Lures for beginner

[Matt76]

Ok I'll try not to sound too much like a tool....

I have been an avid bait fisherman, tried lures on the odd occasion with no luck. My 10 year old son has been studying the fishing shows and dvd's and is hassling the crap out of me to give them a go.

What do I need to start playing?

I have a box of luresof all different types that I have collected over the years because they looked cool in the tackle box and he has a heap of squidgies etc.

I assume there would be some sort of swivel that you hook the lures onto for quick change over? I also have a shimano millionare overhead combo that I love using but really struggle to cast without it overspooling, I am not even game to let the young fella have a go with it because i get enough birds nests myself.

Anyway, any little tips would be greatly appreciated as I am an absolute novice when it comes to lures.

Oh and we are only doing saltwater fishing, mainly in estuaries for flathead/bream etc.

Thanks
Matt

[metaloid]

G'day Matt, welcome to the dark side...

Now, I just wanted to make a couple of points before I try to answer your question:
1. There are tens of thousand of lure fishermen, so it's not a mysterious art!
2. The guys that feature in DVDs usually have several thousand casting hours under their belt, so it's not as easy as they make it look!
3. There are so many different lures that going to the tackle shop is like going to the candy store...
4. Loosing lures is part of the deal... so is swearing!

So in a nutshell, lure fishing = practice + $ to replace lures + #$!*&@!!

ok, so now for your questions:

What do I need to start playing?

Start with a 2500 size egg-beater, 6kg mono and a 6-7' rod. Berkley has a good range of very decent spin sticks that won't cost you an arm and leg.

I assume there would be some sort of swivel that you hook the lures onto for quick change over?

Not really. For small lures (flattie/bream size) you can use a small clip, or learn to tie a loop knot very quickly!

Anyway, any little tips would be greatly appreciated as I am an absolute novice when it comes to lures.

Now, everyone is entitled to use whatever rigs they like, but when I see kids casting a soft plastic rigged on a black wire trace with jighead connected by a giant swiwel... I wonder where the fun is because they sure won't be catching fish with that! Basically what I am trying to say here is that you want your lure to swim as freely as possible by using the lightest possible trace.

After that, it's 90% practice and 10% luck.

[Matt76]

Thanks!

So still use a small swivel and a trace?

[tunaticer]

Which style of fishing do you envision yourself trying the most, soft plastics or hardbodies?

Your little Shimano / Millionaire combo will work fine for things like flathead, jacks and trevally using hardbodies.

If you want to give the soft plastics a go you will need to equip yourself with something with a lot more sensitivity. A 2-4kg graphite rod about seven feet long that almost feels too light to use will do fine for some quite large fish. Couple that with a 2000 - 2500 sized spinning reel and some lightweight braid.

Soft plastics is all about sensitivity and how subtle a bite you can detect. The second reason for this ultralight fishing gear is you will be casting light weights quite a long distance and working them back.

A basic combo for soft plastics that is a good allround setup is something like a Berkley dropshot 2-4kg 7' rod with a Shimano Symetre 2000. 6lb Fireline and some 6lb and 10lb flourocarbon leader and you are in business for quite a reasonable startup price.

Do not be talked into buying a solid tip (usually clear) rod like a Ugly Stik as these rods are generally not light enough in the tip to be that effective for light soft plastic work.

When you do go fishing with lures, either soft plastics or hard bodies, do not take any bait. Persistance will teach you volumes by neccessity.

Jack.

[BaitThrower]

Good advice given above. I have a Shimano Technium rod with an Abu Garcia spin reel. Its a 2-4kg rod and very sensitive. I use mono only for flatties, bream, whiting etc. I use a modified blood knot direct to the jighead. Loose one occassionally on a snag but the knot itself has never failed.

Soft plastic fishing is all about the way you work the lure.

As for soft plastic brands, everyone has their favorite and we know what that one probably is (starts with a G and ends with a P) but I have caught most of my fish on Atomic and Squidgies. A can of Ultrabite spray on scent works wonders for me.

[Horse]

Go with the 2-4 kg rod such as a Dropshot or Strudwick Sicstick along with a 2000-2500 size reel as stated above. look for something on special and all major brands offer a good option around the $100 mark. Jack covers the rest pretty well and the most important thing is to stick with it and have a bit of faith at the early stages

[oldboot]

Don't be discouraged with the birds nests on the overhead.

Lots of those videos with the blokes casting overheads & baitcasters..... the lures weigh heaps.
The bigger the reel, the heavier the line , the stiffer the rod...... the more weight you will need to cast effectivly.

Don't be affraid to pike out and fish an egg beater till you can cast a baitcaster.

Make or buy yourself some casting plugs to pratcice...15, 20, & 30 grams are good places to start.......

The easiest cast with a small baitcaster is forehand horisontal.

If you are having problems with an overhand cast... turn your hand so your palm is forward and the real is sideways........you cant get the right action with the wrist side on.

cheers

[jaredluke]

At BCF at the moment there is 25% off all strudwick sic sticks and you should be able to pick yourself up an alright reel as well to suit. If this isn't your thing there are cheap rods and reels also at BCF, the shimnao BBS rods are about 50 and there are some reels for about 35-40

[scoota_74]

good thread matt. Ive been using hard bodied lures for years and im starting to test the waters with soft plastics, so ive pinched acouple of ideas that some of the guys have given you! Cheers mate. Good luck I hope you and your young fella all the best.

[plastic_paul]

go as slow as you possibly can without going crazy, then go slower.

test how your lure swims next to the boat or in the shallows of a bank, watch how it swims when you flick it, try and imitate a flicking prawn(its a good starting point at least) remember how much you have to flick it to get that action, then put it into practice, it took me 3 months to land my first fish on them, now its all i use (hb and sp)and its accounted for many decent fish, some good info on here...

[killitfillit]

there are dozens of types of lure fishing the best bet would be to go with someone who lurefishes and gets results and learn their style and get some confidence and then experiment on your own in your baitfishing spots