plastics

[billie boy]

hi
can anyone point me in the right direction for using soft plastics in the estuaries,ive tried heps of kinds and colours but only the smaller ones should i be using ones 50mm and bigger,cause i still havnt caught a thing.please help
tnks bill

[Leighton]

With out know what you are targrting or how you are fishing, you will only recieve limited tips.
The main mistakes I tend to see are.
People fish to heavy and to fast
Line is a major factor, foth leader and main and jig head, also people tend to crank there plastic it to fast. Give the plastic time to work

[billie boy]

flathead and bream mostly out of a boat

[bully_bob]

A great plastic for a large variety of fish is the 4" pumpkinseed grub. If your not really into targeting structures and rock walls and what not, drift along close to the bank and cast and retrieve the lure very close to the bottom. Another great plastic is the Nuclear Chickens, you'll get quite a few flatties on these.

[nufin_flash]

hi Bully bob , welcome to the game of plastics , im fairly new to the game as well so far my catches have been flatties and pike , one thing i have learnt is it sure takes a while to figure things out but dont give up, once you catch one its all worth it

where bouts u fishing

[NAGG]

If I was to suggest to a newbie .... what SP to use & how ti fish it! ..

i'd be saying a gulp craw ( or anything else with lots of wobbly bits ... ie Atomic Prongs) ..... Fish it light ( 1 ft - sec maximum sink) ....... Lots of pauses & hops ( If it takes you 45-60 seconds to retrieve ........ That's great!)

Nagg

[billie boy]

hey nufin,im fishin the brunz

[nufin_flash]

sweet,
been trying to sus out whos on the sunny coast and new to the game and tryign to increase the odds of catching something.

[Fly Fisher]

Hi Bill,

My suggestion is to target flathead first, as they are a pretty easy target on plastics, and a great way to learn. I've found that catching a few fish each time I go out makes me come back sooner and continue to improve. Here is some of what I have learnt about chasing flatties on plastics in estuaries:

1. Think like a fish - I try to think about where I would lurk if I was trying to ambush a bait fish. So, I often fish the last 2 hours of the run-out tide and fish the channels, where water (and food) is being directed. I also look for patches of weed / rock / sand, where a flathead can hide.

2. Make your plastic work like a wounded fish. Fish as light as possible, use as little weight on the jig head as possible, and slow down your retrieve. Make sure it is occasionally hitting the bottom and knocking up the sand. As for colours and sizes of plastics, there are other threads on this - have a look.

3. Learn about the estuary as you fish. Where I fish the most for flathead it took me a few years to work out the best times of year, day, moon, after rain, tide, water temperature, etc. And it keeps changing as the channel moves after the floods. Generally I fish for flathead when the water is warm, runout tide, early or late in the day and in spots that are not heavily fished.

4. Have faith in your methods and stick with it. Sometimes, I can fish for an hour or two, get nothing, then find a patch of fish (often with a good structure / current combination).

5. Let the big females go.

Good luck!

[monsta]

Hey Bill,

Fly Fisher is definately 'on the money" with his advice about your progression of use, technique and mind set about softy fishing.

His suggestion about how to start with plastics is exactly how myself and a few mates started, about 6 years ago. Since then - we've never looked back.

The more you concentrate and think about what you're doing, particularly during the early stages, the more you will see just how many different species of fish will actually 'take' a soft plastic presentation.

Four years ago - I landed the first of many Elbow Slapper Summer Whiting on a 60mm Neon Squidgy Fish, which blew my mind - particularly because it was in the middle of winter (all of our Slapper Whiting captures are during the Winter months). Another freaky capture was that of a 15cm Cobia, up the back of Robina (Gold Coast) - once again, on softy.

Atomic Fat Grubs / Brown Craw Dad colour / 3 inch length are leathal for Flatties
from our experience.
If you have the time, try fishing at night rather than day (less boating/fishing activities by other people), and yes, soft plastics are definately effective during the twilight periods - in fact 90% of our fishing is done during the night, with the results that keep us going again and again and again.....

Good luck mate,

Monsta