Lure selection for Fraser Isl 2011

Author: josh

Category: Kayak fishing tackle

Created on Monday, 31 October 2011 20:34

Written by Josh

I've been having to make some interesting and in some cases tough choices this year in selecting a load out of lures for our upcoming yak fishing expedition to Fraser Island, largely because I have a good selection of lures to choose from and only so much storage room on the yak. When you have to share real estate with food, water, clothes and camping kit for a week or more, storage space becomes premium. As such, only the best lures will do - those that one has the upmost confidence in winning the day. Much like last year, I'm pre-packing most lures using barb protectors and vacuum seal wrapping, for ease of storage and protection. No doubt most of the lures I pack won't get used at all (as is almost always the case) and if not, I'd rather they not get exposed to elements at any time. 

This being our third annual trip to the great sandy and midgie/mozzie bitten isl, we now have a pretty good idea of what sort of yak fishing conditions to be prepared for, so it goes without saying that we'll be packing more of what has worked for us in the past. Anyone who has watched the videos or read the reports on our previous trips will know that this means packing a bunch of Rapala CD Magnums, which have been the most successful trolling lure for us 2 years running. No doubt these will get a fair workout again, very likely catching more of the usual suspects: trevally, mackerel and tuna. Pictured above is the very same lure that did most of the damage for me last year, still in perfect working order, and coming along if not for anything else, as my go-to luck charm if required.

I'll be trying out a few other trolling lures in conjunction with the Magnums this year, including Williamson imitation mackerel live-bait lures as well as some of their skirted lures, primarily focusing on their 'tuna catcher' models. The latter will be employed in faster sailing conditions, trolled close behind the yak, ideally surfing, darting and bouncing around the wake. I've packed enough of these to make sure Carl & Holger can join the fun if favorable conditions prevail. 

Trolling is just academic really, as we'll be covering a lot of distance on the water and it makes sense to troll on the move, though from time to time we are sure to be distracted by boil ups and bait-ball feeding frenzies. Whenever this occurs often a better strategy is to try and get in close and throw a lure right into the heart of the action and wind like a madman. For this, one needs to be able to cast a good distance (so as not to have to get so close as to spook the fish) and should aim to mimic a panicked and or injured baitfish through the baitball.

Many lures will work in these situations, but in my experience, the types of lures most likely to get an instant response are soft plastics, ideally shaped and coloured like the baitfish the predators are feeding on. And thats why I almost never hit the water without having packed a good size pillie-looking plastic that can be cast a reasonable distance. For this purpose, my lure of choice for 2011 is the Storm Ultra Shad. 15cm in length and 50gms in weight, I should be able to cast these a fair distance (with either my Viper or Voodoo) and I certainly like their chances of attracting a strike. These will also catch fish while being trolled at certain speeds as well I'm sure, as their paddle tail should prove a mighty attractant.

At some stage we will most certainly head up into Wuthumba creek to hunt down some mangrove jack, which is something I wasn't terribly well prepared for last year. In an effort to correct that, I've armed myself with an assortment of blades, including Storm thunderblades and Evergreen Littlemax. But it's the Rapala Rippin Rap that I suspect is going to be most effective here, of which I've packed in a couple of colours and sizes. Something tells me they might just work if cast into baitballs as well, and I have no doubt they'll be extremely effective on snapper in my local haunts to - I really like the look and sound of this lure.

One thing that I haven't yet put much effort into - but intend to try this year - is hooking golden trevally in the shallows from the beach, and there are most certainly a couple of camping spots we'll visit that will be perfect for this. I have a couple of poppers packed for such an experiment, one of them being an X-Rap POP 7. But I'm thinking it might just be the X-Rap Xtreme Action X-Walk that produces results, though I'm basing this mainly on the fact that I'm going to be able to cast it further, and have received some good guidance in the past on how to go about using them (thanks Pax!)

While the above mentioned lures aren't the only lures I'll be packing, they are the ones that I suspect will best suit the scenarios we're likely to find ourselves in, and as such the ones most likely to be found sitting in my 'go-to' box on any given day. Pictured here is my go-to box prepped for day 1, which as you can see, is set for a whole lot of trolling (not including the lures already tied on to my rods). A back up supply of lures and tackle will be stored in a waterproof bag attached to the back of my skipper seat. The go-to box itself is more accessible, which is precisely why it is a go-to box, and exactly why I only put lures in there that I'm fairly sure I'm going to use. It's fully waterproof and of a reasonably small and thin profile, so pretty easy to store wherever, in or outside the hull.