Groupers on Storm Soft Plastic?

I really miss home. I do. Gone are the days when I can just pop by the rocks 5 mins from home after work on days when the tides are good with excellent water clarity. Those are the best days for luring Grouper. No fuss, no muss in the comfort of civilization, just cast among the rocks and we'd get a few groupers (released to grow up another day of course!)

But not anymore now. Sob sob... leaving work early is a luxury than a norm these days with my new job. But at uncertain economic times such as this, I'm thankful and grateful to the Lord I have a job! Looking back at the pictures does bring back the fun memories we had fishing by the rocks though.

Jeffroman with one on a Gulp!

Bouncing the Soft Plastics off the rocks produced plenty of these

Notice how fishes always look at the lure when caught?

Put me down!!

So who says Storm Wildeye Shads only work at fishing payponds for Barramundi? :P

Poor lil' greedy bugga

Mrs Jeffroman strikes!

Lil Buggas everywhere!

Skitter Walk Jitters

Article and photos by Fred Goh

Popping is definitely one of the most exciting forms of fishing and it is gaining popularity. The thrill of seeing the fish attacking the lure on the surface is a heart-stopping experience that leaves the angler wanting for more.

Light popping is getting very popular around our coastal and inland water, be it fishing for freshwater species like toman and haruan or targeting saltwater species like queenfish or smaller GT.

While cup faced poppers are the more popular choices, many anglers have come to realize that in heavily fished water and certain conditions “Walk-the-Dog” action can really turn fish on when others fail.

Rapala’s Skitter Walk is a “Walk-the-Dog” lure. It has superior construction that is able to survive the attack of the toughest tropical fish. The lure can be easily worked to imitate a swimming mullet or fleeing baitfish. The large internal bearings create a rhythmic sound when combing with the Walk-the-Dog action. The bearings and aerodynamic design also make long cast easier. The two sizes have a wide range of exciting colours and aggressor scheme to match predominant prey or agitate the fishes to strike.

The Skitter Walk can be fished with a slower tempo by simply using the classic wrist work to create the Walk the Dog action. Generally, this is very effective when the water is calm, or when the fish are spooky or less aggressive. On conditions where the fish are more aggressive, the Skitter Walk can be fished fast by skipping the lure on the surface with faster retrieve speed or combining with jerking of the rod tip at the same time to imitate fleeing baitfish. This action is especially effective for saltwater species like queenfish and GT.

Specifications:

Topwater lure

Model: SW08
Size: 8cm
Lure weight: 12g

Model: SSW11
Size: 11cm
Lure weight: 19g

Black or darker colours work well on dark or overcast days

Removing the middle treble from the lure allows it to cast well into the wind without the fear of fouling up the leader in windy conditions

This haruan pounced on the Skitter Walk on the first cast

Assorted colours and patterns. The folks at Rapala also came out with the Chrome pattern (far right) which is very pretty I must say

More Barramundi...

Casting swimming lures can become pretty mundane over time and it's a good thing we have the Twitchin' Raps. In the absence of a bib, the lure has a darting action when twitched. I believe one key motion that drives fish to whack this lure is the 'flash' action exposing the underbelly of the lure. When twitched, the lure darts to one side and flashes its underside. If you notice in the wild, injured fish does this sometimes and... you know what happens when a predator is nearby, right? 

I find Barramundi particularly receptive to the Twitchin' Rap, especially if you are fishing snags or slight drop-offs. Most fish we landed ambushed the lure when paused in between twitches. A slower twitching pace with slight pauses in between proved deadly for these Barramundi. If only Twitchin' Raps came in slightly bigger sizes such as 10 or 11cms! I bet the Queenfish, Mahi-Mahi and Spanish Mackerel would be in for lots of trouble!

Retention Pond Estuary

More sifting through older photos tonight found some nice memorable pictures of a trip to a personal retention pond somewhere in Kedah, courtesy of FN75. He had befriended an owner of one fish farm that had a nice retention pond surrounding the farm. As these retention ponds store pumped in water from the nearby estuary before being pumped into the ponds, they also contain rich food source for the resident Barramundi, Mangrove Jacks, Threadfin, Tarpon and Ladyfish (Giant Herring). The best part was this retention pond was hardly fished and so the fishes were more willing to take lures! Jeff, Sild and I had an opportunity to check out this spot by invitation of FN75...

Ladyfish willingly whacked poppers

A Threadfin (Senangin) on X-Rap

Barramundi paradise

A nice Barra could not resist the X-Rap in Muddler Pattern

Notice the little drain on the left? Barramundi love to hide at the entrances of these drains especially when its linked to another retention pond

Jeffry Causes a "STORM"!

Jeffry reported on his recent trip to Air Kuning that it was not as happening as it was initially when we first explored the place. But they were still there nevertheless. Just need to work harder for them from shore. Jeff's a real fan of small minnow lures and with good reason too - as his results show... More PB pics and reports to come!

Rapala Glidin' Rap Strikes!!!

Tested!! And the conclusion is Rapala Glidin' Rap is a pelagic killer! Casts beautifully far on my 7ft Majorcraft Offblow. Action is a bit unconventional; don't expect high pulsating or shimmery minnow action from the lure. Far from it, it's a side by side, wide action sub-surface lure and the Tenggiri loved it! It would be great if Rapala came up with a size in between the Glidin' Rap and Twitchin' Rap though. I'd love to whack some Peacock Bass on those. Still, these are good enough for blue water casting for now. According to 'rumours' they should hit the street sometime between late October to November.

New Rapala 2009 Lures!

As promised, here's the sneak peak of the lures we've all been waiting for. Rapala Insider managed to get our grubby hands on some 'previews' for the new 2009 Rapala lures. The Glidin' Rap, measuring 12cm looks like an oversized Twitchin' Rap. Mighty impressive considering the Twitchin' Rap is a killer of its own right. Can't wait to see what this baby will produce. Already, they have caught Barramundi up north of Aussie Land (see previous post).

Another new addition to the Rapala stable is the 15cm Rapala Subwalk. A size upgrade from its little 9cm brother, this big baby is meant for big, mean fish. Comes armed with the SureSet feather tail hook. Looks pretty impressive and will surely allow anglers to cast a mile out with the size and weight. 

Both lures are supposed to be out sometime December 2008. Ahh... just in time for Christmas...

Endyalgoat - Northern Territory, Australia

Got an e-mail from AV with greetings from Endyalgoat in Northern Territory, Australia. A nice campsite set up to cater for anglers targeting Northern Oz's famous Barras and other estuary species. I don't know about you, but just looking at the pics just got me drooling. And look a the size of the Barramundi! I could use the tail for paddling Dragon Boat! 

Anyway, enjoy the pics, courtesy of AV.

Nice silvery Tarpon

Look at that! She's a BEAUTEE!! Caught on a "Fruit Salad" colour Barra Magnum

Silver Grunter. I think the Aussies call 'em Javelin Fish

Is that a new lure from Rapala for 2009? Stay tuned. Rapala Insider will have more info coming up in the upcoming posts 

Fat Boy Grouper on X-Rap. Can tell from his smile that he's one happy camper!

Pop Pop!

Popping poppers or working surface lures in freshwater is super fun! No words can express the explosive visual effect you get when the fish slams the lure. It's so addictive! Even if a fish doesn't get hooked up, the explosion on the calm water surface is exciting enough to send your heart rate beating twice as fast. Apart from Toman, Peacock Bass is another target specie that readily takes poppers or surface lures, especially in the early morning or late evenings. Working along the shore banks especially near drop offs or weed beds are pretty productive spots to check out. 

This fella fell for a Storm Chug Bug

This one on a blue Chug Bug. Such beautiful display of colouration 

Jeff with a nice one on Skitter Pop

Up close and personal

Check out the bucket mouth. Peacock Bass open up their mouths wide and suck their prey right into those gill rakes you see there. Scaaary!

Hari Raya Celebration with Peacock Bass

D1: Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslim friends! Today FG, YH and myself had a wonderful time with some Peacock Bass action. I'll let FG do the storytelling...

FG: We were suppose to meet at 5:30am this morning, but since it was raining, we decided to carry on in Dreamland and postpone our trip to the afternoon. Afternoon came and off we went to recce for some places to fish. Fishing was slow in the afternoon - nothing to shout about except that I lost a lure to the tree, which is pretty common. (D1: definitely not as common as me, I've lost count of lost lures that way!)

We then decided to fish at this fishy looking spot underneath a spreading tree. My very first cast using a Twitchin' Rap aroused the interest of a pack of hungry Peacock Bass that went after the lure. OMG, I know we are in for a good time! On the second cast, I let the Twitchin' Rap sink a little further before working an aggressive twitching action. The line tightened and Yes!! The first Peacock Bass of the day was caught. After some photo-taking and releasing of the fish, I let YH work the same spot, and soon enough, he was rewarded with a bigger fish! D1 was next on the line and he produced another good fish on the X-Rap 8. In total, we caught about 6 nice Peacock Bass within a short span of time before the action slowed down.

A fruitful Hari Raya outing indeed!

Twitchin' Rap rulez!

Chartreuse colour got a lot of hits

Aren't they beautiful?

Nice and fat

Also on a Twitchin' Rap

Notice the beautiful markings

This one gave an impressive bend on the fly stick