Plastics..Which work ?

[snatch]

I am very new to plastics and am after any hints possible. Do I cast and retrive or use them like a dead bait?

[Kleyny]

It all depends on what fish you are trying for.
Do a search on this site and I'm sure all your questions have been answered before.

But I'm sure most people will be happy to answer them again but fish/ water types are important.

neil

[tunaticer]

All plastics will work at times for some species.

Basically it is an art of deception rather than feeding the fish. Learn to deceive the fish.

You would not pick up a hot dog off the road i bet, why would a fish pick up a suspect something that sort of resembles dinner?

90% of the journey is learning how to make it move right in the right location time speed and colour for the fish to feel safe enough that it is food he WANTS to eat.

As for a brand to recommend I would suggest Berkley Gulps or Berkley Powerbait as fairly commonly used and well producing soft plastics on the market. There are litterally hundreds of brands and thousands of styles and millions of colours to choose from. Don't buy one of each.

Jack.

[kingfish101]

hey there! Well I think you will be pleasantly surprised with plastics and there hook up rates! Depending on what species your targeting the retrieving can vary. One golden rule is you can never wind too slowly! The more realistic it looks in terms of a running or dying bait fish the better your hook up.

I suppose the most simplistic retrieval is to let the plastic drop to the sea bed then just wind like hell and every so often jerk the rod to give the plastic the effect of "jumping". However, using your sounder can also help you to catch fish, because if there in say 30m (out of 80m) of the water column and your dropping your plastic waaaaay down it takes more effort than if you were to just drop it in that 30-40m range and wind up through where the fish are.

Ultimately, finding the right technique for plastic retrieval is all up to you! once you do get a hook up on plastics or the fish are biting just experiment and see which method you feel more comfortable doing.

As for which plastic to use, 7inch jerk shark or 5 inch are normally the way to go and depending on the current anything from 1/4 oz to 1 lb jig head can be used. From personal experience nuclear chicken works best during the day and for night fishing, go for the darker colours because of the shadow it makes.

Anyway, hope i've been of some assistance! anyway Q's just pm me
Tim

[fleety77]

search engine bud...and kingy a 1/8th 2/0 is the jig head i use most in shore

[bayfisher]

If your really new to plastics it would pay to get a copy of a dvd like the squidgies basics ones put out by bushy and starlo. It will go a long way to getting you on the right track. From there its all trail and error and leaning from fellow fisherman.
Cheers Chris

[jim_bream]

Snatch (love the name!),
Berkley have a DVD stuck to the front of a few of their plastics combination boxes, or as bayfisher said, the squidgy DVD's are good too.
iFish is a great series too, River to Creek is another good show that is worth a look.
Youtube has some great tutorials (for want of a better phrase) on fishing soft plastics.
Basically it's down to trial and error and just remember, the slack days are learning days- you're just getting better by learning. Local fishos are always a source of good info on what's working, check the Meet & Greet board for a Cairns M&G. Ask at the local tackle store, check the net for a local fishing guide...
Enjoy the journey...
Jimbo

[63eh]

Grap a pack of gulps as light a jig head as the current will permit and find somewhere fishy to cast it, it wont take you long

[Scalem]

If you are a Brisbane boy come to our Meet and Greet on the 13th Sept, and we are having a fish on the following day Sunday 14th, using jigheads that we made the previous day.

So far we have about a dozen or so guys involved, plenty of room yet. And they are all plastics users, there would be no better way to learn than from these guys, apart from grabbing a packet and doing it yourself. Ask nicely, and they may even show you how to tie knots to main line etc

All details are in M&G section. You are welcome to attend, we have yet to work out how much a BBQ lunch will cost us, just a few bucks from the ash tray will cover it I expect, but if you want to buy any of our jigheads you can, at my cost of the hook. Other guys coming may offer the same.

Scalem

[snatch]

I think it's great that you guys are having a meet and are making your own lures.

Unfortunately I am in Cairns so a barbeque lunch might not be an option. Some great feedback from you guys though.

[Mossy247]

Hey snatch, I am in the same boat as you mate, though I found alot of useful tips on you tube, search Big E on soft plastics, gives you a fair idea of what to do, what rod combo's etc. I find the best results I have had depend on the water clarity weather etc, but I get a few tailor on the soft plastics most of the jerk shad range of the berkleys are good, pumkinseed / sweet and sour chicken / curried chickens etc. Depending on what you are going for the weighted or non weighted I use the jig heads from TT they are pretty good. I haven't really got into many other brands of the soft plastics but had a few hits onthe squidgies but alas I am still working out the techniques. Best bet is to watch the you tube vids, most DVD's you can pick on soft plastics come witht a tackle box and some softies and jig heads inc. Look around to find these packages in the tackleshops, they are about 30 bucks but it beats paying 30 alone for the DVD on its own. anyways hope this helps.
good luck brother!

[Local_Guy]

if your chasing flathead you really can't do much wrong.. my suggestion on 2 plastics to try first off is a 5" jerk shad in pink, and the same again but in a colour the same colour as the water you are fishing in.. beleive me it works.

then get a 1/8 jig head on light gear. cast out. let it sink and hit the bottom, then give the rod tip 2 - 3 jerks up, let sink - wind in slack and repeat.

hope this helps and should get you started.

[jaredluke]

Mate when I started out I just got a squidgy pack which contains a dvd to get you started and plastics and jighead weights that suit the plastics that come with the pack.

[snatch]

Thanks guys. I would be chasing jacks, grunter etc in the inlet and creeks around Cairns and doing the reef in "exceptional " calm periods. I have a 4.2 wide body dory (quintrex) . So most of the time it will be estuary fishing.

[jim_bream]

If you need anyone to come up and fish on your nice boat in those tropical waters and show round...... count me in (window seat on the plane please)
;-)
Jimbo