First fish on a SP

[joeT]

Hi,

I had a go with my first real try using soft plastics at Wellington Pt jetty today. I was a bit bored so grabed the rod and a few plastics and headed down.

After a few casts and no action using a 100mm bloodworm squidgy I decided to try a 80mm frost squidgy and second cast, hookup! Small flathead, maybe just 40cm so I let him back into the water. Had a few other hits without any hookups, but it was great to get my first fish on a SP

I think I could really get into the SP scene, any tips for a beginner?

I am currently using:
- Daiwa Samarai 1500 reel
- old Abu 6" rod
- 6lb Fireline
- 6lb Penn 10x leader

I've only bought the 2 plastics I mentioned, any other ones that are a 'must have' for the kit?

Cheers

[Jeremy]

In my opinion, keep the jig head as small as possible ie minimum to get to the bottom. This will give your tails more action. Also keep your retrieve nice and slow. Make sure you thread the tails on nice and straight to get the best action. I am also finding it is worth spending a little more to get the better tails - the ones with built in scents do seem to work better.

Congratulations on your first fish on a SP. It is alot of fun, but it is also addictive - just ask Zeeke!

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Zeeke]

they arent that addictive even tho my pupil Vertico is now a mean lean plastic thrashing machine.. ive gone back to the dark side and am swinging a bit more fur then franger..

a hint is, keep ur jigheads light and small, only use the bare minimum of weight you can use, keep ur hooks sharp and neat.. sizes 2 and 4 are perfect hook sizes when it comes to jigheads when using any 2" and 3" grub/shad/minnow when chasing bream and flathead.. and most importantly, go out, and have some fun, your next few fish might come all at once or slowly, but if ya keep picking up the meat stick, ur lure fishing progress will slow down. but if ya spend a few hours fishing plastics.. u'll start catching fish.. in the end you wont need bait and you'll still catch your bag full .. but remember, only take what ya need

Tim

[cHiCo]

Some people use a bit heavier leader, say 12lb, but im not sure if you have to and if it makes a difference.Aswell as not using a swivel when connecting your leader to fireline.

[Chrisso]

cHiCo,

I don't use a leader, but it is a good idea if you are fishing structure as the 'fine cotton' line can frey pretty easily. Also would help if a flatty swung his head round quickly! I don't use a swivel, and I don't know whether you should. It might impede the action of your sp, particularly small sp's!

Chris

[joeT]

Nope, I don't use a swivel. But I do use a snap clip at the end of my leader so I can easily change the SP if I need to, does this matter?

[cHiCo]

dont think a snap would as you should be using a lure or "rapala" knot for the sp's for maximum action.

[gunna]

My advice - slow the retrieve down. Then when you think its slow - slow it down more. Then when you think its even slower - slow it down more. Then etc etc. Let it sit. Move it just a fraction. Let it sit. All slow. I think there is a message in there . Admittedly sometimes a more active retrieve might be ok - but overall slow is the go. I don't know if you have seen the big glass tank that they take around the fishing shows but its a real eye opener to see how the fish react. So often they just hover a few inches away from the lure and watch it for ages. You just gotta leave it in that zone with enough movement to interest the fish - but not too much to take it away from the fish.

[beefaman]

Gotta agree....slow is the go...I use leaders, tied to fireline and loop knots to connect the lure or SP.