Something for Everyone – By David Hodge
It’s no secret to those who know us that casting hard bodies and soft plastics at snags and mangroves is our favourite thing to do. The ‘lightning fast’ nature of the snag dwelling jacks is what does it for us. Even when you can see them, their speed gets you by surprise as they often charge at the lure before it even touches down on the water. As a by-catch species, barra’s are quite plentiful if that’s what you’re after and seasonal fluctuations will dictate which tactics and locations will fire the best for them. On some days the fish just aren’t in the snags in enough numbers to make it a worthwhile proposition, so this is when we start to look for deeper snags and schools of fish. The species list changes a little when you start looking for those deeper schools, as does the lure selection, and grunter and fingermark, both great table fish, become a higher chance when fishing the fringing edges of deeper drop offs.
On shoal type situations, a heavily weighted Jig head is going to give you the best hook-up for sure.
Even though we start with a game plan, things don’t always go the way we expect them to, and we need to have options on hand for those days that are just unpredictable. Winter time is the most unpredictable and when the winds can be relentless for days on end at times, and being absolute fishing tragics, we aren’t going to sit at home and not go fishing. When the weather is calm and those glorious winter days with perfect tides and the clearest of water give us an opportunity, we head straight out into the bay and chase trout, larger fingermark and whatever else will bend a rod.
The best thing about this is that we can use much the same gear out in the bay as we do for the rivers and creeks. Our heavier spin rods and baitcasters are spot on for chasing those shallow reef dwellers and the lighter stuff perfect for chasing cleaner fighting things like grunter, Queenfish etc.
The main alterations we make is to the jig heads shape and weight, and this will be totally relative to the type of structure we’re fishing, and lures we decide to throw. For this exercise, let’s categorise mud ledges and drop offs as structure, which are basically formations that hold aggregations of fish. These types of structure allow for the use of a traditional styled jig head, or ‘J’ style jig head over the EWG style which is best suited to tree’s, branches, pylons and rocks. J styled jigheads deliver a nose down sinking angle which is easier to reach any significant depths and more positive hook-up ratio, and are used whenever possible. This is because, ultimately you miss a few more strikes on a weedless rig, but in saying that, there’s no other way of presenting a lure into those thick snags consistently without snagging up. If I were to give you one tip that will help more fish stick, it’s to make sure that you strike hard with the weedless rigs to pop that hook out in a forward momentum, which usually converts to a better ratio of hook-ups.
Even though not covered in the article, soft vibes like this Atomic Semi Hardz are a very affective lure in deeper faster water when snags aren’t a problem.
Whether you use pre-rigged prawn imitations, or buy the hook and soft plastic separately, it’s the way you rig it that will determine its effectiveness.
On our YouTube videos, Hodgie the Barefoot Fisherman, we often demonstrate when we find it best to change from an EWG or weedless hook to a J styled head and that’s because it’s worth taking the few seconds it takes to ensure a better hook-up. This is where the several rods each that we take makes sense to us. Instead of cutting off a lure and retying on another rig, we simply put one rod down and pick another with the appropriate rig, which is obviously budget restricted.
This also allows us to change from a lighter line outfit to something a little more suited to pulling fish from deep structure. Setting a hook that’s tight in amongst structure is one thing, but keeping the head of that fish pointing in the right direction while you try to extract it is another when you have limited power. There are a few things that we can do to ensure less of a snag rate and those are simple inexpensive alterations or maybe the more appropriate word would be customisation’s, that make a huge difference to our snag, and hook-up rate.
Firstly, concealing the eye of the hook inside the plastic when we know there is going to be a higher chance of snags helps streamline the nose of the presentation. This is detailed in photo hereabouts. We do use Flourocarbon leaders which is stiffer and pierces the soft plastic more effectively. Cutting the FC into a needle point is also a big help when piercing the plastic, and the addition of a small sinker into the loop knot will help you fish the presentation through some nasty territory more effectively. If there is a bit of depth in there, we use the weighted 5/0 Atomic EWG hooks, usually in the 1/4 or 1/3 ounce weight which usually has a Atomic Prong 4” or Halco Paddle Prawn 5” mounted on it, and fish quite quickly along a piece of bank when the tide is moving us along. This allows us to cover water quickly and search for actively feeding fish. When the tidal flow is less, we use a lighter presentation, usually a Paddle Prawn rigged totally unweighted on a EWG3/0 or 4/0. The reason for the downsized hook is firstly ease of rigging, and secondly the lighter hook floats the Paddle Prawn material. The simple equation here is the lighter the hook, the better the lure will skip. Also, the addition of a small soft bead which has been cut in half and slid onto the shank of the hook and then up against the lures body to hold it in place holds the belly of the plastic up firm enough against the hooks point and eye to resist snagging on impact with timber when you’ve skipped it into the danger zone or sunk it down into a deep snag. It is important to remember that no matter how good your rigging, every now and then you’re going to snag up. You’d be amazed how many of these casts that disappear into the shadows and foliage can be worked back out and get smashed by jacks. It never ceases to amaze us how far up in the sticks the bigger fish can get. It does need to be said that whatever snag avoidance measures that you take may ultimately compromise your hook-up ratio, BUT, there is no other way of delivering a lure into that type of structure without the use of intentional rigging techniques to avoid the snags. It’s a matter of percentages, and if we are getting 80% more bites and only converting 40% into fish, then that’s still 100% more than if we weren’t able to fish the thick timber.
The appropriate hooks for the 4”, 5” and 7” Paddle Prawns. Note the soft beads cut in half and slid over the hook to reduce the amount of slippage on the hooks.
When it comes to hard bodied divers, I believe that there are often times when the bigger fish will show a preference for them over a soft plastic. Now, whether that be because of the sound and vibration increases in hard bodies, or the significantly bigger profile and stronger action can be hard to determine, but there’s no denying that sometimes a hard body is needed to get the bigger fish to bite…..sometimes. It may also be that a hard body can be manipulated for longer in a small space to allow a fish to commit to an attack. Tidal flow is also one more consideration when throwing hard bodies, especially when talking buoyancy values. When there is significant tidal flow amongst the structure a more buoyant lure needs to be used as you can bounce and walk your way over structure before it’s swept into or under a snag which inevitably finds a hook hold.
When tidal flow is non-existent, a suspending or near suspending lure such as the TB80 or
Bassday Sugar Deep is more appropriate.
Also working your lure with or against the current will need a calculated lure choice and working a lure back towards your position with the current will need a floating hard body to avoid the snags more consistently, and a suspending lure will be more easily manoeuvred back to your position against the currents flow, where rod tip angles and speed adjustments can be used to bump over and be fed back under snags to have more of a presence in a likely looking spot.
Obviously a weedless plastic can be used for this approach also but as mentioned, it’s the
increased hook-up ratio that we’re after, which is going to be with a hard body over a weedless rigged softy.
Pulling big fish from weeds and snags can be done very affectively once your rigging is fine tuned to get the best hook-up ratio. This one ate a 5” Paddle Prawns on a 5/0 Seeker EWG.
Pre rigged baitfish profiles.
Over recent years the swimbait trend has gathered plenty of momentum, and is a legitimately effective tool when chasing larger species like barra. In Australia the Murray Cod fishery in the southern states was more responsible for the use of longer more powerful rods to cast these bigger and heavier lures. With ratings as heavy as 25kg, and up to 2.4 meters long, the tackle is more relative to casting the huge lure weights and setting the massive hooks than it is to do with battling the fish once hooked. We do use swim baits for the barra’s but not in the huge sizes. Our favourite range of big pre-rigged plastics is the Atomic Real BAITZ , and there’s not a baitfish species which hasn’t been replicated in this range. Admittedly though, it’s not often that we use the largest of models for what we do, and find that the smaller models catch big enough fish to keep us happy. We try not to cast them around timber due to the exposed treble underneath the lure which hangs up as you try to manoeuvre it around structure. These are reserved for the deeper holes and ledges where a straight retrieve close to the bottom is required. I usually upsize the treble to a Gamakatsu with a slightly wider gape. I find this increases the hook-up ratio on the fatter body. They’re another tool which is definitely worth having in the arsenal.
Now this is where it becomes a little conflicting as far as the accuracy of a snag casters ability can be the determining factor for the amount of success you’ll enjoy. There’s less than a centimetre between a perfect cast and a snagged lure. If you can gently place a hard body
between two branches that may only be 20cm apart then you’re in the top few percent of accuracy casters. This skill WILL , without a doubt increase your fish catching ability. The other option is the weedless soft plastics which can be ricocheted off multiple branches and roots to eventually come to rest way up in the back blocks of a tangled web of mangroves, and then be able to be successfully worked back out. So, if your casting’s not pin-point, then weedless is going to be the best bet for you, no doubt at all. Personally, I believe skip casting weedless softies to be the easiest of all snag casting techniques to become familiar with, and competent at, especially when the rigging is done well. An unpractised caster who has no real consistent control over the direction and distance of a cast can still land quite a high percentage of their casts within striking distance of a predator living in the sticks. Once you’ve tasted success it’s just a matter of practicing and refining these skills, and
what better excuse to go fishing, ‘It’s just practising’.
Cheers Hodgie.
Another hook design that’s worth trying is the Gamakatsu Skip Gap. The Z bend near the eye helps to hold the plastics head in place when skipped. The finer gauge, lighter wire also helps if the plastic needs to be floated.
