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Mixing Things Up
Angus James
When out fishing we are always exposed to the ever-changing environments and conditions. Over time each individual angler develops their own unique set of tackle tactics to suit the situation they are up against and when we 'crack the code' it's the greatest feeling of achievement. Being able to decide what lure to tie on, in order to trigger that strike, makes all the difference when getting the results we are after. Land based or by boat, we need to have all of the options in our arsenal, as it's very important to have all bases covered. The TT Lures and ZMan range of products not only has the answers for every situation they hit a home run!
It's no secret that my favourite style of fishing is trekking deep into the rainforests, targeting the elusive jungle perch. It's a magical way to go fishing. It can also be very physically demanding. Most JP adventures will have me wading through rapids, climbing over rocky terrain and walking all day, so I need to be agile and light on my feet. Without carrying a whole tackle shop on my shoulders, it's important that I take in the right balance of presentations to apply to any given situation.
On a recent trip into the jungle I was using my favourite sub-surface approach, the ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ rigged on 1/16oz TT lures HeadlockZ HD jighead. This is a great combination because it's a perfect weight to cast long distances on finesse gear and the buoyancy of the ZMan ElaZtech makes this presentation really come to life in the crystal clear water. I like to let them sit on the drop for a few seconds, allowing the natural tail movement to attract the attention of the JPs. If it doesn't get crunched then a steady slow roll with a few rod tip twitches will normally do the damage. Jungle Perch find this approach hard to resist!
A few hours into the session and I had walked around 3km upstream, landing good numbers of JPs. Then the environment suddenly changed, the rain forest had opened up and started doing what it does best and before long the heavy rain had turned the peaceful stream into a fast flowing river. My favourite sneaky surface approach had been shut down. Being early in the session and wanting to venture deeper into the jungle I needed to adapt to the situation so I could keep catching fish.
I sat down, opened up my tackle tray and decided to tie on a TT Lures 1/8oz Switchblade in Purple Minnow, selecting this option because I noticed there were small berries in the water that looked almost identical to this colour. The rain was most certainly heavy enough to make the berries naturally fall into the water. I also needed to cast into the heavy rain and have direct contact with my lure. The TT Lures Switchblades cast like bullets and their tight vibration lets you feel them working for you.
My first cast was smashed by the biggest jungle perch of the day! Next cast, another solid fish! I had cracked the code! From then on my catch rate went right back up. The technique was a simple high speed, almost pelagic style retrieve, mimicking the berries falling into the river and getting washed downstream!
Every angler has their go-to lures, and sometimes it's a hard decision to have to make when those favourite lures are not getting the attention we would like. Mixing things up is sometimes one of the best things you can do. Being versatile and figuring out what the fish want and how they want it will get you landing more fish during your time on the water.
Another experience of mine, where observing the surroundings had come into play, was during a sooty grunter impoundment competition. The bite was very tough and everyone's tactics had shut down. We soon found out that in order to get fish on the boat it had come down to a simple session of 'matching the hatch'... but in this case everyone was mimicking bird poo! That's right, the technique was as simple as flicking either a Pearl or Glow ZMan 4'' StreakZ Curly TailZ under a tree holding birds and it was fish on! In some cases before the lure had even hit the water... we had cracked the code!
Lure fishing is all about trying different things and taking notice of what's going on around you is what it's all about. Sometimes thinking outside the box is the best way to approach the situation and get those fish on the end of our line.
Cheers everyone BRING IT ON!
Angus James