An Arnhemland Reunion Trick n Trevs Yellowbelly on Blades Switching Things Up Curly TailZ Travelling Angler ZManning the Estuaries What s New &

Transcription

1 An Arnhemland Reunion Trick n Trevs Yellowbelly on Blades Switching Things Up Curly TailZ Travelling Angler ZManning the Estuaries What s New & more

2 Welcome to Tackle Tactics Fishing E-Mag #14. We hope you have managed to find some time to get out on the water and catch a few, but if not now s the time to plan an adventure, lock it in on the calendar and don t forget the camera! The Tackle Tactics team have been getting into a few species and again share their adventures with you in this issue, along with some tips and techniques that will hopefully help you to get hooked up. If you catch some nice fish on TT and ZMan, make sure you post the pic or video on one of our FB pages and we ll share it for other anglers to check out. Cheers from the team at Tackle Tactics. Here s a few cool videos that people posted: Robbie s big barra in skinny water Adam gets stuck into a Sunny Coast jack Boyd tangles with a Port Hacking trev Check out plenty more videos on the Your Fishing Videos section of our Tackle Tactics website -

3 What s New Before we look at what s new for this month, we ll give you an inside tip of what s coming up in the near future For fans of the TT Lures Ghostblade, 1/12oz polycarbonate finesse vibration blade, we will be adding another size to the Ghostblade range, in the same popular colours. The production samples have produced a stack of different species and it will be officially launched, with limited stocks available at the Brisbane Tinnie & Tackle Show - March 15, 16, 17. Bring it on! For ZMan fans, we will be introducing a new colour to the 4 StreakZ Curly TailZ range and two new colours to the 3 MinnowZ range. Keep an eye on the Z-Man Lures Australia FB page in a month or so for this release. After stacks of requests from anglers we have added two new colours to the ZMan 5 GrubZ range. This large curl tail has proven a popular choice for those targeting flathead, snapper, jewies, mangrove jack, barra and a variety of other species. Glow is a no brainer for those fishing at night for jacks, barra and jewies or in deeper water in search of big flatties and reefies. Copper Penny was a popular request from snapper anglers and those fishing dirty water for jewies, mangrove jack and barra, where plenty of tail action is needed to attract predators. Early testing and fishing has produced good results, including TT Pro Ash Hazell getting stuck into some quality WA snapper on the Copper Penny. Fish on! Tackle Tactics Pro Angler Ash Hazell with a cracker WA snapper on the ZMan 5 GrubZ in Copper Penny

4 Over the last few months my boat has been gathering leaves and my rods dust, due to the fact that I have been renovating a house that I recently purchased. Early starts and late nights have meant that time to go fishing has been non-existent and seeing photos continuously posted on Facebook has been a constant tease, with all sorts of different species being caught in good numbers over the Christmas break. A recent text message from fellow Tackle Tactics Pro Angler, Will Lee, became a good reason to hang up the hammer and dust of my rods as he was heading to Somerset Dam to chase Australian bass and yellowbelly. This turned out to be the perfect opportunity for a well deserved break from the house and also a good chance to hear my first screaming drag for the New Year. Ryan Dixon with a solid yellowbelly landed on a Purple Minnow Switchblade Yellowbelly on Blades By Ryan Dixon

5 Myself, Will and good mate Ben arrived at the dam around 6:30 am on a scorching Sunday summer s morning. With ski boats and holiday makers quickly filling the dam and the sounder reading a water temperature of 31 degrees, we knew the fishing wouldn t be easy. Not knowing where to start, or where fish had been getting caught, we headed for the most popular spots we knew of, being Bay 13, Pelican Point and Eagles Nest. It didn t take long to locate good numbers of fish on the sounder in both Bay 13 and Eagles Nest. They were holding in fairly deep water, ranging from feet. Although there were good shows of fish they didn t seem very active, holding very tight to the bottom of the dam. Ben with an eel-tailed catfish that thought the Switchblade looked like a good feed.

6 A selection of Switchblade colours that proved effective. Gold blades are a good starting point in the fresh. Not knowing what the fish had been eating or if they were even going to eat, and considering the amount of traffic on the dam, we thought the best thing to do was all fish a different presentation and hammer the hell out of them until we finally got a bite. With this in mind I tied on a plastic, Will a switchblade and Ben a plastic with TT Jig Spinner. The sounder was still showing good numbers of fish sitting on the bottom and we concentrated on keeping our lures right in front of their faces. As the time went by and with no fish, we kept trying different retrieves, lures and lure colours. Finally Will got a bite and a healthy yellowbelly was landed on the 3/8oz TT switchblade, after a short fight. Following in Will s footsteps both Ben and I tied on a Switchblade, as we were both keen to get in on the act, and that we did as the yella s started hitting the deck thick and fast. The retrieve that we found worked best was as subtle as possible. We were lifting our Switchblades no more than two feet off the bottom (just enough to feel the vibration in the rod tip) with one hop and a long pause. The bites we were receiving resembled the bite of a new born winter whiting, but once we set the hooks the weight was immediately there. We all fished 4lb line and had no trouble landing any of the yellowbelly, as the fish weren t holding on any structure. Even with only one eye this yellowbelly tracked down the vibration of the Switchblade.

7 Will Lee with nice yellowbelly pulled from a school in deep water. Taking a good variety of lures on any fishing trip is imperative when fishing dams, as the fish could be holding in different depths or might only want to eat a certain type of lure on any given day. Try different retrieves and if you are with other people, everyone fish a different lure until you work out what the fish are interested in. Don t forget that most dams require you to purchase a stocked impoundment permit or fishing license (which can be found online) and sometimes also a boating permit. Also, when fishing dams with high water temperature, as we did, the temperature will be significantly different deep down compared to the surface, so keeping deep caught fish that you intend to release in a live well is not the best idea.

8 An Arnhemland Reunion By Shaun Taylor I always get the same feeling flying into the Barralodge, a type of nervous anticipation for the events that will unfold, peering out the aircraft window looking for water holding on the flood plains and the water colour of the mighty Liverpool River as we descend into Maningrida. I was really looking forward to this stint, as well as guiding a return client that I had become good mates with, it was also a chance to catch up with my younger brother Andrew who was guiding full time at the lodge.

9 As usual, I had overdone it in the tackle department and the excess baggage police had loved me, setting up a nice little retirement fund from the weight of my three large bags and rod tube! You know what it's like people, gotta cover all options right? Lodge manager Dave Thomas shook his head with a knowing chuckle as we loaded the gear into the troopie and although I was only there for two weeks it looked like I was moving back for the season! I had arranged for a camping trip with Andrew after our guiding commitments were completed and after a very happy and fished out group of clients departed, it was time to pack the boat with gear and get out and catch a few ourselves! My plan was to fish a coastal creek an hour s ocean run from Maningrida. This is my all-time favourite spot, although it is a difficult creek to enter and fish. Large shallow flats, with no real channel, guard the creek and make entry difficult. Attempt this at the wrong time and you could find yourself in for a long wait, or pushing the boat in crocodile infested water (which I don't recommend)! Andrew with a fingermark on the 3 MinnowZ. This little paddle tail is deadly on a wide range of species.

10 We skated in on a receding tide, which is the worst case scenario, but made it safely inside the mouth of the creek, where a shallow channel allowed us to travel further upstream. This creek only gets about 9 deep in the deepest sections and is separated by shallow corners that virtually go dry on the low tide. Because of this I had to pick a section to fish and 'lock in' for the rest of the run out tide. We picked a junction where another smaller creek was running out into the main creek creating a great looking eddy, while also offering some fishy looking snags, including a lay down log that ran all the way across the smaller creek. This area had produced for me in the past and I hoped it would again, especially as we were now stuck here until the tide started to push in again. We quickly rigged up our gear, with Andrew going for a Rootbeer Gold ZMan 3 Minnowz, while I chose my favourite Redbone Glow 3. It was Andrew s first look at the new ChinlockZ and HeadlockZ HD heads. I could see that he was stoked with the design and with the fact that they would make rigging a whole lot easier, especially when you had three clients to look after in a hot bite. Eliminating the need for messy glues was another plus and the ChinlockZ have now become his go-to hook for weedless rigging for barra. Back to the session though and our choice had proven correct, as both our first casts were nailed by hungry barra! Casting the MinnowZ into the corner eddy and retrieving them slowly out into the main river, over a sandbar drop off, saw most casts intercepted by eager fish. As stated earlier, this is a shallow coastal creek and the clear water allowed us to see a lot of the takes and also fish cruising past the boat, which of course were sight cast to.

11 We started mixing it up a bit. I changed to a Gold Rush (Black and Gold) 3, whilst Andrew went for Chartreuse Glow. We sat the boat in the deepest part of the corner hole, which by now was only about four feet deep and cast along the sandbar drop off. A school of good sized tarpon had taken up residence in the slightly deeper water and they eagerly attacked the plastics. The Chartreuse Glow 3 ended up taking the most fish. By now the tide had almost fully ebbed and the smaller creek was very shallow, exposing some large lay down snags in the middle of the creek. Andrew changed to a surface lure which was smashed on the first cast! I quickly cut my loop knot and removed the weight from my rig, re-tying the 3 Gold Rush MinnowZ weightless, which my Millerods Control Freak lcm delivered in amongst the fallen timber. The MinnowZ hardly made it out of the structure before another hungry barra smashed it on the surface. Although these weren't large barra, you really had to stick it to them in the shallow water and the explosive strikes and frantic battles were great fun! Glow Chartreuse 3 MinnowZ also proved effective on the barra, along with some solid tarpon.

12 The action slowed as the tide stopped, but the start of the run in let us explore further up the creek and fish the many snag piles, eddies and junctions. We changed to ZMan 4 SwimmerZ and Andrew scored a nice jack on the first snag pile upstream from our junction hole. The SwimmerZ are many anglers favourite jack placcy and they didn't let us down, nailing jacks, barra and a healthy thready that came to the boat like a tiddler, before switching on the afterburners and screaming off down the creek. Pearl, Hitch and Sexy Lady did the job for us, before I again changed back to a 3 Redbone Glow MinnowZ rigged weedless. I walked this through the nastiest of snag piles only to get stitched up good and proper by what I would bet was a nice jack. It had been a fantastic day, catching up with my bro and fishing these awesome waterways. It's a long way from our past, working the streams of western Victoria for trout, canoeing the Clarence for bass and fishing our home waters of Hervey Bay for all types of species. I knew once he got up to the territory he would fall in love with the joint, like I did, and he has already signed on for next season! I also have several groups booked for next year, so I look forward to catching up again in god s country! Even the tropical storm that closed in on us that night, as we camped at the mouth of the creek, couldn't put a dampener on the trip as we knew that pre-dawn, on the start of the run in, barra would be boofing along the beach and we would be ready for them armed with TT and ZMan lures! A magic location, good catch up and some cracker fish!

13 Switching Things Up By Owen Mcpaul The blade lure is by far one of the most versatile and underestimated tools one can include in their tackle tray. It is a common misconception that the blade is something that is used when targeting deep fish, but for those willing to think outside the box and tweak the retrieve, the areas these violent pulsating lures can be worked is endless. With such a large range of colours and sizes in the range from TT Lures, there doesn t seem to be a species that hasn t been thought about or that is outside the limits of this simple but effective lure. Everything from trout in the skinny mountain streams to pelagic and deep water species on our outside reefs is catered for, with blades ranging from the 1/12oz polycarbonate Ghostblade to the monster 2oz Switchblade HD.

14 Owen with a decent blade bream he extracted from natural structure. I like to set myself goals in my fishing and often spend weeks at a time trying one specific lure and putting it through its paces, in a variety of situations, until I feel I have it worked out completely and can take it to different locations and use it effectively. For the past few weeks, although I have used blades for a number of years, I have thoroughly tried and tested them in some of the most unforgiving places. This includes places that I usually wouldn t have thought to in the past, from oyster racks and tight up against mangroves, to bouncing them through timber, weed flats and secondary drop-offs. To put it honestly, the results have been overwhelming and with every outing I find myself developing more tricks and skills in relation to the retrieve. In the process I haven t found a species in the my local tributaries that hasn t taken a liking to them

15 Purple Glimmer Ghost breambo. The mangroves have been one of the most impressive areas that I have targeted. There has been two retrieves I m using with success, as mangroves can have shallow banks before descending drops or drop into deep water straight off the edge. When fishing mangroves with shallower areas of water in front of them, I have found you have to work as quickly as possible from when your lure initially hits the water or you take the chance of fouling up on the bottom. I have been casting as hard up towards the bank as possible and the second my lure lands the bail arm is clicked over. With one quick flick of the rod I then get the blade to quickly pulsate out, before letting it drop for a second or two and following with a steady retrieve, similar to one used when slow rolling a hard bodied lure, with a pause and drop before continuing the slow roll back to the boat. One thing to remember is that as long as you can feel the pulsation of the lure through the tip of your rod you can speed or slow the roll, varying the depth at which the lure is running. Owen has been getting into the bream on a variety of colours. This fish took a liking to Bloody Ghost.

16 For the areas where the deeper drop is straight in front of the bank, I once again cast as tight as I can to the bank. The beautiful thing with the deeper water is you often get a take or a nudge on the drop, so you either have the fish before you begin to work the lure, or you can impart a few small movements of the rod to torment the fish into a bite before the lure settles to the bottom. Once on the bottom I have not been doing any long slow lifts or double hops, rather a small quick lift of the rod, lifting the tip no more than 10cm. I m then following this with small quick lifts every few seconds. If the fish is there you will feel it tap the lure, often on 3 or 4 of those quick lifts, before they finally take the plunge, hitting the lure as hard as possible. It s a simple retrieve, but a very effective one. In the oyster racks you really want to muscle up with the gear for some white knuckle action, as bream don t like to mess around in this unforgiving structure and have the ability to make a fool out of the best of us. This is a very exciting form of fishing, as it is usually very visual. The hardest part of fishing the racks is the precision of your cast. Cast 1cm either side of your target and you could be snagged up, usually spooking fish in the area while trying to retrieve your lure. Secondly you need to account for tidal flow, as the lure will be pushed slightly sideways with the flow. What I have been trying to do is get a long cast up between the racks with the aim being to land as close to them as possible. If it happens to be the shady side you have doubled your chance in my opinion. The trick here is rather than lifting the rod to create action, quickly flick the tip of your rod towards the water, commonly known as ripping and continue the rips while continually winding. For those who don t know oyster racks, the bite is usually an opportunistic, frantic bite and the bream hit hard, while on the turn, so if you get hit wind like crazy if you give the fish any chance they will be swimming off with your lure! One problem Owen was having with the 1/12oz Ghostblade was that the local jewies kept smashing them!

17 For those looking at different approaches for this deadly little lure, I would recommend giving them a try around the mangroves and the racks. It s a great deal of fun, very rewarding and if it works for me, I m confident in saying it will work for anyone. Until next time, good luck and tight lines Blades are a handy lure to have in your kit, often producing bites when other lures aren t working.

18 The 4 ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ is a deadly soft plastic with an array of uses from estuary to offshore fishing. From the flick and curl of the tail to the grub styled body, it had me itching to get it in the water and into the mouth of something big and hungry from the moment I laid eyes on it! As with all ZMan soft plastics, they are constructed using a material called ElaZtech, a material that separates ZMan plastics from the rest on the planet! The ElaZtech material gives the plastic a natural buoyancy, appealing to a lot more fish than other soft plastics. The natural buoyancy of ZMan soft plastics allows the tail end of the plastic to hover above the sea floor, while the jighead side of the soft plastic is burrowed into the sand imitating an injured or feeding baitfish to perfection. I m finding that this gets the attention of a lot more fish than standard soft plastics that lay lifeless on the bottom. Another great advantage of the ElaZtech is that it s 10X tough, compared to other soft plastics, meaning a single lure could last months, even after numerous captures! As I removed the StreakZ Curly TailZ from its original packaging I instinctively thought bream and flathead. Over time this lure has proven itself so many times it s not funny and not just on these two species! Bream, flathead, jewfish, estuary perch, you name it, they ve all had a StreakZ Curly TailZ hanging out of their mouth at some point in time. By Matt Reeves Matt with a nice bream that crunched a 4 StreakZ Curly.

19 BREAM The versatility of this lure extends from Bream to Barra! Targeting bream on the Curly TailZ cuts down on the smaller bream, allowing the bigger, more elusive bream to come out from wherever they might be hiding and crunch it! So many times I have tied on a Curly TailZ in the middle of a small bream a cast session on the 2.5 GrubZ and pulled a bigger bream, just due to the larger profile of the Curly TailZ. It s what gets the bigger bream all hyped up its simple, big lures = big fish! Motor Oil is a go-to colour for bream anglers.

20 FLATHEAD Flathead are often underestimated, commonly described as a lazy, boring fish, but this is far from the truth. They are great fun on soft plastics and one of my favourite soft plastics to target these fish with is the StreakZ Curly TailZ. There s something about this lure that the flathead just can t seem to resist, most likely the high powered flick and curl of the tail end of the soft plastic. Getting the attention of the flathead is most important and this can be triggered with a powerful hop, double hop or even triple, being my preferred technique. A great species to start targeting on soft plastics and using the Curly TailZ gives you a massive advantage! Matt has landed some quality flathead on the ZMan 4 StreakZ Curly.

21 JEWFISH The jewfish is a species I ve been trying to crack for ages and recently I ve been getting into a few on the StreakZ Curly TailZ in the Opening Night colour. Targeting deeper rock walls, in about 8-15m of water, seems to be the gun technique in my local. The jewfish is a species that I am yet to capture on a regular basis but I look forward to learning more about this fish in the near future. Jewies are another species that have found that lively tail action hard to resist.

22 ESTUARY PERCH Catching estuary perch on ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ dates back to when a couple of mates and I headed onto my local and smacked a perch a cast on the 2.5 GrubZ, with the fish only going up to around the 35cm. The fish were so thick we couldn t get our lure back without it being smashed! The GrubZ were producing the goods but I was waiting for that 40+ fish to finish the day off. That s when I pulled out the Curly TailZ in Motor Oil colour and landed a fish that went just over 41cm. My goal for the day was in the bag, thanks to the Curly TailZ! The ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ is rapidly growing in popularity and the captures this lure has produced speak for themselves. The Curly TailZ is available in a wide range of colours, so there s a colour to suit whatever species in whatever structure. Tie on a 4 StreakZ Curly TailZ and hold on, you ll soon see what I mean! Matt with an EP on the StreakZ Curly TailZ.

23 Travelling Angler By Ash Hazell Ash with his first east coast dusky flathead. Catching new species is just one of the reasons we hit the water.

24 Ash with one of many east coast bream landed in less than perfect conditions. I'm lucky enough to have a job that sees me travelling interstate occasionally and although it's usually just for a couple of days for an event or to help out with something, I always consider my angling options and try to add on a couple of days for myself. The best example so far was a trip to Brisbane for QLD craft beer week, where I was doing some demonstration brewing, representing Little Creatures. Once that was done, I met up with fellow Pro Staffer Will Lee and Justin Willmer from Tackle Tactics for a day of fishing. I had only just joined the team and this was a great welcome!

25 The wind forecast was terrible but that didn't stop Will from making the gutsy call to hit the Redcliffe area in his bass boat. As I am WA based this was going to be my only chance to fish for Yellowfin bream before the Bribie Island ABT Grand Final, so I had to make the most of it. We arrived at the ramp a little after sunrise and straight away saw that the forecast was right for once, maybe even underestimated. Refusing to give in, we pushed on and were quickly flying out into the messy Moreton Bay chop. A couple of good waves over the front of the boat later and we were at our first stop. Coming from the snaggy bream rivers of WA, the idea of chasing bream out in these waters was completely alien to me! We tied on our preference of ZMan plastics (GrubZ, Curly TailZ and ShrimpZ) and it wasn't long before a few bream started hitting the decks. I watched Will and Justin's fishing styles closely as they started to pull a few solid bream before I had my first legal onboard. Will was fishing 3 Scented ShrimpZ on 1/8oz TT heads, while Justin and I used 2.5 GrubZ in Watermelon Red and Pumkpinseed on 1/12oz heads. This was only just heavy enough for the conditions, but was enough to get our lures down into the strike zone with downwind casts. We fished a variety of structure from man-made break walls to natural reef and I was amazed at the pulling power of even the smaller bream amongst the reef. I'm not ashamed to admit that I lost more than I landed until I started to fish a bit differently. Light leader was essential in the clear ocean water. Fishing right on the bottom in the reef was a fast way to lose fights! As I started to fish higher off the sea bed, with a more erratic retrieve, I was hooking fish above the reef rather than amongst it. The fish weren't too shy to come up and take the lure. This gave me the head start I needed to get them clear of the reef and safely into the net.

26 We covered a lot of ground over the day and it was great to see a completely different side of bream fishing. We pulled a few good bream each and plenty of smaller ones along with some by-catches to fill in the time between. Flathead and big Long Tom were a welcome change and had us guessing until they came within sight. Another great trip I've had recently was to Tasmania for a friend's wedding. Tasmania is well known as the home of big bream in Australia, so I had very high hopes of finding some chunky blue-noses. I was lucky enough to get in contact with a couple of locals and they were kind enough to help me find some 40's. We fished a small system along the East Coast, where I was virtually guaranteed some big bream. The vast flats of those systems don't hold large numbers of bream but the average size was incredible. We saw small schools of big bream cruising along the drop offs, as well as up in the feeder creeks. Will and Ash were stoked with some quality bream on the ZMan plastics.

27 This is where I got stuck into my best ones, while fishing 2.5 GrubZ on 1/16oz TT jigheads, as they waited to ambush their prey in the flowing tidal system. Finesse was the key here in the ultra clear water. We quietly stalked the banks and caught a bunch of 40's that day including a 41cm fork length brute each. Experiencing and learning these different systems is crucial to becoming a well-rounded and multi-skilled angler. So, do yourself a favour and think about your options if you are heading away for work or even on a non-fishing holiday. A travel rod, light weight reel and a handful of lures is all you need to sneak into your suitcase to explore new systems. Some local knowledge, or in this case, a tour guide, is an advantage but not essential. I've had other memorable trips, including chasing bream in Melbourne's Docklands and laidback afternoons flicking for redfin perch in Victorian dams. Not all trips will be fruitful but you can usually take something away from these adventures and it still beats sitting around a hotel room watching telly between functions or meetings! Ash made the most of a Tassie visit, getting stuck into some 40+cm bream on the ZMan 2.5 GrubZ.

28 Trick n Trevs By Adam Neild Trevally of one variety or another are available in most parts of the Australia. Adam Neild takes us fishing for a few trevally in his local waters of Queensland s Sunshine Coast. Let s check out Adam s techniques so that you can give them a run in your local waters. One good thing about fishing the Sunshine Coast is the trevally. There are a variety of trevally species that you will encounter in the rivers at this time of year, the most common one being giant trevally. You may also stumble upon golden trevally, cale cale trevally, big eye s or even the humble diamond trevally. Though some of them require different techniques, I will be mostly referring to giant trevally in this little article. Scoring myself a little bit of time off work, I armed myself with the ZMan 3 MinnowZ in various colours, matching them to 1/4oz 3/0H TT Lures Tournament Series jig heads. Fishing in roughly 4-5m of water, I generally prefer 1/4oz jigheads. Some people are so caught up in finesse fishing these days, with the theory being that lighter is always better, but I find a slightly heavier head gives the trevally something to chase back down to the bottom when you give the lure a couple of second pause. A lot of the times this escaping plastic will trigger a strike. Adam with a nice bridgeresiding, MinnowZ crunching trevally.

29 With the water quality being fairly clean I found a nice natural looking colour to be my choice in plastic. The Opening Night 3 MinnowZ being the right choice on the higher end of the tides and Houdini being the winner on the lower end, when the water was dirtier. My structure of choice is bridge pylons. I find the trevally love sitting in eddies created by the pylons of bridges, just sitting head into the current waiting for baitfish to wash past. Fishing so close to the pylons, I find you need to fish a little bit heavier to be able to pull the trevally away from the pylons before they gain the upper hand. I like to use a 2-5 or 3-6kg rod with a 2500 size reel, spooled with 8lb-10lb braid and 10-14lb Leader depending on how game you are feeling on the day! The other good thing about fishing this kind of structure is that you really have no idea what will be sitting around the pylons feeding with them. I find tarpon, mangrove jack, bream and even sometimes jewfish to be a common bycatch.

30 Trevally can sometimes be fussy eaters, so I like to mix up my retrieve on the day to see what will trigger the fish. My preferred technique is to cast mm to the side of the pylons, making sure you cast 5-6m past the pylon so as to allow the plastic to sink, especially if the fish are hanging deeper. I like to give the plastic a couple of small hops along the water column, with a 2-4 second pause so the plastic will sink rapidly to the bottom. This is commonly when the trevally suck the lure in, especially when the plastic is heading into the eddy created by the pylon, which is the main strike zone. Once you feel that the plastic is starting to go past the pylon, give it a quick burn away as this can trigger a strike as trevally react to the lure getting away. I also like to use another fast burn technique where I cast to a similar position, slowly wind up the slack and once I feel my lure is deep enough I do a quick steady wind straight past the pylons, with a pause every couple of metres for a split second. This is a great technique when the trevally are in a fired up mood and just want to chase a fast moving bait. Hopefully this little article gives you some insight and ideas on targeting these beautiful sportfish that are found in most of our estuaries throughout Queensland, as well as most other states. Finding the water movement and the bait is often the key to tangling with some trevs.

31 Aidan releases a solid estuary threadfin.

32 Estuary systems are diverse places with a wide range of species on offer. They are filled with flats, mud banks, rock bars and submerged timber. If I was a fish, I think it would be the ideal place to live and for anglers they are also a good place to seek shelter from the wind. When I am on holidays the fishing is non-stop, but recently the wind gods didn t want to play nice, so we decided to head up a few estuary / creek systems to fish some sheltered rock bars, mud banks and submerged trees, using the ZMan range of soft plastics and TT s new HeadlockZ HD jigheads. After putting in some solid hours on numerous trips, catching different species each time, we had finally worked out a couple of spots that were producing quality fish. Working out the tides, time of day, where to cast your plastic and what to look for all contribute to working out a few likely spots.

33 Fishing the rock bars in the estuary, or rocky points, can be a productive area to fish. Look for distinct current lines where baitfish might wash through as these can often indicate where the predatory fish will be sitting in ambush. Casting ZMan plastics into the current line and bouncing them off the bottom into the calmer water, where the predatory fish will be waiting, is a good technique for this type of fishing. This technique has been used on different occasions to produce some cracker fish; threadfin salmon in particular. On one particular trip we positioned the boat in the calm water and held our position with the electric. Using the ZMan 5 StreakZ in Pearl, rigged on a TT Lures HeadlockZ HD 1/4oz 3/0XH jighead, we cast up-current into the current line and worked the lure back to the boat. Keeping the plastic close to the bottom and working it slow was the key to success. We were using two short, sharp flicks of the rod to make the plastic dart around and the fish stood no chance. The darting action of the StreakZ is enough to fool the threadfin and other species into eating this baitfish imitation. Locating structure and bait is a good starting point.

34 As the tide rose the salmon pushed up over the rock bar and onto the flats to forage in the mangroves. Here they can then be effectively targeted using the TT SWS jigheads rigged with ZMan 3 ShrimpZ or 4 CrawdadZ. On this trip the fish we were sight casting to were not interested in taking a well presented plastic, so we moved back around to the rock bar. The current line was also where the tarpon were sitting, waiting for something to hit the surface. It didn t really matter what you threw at them as they were hungry and quickly scoffed down the ZMan plastic. The hardest part was keeping the hooks in them; with their acrobatic nature, they tried their best to throw the hooks one way or another! The ZMan 2.5 GrubZ, 3 Scented ShrimpZ and 4 StreakZ Curly TailZ were working the best for them. The tarpon usually hit on the drop, so using a 1/4oz jighead was perfect. We cast into the current line that was in the deeper water and let the plastic flutter to the bottom or until it was hit. Giving the rod a shake or flicking it continuously was working well; making them angry and encouraging them to eat the plastic.

35 Once it reached the top of the tide the current stopped and the bream and jew came out to feed. The 2.5 GrubZ in Motor Oil was the pick of the plastics for the bream, rigged on the TT HeadlockZ in 1/4oz 1/0. The jew, tarpon, blue salmon and barra also like this plastic / jighead combo! Another good plastic for the bream is the ZMan 4 StreakZ Curly TailZ in New Penny. Casting out along the ledge and using a nice slow retrieve and hopping the plastic seemed to do the job. With the bream hitting on the drop you have to be ready. As for the jew, you feel a few very soft taps on the plastic. When you feel this, leave the plastic in that range and just shake the rod softly. Every time I did this they couldn t help themselves and ate the plastic before you know it you are hooked up! A move of location and we could fish some different country, this time some submerged timber. On the outgoing tide the water drains off the sand flats and through the fallen tree-lined channel. If the fish wanted to get out of the creek they had to come through this channel and past our plastics! Submerged trees are a good place to pick up grunter, jew, bream, cod, jacks and barra. We landed most of these species and got done by the jacks. There was no stopping them on light gear, that was for sure! I guess that s what happens when you fish light.

36 The grunter took a liking to the ZMan 2.5 GrubZ in Watermelon Red rigged on a TT HeadlockZ 1/6oz jighead. They are usually not a very fussy fish and would be more than happy to eat the ShrimpZ and 4 StreakZ Curly TailZ, especially in New Penny. The cod liked the ShrimpZ in Houdini, as did the jacks we couldn t stop. Bring on the heavy gear next time! We also experienced some awesome sunsets over the holidays whilst out fishing perfect sunsets to finish off great days on the water! Until next time Cheers, Aidan Robertson

37 Soft Plastic Lure Guide ZMan 2.5 GrubZ This small curl tail grub is 10X Tough, yet super-soft and flexible, has a lively tail action and realistic feel, along with in-built buoyancy, so that it s tail stands up and moves with the water even when at rest on the bottom. This is all thanks to its space-age ElaZtech construction. The 2.5 GrubZ has made it s mark on bream around Australia and dominated the WA bream tournaments due to its toughness and ability to stand up to their plague of blowies that destroy lesser plastics. Bream inhale this small curl tail and even when the bite is tough you can slowly wind away from the fish and feel them eat their way up the plastic until they find the hook. They just keep chewing and keep coming back because of that soft and realistic feel. Not just a bream lure though, this small curl tail packs enough tail action to attract larger species and has already accounted for well over 50 species in Australia. GrubZ crunching species have included flathead, bass, trevally, whiting, barramundi, saratoga, yellowbelly, redfin, trout, sooty grunter, jungle perch, snook, salmon and many more! Anglers have had great success rigging this lure in a variety of ways. Let s look at a few. Standard Jighead Rigging on a standard jighead is the most popular, and allows you to regulate the weight of the jighead to suit the depth, current, wind and fish. A 1/20, 1/16 and 1/12oz jighead are common selections for shallower water, over the flats, weed and around structure, with 1/8, 1/6 and 1/4oz used for fishing channel edges, bridges and rock walls, where the angler is confronted with deeper water, faster currents and also when the winds are blowing hard, so that you can stay in contact with your soft plastic. Carrying a selection of jigheads allows you to quickly adjust to the conditions and the mood of the fish. Fish as light as possible as a general rule. Suitable standard jigheads include - TT Lures Tournament Series Hook sizes - 2, 2H, 1, 1H, 1/0 and 1/0H The H or HW means heavy wire, which is a thicker, stronger hook. Many tournament and more experienced anglers opt for a light wire hook for maximum penetration when fishing light line and light drags. While the beginner or those fishing structure and heavier drags may opt for the heavy wire. Built on Gamakatsu Hooks. TT Lures Head Hunter jigheads Hook sizes - 4, 2, 1 in a standard and 1XH in a Head Hunter Extreme The standard Head Hunter is a built on a Mustad Aberdeen fine wire hook, while the Extreme is a Mustad heavy duty, wide gape hook for strength. TT Lures HeadlockZ HD Hook sizes - 1/0 HeadlockZ are built on a brutally strong Mustad hook and feature a unique, split grip grub keeper that is designed to lock the super soft 10X tough ZMan plastic onto the jighead, without the need ed for a tiny dab of glue. TT Lures HWS (Hidden Weight System) The HWS jighead is often preferred by anglers seeking a more finesse presentation. Positioning all of the weight on the shank of the jighead, in the form of a grub keeper, allows the angler to conceal the weight inside the plastic for the ultimate realism, while also sinking the plastic slowly, naturally and horizontally. A 1 or 1/0 HWS is ideal for the 2.5 GrubZ, with 1/20 and 1/16oz popular choices for fishing higher in the water column over weed and snags or around structure such as pontoons and mangrove edges. For fishing deeper water and faster current a 1/12 and 1/8oz is the preferred option. Retrieve Techniques Hopping - cast the plastic and allow it to sink to the bottom, pause, hop the plastic with a single lift 10-30cm (some prefer two or three smaller lifts) and then allow the plastic to sink without resistance while winding up the slack, then repeat. Keep an eye on the line and if it speeds up or stops early, strike! Rolling - If the fish are feeding higher in the water column, such as around pontoons, or the water is shallow and you re fishing over weed and rock, try casting, allowing your lure to sink till it s just above the structure, or just below the water in the case of pontoons and start a slow roll (slow wind). If the fish aren t biting add an occasional pause or a few small twitches by punching the rod tip down toward the water. Tips Mix up the retrieve until you find what the fish are after - speed, pauses, twitches, depth, etc. Use a tiny dab of super glue to lock your ZMan onto the jighead. (unless using a HeadlockZ jigheads) Don t mix your ZMan with other plastics and keep them out of extreme heat for maximum life.

38 For more TT Lures & ZMan, including back issues of this free online fishing mag, check out - CHECK OUT THE FULL RANGE! See you on the water, beach, rocks or anywhere else we might find a fish! Our catalogue is now available to download, so you can check out the gear you need for your next mission! Click on the image to view the latest Tackle Tactics catalogue. TT Lures - Australia s most comprehensive range of jigheads, blades and spinnerbaits. ZMan - Australia s fastest growing lure brand!