Page 3 of 10 FirstFirst 12345678910 LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 138

Thread: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

  1. #31

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by mr_yamba View Post
    i have been trying soft plastics a lot lately with not much result. especially hollowbellies. i have bought several packets and fished them for many hours with few hits. when i switched back to bombers my hit rate went through the roof. i really want to get hits on plastics as they collect far less weed, however they are not giving a good result compared to hard lures. i know everyone is going to bite back with comments of lack of skill and experience, thats fine. but hard bodies are generating more interest in tinaroo at the moment. the only person i know of getting really good results on plastics is barraboss and he is using slick rigs, which everyone is saying are now outdated. i would really like to see a barra dvd which is like an instructional coaching video. they exist for many other sports and hobbies. It would be great to see something like the different retrieve methods, how to fish shallow and deep hard bodies, soft lures, what to look for on a sounder in an impoundment such as points, depths, drop offs, bait, etc. i would pay big money for something of this style. it's great that people are making us think more about our fishing styles and how to read conditions, however sometimes we need confirmation we are indeed reading into things correctly. i have been very lucky lately that theo and a few select locals have been helping me develop my fishing and my hit rate has increased at least 10 fold, probably more. even so, as everyone on here will agree, we are always on the lookout to learn more. it looks like i will be without a boat for the next 3 weeks due to delayed delivery of my new boat. in this time i will be back to land based fishing and hope to give the softies a variety of retrieves to see if anything happens. with all the hype in the last 12 months in particular i can honestly say that i am very disappointed in the performance of the soft plastics i have tried. sorry if i offend anyone.

    To me ...... The one thing that I have noticed with plastics & newbies ....... they swim them too fast or too slow

    Regardless of the plastic ...... retrieve them at a speed that gets the tail beating / body rolling ........ drag it up the side of the boat & look at the action ....... thats the best start point

    chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  2. #32

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by mr_yamba View Post
    i have been trying soft plastics a lot lately with not much result. especially hollowbellies. i have bought several packets and fished them for many hours with few hits. when i switched back to bombers my hit rate went through the roof. i really want to get hits on plastics as they collect far less weed, however they are not giving a good result compared to hard lures. i know everyone is going to bite back with comments of lack of skill and experience, thats fine. but hard bodies are generating more interest in tinaroo at the moment. the only person i know of getting really good results on plastics is barraboss and he is using slick rigs, which everyone is saying are now outdated. i would really like to see a barra dvd which is like an instructional coaching video. they exist for many other sports and hobbies. It would be great to see something like the different retrieve methods, how to fish shallow and deep hard bodies, soft lures, what to look for on a sounder in an impoundment such as points, depths, drop offs, bait, etc. i would pay big money for something of this style. it's great that people are making us think more about our fishing styles and how to read conditions, however sometimes we need confirmation we are indeed reading into things correctly. i have been very lucky lately that theo and a few select locals have been helping me develop my fishing and my hit rate has increased at least 10 fold, probably more. even so, as everyone on here will agree, we are always on the lookout to learn more. it looks like i will be without a boat for the next 3 weeks due to delayed delivery of my new boat. in this time i will be back to land based fishing and hope to give the softies a variety of retrieves to see if anything happens. with all the hype in the last 12 months in particular i can honestly say that i am very disappointed in the performance of the soft plastics i have tried. sorry if i offend anyone.

    mate, I would like to think no one here will 'bite back with comments of inexperience or lack of skill'....well they bloody better not!..I am sure everyone has or is going through similar dilemas at one time or another. Good on ya for having a go. Some things work for some and not for others. It seems/mabey simply a confidence thing?? OR mabey its a feeding pattern on the day that sees fish prefer one presentation over another?? Either way, keep having a go, listen and learn from blokes like Matt and Theo, they always seem keen to help anyone....as is everyone on here.

    cheers Steve

  3. #33

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Little grey men View Post
    I'll try to put this pic up again. I really want you blokes to check this one out. I noticed they have a 3" version which I'd love to try on the bass. It excited me, but then again I'm fairly easily excited
    I wonder how slow it could be worked ??? I'm guessing that the shape would mean that a little speed would be needed to keep it upright. Then again the segmented body may provide enough swimming action to do the job. Hmmmmm now I just have to track some down.

    LGM

    Here are some pics of the Storms and Sebile magic swimmer....very boney bream like arrangment!!!....Not sure if either are available here in Oz....both have caught me barra.

    cheers Steve

  4. #34

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    With all that is said & done ........ with all of its inadequacies , poor packaging & inconsistency - The humble slick rig still catches a lot of barra straight out of the pack unmolested.
    The guy that usually occupies the back court on my boat has yet to boil , clip , snip or upgrade a slick rig ......... But by the end of a trip - I still find it hard to better his usually good results

    Chris

    PS ..... I did see him dip a slick rig tail once
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  5. #35

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    One of the greatest learning tools I have used lately is running my lures in my swimming pool and watching how they react to retrieves, shakes, rips etc. My wife and kids laugh at me and always ask did I catch anything this time. Also there is also alot to be learnt from watching them drop with different weights, hook changes etc. This has been for soft plastics and hard bodies. Best bit is, if you like doing mods to your lures, you can run them and see what sort of effect is has had visually straight away. You can also compare different brands actions very easily in the clear water of a pool.

    The next best tool was getting a little pet barramundi for my sons turltle tank which is shared with some other native fish. I could watch little barry the barra for hours. It was really fascinating watching him stalk and attack. You can really see what predators they really are. - Richard

  6. #36

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Nagg, so does a prawn on a rusty hook catch a lot of bream, and so can an unmodified hard body catch barra direct from the pack. The point is that we can advance and do more with lures that have already had the home work done with them; have had the chop, the mods and the refinement work done in the past and been brought further along production lines with new designs and moulds. If the lure you mention is so successful direct from the bag, why do the Taylors attack it with scissors and a kettle?

  7. #37

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE View Post
    Nagg, so does a prawn on a rusty hook catch a lot of bream, and so can an unmodified hard body catch barra direct from the pack. The point is that we can advance and do more with lures that have already had the home work done with them; have had the chop, the mods and the refinement work done in the past and been brought further along production lines with new designs and moulds. If the lure you mention is so successful direct from the bag, why do the Taylors attack it with scissors and a kettle?
    With all of its inadequacies , poor packaging & inconsistency - The humble slick rig still catches a lot of barra straight out of the pack unmolested.


    Just to reiterate what I originally said ..........

    Like the Taylors ........ I don't swim a slick rig without something being done to it .

    & If the Taylors go to that much trouble ...... there must be a good enough foundation there to start with.

    The fact remains that a bloody lot of barra will be caught on unmodified slick rigs this summer ........Along with a lot of bream being caught on a prawn & rusty hook .

    Yes ..... there are many of us that take to a slick rig in one way or another - Just to get them to do what we want them to do & improve their attractiveness to a barra ....... & many wont !

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  8. #38

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by NAGG View Post

    & If the Taylors go to that much trouble ...... there must be a good enough foundation there to start with.

    The fact remains that a bloody lot of barra will be caught on unmodified slick rigs this summer ........Along with a lot of bream being caught on a prawn & rusty hook .


    Chris

    And no sponsorship dollars either.

    What is swum most will always catch the most fish

  9. #39

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    O.k... don't mean to make this sound like rabble, but I hope this gets through to a few.

    The very first time I saw a soft plastic lure believe it or not was about 30 mins before the 2006 ABT up here at Tinaroo. Some bloke gave me a pack of Slick Rigs and being a dumbshit (as all 16yr olds are) I gladly accepted his offer of the free lures. I showed my mate (Dan Bowater - an extremely good fisho) the plastics in our hotel room before we launched and he opened the pack, gave a lure a wiggle and 5 seconds, dead honest to god, turned to me an announced these were the shittest plastics he'd ever seen. 8 hours later, we rock back up to the ramp to return our keycard/camera stick etc and we hear that Cy & Kerrin Taylor had caught 12 fish between them that night and one other fish was caught (Wazza's tank 118cm). We were interested to hear what they were catching them on and the bloke who gave me the lures said to me (in pain) those bloody Slick Rigs. No one could believe it, but the photo's didn't lie. We got a big lesson that day from the Taylor boys, and so did the rest of the Barra world it seems as they told everyone that they were fishing in wind blown water where it was warm - another myth created.

    Moral of this little story is that the bloody things work. As much as quite a few people can't stand them (I will raise my hand) they are proven fish catchers - just like every other lure on the shelf. Malcom Douglas once showed my father how to catch barra on some alfoil wrapped around a bent nail. I'd like to see some of you chums catch fish on this setup. I reckon it'd work.

    Point and shoot - Slick Rigs have poor hooks, poor easy to tear plastics, look completely un-natural and uninviting to the human eye, 80% of the tails per pack are kinked or don't kick straight and require much modifications for them to become 'deadly'. The new ones arn't much better then the old ones infact - hooks are worse, as are the homosexual colour schemes. This is all fact - whether you like it or not. BUT THEY ARE FISH CATCHERS! As NAGG pointed out, and he is worthy of a few beers for underlining it in a sentence or two (for once ) that most anglers, even seasoned pro's in fast shit boats havn't latched onto the fact that the SPEED of a lure is most likely the biggest trigger of all for Barramundi. Here's a reference... theres a part in Johnny Mitchell's Fish Awoonga DVD where he jigs a completely lifeless weedless soft plastic up against a bed of lillies - the plastic has zero, repeat zero action but a metre plus fish still comes out of its lare and noses the lure for further inspection. The placement of the lure (next to structure, above the barra's eyeline, allowed to drop in strikezone) along with the lures speed is what did this fish. If you didn't pick this note up in JM's dvd, then your Pre-School stuff.

    To go with what NAGG said, pauses of a soft plastic are an absolute must. They won't always work, though should be incorporated in a retrieve. Alot of people say fish bite on a pause, but if my knowledge and results come into play fish will attack and artificial lure just after it's been paused - milliseconds. We are talking a tenth of a second, hundredth of a second - we just straight away think the fish bit on a pause when infact, it most likely didn't. The pause puts the simple philosophy of 'leaving it in the strike zone' into perspective and again this is Pre-School stuff.

    I was chatting to mr yamba (Mark) about this whole plastics thing this morning at the ramp (7am) and straight away was impressed with a plastic lure he had modified in hope to catch more fish. He didn't do a hell of a lot to the lure, but already I was able to tell him that it was 'deadly' and that he should persist with this and his other plastic lures which are moderately well rigged and ready for battle. It's all up to him from here on in to get the results - the bullets are there, trigger needs to be pulled.

    Cheers. Lunch break o-clock.

    Theo
    TT

  10. #40

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    I have to agree with NAGG and Theo, Slick rigs do work...(the underlying message with the original post is pretty obvoiusly aimed at Slickrigs and their shortcomings...without actually mentioning the name)....as have plenty of posts recently.
    I wish they were all perfect out of the pack too, but you pay for what you get, and 10 for $14 (thats including the jighead) its still pretty good value for the beginner or pro compared to most other plastics on the market today. I have had to modify storms, shadolishous, manns, berkeys and HB alike....why should the proven slickrig be singled out as the 'main offender' requiring a tweek.

    Someone told me 'there is not a lure or plastic in JM's tackle box that hasn't been modified in some way to improve its action'...tell me thats wrong Johnny and I will appologise here.

    I agree the media marketing in the past for slickies has been pretty bold....but the posts subtley aimed at slickrigs lately are a similar theory in reverse.

    If I jumped up and down and said XXX lure is crap....and had 10 other mates do the same...I would be shot down quick.

    In short, To me, Slickrigs work, I have seen them work (modified and not) too many times by amateurs and pros alike to discredit them...which is what is being aimed at here. I am sure if they were that fundamentally flawed, the Taylors would have ditched them years ago...sponsored or not.

    I AM NOT SPONSORED BY SLICK RIGS OR SHIMANO..so its not personal to me....If there were such continual negativity on any other product I liked, or knew were proven, I would write the same thing.

    Just my opinion...Steve

  11. #41

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    I don't think anyone is really aiming to discredit slickrigs directly or subtlely. I gathered that the point of this thread was to highlight some soft plastics that swim dead slow and on the drop without any modifications. In my opinion the the slickrig does not fall into this category along with many other soft plastics. The information in this thread is great for new comers to the soft plastic world that may not have realised what characteristics can make a better fish catching lure for barra on any given day. It also gives people a few choices in proven plastics that fall into the non modification category which in the end saves people time and money and I am sure is appreciated.

    Don't get me wrong, I for one love to modify and experiment with ALL my soft plastics these days but initially when I was green I didn't realise to what extent you could change the lures action. I just assumed they all worked as well as they possibly could out of the packet. I hope some lure manufacturers out there read posts like this to give them ideas on what other variations they can offer with their soft plastic lures and packaging.

    Shaun

  12. #42

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by park View Post
    I don't think anyone is really aiming to discredit slickrigs directly or subtlely. I gathered that the point of this thread was to highlight some soft plastics that swim dead slow and on the drop without any modifications. In my opinion the the slickrig does not fall into this category along with many other soft plastics. The information in this thread is great for new comers to the soft plastic world that may not have realised what characteristics can make a better fish catching lure for barra on any given day. It also gives people a few choices in proven plastics that fall into the non modification category which in the end saves people time and money and I am sure is appreciated.

    Don't get me wrong, I for one love to modify and experiment with ALL my soft plastics these days but initially when I was green I didn't realise to what extent you could change the lures action. I just assumed they all worked as well as they possibly could out of the packet. I hope some lure manufacturers out there read posts like this to give them ideas on what other variations they can offer with their soft plastic lures and packaging.

    Shaun

    Sorry Shaun ........ If it looks like a slick rig , smells like a slick rig & is chopped / boiled like a slick rig - -- - - - - - Then its probably a "Slick rig"

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  13. #43

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Will it ever change, who out there that is not serious about their fishing, has not modified their lures, be it hardbody or plastic.

    The basic hollowbelly out of the packets has been modified by different jigheads, silastic and whatever. Also every other plastic out there for decades.
    Don't think that we should single out any particular hardbody or plastic.

    Seems to me that Chris is right.

    I and many others have been barra fishing a quite a few decades, and yes we modify lures. It is forever changing and hopefully never to old to try something new. There would be never a new lure on the market if everyone was satisfied with what is currently available. It is on going, that's why we have a shed full of lures.

    If not we would all be still using bone for hooks.

    There is no silver bullet, what is the next hot thing. Maybe a grasshopper or another insect imitation, or will we switch to a fly/lure/spinner/jig cross. Who knows, but believe that it's an individuals choice.

    All plastics whatever the brand will be superseded, how long each will last on the shelves depends on market ( buyers) choice.

    Looking forward as all good anglers and their tackles shops do, to the next hot item.

    Regards


    Trev
    Fish for the future, enjoy the present but think of your children.

  14. #44

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Plasticin View Post
    And no sponsorship dollars either.

    What is swum most will always catch the most fish

    The Taylor boys were catching barra on slick rigs before they were sponsored by Shimano - & they continue to

    I dont know about you ...... but If I cant catch a barra on a placcy ( after giving it a good go) - I wont bother swimming it - I have too many others that I can catch barra with ....... & a slick rig is in my top 3

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  15. #45

    Re: Soft plastic modifications- or ditch it?

    I agree with you Steve on numerous principles but there are a few which you seemed to have missed.

    Value: I think that you are right, Slick Rigs on sale atm are good value even if you have to replace the heads.

    Marketing: This is where it really gets me. Yes they have been “bold” with their marketing. And the way they have “infiltrated” the market place is nothing short of “slick” business. But whilst I need to realise that this is business and they are only trying to make money, I really feel like telling them where to go.

    When I get told a story I like to know the truth of the story. For instance when Mum used to read me Peter Pan and she tried to pretend that Hook was really a misunderstood old pirate I used to get really irate because that wasn’t the truth. And just like aforementioned if I swim one lure all day and you swim the same lure all day then I’m pretty sure that the one that I have left in the tackle box won’t catch the fish. How bout we take a camera out with us and swim that one lure all day, hold on we didn’t get a fish, then maybe we swim it all day the next day; sweet we got one fish, and then swim it all day the next day, sweet we got two fish, now lets edit it together and tell them how great this product is.

    I am dead set sick of having Squidgy Sex Tapes Volume 46 rammed down my throat and totally sick of walking into a tackle store and seeing Squidgies covering 50% of the wall.
    “What did you get you fish on? “
    “Squidgies they are the greatest, so great in fact that they are my favourite as well, seasoned with a little pepper and garlic reduced with some white wine they go down a treat. Oh and the fish like them as well.”

    They forget to tell you that they don’t pay for their Squidgies in fact Mr Squidgy man takes them to dinner most nights of the week.

    Taylor Bro’s: I can’t tell the Taylors apart from two bars of soap and I doubt that a lot of people who claim they are "best mates" with them could either, so I am not saying that this is in any way their opinion but here is what I would do in their situation. Mr Squidgy comes up and offers you reels and free product in exchange for you telling the people that you catch fish on them. Now you know that the reels are tip top, ship shape, but you’re not too sure about the colour that’s all. But you’ll take them anyway. Now Mr Squidgy says that you can’t have the reels without the plastic accessories. Now you really want the reels and you have been catching fish on the plastic accessories, be it a different type of accessory in the past, so you think “yes maybe I can do something with them.” You sit down and play around and look what abounds.
    I once heard a very skinny man who likes playing with potatoes in a non-dirty way say “you could hardly call them slick rigs given how much they modify them”. (sorry if I got the words wrong: very, very skinny man with skinny legs???)
    And seeing as I am having a rant, can we start getting some people on TV who are not overweight or obese and start promoting fishing as a healthy sport. I am also sick of telling people that I don’t go fishing to get retarded/drunk/loose/smashed/wankerish/whatever else the young kids call it these days. I go fishing to fish. It is up to all of us to change that attitude. So stick that in your pot and boil it.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Join us