Early season – Minnow lures that work

from Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 133 2018 August

Sandy Lake Hut – The history, rebuild and reopening — MHPS

EARLY SEASON TROUT ON MINNOWS

Matt Sherriff tells us his techniques Sniper - Killer Wasp

Well, it’s that time of year again when the humble trout becomes front of mind and we all rug up to brave the cold and chase one of Tassie’s most sought-after fish.

With the amount of freshwater rivers and lakes available in our beautiful state and the great access available for both land based and boat anglers, it’s no wonder that trout fishing is so popular.

Many of our waters have been well stocked over winter by the Inland Fisheries Service which means that most us have a better than average chance of catching a couple of fish!

Many anglers target fish deep early in the season, finding them sluggish in cool water temperatures and whilst this may ring true in many of the highland lakes, fishing in lowland lakes will often mean fish will be more actively feeding around the shallow edges or on top.

During August and September, we concentrate most of our efforts at Four Springs and will generally focus our fishing over the shallow weed beds using minnows that run around two to three feet deep (less than one metre). As it’s a lure we wholesale, we predominately use the Hawk Sniper 60mm Minnows. These lures suit a wide variety of anglers from the beginner to the experienced as they have a great action on a standard retrieve (constant wind) but also twitch very well for those that like to impart extra action on their lures.

There are a wide variety of lures on the market with some great fish catching colours, but my biggest piece of advice is that you need to be all over how that lure works in the water. I’ve had anglers ask me why they haven’t had success on more expensive lures with fantastic paint finishes and nine times out of ten it comes down to the action. Some of these lures work extremely well when twitched or ripped through the water but do not impart very much action at all on a standard retrieve. The result of this is that anyone who is not constantly working their lure will most likely be heading home with less fish than those that do! The key take out here is to swim any new style of lure you use, taking note of how it moves through the water and how to work your retrieve to give it the best action. Tune your lures for better action

Lure tuneup

Ok; we’ve worked out the action of the lure and how we are going to work it, but what if your lure is swimming off to one side? This problem can happen straight out of the box in some cases but is more likely to happen after you’ve caught a fish or pulled your lure from a snag. In fact, most lures/hooks are actually damaged in the net when there is one treble hooked in the fish and the other caught in the mesh whilst the fish is rolling around. Many anglers will see a lure swimming off to one side and immediately relegate it to their junk lure box. Well, here’s some good news; these lures can be easily tuned back to their fish catching best!

To tune a lure, you can use some small pliers to slightly move the nose wire (where your line connects) in the opposite direction to the way the lure is swimming i.e. if the lure is swimming off to the right, bend the nose wire slightly to the left. The key message here is “SLIGHTLY” as a little adjustment goes a long way. Remember to constantly check how your lure is swimming throughout the day as it can make a huge difference to your end results.

Colours?

What colour to use?? Whilst I will always pick a lure on it’s action first, colour is another important consideration. Walking into a tackle store and looking at their lure wall is like looking into a kaleidoscope. There are so many variables with lure colour; is the day bright or cloudy, is the water clear or dirty, what sort of bait are the fish feeding on? Years ago, I was told to run darker colours on bright days and flashier colours on

Attomic PRINT.pdf 1 31/08/2017 3:03:53 PM dull days…for me that could not be farther from the truth. Flashy metallic colours work fantastic on sunny days, sending out flashes of light to nearby fish much like a lighthouse to ships! Have you ever seen baitfish swim past on a bright day…what’s the first thing that catches your eye…the flash!!

On cloudy days, or at dawn/dusk, darker colours seem to work better as the silhouette of the lure stands out better in the water. Darker colours also work well in dirty water, although in this instance, using a lure with a rattle in it can further increase your catch rate by helping the fish to hone in on it.

If I could only take five of my lures out with me, the colours would be: Killer Wasp, Spotted Fury, Spotted Assassin, Rainbow Trout and Black Widow. One last thing with colours is to mix it up a bit; when fishing with mates we’ll quite often start with each of us using different colours and then swap if one person is catching most of the fish. Likewise, if you’re on your own and things are quiet, change to a different colour, it may make all the difference.

Retrieve actions

So; we’ve worked out what lure to tie on, picked out a colour and checked the action and if it swims straight. What’s the best retrieve to use? For me, I like to use the longest cast possible so will always try to be a full cast length from any shores or structure I’m fishing when in the boat to avoid spooking the fish. When the lure

Semi Hardz

Metalz Plazos Hardz

Seekerz

for Explosive resultswww.frogleysoffshore.com.au Distribibutors:

first hits the water, I will always draw my rod to pull the lure under and pause for a few seconds. Often a fish will hear the noise of the lure hitting the water and come to investigate so don’t be in a hurry to get it moving. If the lure has not been hit within a few seconds I will begin my retrieve.

The most successful retrieve I have come across with the Snipers has been a slow wind for a couple of metres and then two or three reasonably quick draws of the rod (whilst still winding). Watching back video footage of strikes, I was amazed to see the amount of hits after my last draw. Note: when you are returning your rod after drawing, the lure will pause momentarily even though you are still slowly retrieving, this seems to be a trigger point for the fish to strike. On days where you’re finding that fish are following the lure to the boat and then shying away, start mixing it up. Speed up your retrieve, throw in some quick rips followed by a pause…there are no hard and fast rules and experimenting but also realising what you did to get the fish to bite is key! Remember every lure has a different action and you need to work them appropriately.

When throwing minnows for trout your success will improve with the right gear as the lures are generally very light and without the correct set-up you will have difficulty not only casting over distance but also feeling your lure work. A seven to seven-foot six rod is ideal for fishing from a boat or shore in lakes, whilst river fisherman often prefer rods in the six to six-foot six range. Two to four kilo weight rods are fine however the one to three kilo rods take this type of fishing to another level. Complete your set-up with a balanced reel and some four to six pound braid and you’re well on the way.

A couple of metres of four to six pound fluorocarbon leader connecting your braid to your lure will complete the picture. My favourite set-up currently is a Murasame Tournament Spin 702ULS coupled with a Pioneer Cyclone Prestige 2000 reel and 4lb Timberwolf 360 Braid. I do run a couple of rods with straight through fluorocarbon but as trout have hard mouths I find that the zero stretch characteristics of braid, coupled with the extra lure feedback it gives, leads to better overall results. My favourite minnows for trout are the Hawk Sniper and Megabass Great Hunting GH70 and X-70.

Early season we tend to target the lakes rather than the rivers and opening day for us is a now traditional trip to Four Springs. IFS stock this water well with both rainbow and wild brown trout during the closed season and the plentiful feed in this water ensures the trout are well fed and in great condition. Four springs is a generally shallow lake with much of the water less than two and a half metres deep, but it also has a few deeper sections to five metres. You will find plenty of weed in the lake which through the warmer months really favours the fly fisherman. However early and late in the season it is a great place to fish with shallow running minnows!

One last piece of advice…get yourself a good pair of polarised sunnies! These are not only important to look after your eyes in the sun but are invaluable to help spotting fish and enabling you to see your lure working in the water. There are some great glasses available at your local tackle store, but don’t just pick the ones that look good on your head…ask the store to let you go outside and compare them in the sun; after all the fish don’t care how you look! We have recently started to wear Tonic glasses and are amazed with the quality of their lenses and what they allow us to see; they even do prescription glasses for people like me! Matt Sherriff Sniper - Kawamutu