Freshwater virgin

[Hamish73]

hey guys, heading out dirt bike riding to a property where there is a creek/wier that apparantly holds a few perch and yellow belly. Cant think of a better weekend than one that involes my 2 favourite 'sports' :)

I have never fished freshwater before, plan on taking the SP outfit.
What plastics should I buy for the occasion? I assume I would want unweighted jigheads? :-/ Or is bait a better option? All advise appreciated, no matter how obvious it may be ;)

[shayned]

Yellows love shrimp and yabbies, take some opera house traps with you, a couple of spinner baits and your placcies.

[Little grey men]

For a place like that I'd consider taking some spinnerbaits like Shayne suggested, rig them with a stinger hook and a plastic ( paddletail grub ) this will be a good lure choice for exploring new ground as it won't snag up too easy and the yellowbelly will hit them.
Do repeated casts up against any structure. Yellas will quite often follow a lure a few times before hitting it.
A normal SP outfit would usually be a little light for spinners but they can be used.
I prefer a stiffer rod for my spinners. By the time you add a stinger hook and plastic they can become quite heavy and land in the water with a big splosh !!!
You can cast them right across to the other bank and gently hop them back into the water for a really natural presentation.
A few different weight spinners may be a good idea.
TT vortex are the bees knees. East to find and they are good quality.
Cast, let it sink to the bottom if you like, lift the rod tip just a little and wind in nice and s l o w. You'll want the blades to just spin.

Another option would be to use a soft plastic rigged onto a beetlespin. A lot lighter than a spinnerbait and the spinning blade will keep the plastic just off the bottom. I use my beetelspins just like a normal plastic with flicks of the rod from time to time.
Hope you find them ;)

[Dick Pasfield]

Yes small fish like that are best for a first time, you shouldn't run into any problems even if you stall the bike. Care need to be taken with bigger freshwater fish though anything under 125cc can be pulled backwards by big cod and barra especially if the tires are not up to it. If 1st gear is a bit high just drop the tooth size on the front sprocket to get it right.


Dick being nearly serious;D

[tunaticer]

I would be taking jigheads between 1/8th to 1/4 oz to work over the underwater features better. Unweighted baits might not get you down close enough to the structure where the fish are holding.

One of my favorite haunts along Pike Creek looks fairly sedate but the fish tend to hang about 12 feet down beside a fully submerged cliff face about 10 feet out from the bank. Unweighted baits will not reach those fish usually.

[Tropicaltrout]

Dynamite TNT, it takes the apparantly right out of the equation......

As the fellas said above, you wont go wrong

Nath

[Hamish73]

thanks for you input guys... didnt get a chance to get any specific gear, the boss gave me some lures. There was a heap of green grassy shit on top of the water which wasnt making it easy, and the only thing biting were the mozzies (forgot the aeroguard)

Will try some of the tips next time
Am I wasting my time with the green covering on the water?
Aparrantly there are still fish there