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Lure Philosophy

The philosophy behind the design and use of the lure is not rocket science but it does take a certain degree of skill and persistence to come up with an end product that works well. This is all very well but to have a lure that is a known fish magnet but it takes more that just a crafty lure designer to provide a lure that does what it is expected to do because if it is not used in a certain manner and in the right conditions all you end up with is a sore arm and some good casting practice. The skill required by an Angler to use a lure correctly is one that is learnt over time as you must first understand the fish that you are targeting. Australian native freshwater fish are very much well known for their fondness of snaggy water, deep holes, river/lake bed drop off's, rocky ledges and shady overhangs or what other cover is found below the water line and this is simply known as structure. These species are also very well known as being predatory and aggressively territorial toward any other life form that comes within its sensory zone. With this in mind you can now understand the philosophy behind the lure as it is merely mimicking another life form that is trying to receive the attention of a native fish. Now the trick here is to get the lure down to where the fish are so that it can be noticed and inspire it to take some aggressive action to protect its own little personal space around its lair or home snag. This is done by using a lure that is firstly going to get down to the desired depth, move and create a little disturbance, flash a little colour and pass near by the fish you are targeting. Simple yeah! Well maybe not, but persistence will be the key and then you'll be rewarded. One important factor to learn when casting lures is do not give up on a certain fishing spot until you have exhausted all avenues. That is to say that it has been proven to us that it will take more than just one cast over the same area before it will attract a fish strike. Try and use 4 to 6 casts in the same area before you move on to the next spot and don't forget to cast upstream and retrieve with the current as well as this presents the fish with a more natural attack point. Keep moving and work the area's in a 180 degree arc and you then have given your best efforts and given yourself every chance to extract an Australian native from its home snag. Getting your lure in tight and as close to the structure below the water line and using persistence and a variation in retrieval action and speed and also changing colours will in the end get you onto a fish.

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Lure Design

Lure designers are all aiming to achieve the same result, to be able to offer a product that will not just attract the fisherman to purchase it from the tackle shop shelf but to attract a fish and entice it to strike the lure. It's getting the fish to strike that gets the lure designers excited and once they have perfected the body shape and matched with a bib that will not only get the lure down to the desired depth but must be matched to the body to produce what's known as action. It's this action that will be the selling point for the angler and the attraction to the fish and then add some striking colours and even a rattling noise effect and you can end up with a great lure that will be a prize in many lure caster's tackle boxes.

The attraction of the lure is what the designer is trying to enhance and this is made up of 3 very important things, movement, colour & most importantly sound or sonic disturbance. Movement of a lure can emulate another fish just swimming along or mimicking an injured fish that would be an easy meal ticket or just grabs the fishes attention with its silhouette or colouring. The sound that is emitted will also help assist the fish to find it in murky or dark water and this is done by lures that rattle or blades that spin and from displacement of water  All of which culminate into trying to grab the attention of a predatory fish and entice it to strike the lure. 

The shape and size of the bibs and the body shape of the lure determine the type of action or movement the lure will have while being retrieved. This balancing of bib & body design is very important to being able to produce a unique action that will grab the attention of a fish and entice it to think that it's either his next meal or an intruder that has stumbled into it's territory. I think most lures that are attacked by native fish like Murray Cod & Yellowbelly is due to the fact that these fish consider the lure as an intruder and aggressively chase and bump or nudge the lure. This has been demonstrated to us many times by the fact that some fish are hooked on the cheek or side of the head and may also account for the many "half caught" fish that don't quite make it to the boat or bank. (Never mind, that's fishing).

When working lures through snaggy water they will bump and knock the timber below and will raise the attention of a fish nearby, providing they are cranked calmly through the area so not to spook the fish and also avoid getting snagged up. Getting snagged up is one of the discouraging points and the reason why many anglers shy away from using lures in this type of scenario but this is not warranted as with a little experience and carefully walking your lure through the snags you will find you will snag up allot less. However, getting snagged up is inevitable in some situations and you will have to ensure that you have a good quality tackle retriever to save you time and money.

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Deep Diving Lures

The deep diving bibbed type lures are the most common and most used along the Murray-Darling Basin and it's impoundments and are the stalwarts of the lure casting fraternity for Australian freshwater natives, making up for 70% of the market that is sold in Australia. The sole purpose of the deep diving lure is exactly what it's namesake suggests and that is to dive deep down to the lowest portion of the water you are fishing. A deep diving lure would be a lure that could dive down as little as 3m to a massive 10m+ without the assistance of a down rigging device. Most lures on the market today are designed to dive from 3m to 6m while being used for the cast and retrieve method but larger depths are made when trolling these lures behind a boat. With the demand of many anglers who love trolling deep for that monster fish we have seen the development of lures that are diving to depths of 13m (40ft+) or more. These lures are instantly recognised by their large plastic bibs that are required to get them down to the deeper water. These type of lures can be worked just the same as other lures, experimenting with different retrieve methods. Using a stop & start retrieve method gets the lure to produce action, movement and noise and you will find that a fish will strike the lure on the stopping segment of the retrieve but you must ensure you initially get the lure down deep in the strike zone first. Our favourite of all the big deep divers is the 140mm Python Crash Diver from JD Lures which seem to be accounting for a lot of big Murray Cod in the Lower Murray and no wonder as these lures do get down very quickly and down to depths over 13m (40ft). Other very reputable ultra deep diving lures are the ever reliable 150mm & 105mm Codseeker from Codseeker Lures, 150mm & 90mm (w/large bib) AC Invaders from Australian Crafted Lures & 85mm (w/large bib) Hammerheads from Custom Crafted Lures.

The colours that are available for all the various lures on the market are vast and offer applications for different water conditions and personal preference. I personally prefer to use more natural type colours that mimic small bait fish like that of Bony Bream or carp with bronze, brown, copper, yellow and greens. Although very bright colours can be used just as successfully to grab the attention of a fish but I think the more natural your colour is the better, after all you are trying to mimic another fish. The most accomplished lures that we have used have been the Stumpjumper #1 in the colour #1(as pictured above), Stumpjumper #2 in the Bumble Bee #5 colour and the Knol's Native 75mm in the green frog #2 colour pattern. These have only been our experiences but there are many more that deserve a mention and the short list would include Legend Lures, Codseeker Lures, Swagman Lures "Jumbuck's", Custom Crafted Lures "Hammerheads", Oar-Gee Lures "Plow", Predatek "Boomerang" 80mm, Mann's "15+" & "stretch 20+/30+", RMG Lures "Poltergeist" 80mm, Eddy Lure's "Dambuster's", Deception "Scampi's", Killalure "Snarl's". This list is by no means a reflection of the many quality and proven lures that are available on the market today as the list would be exhaustive. Check Virtual Tackle Shop for links to lure information on the Net.

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Spinnerbaits

The introduction of the Spinnerbait has given Australian lure casting angler a new avenue to hone their skills. Although they're still not as popular as they should be but it will not be long before they have a place in every Angler's tackle box. These whirly coat hangers have what it takes to encourage a predatory fish to attack and they do attack very aggressively we have found. It seems from our experiences Murray Cod & Golden Perch really get fired up when a Spinnerbait goes whirling past within its strike zone. One of the great joys of using Spinnerbait's is that you will find that you will receive multiple hits by the one fish on a single retrieve until the hook sets. It's truly amazing to experience just how aggressive and how determine these fish are at the right time.

 There is an ever increasing number of Spinnerbait's becoming available on the market and no doubt this will grow as popularity increases as will the variances in design. But the main types that are available are mainly defined by the different type of blades that are used and the different weights. There are three main types of blade, they are the Willow, Indiana and the Colorado and these come in varying sizes and the main weights that the Spinnerbait's are available in are 1/8oz,1/4oz,1/2oz & 3/4oz & 1oz. The only other variance to contemplate is the different coloured skirts that are available and the colour the weighted head comes in. There is again a huge array of colours that are available, everything from the natural type brown's, green's, black's and yellow's to the bright red's, pink's & blue's and some great iridescent colours. The skirts are easily replaced and also allow for some colour mixing and even using plastic wriggling baits instead using the skirts, so you can see that there is an enormous room for mixing and matching and experimenting.

The main attraction of this type of lure is the sonic displacement that the spinning blades produce which must arouse the fish's sensors and have it desperately tracking it down until it can finally see the colour and movement of the Spinnerbait and have it attacking it with a ferocity that is not normally felt on a lure. The sound that a Spinnerbait makes is a far more attractive sound than most other types of lures and is the reason why the popularity of these lures will grow as more and more anglers discover their ability.

For the best results when targeting Murray Cod & Golden Perch use weights from 1/2oz right up to big thumping 2 1/2oz monsters. The smaller sizes are for the shallower water down to 2-3m, these will be need to be be worked very slowly depending on depth and structure type. The bigger boys are obviously used in deeper water and mainly for trolling. If you have a sturdy casting rod give the middle weights are working over as these are the real work horses. 3/4oz to 1 1/2oz are my real choice of spinnerbait weight as they can cover a lot more water and a lot more deeper water. The major benefit is being able to produce long casts accurately even in windy conditions, but the real clincher is they will stay down deep in the strike zone a lot longer than the lighter guys.

We use mainly Bridgewater Lures (in 1/2oz, 5/8oz & 3/4oz) & Ledgebuster Clearwater Spinnerbaits (3/4oz, 1oz, 1 1/2oz, 2oz & 2 1/2oz) with large single Willow or Colorado type blades with a natural colour skirt that would closely resemble the flash of a European Carp or Boney Brim. I personally also find that an all gold colour in clear water and an all silver colour in water that is a bit murky, these lures give off great flash and have proven to be a great success. We have found the best way to retrieve is in a jerky stop/start action or just slowly retrieving it in and trying to keep the Spinnerbait as close to the bottom as possible while bumping it's way through the snags but most importantly you must feel the blades turning. This is where the large single Colorado blades do so well. The more noise you can make while walking the Spinnerbait through the sunken timber the better and when you feel your Spinnerbait bumping on some large timber give your Spinnerbait a bit of a quick shake until it's free and then continue on with your retrieve. Doing this creates vibration and gives off more signals to fish in the area. The Spinnerbait is surprisingly snag resistant but don't get too cocky as they do snag up from time to time and can be very stubborn to get off if you do not have a heavy duty tackle retriever. In the shallows of lakes like Lake Mulwala they also can be used in a "Rip & Burn" method. This methods is simply cast out your spinnerbait and reel it back at a good steady pace as soon as it hits the water. Using this method keeps the spinnerbait close to the surface and can be a good substitute for a surface lure. But the most important lesson to learn with spinnerbaits is that you must present it within the strike zone of the fish your targeting. So keep it down in the snags and use variation in cast & retrieve methods and keep persisting.

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Surface Lure's

Using a surface lure to catch an Australian native freshwater fish in the Murray-Darling Basin is one of the best kept secrets of fishing. Well not really but it seems that way as it's popularity isn't as great as I would have thought it to be. But once you have experienced the feeling of hooking a good sized Murray Cod in shallow water you will be wondering the same. No word of a lie the experience is mind blowing, imagine this, it's another dead calm dusk on Lake Mulwala and not a breath of breeze, the moon is bright and the lake is glass. You are amongst the wooded shallows and you cast your surface lure along the edge of a large fallen Redgum. Slowly you crank your reel and momentarily pause every so often, the only sound you hear is the gentle plip plop of the surface lure working its way toward yourself, drawing its way closer to the boat. You hang on every moment and on every turn of the reel praying you get a hit from a Murray Cod scouting the shallows for a meal. You come almost to the end of your retrieve and your anticipation diminishes as you're about to lift your rod then wham! An explosive splash of water and an unreal slurping-sucking sound commonly known as a "Boof" fills the air and your automatic reflex sensors have just gushed through your very soul. In a moment, you realise that your lure has just received a hammering from a Murray Cod and you have hooked him. Once you struggle to compose yourself after you managed to re-swallow your heart you pull your catch in, gently remove the lure and then release it to swim back into the shallows. You then sit down and ponder what had just happened and realise that never before have you had a fish that can literally scare the pants of ya. Mark my words, the experience has to be had first hand before you can really appreciate just how exciting this form of lure casting is.

This was my first experience with surface luring on Lake Mulwala and I can tell you I will never forget it. I think my heart rate goes up a little every time I think about it. You too can share the experience and the best time to give it a try is just before dusk and fish through till the first hour of darkness. On moonlit nights you can fish right through from reports that I have heard. The best conditions are when the breeze is still on a warm evening but this is not essential but it does add to the atmosphere. If your lucky enough to be on the lake during an unseasonal warm spell in early December give it a try and you'll be surprised at the attention you will receive. Sometimes you will be lucky enough to witness Murray Cod actively feeding on the surface, this is the ultimate time to use surface lures. There is also another time of the year that is very productive surface luring for Australian native fish on the Murray-Darling basin and this is when the Bardi moth is very active at night during later January/February.

The technique used is the same as when you're casting diving lures, that is you try and get you're lure as close to the snags as possible except you're lure stays on the surface of the water. Work it slowly but fast enough to displace the surface water and get a rhythmic action from the lure. Be careful not to make too much splashing on your retrieve as you do not want to spook the fish. Use momentary pauses on your retrieve trying to mimic a bird or lizard that has fallen into the water and most importantly try not to make any loud noises in the boat as knocking things in an aluminium boat creates allot of noise that travels great distances in the water and will spook the fish for sure. I find that having everything carpeted in the boat makes a huge difference as it dulls much of the sound, this includes the inner side walls.

There are a good range of surface lures to choose from and many more colours as well although the best colours would be black and natural type colours. The type of lures that you could try are Kingfisher "Mantis", Arbogast "Jitterbugs", Halco "night walker's", Bill's Bugs "Mice Bugs" & "Fuzz Bugs" & "Flutter Bugs", Heddon "Crazy Crawlers", Mudeye Lure's "Depth Charge's", Producer Lures "Chug-A-Lug", Koolabung Lure's "Fizz Wizz" & "Kodlua" and Ambush Lure's "Gorilla's". This list is only a portion of what is on the market and we have not had experience with all of these so have a good look at them before you buy and ensure they have good quality fittings and trebles that will stand up to the hammering they will receive from an angry Murray Cod or even a large Yellowbelly. These lures will take a hiding and don't expect to hook into a fish every time it strikes, more often than not you will have 5 misses to each one solid hook up. So be confident the lure you choose will withstand this harsh treatment.

But what ever lure you purchase rest assured when your on the dead calm glassy water just before the sun sets and you are lucky enough to gain the attention of one of our native freshwater fish sooner than later and when at least you expect it, you will get the pants scared off ya when you receive your first strike on a surface lure. And keep in mind, a comment I read once in a Roger Dark article, "it's the best fun you can have with ya pants on mate".

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Final Word

The best advice we could give would be to experiment with some of the very popular types of lures that are available, talk with the tackle shop salesman, talk to other anglers, read the many good articles that are found in magazines like Freshwater Fishing (Australia Wide), Nth East Angler (Victorian & Sth NSW), Sth West Fishing (Victorian & Sth E South Aust) and get  involved in a discussion group or on a message forum on the internet. If you do all this then all you have to do is get out there and have a dip and you will wonder why you never had tried lure fishing before.

See ya on the water.

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