Glidin' Rap as a GT Lure?

When all else fails and you're almost to the point of tearing your hair out when the fish are finicky....

When poppers dont work.... time to be creative. Experiment... no matter how weird it may seem.

It can yield surprises. :)

Shimano Curado 200 E5

Had a few queries about the baitcaster used in a few freshwater trip posts. It's the new Shimano Curado 200 E5, the next generation, small body-big cap, low profile baitcaster.

This baby has the body of a size 100 but boasts a line cap of a size 200! Check out the specs:

Line Cap (lbs/yds): 8/180, 10/155, 14/110

Gear Ratio: 5.0:1

Line retrieve per crank: 21 inches

Weight: 7.6oz

Bearings: 6BB, 1RB

Max drag: 12lb

Small, cute reel with tough muscle. Oh, and did I mention the moss-green colour on the reel actually 'changes' colour like a chameleon to a darker shade of green on different lighting?

Check out the detailed review at Tackle Tour:

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocuradoe5.html

Cichla Temensis on.... Lure X

After many attempts, FG triumphantly lands a Temensis on .............. Lure X!

The water erupted just after one or two "walks". Beautiful fish! Look at those colours! Congrats FG!

Lure X.... A new variant of Skitter Walk? I could be wrong... stay tuned!

All that Rattlin' & Clackin'

I seriously am wondering if Barramundi do attack noisy lures out of pure agitation due to the irritating noise.

Sound travels faster in water vs. air by about 4 times through waves or vibrations. Hang on... can fishes even 'hear' in the first place?? They dont have ears.... or do they? Ok... I'm no fish scientist here but fishes indeed do have stuff in their heads called otoliths that vibrate and translate to information to the fish. Similar to the human inner ear, it also helps the fish to 'balance' itself. Of course, the other more visible sensory organ is the fishes' lateral line, which helps it detect movement and vibration as they bounce off its body. 

So whether or not the fish actually 'hears' the same sound and translates it to the same tone as what we 'hear' is anyone's guess - we'll need to first catch a talking fish and then ask if it hears the same Rattlin' Rap's tone as us. But one thing's for sure, the vibrations in the water do cause the fish to either fight (or strike) or flee.  

In the case of the big Barramundis at Semeling, somehow they had this liking for really loud, rattling lures when all other lures didn't seem to attract. I'd personally think they were really irritated more than hungry. 

Can you imagine a baby rattle shaking away non-stop in front of your face? 

1-2 minutes... Bearable. 

Try a good 15mins or more of continuous rattling... 

*RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE*......  "BOOOF!"

Get the idea?

Visited: Giant Barra Pond

After much 'poisoning' from photos of my mates holding big Barra and smiling ear to ear, I couldn't take it anymore. Back home I went! (Thank God for budget airlines!)

As usual early morning, Jeffroman was ready - it was great to see him again after a long while and to fish with this good buddy of mine again. I was assured I wouldn't lack jokes supply for the day.

From what I gather, the pond was pretty deep and there was where the fish were holding. So sinking lures and deep divers were the order of the day. 

The locals swore by the Rapala Rattlin' Raps and Clackin' Raps. I figured they went deep down enough to make a ruckus below that the Barra had no choice but to 'shut' them up. Imagine a buzzing, noisy fly or mosquito whizzing around your face long enough. You get what I mean?

Actually the action was quite far from what was happening few weeks back. When KH and Jeff descended upon the pond when it was first opened, the fish practically took anything and everything that landed on the water. But after a few weeks of fishing pressure, the fish had wised up and were not so easy to fool with lures. 

Initially upon landing some big ones, Jeff and I were extremely excited and overjoyed but, as with all things, too much of a good thing becomes boring.... and as afternoon approached, we were already bored catching 3-4kg fish. 

More and more people came and soon we were having a party at all sides. This young dude was extremely overjoyed to land a Giant Barra - the biggest fish of his life - on, of course, a Rapala Magnum! To quote him, "It made faking sick, just to get leave to go fishing WORTH IT!"  Mind you, this dude drove all the way from the South way up to the North just to fish! 

Respect!!!

All in all, Jeff and I concluded it was a nice place to target Big Barra if you haven't really tried it before. But latest news received was that it was really, really difficult to get the big ones...those excess of 10kg and above now. (smart fish!). We shall be back!