FISH & BOAT, April 2019- P19 Fishing From previous page The long term benefits of the promoted much since their introduction. For deep floods will become more and more trolling, this is not the lure for you though, as it wasevident as time goes on. It’s just specifically designed to have a strong action at a very what the ‘fish doctor’ ordered. slow speed, and does that very well. A relatively heavy lure, it casts well, but the heav- ier design was more intended to slow the float rate down and allow it to be hovered in the strike zone for longer. The 85, is a jack and barra happy medium, and the 105mm, a specialist barra lure for both fresh and saltwater environments. I’m a bit of a glass half full type of person, and as I said, I’m in no way trivialising the events that have unfolded during early Feb- ruary 2019, but there are positives that have come out of it all as well, that will remain beneficial after the clean up and physiological trauma that so many have endured ease off. Getting down to around a meter on an average dis- tance cast, a standard straight retrieve with no twitch- ing on its own gets results, but if you shake and tap the rod tip it ‘dances’ very well with little speed. Just about all paddle-tailed soft plastic designs work at some stage, as long as the rubber is not too hard and they have to be sped up to get that tail waggling, and if they work at slow speeds, then it’s the rigging that is the most important bit. In snag-less type environ- ments, a standard ‘J’ styled jig head in an appropriate head weight will offer the best hookup ratio. I like the Seeker heads from Atomic for this in the heavy gauge as they’re built on a Gamakatsu hook and sticky sharp out of the packet. With longer, thinner bodied paddle tails, the longer hook designs in the lighter weights place the hook that bit further down the body for better hookups, and less short striking. There’s not too much in North Queensland that re- quires a finesse-styled light gauge hook, so the ‘H’ for heavy gauge is the way to go. Surface presentations are the most exciting way to catch any fish, and the three that I can recommend are the Rooster Popper by Halco in the 80mm size, the K9 by Atomic, and the Bills Bug by Bill Clark in NSW. All of these are very effective on barra and jacks, but each suited to separate scenarios. The Rooster Popper is a great calm water option, where it can be let sit for a second or two in between ‘bloops’ allowing the tail to sit downwards for a bet- ter hookup. The K9 is terrific in clear water scenarios as it slides from side to side in a ‘walk the dog’ type retrieve, and the Bills Bug Fizzers are just a terrific all-rounder that have counter-rotating propellers and can be worked high speed, slow speed and everything in between when fish are on the chew. Other lures that have become more well known over the last few months are the Skin Deep 90mm, 4m 90mm Scorpion and the Laser Pro 120. These have all become much more popular in recent times for a reason. In particular, the Skin Deep has a very unique design that allows it to be waddled over very shallow structure, leaving a bow wave and draw- more ing fish up from down deep. It’s tough as nails and casts very well, and is a shal- room, low drain, rock bar specialist lure, with an indestruct- ible body and tough 5X trebles. I’m a bit of a glass half full type of person, and as I said, I’m in no way trivialising the events that have unfolded during early February 2019, but there are less squeeze. positives that have come out of it all as well, that will remain beneficial after the clean up and physiological trauma that so many have endured ease off. In at the Fishing Warehouse, it’s been a real eye- opener as to what fishing means to so many people, and the first thing that many devastated people have done when they need a bit of time out from the mas- sive cleanup has been to come to grab some new gear to replace what’s been lost in the floods and just go More room, more features, more stability.and transoms (depending on the model). We’ve also fishing. Personally, I can familiarise with this, and a day on the water is very therapeutic for me when life added thicker and higher topsides and raised the gets a bit tough. More of everything for a great day on the water…deck, for more freeboard. With the new Apex Hull you My sincere sympathy goes to all those who have lost all thanks to our revolutionary Apex Hull. so much in this trying time. I hope you all find a way get more room to spread to deal with and recover from this disaster. The radical, variable flared bottom sheet extends to out and enjoy your day on Cheers Hodgie. the bow gunnel as does the wide chine. It’s a clever the water. design that means more internal space for storage, Who could ask for more? new consoles, casting platforms, bunks, upholstery *Size and features comparison made with 2016 Quintrex models. Cairns: Bills Marine | 07 40516733 | billsmarine.com.auAyr: Coral Coast Marine | 07 47831530 | coralcoastmarine.com.au Mackay: Sugar City Marine | 07 49514711 | sugarcitymarine.com.auTownsville: Rising Sun Marine | 07 47754333 | risingsunmarine.com.au