and tutorials and a thread here to tell anybody who wants to know how I broke the ice and got around the frustration and got results.

[Jeremy]

Rogersto,

your last post indicated that you are starting to get the picture. Some of the things you said are right on the money.

the 'golf pro' bit is a good analogy. Going out with someone who knows what they are doing is the fastest way to learn. If you are really serious, I would recommend a professional guide such as Brad Smith. I did a charter with his when I was first starting to use hard bodied lures and learned heaps from him.

'Amway' is also good. Alot more to it that meets the eye, and persistence and hard work in the beginning goes a long way. You won't make any money out of it though.

But really, if it doesn't work for you, stick to bait and enjoy your fishing whatever way works for you.

Jeremy

[slyman]

I found plastics infinately easier to use from a boat than landbased. When fishing landbased, the fish aren't always going to be where you are fishing, therefore you keep moving around to locate them. On a boat you can cover a lot more water, and have access to those spots that only fish and folks in boats can get to. Also, you end up retrieving your line from the deeper water you've cast to, into the shallower water at your feet, as opposed to casting from a boat in a channel towards the shallower water near the structure where the fish are. Landbased plastics have to be hopped UP the contour to the water line, whereas from a boat you retrieve DOWN the contour, this allows you to slow the retrieve right down and let the current provide some of the action to the dropping plastic. I found that having to bring the plastic UP the contour required too much action making for an unnatural look, whereas letting the current do its thing provides an action that is more subtle and natural.

Also try using different shaped jigheads and larger plastics and larger hooks. Bullet shaped or darter style jigheads will help the plastic travel through the water in a different fashion to the ball/sinker type, making them scoot and dart erratically from side to side in addition to the vertical movement. Bigger plastics will usually attract the bigger fish, however you'll still get smaller fish on them too. I haven't used a plastic smaller than 4inch for ages, unless I'm using the berkley 2inch peeler crab, which I've caught legal tuskfish and squire on. I mainly use berkley jerk shads 5 inch on a 3/0 to 5/0 TT jighead with weights between 1/12 and 1/4 depending on how deep the water and how fast the current is. Mainly its the 1/8 weight.

Going from using a sinker for holding baits, to using a fixed weight tied directly to the end of your line that will 1) provide a bit of weight for casting and 2) get the plastic to the bottom without making it plummet to the bottom or alternatively be too light and not ever reach the bottom, was the hardest part of the plastics equation for me.

Perserverance is the go, keep at it and things will start to fall into place. Eventually the fish will not only be lured, but deceived also. Good luck!!

Simon

[joeT]

I have only had success with plastics from a boat, and only in certain conditions of fishing. Like all methods of fishing, plastics have their place and are really versatile and convenient, but they can't replace all other methods of fishing.

[Scalem]

I found plastics infinately easier to use from a boat than landbased. When fishing landbased, the fish aren't always going to be where you are fishing, therefore you keep moving around to locate them. On a boat you can cover a lot more water, and have access to those spots that only fish and folks in boats can get to. Also, you end up retrieving your line from the deeper water you've cast to, into the shallower water at your feet, as opposed to casting from a boat in a channel towards the shallower water near the structure where the fish are. Landbased plastics have to be hopped UP the contour to the water line, whereas from a boat you retrieve DOWN the contour, this allows you to slow the retrieve right down and let the current provide some of the action to the dropping plastic. I found that having to bring the plastic UP the contour required too much action making for an unnatural look, whereas letting the current do its thing provides an action that is more subtle and natural.

Also try using different shaped jigheads and larger plastics and larger hooks. Bullet shaped or darter style jigheads will help the plastic travel through the water in a different fashion to the ball/sinker type, making them scoot and dart erratically from side to side in addition to the vertical movement. Bigger plastics will usually attract the bigger fish, however you'll still get smaller fish on them too. I haven't used a plastic smaller than 4inch for ages, unless I'm using the berkley 2inch peeler crab, which I've caught legal tuskfish and squire on. I mainly use berkley jerk shads 5 inch on a 3/0 to 5/0 TT jighead with weights between 1/12 and 1/4 depending on how deep the water and how fast the current is. Mainly its the 1/8 weight.

Going from using a sinker for holding baits, to using a fixed weight tied directly to the end of your line that will 1) provide a bit of weight for casting and 2) get the plastic to the bottom without making it plummet to the bottom or alternatively be too light and not ever reach the bottom, was the hardest part of the plastics equation for me.

Perserverance is the go, keep at it and things will start to fall into place. Eventually the fish will not only be lured, but deceived also. Good luck!!

Simon

So Simon, have you tried using a sea anchor? It will help you reach the bottom if only using the 1/8th oz. I can't remember using anything heavier in the bay for a long time.

Scalem

[kingtin]

So Simon, have you tried using a sea anchor? It will help you reach the bottom if only using the 1/8th oz. I can't remember using anything heavier in the bay for a long time.

Scalem

The trouble is, get over near Moreton and fish anything other than slack and even a 1oz won't get you to the bottom, in fact, I tried a 1oz with a 5" nuclear chicken last time out and it floated

I'd really like to get into 'em for offshore work as I've invested so much in 'em (the large jig heads are a ridiculous price), but I can't seem to get 'em to the bottom, even on 12lb line. I've tried sticking 'em on a paternoster rig with a heavy weight, just like fishing for reefies but with placcies instead of bait, but I don't get a touch. Try working 5 oz of lead .............I might as well be jigging as placcying

Any tips on using 'em in current would be appreciated.

kev

[Chris Ryan]

Scalem,

Now I am joining your ranks - I guarantee you there will be coffee sessions around James Street looking for the inside running on SP usage!!!

See you next Wednesday for Day 1.

Cheers,
Puff

[Scalem]

Scalem,

Now I am joining your ranks - I guarantee you there will be coffee sessions around James Street looking for the inside running on SP usage!!!

See you next Wednesday for Day 1.

Cheers,
Puff

Congrats Mate, looking forward to it! Only.... Do I tell my wife now, I am likely to be a little late for dinner??

See you soon!

Scalem

[Scalem]

The trouble is, get over near Moreton and fish anything other than slack and even a 1oz won't get you to the bottom, in fact, I tried a 1oz with a 5" nuclear chicken last time out and it floated

I'd really like to get into 'em for offshore work as I've invested so much in 'em (the large jig heads are a ridiculous price), but I can't seem to get 'em to the bottom, even on 12lb line. I've tried sticking 'em on a paternoster rig with a heavy weight, just like fishing for reefies but with placcies instead of bait, but I don't get a touch. Try working 5 oz of lead .............I might as well be jigging as placcying

Any tips on using 'em in current would be appreciated.

kev

Hi Kev,

I think I've seen you on threads generated by my uncle Frankoo?? Whenever I have deckied for him at Shallow tempest or anywhere out the front of Moreton island it always follows the same pattern. Cast ahead of the direction the boat is drifting. By "cast" I mean as if there was a school of macks in front of the boat and you were flinging the lure as hard as you can, trying to get to them. As the boat drifts toward your line, keep the bail arm open and let as much line as you can freely come off the spool. If your spool is not reasonably full at this stage, the line won't come off freely which means you won't get to the bottom as easily.

The Sea anchor merely helps keep the boat going in the same direction as tide flow, especially if the wind is blowing you in an opposing direction to the current.

That's it! No secrets, you should be doing OK with 1 OZ in 40 - 50 mtrs of water.

Is there anything obvious here that you are not doing?

Scalem

[kingtin]

Hi Kev,

I think I've seen you on threads generated by my uncle Frankoo?? Whenever I have deckied for him at Shallow tempest or anywhere out the front of Moreton island it always follows the same pattern. Cast ahead of the direction the boat is drifting. By "cast" I mean as if there was a school of macks in front of the boat and you were flinging the lure as hard as you can, trying to get to them. As the boat drifts toward your line, keep the bail arm open and let as much line as you can freely come off the spool. If your spool is not reasonably full at this stage, the line won't come off freely which means you won't get to the bottom as easily.

The Sea anchor merely helps keep the boat going in the same direction as tide flow, especially if the wind is blowing you in an opposing direction to the current.

That's it! No secrets, you should be doing OK with 1 OZ in 40 - 50 mtrs of water.

Is there anything obvious here that you are not doing?

Scalem

Duuuuuuuuuh! Yes, I'm trying it at anchor

kev

[slyman]

Hey scalem, we've never used our sea anchor, and we mainly fish in depths of less than 10 meters. So if the current is going hard we'll put more weight on, and use the electric motor to help slow us up. We'll then cast in the direction opposite to the current flow, usually at an angle out from the boat, so that the plastic drops with the current and will be on the bottom before it has drawn level with the boat, allowing us to hop it back to the boat.

simon