Lure Focus – B52:  Five Inch – 125mm Model – By Lyndon Anlezark

Background and intro

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who’s into barramundi fishing, that hasn’t heard of the B52 lure.  Many a tackle box house this well-known lure, and tackle shops around Australia would contain acres of them.

In this article, I’m listing some technical specs, options, how I’ve seen most anglers use the B52, with a few observations from my own fishing and coaching.

B52 Profile

Dimensions:  Five inches or 125mm

The five inch B52 entices small, medium and large barramundi, however I do notice that depending on mood, season and fishery, the size can be a barrier to smaller fish striking.  If you are fishing an area where a lot of small fish reside, an angler can tie on a five-inch version (or larger) to focus on legal sized barra.  Note:  On a hot bite small fish will hit most things you cast at them.

Swim Characteristics

It has a nice roll to the swim action with a slower tail beat to other products in the Reidy’s stable.  It’s a shallow diving lure that floats, which is suited to working most areas you fish, and very useful to cast and retrieve over submerged timber or weed beds.  It swims on the surface with a slow retrieve, and a few centremetres/feet below the surface when using a faster cadence.

Casting

The lure is easy to cast, as its aerodynamics cut through the air fairly well.

Trolling

The lure reaches depths of 1.5 metres, depending on line thickness or if trolling against or with the current.  A common technique is to sweep the rod forward throughout your trolling run to entice a strike.  Another method used is to bump submerged snags or rock bars, however this increases your chances of losing your lure.  I’ll let you work out the risk reward ratio you are happy to deploy.

Rattle

This lure has more of a dull rattle compared to some of the others on the market.

Bib

Compared to some other barramundi lures, the bibs hold up better than many, which can be useful if fishing rocky areas where you are always bouncing the lure off a tough surface.You can break the bib if continuously smashing them against rocks, but that’s the rule for most hard body lures.

Hooks

The five-inch bomber has two trebles, which increases the chances of hooking a fish.  It contains heavy duty VMC 3X strong size #1 treble hooks with heavy duty split rings. Some anglers use standard hooks, and other anglers change them out.

Colour

Available in nearly 30 colour options, the B52 five-inch version gives anglers enough options to choose the colours they think will catch more fish in the system they are planning on attacking.  Some anglers swear by colour, and others don’t think it matters as much.

Cost and Distribution

Prices vary from $16-$25 depending on where you shop.  I’ve seen these in remote outback stores across the country.  In a way, this allows you to experiment a bit more as you can possibly replace the lure if it’s lost.  A lot of people don’t like to experiment with expensive lures, as they fear losing them, which I can understand.  My point is that the B52 could be used as a sacrifice lure (to throw into an area), as you need to put a presentation in there to catch a fish.

Tip:  If you can buy a few of these lures at the cheapest price possible, this strategy can work well.  If you buy substandard lures and try to run the same experiment, you risk losing the fish.  If you fish enough, you should find B52’s hanging from trees, on submerged timber or floating down a river.  Many anglers I know find free B52’s during a year.  Note:  I wouldn’t recommend trying to remove one from the back of a crocodile.

Fishing with a 5-inch B52

I’ve found the B52 useful to explore a wide range of habitats, from billabongs in the Northern Territory, Queensland Barra Lakes, the upper reaches of rivers, barrages, estuaries and saltwater grounds.

Note:  At times fish can be wary regarding what they will strike.  I’ve seen times where the B52 works a treat, and others where barramundi weren’t interested in this lure.

Common retrieves used for the B52 include:

• The slow roll
• The barra twitch
• Wind and pause

The slow roll retrieve refers to someone winding the lure back slowly, without imparting any other actions.

The barra twitch retrieve can vary from a subtle twitch of the lure, or a more aggressive twitch, which is done to entice fish that might be triggered by these actions.

The wind and pause retrieve starts by retrieving the lure in for the anglers chosen distance, followed by a pause, and repeated.

If you’re into mathematics, there are obviously countless retrieve options an angler can use.  I’m guessing you will have your favourites.

Trolling Options

You could fiddle around with line, leader and fishing zones to work out a successful trolling strategy for the B-52.  For example, next to a riverbank or over submerged timber.  Another option is to use the lure to troll where 6–12-foot diving lures aren’t an option.

Summary

The B52 has been tried and tested for a long time.  When targeting barramundi, It’s a healthy addition to a tackle box.  It comes in a multitude of colours, has decent hooks, however you can customise the lure with heavier duty split rings and hooks if that’s your preference.  The lure can take a bit of punishment, and its size and action (as a shallow diver) allow more options to work areas in the upper levels of the water column.  Its price is around that of most barra lures sold today, and cheaper than some of the lures and soft plastics on the market.

The benefit of a lure is that you can usually catch a lot more fish on them, than a soft plastic which might be destroyed after fighting one fish.  The two trebles on this lure give you 6 hook points, and some plastics only offer one.  This might be an advantage e.g., I’ve seen barra hooked outside the mouth.  The trebles on the lure did the job, that a soft plastic without additional trebles attached, might find hard to complete.

The other advantage of a lure is that it floats when you stop retrieving.  You have more control over it, (without retrieving) compared to a soft plastic that might sink into the timber.  This is a great tip if you are new to an area or are training beginners that might turn a fishing session into a de-snagging, and re-rigging session (frustrating).  When working with beginners (or humans) another good tip is to crimp the barbs for easier removal (when someone is hooked).  It’s also wise to keep people several metres apart when casting and never walk behind someone when they are about to throw a line in.

You don’t have to buy a B52, and please note that I’m not sponsored by anyone.  Feel free to select another lure that does a similar job.  I’m just suggesting that when you make this decision (what lure to buy), that the B52 will be in the mix for consideration.  Note:  Some anglers prefer hard body lures over soft plastics.  Others run with the opposite train of thought.

You could also use this article to show how intelligent your tackle store purchase was e.g., when the subject of household expenditure arises.  Or pay cash.

I wish you all the best on your next fishing trip.

Regards,

Lyndon Anlezark