Prawnstar Repowered
The Plastic Wrap
By Dan Kaggelis
February the 1st – the opening of the barramundi season would have to be the equivalent to Christmas day for northern anglers. Since November these iconic fish have been enjoying their freedom, but come the 1st of February it will be game on for northern anglers and there will be plenty with the barramundi firm in their sights. If you fit into this category then keep reading, because when it comes to enticing a big barramundi there is little out there that does a better job than a soft plastic prawn. Now there are multitudes of prawn style plastics on the market, but for this month’s P-Wrap I thought some due attention was needed for an old proven favourite – the Prawn Star.
The original prawnstar soft plastic prawn has been around for decades and with its life-like look and tail flicking action it’s of little wonder, as this lure is a proven fish taker and one of my real favourites when targeting barramundi. Whilst its line feed system which enables the tail to flick with every rip of the rod tip is clever, it is the use of double treble hooks in this plastic which has always appealed to me when chasing barramundi. As most anglers will know, barramundi have the uncanny ability to throw lures with ease and single-hooked softy plastics are often quite ineffective, especially on those fish which love to get aerial and head shake. The use of double trebles both mid body and in the tail section of the plastic means 6 hook points which is usually reserved for only hard body lures.
As mentioned before, the Prawnstar is nothing new, however, the guys at Primal Fishing have been working day and night to develop some new improvements to the original Prawnstar design and, whilst they may seem subtle, the results are outstanding.
The new upgraded Prawnstar is called the Prawnstar GOLD Tournament series and, as its name suggests, it has been upgraded to a whole new level in both materials, design and terminal tackle. The first thing you will notice about the new GOLD Tournament Series is that the soft plastic is much softer compared to the original. If I had one bug bear with the original lure it would have had to have been its rigidity, as this feature often effected the flicking action of the lure. This has been rectified by the guys at Primal Fishing and the new design is much softer which translates into a better tail flick action. Considering this is Prawnstar’s main way of attracting fish, this is a big step in the right direction. The softy, however, still maintains its super strong build and integrity and can catch fish after fish without worry of tears or body breakages.
Whilst the new softer body is an exciting new feature it is the upgrades to the terminal gear which are really awesome, especially for barramundi fishermen. We all know how important things like quality hooks and rings are when chasing big barramundi and the Gold Tournament Prawnstar range has this covered. To start on the original Prawnstar, the internal line feed system which went through the head, body, and rear trebles was connected using the angler’s leader of choice. This has now been replaced by a super tough spliced Dacron leader which is connected to a stainless steel solid ring on the nose of the lure. This has made the lure so much easier to rig and at the same time improved the strength tenfold. To top this off, you can even purchase replacement Dacron leaders when the original begins to wear. Now, I have been testing these new GOLD Tournament lures for over three months now and even after a dozen fish the Dacron leader has shown little sign of wear. However, it is good to know that if it does cop a gillraker, you don’t have to fork out for a whole new plastic and a simple rethread is all that is necessary.
The other upgrades to the terminal tackle are the trebles themselves on the largest original Prawnstar size. The new Tournament series are now fitted with size 1 heavy duty VMC trebles which means little worry about bending or breaking hooks. This is absolutely essential if you are chasing barramundim as even small fish have the ability to put some huge hurt on hooks.
All these features mean the new Prawnstar is easier to fish, flick and rig which will translate into more fish.
The other new inclusions in the GOLD tournament range include a new selection of colours and patterns. The original prawnstars were quite bland in colouration often being a single colour with no pattern at all. This has now changed in a big way and there are now multitudes of single and multi-coloured patterns including tiger prawn patterns which have proven to be a real barra favourite amongst other soft plastic prawns.
When fishing the GOLD Tournament series for barramundi I prefer to adopt two main techniques. The first is to cast the plastic deep into structure and let it sink to the bottom. If it doesn’t get inhaled on the drop (which is what commonly occurs) let the plastic sit on the bottom for at least ten seconds. This gives the fish time to get curious about it and move in for a closer look. If you begin working the softy too soon it will move away from the strike zone and fish will lose any interest it may have sparked. Once you have let it rest, give it a couple of small flicks to shoot it up in the column but don’t begin to retrieve just yet. This will get the tail flicking and once again get it in the faces of fish which may be checking it out. Keep this up with as little retrieve as possible and after a couple of minutes if you don’t get a hit, retrieve the lure and cast again.
The other main retrieve is to cast the lure into structure and begin small hops or strong rips back to the boat. This will see the lure rise through the water column and then glide gently back to the bottom during the retrieve. Almost every take occurs on the glide backwards, so be prepared to study the slack line to ensure you set that hook.
One thing you will notice about the Prawnstar is that is can be a little light when the tide is really pushing (which is what happens during the bigger summer tidal runs). This can hinder the lure getting to the bottom at times, so to counter this I have been utilising clip on sinkers where needed. These are excellent as they enable the angler to make weight adjustments where needed without the need to re-rig or stuff around with lure weights. These have also proven to be invaluable in offshore environments when you need to get the Prawnstar down around bombies and bottom structure.
The Gold Tournament Prawnstar Series have just recently been released and if you were a big fan of the originals, make sure you check these out. Alternatively, if you love fishing prawn lures, these are a must have. 
Some extra features which come in handy when fishing the new Tournament Series: Spare Dacron Leaders and the Snap On Sinkers to help when the run gets up
The Wrap
Retail– Around $14 a lure
Number– One lure per pack
Sizes– Comes in three sizes: 11.5cm, 8.5cm and 6cm. I prefer the larger size for barra whilst the mid-sized prawn is great for jacks.
Scent– Not scented
Colours– Comes in a range of colours, but my favourite would have to be the tiger prawn yellow pattern
More info– www.prawnstar.com.au
