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Yellow Fin Whiting Lure Fishing Gear
I am frequently asked to recommend YFW Lure fishing gear.
It lead me to summarise my thoughts on what I consider to be the most important factors in your gear selection for this particular pursuit.
My suggestions are in a prioritised list. Starting with what I consider to be the most important bit of gear to the least important based on how I feel it will impact on your success with YFW lure fishing. I am sure my opinions will raise a healthy debate!
So what are your thoughts on the perfect set up and the most important factor?
 
1) ROD
Absolutely the most important item in this game. This should be your biggest investment.
A 7’6” rod is ideal. It can cast small lures long distances easily. Cast distance is the most important factor in successfully catching YFW on lures consistently. A long cast goes way out there amongst unsuspecting fish! It provides a long retrieve, covers more water and gives the fish the most time to be attracted to your lure. So get a rod that can cast small lures far.
The latest materials and construction methods of the better quality ultra light rods, facilitate the storage and recoil of elastic energy, which imparts lure action almost naturally. The tip sensitivity of ultra light rods, brings a lure to life and seriously makes a lure dance with little effort. A very sensitive top section is also well matched with a powerful bottom end.
The extra length of a 7’6” rod has very good shock absorption for the hard runs that big YFW have when they are in close. You will definitely pull less of those small assist lure hooks from these trophy fish.
I have found the Abu Garcia Eradicator Real Finesse Rod the best I have used to date. Model# ERFS-76LT-TZ  7' 6" Rod. Rated for 0.6 - 3 lb Line Lure weight 0.1gm-12gm The whole rod weighs just 66 grams.
The Samaki Zing Xtreme V2 762SSTXL is a close second. Rated for line 1-3kg with a Lure rating of 1 to 7gm.
The Shimano Zodias ultra light is great for those who prefer a shorter 7ft rod.
The Shimano T Curve Premium 21TCP782LC … 7" 8" 1-4 Kg line, 1-7gm lure. 2 pc  It is a little more powerful, which I use with the heavier lures.
There are a lot of good ultra light options today in the 7' 2" to 7’ 6” range, rated for 1-4 Kg line, 1-10gm. At prices to suit those just starting out. But you will soon get the feel and desire for the subtle finesse improvements in the more expensive models.

2) LURES & HOOKS
There are lures that have a long proven record for consistently catching YFW. This is fundamentally due to their good design. They do not really need to be “worked” so much. On retrieval their natural action, imparted by a good rod, does most of the work for you … naturally.
Bigger lures catch bigger fish I find. They also cast a lot further out to unsuspecting fish and work over more water, increasing your chances of a strike.
Colours … nearly always Clear with some Orange. Other colours have a fast diminishing success rate and are very rarely more successful. Lures with UV colours are a bit better in low light conditions.
The Sugapen 95 in Colour MB16 is by far the standout lure in all conditions for me. The Daiwa Slippery Dog 80 is a distant second. These Stick bait lures work better than poppers except may be on the windier days. Then I find the Shimano Brenious Rise, MMD Splash Prawn, or the Atomic Hardz, Poppers to be good.
Blades and Vibes in prawn imitations can catch as many fish on their day. But you loose the visual pleasures of the chase and a surface strike. The Ecogear ZX ranges are by far the most successful blades.
I never use treble hooks on the lures. They catch too much weed. My lures are all retrofitted with Atomic Trick Bitz size 8 or the Ecogear ZX Assist Hooks. They catch less weed and hook up well. A more detailed post on lures later.

3) LINE & LEADER
A small diameter braid is best. Braid assists in imparting more natural action and provides a better feel of your lure’s movements. I find Sunline Siglon PEx8 10 lb Braid is good. I have since moved to Sunline Siglon PEx8 ADV. I have heard some great reports for J Braid, but I am yet to try it. Again it is about getting a bit more distance in your casts. Thin lines have less drag through the air and cast further. There is little risk of abrasion on the open sand flats.
I use a variety of leaders, both mono and fluorocarbon, as this I find is not as big an issue as some make out. Especially when using the larger floating lures whose action is less affected by the leader. Again back to the rod, a quality 7’ 6” ultra light rod with a sensitive upper section, has great shock absorption. So you do not need a lot of leader for stretch and shock absorption. Around 18” in length I find good. I also use a Decoy Spiral Snap for quick lure changes so I don’t use up leader length in retying lures.
 
4) REEL
Reels are often overrated in terms of their importance here I feel. Correct weight balance with your rod, a smooth sensitive drag and a smooth retrieval action would be the main functional demands. A wider or a long stroke spool provides a longer cast.
With repetitive lure casting over long sessions, I you will appreciate a lightweight reel. A gear ratio of around 6:1 in a 2500 size reel suits the ideal lure retrieval speed. Given the harsh treatment these reels experience whilst wading for YFW, salt water resilience is important. Shimano Stradic CI4+, Shimano Vanford and Abu Garcia’s Revo MGXtreme, have all worked well for me. Should you have strong arms, strong wrists and a smaller budget, there are plenty of inexpensive heavier reel options that won’t reduce your chances of catching a fish on lures.
5) WADING TUB or BAG
Essential for carrying all your food, drink and tackle out there for a long day. Thanks to spotting  @Territory Lad  I added a "triple Axle" to mine.

6) TECHNIQUE … aka … Pretentiousness
Mostly a lot of garbage by people posturing as super skilled experts and making a simple task appear complicated.
If you start with the right equipment it is simple and close to an automatic process. It is usually people with a substandard rod, heavy line, and inappropriate lures, that have to work so hard to achieve the right lure action. A good lure with a modern day ultra light rod almost provides the right lure action automatically. It is so easy to “work” a lure. You really don’t have to try!  The only thing you could play with is your rod height position and your retrieve speed.
 
I hope this helps in unravelling the not that mysterious art of YFW lure fishing.
 
Cheers, Des.

Go to Youtube: Messiah Custom Fishing. There are other clips that are worth watching re bream fishing as well. Regards, HBt.

And as an aside Scotto James from Messiah Custom Rods in Tasmania has been experimenting and having success with straight through braid ... no leader knot. His info and Youtube clip is certainly worth a read/watch. Regards, HB tragic.

hi all, 
long time reader, 
i'm transitioning from bait over to the dark side of using soft plastics (land based) and an enjoying it.
I've caught a few ST's, a few small bream etc but like many,...i'm still yet to hook onto a wiley ol' decent sized bream.
my plastics of choice seem to be the popular grubs in motor oil colour, using as light a jig head where possible, while my current lines are 6lb braid, with a 4lb fluro leader, of around a rod length.
 
my questions are;
1) for bream, on lures, what are peoples preferred leader lengths, and why?
2) is there a particular brand of leader that seems to be the 'go-to' that people use with good results?
any help is much appreciated.
 

well i experimented a little today.
i started with 2 rod lengths of fluro leader.
went to port gawler for a while, got a couple of ST's, then went to garden island for an hour or so and got another 4 ST's.
no bream but got to try out leader lengths, and out fished my father, who had same lures but less leader. ( just lucky perhaps? ).
i understand what some have said regarding the fluro getting a memory once it goes as far back as the spool, but being 4lb fluro it straightened out just by the weight of the lure alone and i did get snagged and busted the leader just above the lure, reducing the leader back to around 1 and half rod lengths,...and this then felt good, resulting in good feel when a ST attempted to bite. Ccasting still felt good and clean so I'm gonna leave it around 1.5 rod lengths for a while to see if i can find the benefits.

hi all, 
long time reader, 
i'm transitioning from bait over to the dark side of using soft plastics (land based) and an enjoying it.
I've caught a few ST's, a few small bream etc but like many,...i'm still yet to hook onto a wiley ol' decent sized bream.
my plastics of choice seem to be the popular grubs in motor oil colour, using as light a jig head where possible, while my current lines are 6lb braid, with a 4lb fluro leader, of around a rod length.
 
my questions are;
1) for bream, on lures, what are peoples preferred leader lengths, and why?
2) is there a particular brand of leader that seems to be the 'go-to' that people use with good results?
any help is much appreciated.
 

Headed to a rock wall with Nathan which I know holds plenty of good bream, reading some of piratepom's recent posts! Burleyed up and threw out a chunk on an unweighted size 4 bait holder hook. Almost ever cast the bait was getting smashed by either bream or small st. 
After a few smaller fish, I hooked onto a bigger one which went 30cm! Then another at 31cm! A few more legals and then this one jumps on the hook!!! 
 

 
It went for a screaming first run! As I got it close to the rocks, it decided to dive into tight gaps which frayed the 6lb leader a bit. Luckily I turned it's head and got it up to the surface. Took a few snaps and measured it up, 36cm on the dot. Healthy fish too! Of course, released to fight another day. 
 

 

well its not as nice as southie's, but a favourite of mine also.
taken with the phone, whilst out hunting.

Everyone who writes up a bream related post from the start of October 01/10/2014 until the end of October 31/10/2014 will go into a draw to win a Strike & Hook bream pack.

 

The pack consists of:

Pack of Berkley Gulp 3"8cm Grubs - Pumpkinseed
Pack of Berkley Gulp 3"8cm Grubs - Pepper Prawn
Pack of Berkley Bream Pro, Nitro Jigheads 1/16oz #1/0
Berkley tackle storage bag
Berkley Soft Plastics DVD
Pack of Baitholder snelled hooks size 2
Platypus fishing lines sticker
Platypus Platinum braid - 300 yards of 5lb
Platypus Super 100 mono - 300m of 10lb
Strike & Hook cap
Strike & Hook beanie


 

At the end of October a winner will be chosen by site moderators. A few things we'll be looking for are a great story, detailed instructions, nice photos or video and nice flowing, well written content, so no one liners.

 

Get in there everyone and get up your reports, how to's or what ever else you can think of that is bream related.

 

To make things easy for us mods and so we don't miss any great posts. Please post your topic in the Strike & Hook Competitions section of the site. Topics will be moved to their appropriate sections after the comp has finished.

 

A big thanks to Fishing Wholesalers at lonsdale for giving us a great deal on these prizes. Please visit their site to view their range of great fishing gear, everything you, need they have! www.fishingwholesalers.com.au

 

Also another big thanks to Weaver and the Lower Murray Lure Fishing Club (LMLFC) for donating two spools of Platypus line. Check out the LMLFC posts in the forum and check out their website www.lmlfc.com 

 

GOOD LUCK!

I finally got around to making a batch of berley blocks.
 
Ingredients included old bait like cockles, a few weird looking pillies, salmon trout, salmon frames, tommies, fresh prawn shells, squid, some old snapper  and stale bread, I think that was about it.
 

 
Some nice containers ready to use. I saved a few round containers so the berley could go in those small, screw top, plastic berley pots.
 

 
My berley BEAST! Ok not a beast. I actually chipped the blades on the fish frames
 

 
The berley mix looked awesome and sooo very tasty.
 

 
Packed and ready to freeze.
 

 
Now I just have to get out on the water and give them a go   
 
I'll definitely have to make more at some stage.

Here is a photo I took moments before i got hit with the front that came in this afternoon! 

Love how there was such dark clouds rolling in yet you still see the sun as it was setting.

And shows the roughness of the water!
 
 
This looks even better at the true resolution however due to the site only allowing 4.88mb max pics i got to shrink it down to fit!
 
 

Here is a shot I took this morning on my way for a morning Hills fish! Loved the colours and cloud formation in the sky. I couldn't help but stop and take it in!
 

Im keen too. Want some ready for the YFW when my wading season starts.
 
Never collected bloodworms before......Sounds like we might be looking at a S&H bait collection session?

easier than that mate.
On the nights mentioned in the coming months, they will "commit suicide", jump out of the mud and float out of the port river during the run out tide. You simply sit in a boat or on a rock wall with a torch and net, and scoop them up

Give you a tip mate.
Dip them in metho when alive then put them in small containers and freeze straight away.
When you use them keep them in the shade and as cool as possible.
This method gives you firm and reliable worms for fussy bream, and they don't mind the metho one bit.
I tried salting them live, but they squirt the blood out, and end up mushy after being frozen.
Usually dig for them at low tides below .20m, and when used live, are one of the best baits out.
However during the bloodworm run, using them as bait will be useless, coz most of the fish that eat them will be fat and full.

I should have elaborated a bit more, the stinger I have used on plastics was a small treble with one of the hooks pushed into the tail end of the plastic, this helped me get some snook when they were biting the tails off of my squidgies
 
Cheers
Yorky

A bit late for a report but here we go...
 
On the Sunday of the long weekend myself and a few mates decided to give the SS banga a run (southies old tinny that I took off his hands)
 
We sat at the mouth of the coorong for the arvo just messing about, I was throwing plastics getting salmon trout every two to three casts and surprisingly they weren't interested in the bait on offer which was bungum worms.
 
I decided to send out a live st on my mates cheap spare rod, boy did I wish I brought my snapper gear! I got smoked by what felt like a decent mully! Long story short I got 5 hits on 5 livies and landed one fish that was a salmon that went 73cm and smashed a livie 23cm long
 
 
On Sunday I decided to go down to salt creek for a look at the salmon scene at the moment, they bit from the time we were there until the time we left, only fished for two hours, caught 20 between 55-65cm and lost a few also, even tried to get away from them by slabbing one up, they still ate the fillets of salmon!
Not a bad session for two hours of fishing.
 
Pretty happy with these two 'prospecting' sessions!
I'm no good at writing reports so I hope it's easy enough to understand haha cheers guys.

Just got told, by her indoors, that my crazy "I'll eat anything" Beagle just scoffed a tube of S-factor!!! She managed to get it out of my track pants pocket along with the measuring tape I use. Missus said the laundry stank, like 'made her gag' stank!  Glad she didn't eat the tape too, that would've been fun retrieving that in a couple of days! :lol:  So not just a fish attractant it seems!
 
By the way the dog is fine, she has a cast iron stomach and this is certainly not the worst thing she has eaten!

Never tried it, but thickening up tuna oil with corn flour (or similar), add a bit of powdered garlic/curry powder/five spice or whatever and you'd have a paste you could stick in a little jar and use as you'd use S-factor.  I might have go at this next time the missus is not in the kitchen.

Zman motor oil personally caught flathead bream salmon snook squid dog shark n puffers

Went squidding in my uncles boat on the weekend and made a quick clip hope you enjoy!

I work as a chef so I tend to save the left over juices from packets of prawns, mussels oysters etc.
Can mix garlic, water, curry powder, fish sauce, fish oil, aniseed essence just to name a few
If theres an asian store nearby you should be able to go in and pick up all sorts of whacky seafood items dirt cheap.
When I was at tafe for my apprenticeship I stopped into the vietnamese shop next door to find dried cuttlefish, dried oysters and believe it or not dried sea cucumber.
Get some of those and rehydrate them in water with some other cheap items like curry powder and garlic freeze it down in small bags and defrost it as you need to avoid it going off, take a small bag out a day tip it in a jar put any lures you're using into it and let them soak then go wild

Another tip.
If you ever have live bloodworms, mix your SP worms in them and coat them in the slime.
Keep fresh in resealable sandwich bags.
Works better than SFactor...

well its not as nice as southie's, but a favourite of mine also.
taken with the phone, whilst out hunting.

Hey mate, you can use gulp worms as bait. I've used them on a paternoster rig like bait before. Even used this way you can still keep them moving.