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How to Catch Tailor on Lures

Where & When

Tailor are an aggressive predator with razor sharp teeth that can be encountered year round, with much greater concentrations throughout the cooler months. They can be readily caught on lures, are considered a good table fish when bled upon capture and eaten fresh, and they often school up allowing them to be targeted in numbers. Remember to check local size, bag and other regulations.

Tailor often school in surf gutters, around rocky headlands and in the mouths of river and estuary systems. Structure and bait will attract fish and hold them in the area, such as beach gutters, rocky headlands, rock walls, bridge pylons and other structure where currents create pressure points and eddies that disorientate and hold bait, while allowing tailor a point of ambush.

Giveaways that there are tailor in the area include bait spraying out of the water to escape the predatory fish, fish 'chopping' on the surface as they feed aggressively on bait they have forced to the surface and birds in the area that have been attracted by the tailor, especially when the birds are diving to pick up the pieces during an aggressive feeding session.

When fishing the beach focus on breaks in the back bank where larger predators can more easily enter and exit a gutter, sandy and rocky points and other sections of beach that create pressure points and eddies, foamy water that provides cover for predators, along with bait and feeding birds.

When fishing rivers, estuaries and rocks, again look for bait and birds, while focussing on breaks in the structure and structure that creates pressure points and eddies, such as rock walls, bridge pylons, rock bars and dramatic changes in depth.

Gearing Up

Rod, reel, line and leader selection will be dictated by the location, style of fishing and size of the fish however a lot of spinning can be done with a 7' spin combo. Let's have a look at a few 7' spin options, along with a couple of longer combos for spinning land based. General spinning and working soft plastics can be done with 10-12lb braided line, such as 12lb Bionic Braid and 20lb Stealth Leader. When it comes to larger, heavier lures and long casts, especially land based, you may wish to step up to a longer spin combo, loaded with 20-30lb braid, such as Platypus Bionic Braid, with 40-60lb leader.

Good

Okuma Competition CM-S-702MH 7' 2pce 8-17lb spinning rod and Okuma Ceymar C-30 or C-40 spinning reel.

Better

Okuma Cerros CER-S-701M 7' 1pce 3-6kg spinning rod and Okuma Epixor XT EPXT-30 or EPXT-40 spinning reel.

Best

Okuma Helios HS-S-701M 7' 1pce 3-6kg spinning rod and Okuma Helios SX HSX-30 or HSX-40 spinning reel.

Medium Length Spin Combo

Okuma Competition CM-S-1002H 10' 2pce 12-20lb spinning rod and Okuma Epixor XT EPXT-50 spinning reel.

Longer Spin Combo

Okuma Trio Rex TXS-S-1303MH 13' 3pce 20-30lb spinning rod and Okuma Surf 8K spinning reel.

Lure Colour

When it comes to tailor fishing natural baitfish colours is generally the preferred option, including pearl / white, silver and colours that combine a silver or clear belly section with a green, blue or black back section. At times anglers will fish a bright pink or chartreuse colour if the fish are not responding to natural colours.

Soft Plastics Lure Selection

Some anglers would question why you would want to cast a soft plastic at a fish that has razor sharp teeth designed to slice baitfish to pieces. There are times though when soft plastics will produce considerably more fish or may be the only thing that will get the bite. We have had quite a few beach trips now where the tailor are being pursued by larger predators and are spooked and flighty. Anglers around us have not managed a bite on other lure presentations, while we have landed double figures fishing the more subtle soft plastic presentations and mixing up the retrieve from a slow roll (slow wind), burn and kill (wind and pause) and hopping retrieve as the fish switch off one retrieve, change to another.

Tailor fishing with plastics requires a 10X Tough ZMan ElaZtech plastic to stand up to the strikes and the teeth. You may be unlucky and lose a tail first bite, however more often than not we land 20+ fish per plastic, with the plastic avoiding the teeth and being pushed aside once the fish is hooked. Even when an ElaZtech plastic has been chewed up by the fish and you can stretch it and see all of the damage, the 10X Tough plastic will often hold together and swim well, producing more fish.

There are three main styles of soft plastics that we fish for tailor and these are jerkbait profiles, curl tail profiles and paddle tail profiles.

Jerkbait Plastics

This style of soft plastic is extremely popular because its lack of built in tail action allows long casts and quicker sink rates and movement through the water, with minimal drag. It is also an excellent representation of the many slim bait fish that tailor feed upon. It can be retrieved at high speed, creating a tight shimmy in the tail, or slowed down and hopped and flicked to create the desired fleeing action.

There are a variety of jerkbaits available to match what the fish are feeding on, 'match the hatch', from the smaller ZMan 3.75" StreakZ and 4" Scented Jerk ShadZ, to the extremely popular 5" StreakZ and 5" Scented Jerk ShadZ and onto the larger 7" Scented Jerk ShadZ and 8" StreakZ XL when targeting larger fish that are feeding on large baitfish.

Curl Tail Plastics

A popular option for prospecting areas and covering water in the rivers and estuaries, curl tails have loads of action and will attract fish and trigger strikes on the sink, pause and retrieve. ZMan 3.5" GrubZ and ZMan 4" and 5" StreakZ Curly TailZ are all go-to plastics for larger predatory species such as tailor.

Paddle Tail Plastics

Paddle tail plastics are a personal favourite as they are extremely versatile and can be fished fast or slow, high or low in the water and with a stack of retrieves, including a fast burn (fast wind), burn and kill (a few winds and a pause), hopping, twitching, shaking and slow rolling (slow winding). You can mix up the retrieve to cover the entire water column, focus on particular structure and change things up when the fish switch off one retrieve style.

Go-to ZMan plastics for tailor include 3" Slim SwimZ and MinnowZ, 4" and 5" DieZel MinnowZ and ZMan 4" and 6" SwimmerZ, especially when a slower presentation is required.

Jigheads

Check out the 'Rigging Guides' section on the www.tackletactics.com.au website for a detailed guide on selecting jigheads for the plastics mentioned above. When it comes to rivers and estuaries, jighead weights will generally include 1/8, 1/6, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2oz, while beach and rock anglers will often carry a range of heavier jigheads, including 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 and 1oz to manage wind, water movement and long casts.

TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads - HeadlockZ HD jigheads have become the go-to for anglers chasing tailor and other aggressive and powerful fish, thanks to their head design and brutally strong Mustad black nickel chemically sharpened hook that provides the balance required between needle like penetration and heavy duty strength. Its unique 'head lock' keeper locks your soft plastic in place and is ideal for the 10X Tough, super-soft and flexible ZMan soft plastics.

HeadlockZ HD are available in a comprehensive range of sizes, covering the lightest finesse presentations for shallow water tailor, across weed ad rubble patches, through to heavy surf, wind and fishing in strong currents.

TT Lures RevlockZ jigheads - RevlockZ are an underspin style jighead, which means they have a blade mounted on the underside of the jighead, attached by a swivel that allows the blade to spin, creating flash and vibration. The original TT Lures Rev Head and the newer RevlockZ have long been a go-to for angler chasing pelagic species and the flash and vibration of the blade can be another strike trigger at times. Built on the same brutally strong hooks that have made the HeadlockZ HD jighead so effective, and featuring the same 'head lock' keeper to lock your plastics in place, RevlockZ also feature a tapered head design that shifts the weight lower on the jighead to control the torque of the blade and ensure your plastic runs upright. If you are looking for a jighead that has the potential to unlock jaws on a tough bite, check these out.

Metal Lures

Metal lures are generally a baitfish profile and are designed to represent a fleeing baitfish when retrieved quickly. They can also be slowed down and jigged erratically if fish are not responding to a standard high speed retrieve. The weight of the lure allows long casts, making them ideal for land based spinning as well as fishing from boats, kayaks and other vessels.

TT Lures Hard Core metal lures have been a tested and proven performer for many years and a popular option thanks to their compact profile, colour range and 20, 30 and 40g weight options which are ideal for many tailor spinning applications. These weight options have you covered for a stack of species from mackerel and tuna, to tailor and salmon, when spinning from land or on the water. Land based anglers will at times be required to step up to longer rods, larger reels and metal lure weights from 60g - 100g+, depending on the required casting distance, wind and size of the fish.

Stickbaits & Poppers

Poppers and stickbaits are another effective lure option for tailor and other species that will be encountered in similar water, such as kingfish, Queenfish, trevally and mackerel. Let's take a look at a few proven performers from the Fish Inc. Lures stable.

Flanker Sinking Stickbait - Available in 85mm and 115mm the Flanker sinking stickbait has a thin baitfish profile, colour range and action that has seen it develop a strong following from anglers chasing tailor, salmon, tuna and other pelagic species. Like the other stickbaits in the fish Inc. range it features heavy duty ABS construction, dazzling finishes, through wire design and the Flanker is fitted with a quality Owner heavy duty treble.

The Flanker can be fished using a high speed retrieve or slowed down and twitched and paused, or fished with a sweep of the rod tip, followed by a pause and rapid winding up of the slack line. Strikes can be brutal, so be ready!

Other popular stickbaits in the Fish Inc. range that are ideal for targeting tailor include the Hooker 110mm and Right Wing 120mm, both of which come rigged with Owner heavy duty singles, which can make for a solid hookset on a fish that is renowned for throwing hooks while fighting and jumping. The Wing 120mm is also available in a version rigged with trebles for those that prefer more hook points.

These 110mm and 120mm sinking stickbaits have plenty of weight for casting, a proven pilchard / sardine profile, great range of colours and they can again be fished fast or slowed down and fished with a sweep of the rod tip, followed by a short pause where slack line is rapidly retrieved.

If the bait and fish are larger, or you are looking for a larger profile and more casting weight, then check out the 140mm Prop sinking stickbait or Tighthead Prop (rigged with singles). This larger pilchard / sardine profile also has a unique feature, a spinning blade on the centre hook hanger that creates additional flash and vibration, both of the sink and retrieve, to attract fish and trigger strikes.

A popper can be effective at times and the 80mm Fish Inc. Fly Half Popper is perfect for tailor, with its solid casting weight, heavy duty ABS construction, through wire design and heavy duty Owner trebles. This little popper definitely punches above its weight and its unique keeled belly design allows it to be fished with a 'walk the dog' retrieve, popped subtly or blooped more aggressively.

The big brother of the Fly Half, the 140mm Scrum Half is another option and one that has proven effective on big fish and where a larger profile and weight is required, such as spinning from the beach and rocks.

Scent

When tailor are feeding aggressively scent may not be required, however when the fish are spooked and hard to tempt scent has made a difference to our catch rate. I also fish scent when there are other species in the area and especially when fishing plastics as it may tempt a flathead, trevally, mulloway and other species.

Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent combines real ground bait with powerful amino acids, bite stimulants and UV enhancement to attract fish and trigger strikes. It is super-sticky so you only need to scent up every thirty or so casts, applying a small amount to each side of the head of the lure and smearing it right down to the tail. Go-to flavours for tailor include Sardine / Pilchard, Mullet and Bloody Tuna.

Land Based Tips

Tailor are a popular land based target as they will often follow bait into the rivers, estuaries, surf gutters and other close in structure, situating them within casting distance of shore. Focus your efforts in areas where there is plenty of water movement and current, including pressure points that are formed where the current first meets the available structure, along with eddies formed behind the structure. Spend more time in areas where the current and bait should bring fish to you, or move along the structure, fanning your casts until you find where fish are holding.

A variety of other species can often be encountered while targeting tailor, which keeps things interesting while you are working to locate them. Once schools are located large numbers can be caught, however if keeping some for a feed they are best eaten fresh, so keep what you require for your immediate needs. Mix up your retrieves and lure presentations until you find what the fish want on the day.

Landing & Handling

Tailor are not loaded with spikes, making them relatively easy to handle, however you should stay away from their mouth as their razor sharp teeth can quickly make a mess of your hands and fingers. Pliers are handy for removing hooks as tailor will shake their head aggressively and you don't want a hook piercing ruining your session.

If you are keeping tailor for a feed then it is best to use a sharp knife to carefully cut their throat and bleed them, before placing them in an ice slurry to keep their soft flesh in the best eating condition. Tailor are a more oily and strong tasting fish that is ideal for smoking and BBQing, as well as more traditional cooking options.

If you haven't targeted tailor check out the options in your area as they can be a fun species to target, that hits lures aggressively, fights hard, jumps and can be good on the table. If you don't have tailor available in your region, remember also that these techniques will transfer well to other species, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, trevally, Queenfish and more.

All the best with the fishing...
Justin Willmer