PRAWNSTAR!!! is it good?

[chad]

ive recently bought a prawnstar jig and havent had much luck with it.
am i doing something wrong?
i cast out then slowly retrieve back in,i whip it so the tail flicks and i even let it float.
whats the best way to use it and are they very effective?

chad ??? ??? ??? ???

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

chad,
i've never used a Prawnstar, I gather from the name its an imitation prawn. I use Rios prawn & DOA Shrimp. To my eyes the Rio Prawn looks great but in practice, I've had best success on the DOA Shrimp. The DOA is a soft body - the Rio's is hard body.
I use a light ugly stick spin stick with a small spinning reel cause the lures have little weight to assist casting on a baitcaster.
I've never caught a fish on the Rio's & only caught bream & flathead (mostly flathead to about 50cm) on the DOA. I bring the boat in close to the mangroves, oyster leases or pylons & cast parallel really close to the roots/structue. Then flick it back in all the action from the rod tip just using the reel to retrieve the loose line - let the lure sink deep & flick again. The hardest part is resisiting the urge to strike when the fish first takes the lure. You can actually feel them chew the DOA & because the DOA has a single hook you've got to give them a chance to take it in properly or you'll pull it out of their mouth.
I have never caught a fish on sand flats with them maybe someone else has a better technique for that.
chris

[chad]

thanks for that ,
is the doa expensive?
and where can i get some?
should i loosen drag so they take the doa and do you just flick the doa in lightly with small flicks or large flicks?

chad
??? ??? ???

[jaybee]

Hi chad
I have used the prawnstar on and off for the last 2 years with limited succes. Have found the honey pot the most productive with one weight varying flick and sink with flat out reteive try this site it has basic methods to try..cheers
http://www.primalfishing.com/home/home.htm

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

chad,
less than $10 - I haven't had to buy any lately but I got mine from Capt'n Blighs in Logan City. The most productive DOA for me is about 2inches long translucent in colour with red/orange fleck on its tail.
To be honest although I've caught fish on them, I'm far more interested in the grubs & shads you can get from Ausfish for my next rubbery purchase. They make the DOA look quite expensive by comparison & I saw some blokes on Kalinga bank a couple of weeks back absolutley braining the flathead with something very similar.
Short sharp flicks 10-20cm jumps with good rest in between. They normally hit at the end of the flick or just as its about to take off.
chris