North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Toxic wrote:Every time I try a new soft plastic they don't seem to work, so I chuck the old Faithful Drop Bear (white) Squidgy back on and bang! Even If I don't hook a fish they always(nearly) attract attention. I have had best luck with an ultra slow retrieve. Just fast enough that it swims.

Hi Toxic mate the main problem a lot of barra anglers have with the squidgy is that the tails get bent up in the packets at times, then they dont' swim as well. They are not like the Hollow bellies, they can't swim at very slow speeds straight out of the packet. As Harro says
"You can't get a barra lure/plastic to swim slow enough".

E.g. squidgy might swim in 3rd gear only without modification, yet other soft plastics swim in 1st, 2nd and even neutral on the drop and so on, straight out of the packet, a huge fish catching advantages for your buck, our group of friends rates these attributes as must haves for barra, especially on hard fished waters. *Note when fishing for dumb fish it's been shown a bit of alfoil and a hook with catch fish, but i'm not talking about those times etc.

That's the thought process behind the Hollow type of soft plastic. Even better you can select the exact weight and size of hook for Hollows, yet out of the packet hooked soft plastics leave you with thier chosen weights, which often have you fishing the wrong speed and depth the barra are in on the day.

Squidgy has a problem with hooks that straighten at times.

Standard out of the packet, we dont' rate them, compared to what is on the shelf that can swim at slow speeds, have strong hooks and so on. The Storm 5 Inch Wildeye Swim Shad is a fantastic plastic off the shelf, with big strong hooks, tails that swim at slow speeds etc.

I've attached some pics of the gear being used on Cental Qld Barra by a few of my mates, some guides and a few quiet fellas'. I hope if helps someone out.

Cheers Lyndon.

Good to see a Mr Twister in there Lyndon.....No tackle box should be without one!
Seriously though thanks for the good advice.

Ernie wrote:Dropped into the local on the way home to grab a brag mat and a few more Hollow Bellies to restock the larder and spied another version I haven't seen before, grabbed a couple of packs to try em, as I'm off tommorow to bash a few culverts with me boys
Melv got me onto the weedless stuff out at Corroboree last year, but I'm slowly starting to use em elsewhere, gulps, squigdes,HB's. Seems from what I've noticed over the last 12 mnth's or so, is that they'll incite a hit where others have failed, not to mention pelting your lure into some rugged territory that you wouldn't think of chucking a $20 hard body all with a on your face
The added bonus is using light gear (4kg) flick stick it's a hoot
The mortality rate on the Hollow Bellies is horrid, but they work a treat. I let you know how the newbies stack up as they seem a bit firmer. So to cut to the chase have any of you guys out there got some rubber bling to flash around or any different set ups / theories??

Hi Ernie you guys have one of the best fisheries in the world throughout the NT, and your fishery seems to be managed a lot better than others, atleast they see the potential of Barra etc.

A lot of us have found that soft plastics trigger bites when you are having a hard day on hard bodies as well, your comment is spot on i reckon. I'm no guru that's for sure, but those softies i have noticed have been the difference between going home with a donut (no fish) and going home with a barramundi memory = priceless.

Yeah Dick in WA mentioned the same thing about the mortality rate, but we look at it like this. They will catch a fish we normally wouldn't, and after a long trip, it was worth the $3.00.

Tougher Versions: In the photo the Hollow type of soft plastic at the front with the blue back is the Manns Hard Nose. As the name says it has a hard nose to keep the hook set within a lot better. However they can't get too hard in the body, or they would lose their biggest advantage, to swim slower than nearly any soft plastic on the shelf. The hook in the Blue Manns is a 5/0 worm hook, they have the weight 3/4 the way down the shank and cast presentations a mile.

Presentation: Dick was dead right, super glue for the nose and ass connection to the hook is a must on these plastics to hold them in place.

History (2008): Les Reibolt fishing Lake Monduran was the first guy i knew of using the Manns Hard Nose, he is a good angler, more the quiet achiever type. He used weedless for weed work and timber country and other setups for easy water etc.

Photo: The 2 soft plastics behind the Manns Hard Nose are Hollowbellies with different hook setups in size and weight.

Where the bl..dy hell are they?: The closest place i know is Foxies Barra Havok at Gin Gin Qld (Lake Monduran). Do a web search if you guys want to.


Good thread topic mate.
Cheers Lyndon

Mud wrote:Good to see a Mr Twister in there Lyndon.....No tackle box should be without one!
Seriously though thanks for the good advice.

Hi Mud thanks mate, just swapping a bit of info from our scene down here mate.

Many soft plastics will just be re-inventions from the old days that's for sure. Mr Twister to curly tial to frogs and so on. Those good old Twisters accounted for a stack of fish that's for sure.

I had a great chat to Buff on my last trip about soft plastic history, that guy is a walking encyclopedia, you have some smart anglers up your way going about their work quietly.

Here are some Jig heads and Hooks we use for barra soft plastics.

Cheers Lyndon

Great thread guys, interesting topic, thanks for sharing.

WTF are the hooks/jigheads in Mud's & Barradise's pics with the 'pin' coming 45deg off the eyelet??

Anyone got a pic of one of these rigged ( or better still, a link to an instructional video on how to rig them).

muntzy wrote:Great thread guys, interesting topic, thanks for sharing

Yeah - what muntzy said. One of the more informative threads on here for some time. Good work guys

G'day Slug,
That pin is a type of weedless set up designed to push material away from the barb, have seen blokes use lacky bands to get the same effect but have not done it myself. Usually use the hook with the weight on the bend (2nd from Right in Seeking Barradise last photo) so it sits below the plastic and gives it a good centre of gravity making it cast long and swim well.!!! The only problem I found is that the guage of hook is fairly solid and could restrict hook up rates further. Otherwise a free running small sinker on the leader before the loop knot goes ok as well using a worm hook Gamkatsu or Owner size depending on plastic being used.
Cheers Muntzy.

Heya slug......these are my favourites. The wire is high tensile and embedded in the jig head. When a barra strikes it simply bends down exposing the hook. I've achieved the same by gluing 80 kg mono to the jig head but its a lot of work.

Cheers
Mud

[quote="slug"]WTF are the hooks/jigheads in Mud's & Barradise's pics with the 'pin' coming 45deg off the eyelet??

Bought (from Coolalinga) some of those the other day and tried them at the Adelaide on the weekend lure went well just the fish didn't want to play the game. just one of those days.

How to rig standard weedless hooks......

As Muntzy said, you can buy hooks with lead on the shank (which helps keel the lure upright) or rig them with a small running sinker like this.....

Oh and the one in Lyndons (Sbarradise) jig is not the same....its a knobbed spear that is impaled down the length of the lure to hold it on and to help hold its shape....

Hey Grumpy...some day nothing works hey lol

Slug the spike / spring on the front pokes into you rubbery instead of running the hook thru, allows the rubber alot more movement in the water. The one that comes of the shank towards the barb is as Muntzy said.
The ones with the pin / spring I've been using clips as the first time I used the Mustads (barbed spike) lost a couple of fish when the mono leader got pinched at the eyelet, but so far the Owner spring type have been ok probably as the wire coil is a lighter gauge, the spring one's seem to hold better as well in comparison.
Have put some of the hooks below but there are dozens of versions available.
I am no guru on this stuff by far! it's just alot of fun and gives you access to areas you would normally go past
It's good fun pelting your lures into all sorts of nasties, but then you think to yourself how the #*@% am I gunna pull a fish back outa there, but Iv'e
seen some good fish pulled out of some rugged country The hook up rate wont be as good, you'll pull more hooks and loose alot more fish than
other methods but it's just plain fun

Hey Ernie, I found these Tsunami's that are every bit as good as Hollow Bodies and 1/3rd less than the Holow Body price. They are Tsunami Pro Super Softie Paddle Tail, same colours, hollow body and they seem to be just as good action-wise as the Berkley jobbies! They millions of them at K Mart for 9 bucks, 10 bucks if you go for the 5" models.

Hey Blinky I just got on here to say I found some cheaper Tsnami versions of the Hollow Bellys at K-Mart for $9. I see youve already posted the same info. Anyway heres a photo. I couldnt resist a packet of the prawn cockatails ($7) as well. The rubber on these these is awesome!

Im new to these 'premium' soft plastics but this is how Ive got them rigged.

Cheers

Grabbed some Tsnami's today aswell and spied some Basstrix jobbies at T/World (original tube baits) and grabbed a few .
Setting up my boys with their own tackle boxes and for some reason most of my rubberies dissapeared Give me an excuse to top up mine
Photo doesn't really show up the colours well though
Top 1- 4 Basstrix
5-6 Tsunamis
7-9 Cabelas Flat tyre minnows (got to find hooks for em)