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Thread: A lures true value!

  1. #16

    Re: A lures true value!

    The main issue I have found with US HB's is the wire attach loop is so bloody small you cant put a decent ring on them and still get full swing.

    Pete.

  2. #17

    Re: A lures true value!

    Yeah i'm guilty, i have 4 of those evergreens in my tacklebox, 3 ES Drives and 1 ES Flat. Two of the flats came by way of the internet so i can't remember how much they were, the other ES Flat i bought here was $75 and the ES Drive was $65.

    To much/ you betcha, not again, i got them for a comp at Proserpine a couple of years ago (2008), only had one follow and the fishing was very very poor.
    After that i was interoduced to barra plastics by the Doctor at Awoonga and did not use any other style of lure. The begining of last Spring saw me out of action for six months, back to it early February this year with Nagg and the 4 fish i landed and the one i lost were all on plastics.

    When i first started on barra, 7 or 8 years ago the B52'S were getting the hits but there were busted, the tail broken off with busted B52'S on everyones wall, i refused to buy them for that reason.

    I and everyone else had a very good run with the Halco scorpions, the way to go, then we changed to barra classics, wow what a lure a real fish killer, and of course all along the Lively Lures Afura Barra was and still is responsible for a lot of fish. And all these lures will continue to catch fish.

    Now these Rapala XRaps are brilliant, certainly catch fish, no doubt about that, but IMHO are too easy to break, seems to be nearly always at the tail end with some of the plastic split/broken, internal wire ripped out, half way up the belly of the lure. In the the minor breakages it will let water into the body of the lure making it sink, i have seen people plug them up with silicone. Barra and Mangrove Jack break these lures, a jack my son caught snapped one clean in half.

    But we keep on using them because they catch fish and they are not that expensive overall. Those big jointed XRaps catch fish too, ask the Vet what he caught his 130 odd fish on.

    I will always have half a dozen in my tackle box come hell or high water.

    A couple of days ago i was talking to the rep from Freetime who distribute the XRaps about their easy to break problems, he was aware of a problem that they had with the bibs on the XRaps and they were addressing that problem but he was not aware about the arse end problems.

    To me its the plastic they use to mould, it seems too brittle, i can remember some rebel lures i used over thirty years ago, made with a plastic that you could not break with a hammer, those big yellow fin loved them.

    Oh sh###e, there you go i've said too much.

    Cheers,
    John.

  3. #18

    Re: A lures true value!

    Interesting John about how the trends change with lures, even in a small cross section of anglers as contribute here.
    I started on the Classics, only lure I ever needed at the time, then B52, then Arafuras, then the placs, now theres all sorts in the bag, split up into suspending, shallow, mid, squidgeys and misc, hollow bellies and misc, surface.

    very very rarely tie on a Classic any more.



  4. #19

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by BR65 View Post
    Interesting John about how the trends change with lures, even in a small cross section of anglers as contribute here.
    I started on the Classics, only lure I ever needed at the time, then B52, then Arafuras, then the placs, now theres all sorts in the bag, split up into suspending, shallow, mid, squidgeys and misc, hollow bellies and misc, surface.

    very very rarely tie on a Classic any more.

    You shouls use the classics again Brian, a couple of years ago at Faust thats all i could get barra on, they would not touch the XRaps

    John.

  5. #20

    Re: A lures true value!

    yeah, I know mate.
    A lot of it comes down to self confidence in what you tie on I spose.

    Raps are a heap easier on the wrists at the end of the day compared to Classics though.



  6. #21

    Re: A lures true value!

    I almost forgot, the rep showed me a lure that he says are catching barra, where i don't know.

    These are the Rapala Gliding Rap, and from the Bass Pro site, made of super tough Abashi Wood, stainless steel through wire.

    Runs 2 to 5 feet deep, is 4 3/4 inches long and selling for $10.49 USA. Prob. about $25 here.

    These lures look a bit jackal like and are approx the shape of a bony bream.

    Anybody else know anything about these lures??

    Cheers,
    John.

  7. #22

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by Obi _ Wan View Post
    Yeah i'm guilty, i have 4 of those evergreens in my tacklebox, 3 ES Drives and 1 ES Flat. Two of the flats came by way of the internet so i can't remember how much they were, the other ES Flat i bought here was $75 and the ES Drive was $65.

    To much/ you betcha, not again, i got them for a comp at Proserpine a couple of years ago (2008), only had one follow and the fishing was very very poor.
    After that i was interoduced to barra plastics by the Doctor at Awoonga and did not use any other style of lure. The begining of last Spring saw me out of action for six months, back to it early February this year with Nagg and the 4 fish i landed and the one i lost were all on plastics.

    When i first started on barra, 7 or 8 years ago the B52'S were getting the hits but there were busted, the tail broken off with busted B52'S on everyones wall, i refused to buy them for that reason.

    I and everyone else had a very good run with the Halco scorpions, the way to go, then we changed to barra classics, wow what a lure a real fish killer, and of course all along the Lively Lures Afura Barra was and still is responsible for a lot of fish. And all these lures will continue to catch fish.

    Now these Rapala XRaps are brilliant, certainly catch fish, no doubt about that, but IMHO are too easy to break, seems to be nearly always at the tail end with some of the plastic split/broken, internal wire ripped out, half way up the belly of the lure. In the the minor breakages it will let water into the body of the lure making it sink, i have seen people plug them up with silicone. Barra and Mangrove Jack break these lures, a jack my son caught snapped one clean in half.

    But we keep on using them because they catch fish and they are not that expensive overall. Those big jointed XRaps catch fish too, ask the Vet what he caught his 130 odd fish on.

    I will always have half a dozen in my tackle box come hell or high water.

    A couple of days ago i was talking to the rep from Freetime who distribute the XRaps about their easy to break problems, he was aware of a problem that they had with the bibs on the XRaps and they were addressing that problem but he was not aware about the arse end problems.

    To me its the plastic they use to mould, it seems too brittle, i can remember some rebel lures i used over thirty years ago, made with a plastic that you could not break with a hammer, those big yellow fin loved them.

    Oh sh###e, there you go i've said too much.

    Cheers,
    John.
    Great read there John ...... I always enjoy your input !
    There is no doubt that we have trends when it comes to fishing ....... with lures its clearly a case of what it working at the time:smiley: We all know that bombers still work along with B52s and a multitude of other lures........ I would go as far as saying that most lures will catch a barra at some stage.

    The X Rap just seems to have the right balance of side to side motion / glide / working depth / rattle & generally cast long & straight - then rigged well - suspends wonderfully . There are not too many HBs that have all these attributes:smiley:
    As for the polymer used ...... its fine! - the problem lies in that it has a 2 piece body with a parting line that runs down the middle ------ but worst still is that the tail section is so thin which means that the wire can be pulled through the parting line ( weakest point) - If the tail section was solid , there would be no tail end destruction.
    Confidence certainly plays a big part

    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. #23

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by Obi _ Wan View Post
    I almost forgot, the rep showed me a lure that he says are catching barra, where i don't know.

    These are the Rapala Gliding Rap, and from the Bass Pro site, made of super tough Abashi Wood, stainless steel through wire.

    Runs 2 to 5 feet deep, is 4 3/4 inches long and selling for $10.49 USA. Prob. about $25 here.

    These lures look a bit jackal like and are approx the shape of a bony bream.

    Anybody else know anything about these lures??

    Cheers,
    John.
    John,

    These are one of the latest lures from the Rapala stable which is most likely why the rep was pushing them.

    They are a slow sinking walker[walk-the-dog] that can be steadilly retrieved as well as twitched. Come in two sizes, 4-3/4" ~1-1/3oz & 6"~2-1/2oz,

    Rapala have used Abachi in a number of lures over the years.

  9. #24

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by Obi _ Wan View Post
    I almost forgot, the rep showed me a lure that he says are catching barra, where i don't know.

    These are the Rapala Gliding Rap, and from the Bass Pro site, made of super tough Abashi Wood, stainless steel through wire.

    Runs 2 to 5 feet deep, is 4 3/4 inches long and selling for $10.49 USA. Prob. about $25 here.

    These lures look a bit jackal like and are approx the shape of a bony bream.

    Anybody else know anything about these lures??

    Cheers,
    John.

    If the hooks & splits are upgraded - they sink rapidly!

    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

  10. #25

    Re: A lures true value!

    John, you made mention of a very under-rated lure from the rapala stable, the jointed X rap. I have been using them over the years with plenty of success..(like the vet..but no where near as many fish). They are a barra magnet like their wreckable mate!! Much heavier, cast further which is a bonus I spose. They can be worked very very slow too, slower than X12's whilst keeping action. They suspend pretty well with minimal adjustments (just trebbles)....one downside I have found, they leak in water after some punishment...but that has happened only twice on lures that have seen plenty of fish on the deck for me thus owe me nothing!!!

    B52?? still a great lure...ask Kyle!

    Old lures will work still. I doubt anyone doubts that! Another old favorite imported lure, the stiffy lookalike, but jointed in 3 places.....sebile magic swimmer. I havent used it enough lately, but it will get a run over the next few months in the shallows. similar atributes to the stiffy, but can be worked successfully with a few more retrieves...ie slow steady, and fast steady...where stiffs are not really effective as such.

    Just a couple more options to think about.

    Steve
    I dont have ADHD......ohh look a squirrell !!!

  11. #26

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by BR65 View Post
    I think they are being used in the manner they were designed for ( suspending), but we are using them on fish they were never designed to handle.
    I keep tossing up the Richos, aussie made, timber lure, tuff as teak, will suspend, no rattle, best fish a 120 on one to date.

    I was looking at those Evergreen ES Flats, over 40 US a pop, I drew the line there. Plenty of cheaper options that will work just as good I reckon.
    Brian,
    Talking about Richos l took the great man out to Mondy the other week. His extractor lure caught the fish where my XRap caught nothing. When l told him that these XRaps where the "gun" lure at Mondy .He just laughed. He is a top bloke and a very good fisherman.A legend in the lure making industry as well

  12. #27

    Re: A lures true value!

    Just on Australian made timber lures - & there are some great ones :cool: from what I have seen and used...... most seem to be deeper diving ones! :huh:

    Does anyone know , some shallower running timber lures (2-4ft)

    much appreciated

    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. #28

    Re: A lures true value!

    Trev, you know the story mate: todays silver bullet is tomorrows blank cartridge.

    Chris, the extractors come in a shallow version. I was throwing a banana yellow version around at the tail end of muster last year for a couple of fish at "North B". Pic here some whee.
    I havent seen them around for sale for near 12 months now, but a litle bird mentioned to me that Foxie may have them, though colours are limited.
    They are buoyant, so upping the ante with split and hook up-grades will still see the need for additional weight, though this doesnt seem to affect the action on a "stalled" lure retrieve for lack of a better word.
    I also have had some joy with the chrome version, but took the texta to it to create some contrast stripes.

    Catties dont mind em either!!



  14. #29

    Re: A lures true value!

    Quote Originally Posted by BR65 View Post
    Trev, you know the story mate: todays silver bullet is tomorrows blank cartridge.

    Chris, the extractors come in a shallow version. I was throwing a banana yellow version around at the tail end of muster last year for a couple of fish at "North B". Pic here some whee.
    I havent seen them around for sale for near 12 months now, but a litle bird mentioned to me that Foxie may have them, though colours are limited.
    They are buoyant, so upping the ante with split and hook up-grades will still see the need for additional weight, though this doesnt seem to affect the action on a "stalled" lure retrieve for lack of a better word.
    I also have had some joy with the chrome version, but took the texta to it to create some contrast stripes.

    Catties dont mind em either!!
    The bib still looks like it would dig in ....... or is that not the case
    what I've found with timber lures is that they are more often than not - ultra buoyant & so need some serious upgrading with much bigger splits / owners and the application of sticky weight - - - - -- - - -- often the action was killed :sad:

    I'll see if I can find the shallower extractor ( I've never seen one)

    Thanks

    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. #30

    Re: A lures true value!

    The chrome one pictured is the 3 meter model Chris, which on cast/retrieve gets down about 4 - 5 foot. Ive hung them up in the timber, and allways been able to get them back with my lure prodder, and its about 5 foot long.
    I drive it down hard on splash down, then just pulse it back very gently.



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