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Bladed Lures and River Natives
By Jay Noble
Targeting Murray cod and bass, while paddling rivers in a kayak or fishing land based, is right up there with my favourite styles of fishing. Like most, making time can be difficult, however the excitement and anticipation of the next adventure is always running through my mind. For many reasons this style of fishing is addictive, including the beautiful scenery, abundance of wildlife species, sense of adventure, and the reward for effort is what keeps drawing me back.
Both species are aggressive feeders for starters and when it comes to hitting a lure and the fight that follows, they love playing hard to get. Commonly these fish will be positioned tight to structure, meaning hook ups and the battle is intense and often over quickly, one way or the other.
Spinnerbaits or soft plastics, rigged with an added Jig Spinner for extra flash and vibration, are normally a good starting point when targeting these two iconic Aussie natives. These lure presentations have the benefit of being relatively snag resistant, making it easier to keep them in the areas where fish may be holding, in turn increasing the possibility of getting a bite.
There are plenty of blade options when choosing a spinnerbait or Jig Spinner to accompany a plastic, most commonly a Colorado or a willow blade is the go. Both styles of blades add flash and vibration to your lure presentation, often drawing in fish and triggering aggressive reaction strikes. Naturally some anglers have favourites, however both the Colorado and willow style blade have their place in different situations.
Willow Blades Vs Colorado Blades
Colorado blades are rounder in profile, while willow blades a longer and narrower in profile, impacting the way they perform in the water.
Willow Blades:
In fast flowing water the willow blade sinks quicker and is impacted less by current, keeping it tracking straighter. Depending on the lure weight it will also normally hold deeper, ideally staying in the strike zone for longer. With less wind drag I have found that a willow blade often casts better, especially in windy conditions, with its better aerodynamics.
Colorado Blades:
These rounder blades have a seductive, slower sink and great action on the drop. They create more flash and vibration and increased noise in the water, drawing fish in from further away. The lure action through the rod tip, with that big thumping blade, is much more pronounced helping to feel if you picked up weed or fouled on other material.
Where to fish?
When fishing rivers the most obvious target areas that I’m looking for include visible structure or bait activity. Fallen trees, running water, bends in the river, heavy cover, rocks with good current flow, undercut banks, bait flicking or birds actively feeding are all a good place to start.
Basic Cast & Retrieve Techniques
Cast your lure as close to the target structure as possible. I then like to let my lure hit the bottom as there is a chance the fish may follow it down and hit it on the drop (sink). Next, lift the rod tip sharply to make sure that you can feel the blades starting to spin.
From here a slow roll (slow wind) back is the most common retrieve, however you can mix up the speed, drop the lure back to bottom and keep repeating the process as well. Also, a bit of a faster burn (faster wind) can be effective if you have the feeling the ‘there has to be a fish in there’. This burn can trigger a good hit.
Fishing Upstream VS Downstream
Upstream:
Accurate casting upriver, using the current to wash your lure closer or under structure, is a great technique. These fish will often feed with their nose facing into the current, so presenting the lure moving naturally toward them works well. Fishing the lure with the current can also entice a bite as it really forces fish to make a quick decision to eat, before the offering has moved on with the flow.
Downstream:
Casting downstream can really help pinpoint where the fish may be holding. Quite often the fish will be waiting in an ambush position, ready to grab any food that passes by. Targeting points, rock faces, fallen tree root balls and slack water, just out of the current flow, can all be productive as they are great spots for the fish to hunt a feed.
Wild Bass
Favourite Structure
Fast flowing water. With plenty of food on offer and oxygenated water, bass are often very fit and healthy after a rise in the river, due to recent rain.
Go-To Bladed Lure
I would find it hard to go past a ZMan 3” MinnowZ in Pinfish colour, paired with a Colorado bladed TT Jig Spinner.
Murray Cod
Favourite Structure
Root balls of fallen trees, with current flow, seem to hold fish in the areas that I primarily fish. If there’s not a lot of fallen timber in the river, then normally I would focus on fishing rocky outcrops or large boulders sticking out of the water.
Go-To Bladed Lure
I’ve had plenty of great sessions on the TT 1/2oz Tornado Spinnerbait, with my favourite colour being Fire Tiger.
This article is not designed as a comprehensive ‘how to’, rather a few things that I’ve picked up along the way that have proven successful for me when targeting these two iconic species and hopefully they help someone else get hooked up along the way.
Cheers, Jay
Gearing Up:
Australian Bass – ZMan 3” MinnowZ (Pinfish colour) / TT Colorado Jig Spinner
Murray cod – TT Fishing Tornado Spinnerbait 1/2oz Fire Tiger