First Go With Sp's - 18/11

[werris]

Well I tried soft plastics for the first time today. It's been a long time since I last fished but I've been reading the forum and getting the bug etc.

I went and grabbed some soft plastics and some resin heads from the tackle shop and threw them around Manly Lagoon on high tide this afternoon just to see what happens. I fished "up the back" first thinking of a stray Mangrove Jack or Bream, Flathead etc and didn't get any hits or follows, so I moved down to the ocean end and got a hit first cast! To my surprise I'd hooked a little Flathead about 20cm!

I dropped him at my feet and he swam away, otherwise I would have taken a photo of him on the bank with the SP in his mouth...I was so proud.

I got a few more hits but didn't hook up. Probably the same sized Flathead or maybe Bream, there was a few decent sized (still under keeper) bream swimming round to. I got bored real fast thinking of the possibilities at a few more promising spots on the northern beaches that I have in mind, and packed it in. The lagoon looks a bit listless at the moment...even with the tide (3:00pm - 1.5m) there was barely any water getting in. Not real good. There were mullet mouthing on the surface for oxygen...at high tide!?!

I'm hooked though. Can't wait to hook and catch a keeper fish on SP's. I've got one place in mind that I know I can nail a few good Flathead at. Might try it in the morning!

Still nice and peaceful up at the back of the lagoon even on a Sunday!

Edited November 18, 2007 by werris

[Anti-Carp]

Well I tried soft plastics for the first time today. It's been a long time since I last fished but I've been reading the forum and getting the bug etc.

I went and grabbed some soft plastics and some resin heads from the tackle shop and threw them around Manly Lagoon on high tide this afternoon just to see what happens. I fished "up the back" first thinking of a stray Mangrove Jack or Bream, Flathead etc and didn't get any hits or follows, so I moved down to the ocean end and got a hit first cast! To my surprise I'd hooked a little Flathead about 20cm!

I dropped him at my feet and he swam away, otherwise I would have taken a photo of him on the bank with the SP in his mouth...I was so proud.

I got a few more hits but didn't hook up. Probably the same sized Flathead or maybe Bream, there was a few decent sized (still under keeper) bream swimming round to. I got bored real fast thinking of the possibilities at a few more promising spots on the northern beaches that I have in mind, and packed it in. The lagoon looks a bit listless at the moment...even with the tide (3:00pm - 1.5m) there was barely any water getting in. Not real good. There were mullet mouthing on the surface for oxygen...at high tide!?!

I'm hooked though. Can't wait to hook and catch a keeper fish on SP's. I've got one place in mind that I know I can nail a few good Flathead at. Might try it in the morning!

Still nice and peaceful up at the back of the lagoon even on a Sunday!

Hey mate, congrats on your first fish on plastics and your impending softplasticitis infection. The next symptom is a rapidly decreasing bank balance

[werris]

Thanks mate. I've got no problem paying, as long as they catch fish.

I do I.T related work so it's a cheap price to pay, as it really helped get over the strain of a hard week.

Still thinking about getting up for a fish before work to!

[DaveD]

I'm still tryin my luck with those things. How long were you fishing for ?

[werris]

I did about half an hour up the back with no luck before I jumped on the pushie and rode down to the ocean end of the lagoon. If I managed to get a little flattie within 45 minutes of starting to chuck them around I can't wait to hit Narrabeen Lagoon and a few secret land based spots in the harbour near me.

Edited November 18, 2007 by werris

[davebrewer]

Are mangrove jacks still turning up in the lagoon?I use to fish there about 25 years back for bream at night,but one wet day during a big fresh scored my only ever jack,which surprised the hell out of me.I later found out that a variety of usually tropical fish were caught there from time to time.

Cheers,

Dave.

[werris]

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QUOTE(Dave B @ Nov 19 2007, 08:19 AM) 207054[/snapback]

Are mangrove jacks still turning up in the lagoon?

Wow I used to fish it as a kid probably from the late 70's/early 80's and I've never seen one caught. I'd say I hooked up to one...but never saw it or came close to landing it. A mate of mine caught one that went 2.25kg about 15 years ago but I wasn't there for it...only saw the cast of the fish. That was on 1kg line to!

There are/were definitly good jacks in there but I don't know what survived the poisoning a few years ago. One bloke apparently got a small jack last week.

[gretsch]

Well done!!! Nothing like your first fish on a plastic.

[arpie]

!Anti carp said ...Hey mate, congrats on your first fish on plastics and your impending softplasticitis infection. The next symptom is a rapidly decreasing bank balance....

Well done, Werris - congratulations on your first fish on sps! The humble flattie is usually the first fish most people catch on sps - they will have a go at anything & also the fisho (at that point of his sp career) usually has 'fast twitch' retrieve, where as a slower approach will usually attract bream as well. One bloke said, that to fish sps & bream successfully, you need to retrieve it "slower than a turtle with a broken leg!" I thought that was hillarious, but a good illustration of how slow to retrieve. Having said that, I am a fast twitch person, so have so far, only caught bream on sp by accident!

If you want to get better with sps - don't take bait along when you fish! Only take a few varieties & sizes of sps. Otherwise, you will swap to bait. A rising tide (or moving tide, at the very least) is good - hence the saying, No Run, No Fun. Vary your retrieve, depth etc & success will come your way!

I look forward to reading both yours & Amateur Daves reports in the future!

There is some top advice in the FIshraider Forums - do a search on 'soft plastics' of 'sp' in some of the topics & I am sure you will learn heaps! Also look at the Articles

http://www.fishraider.com.au/fishing-articles.php

- there a few topics there on sp fishing! Great info there on fishing Narrabeen Lake, too, if you want to try there.

Cheers

Roberta

[coastspinna]

roberta is right ...

leave the bait at home and you will see a huge increase in fish caught on plastics... before last summer i had caught about 10 flatties and a few tailor on plastics, but last summer i scored about 100 from legal to 67 cm all on plastics, plus a whole bunch of undersize ones.... i wouldn't even take a hook or a sinker so there was no tempation to baitfish.

wading the flats early morning is educational because you will spook many more fish than you catch for a while....flathead lies in the sand will tell more than just that a fish has been there.they also tell you which way the fish has been facing and with a bit of thought you can work out what stage of the tide they were on the bank..this will tell which way your lure needs to come from...

try to cast up current as much as possible, and if you are not already, i would use gelspun line in 6 or 10 pd

this will help you cast further and feel whats happenin

wd on the first it won't be the last...

wait till you connect to a big one

cheers ian

[werris]

Hi Roberta and Ian,

As a kid I was fishing mad. I used to make my own hard bodied lures etc and test them out at the lagoon. Being a kid it was my best option for fishing. As I got older study and lots of other stuff got in the way of fishing.

But my Dad was European and taught me to fish really young, so I've always had a good feel and knowledge for fishing, but I've only been fishing about 10 times in the last 10 years. Growing up surfing also gave me a really good knowledge of winds/tides and weather patterns.

Thanks for all the tips. I feel like Dr Evil plotting the death of all these poor fish. But I'm also a firm believer in not killing anything that you are not going to eat and I'm very conservation minded etc. I'm the guy always taking home discarded fishing line I find hanging around the local spots...taking it home and chopping it up into little pieces so it doesn't end up killing some poor bird.

Thanks again for the tips! I'll have a photo of a monster flatty in no time I'm sure!

Edited November 19, 2007 by werris

[arpie]

Well said, Ian - sometimes it can be a bit 'trying' when you are starting out, almost boring, but once you've hooked a few & worked out what you did different that enticed the strike, there'll be no looking back!! I basically rarely take bait out now!

Hi Werris

Like you, I don't want a bag full, either - A feed for 2 is a good tally. Don't be afraid to try some of the bigger sps, too - one of my favourites up here for the lake is Squidgies 100mm silver fox - a great mullet imitation. I dip its tail in the red stuff & I reckon that has increased mystrike rate.

Often I use the Mr Twister Jig heads (larger than some would use, but the weight of it makes the tail go like the clappers!)

Fishing with sps is less messy, & no real decision making - you just grab the bag & go! Take your hard body 'home mades' as well, if you still have them!! I bet they'd will work a treat, too! I keep meaning to have a go at making some, but have a bucket of 'unused' ones as it is!! Don't want to lose them, so I don't use them!

You'll be addicted in no time!! All day long, you'll be dreaming of getting out by the water again ..... can't wait!

And well done on picking up other people's crap! I do the same!

Roberta

[werris]

God still haven't had the chance to go for another fish yet. Work is bloody crazy.

I've been going mildly insane reading all the great reports though. Keep it up people.

To compensate for not being able to fish at the moment I think I'm going to have to go shopping and get a 12 foot beach combo and something new to toss the soft plastics around. At least with the beach rod I can just walk down to the beach...it's only two minutes away!