out of interest..

[Chuen Fan]

just out of interest, what is the first popper you guys tie on for any given destination? also how long will you leave it on (when nothing shows interest) before changing to the next size up/down popper/stickbait?  would you keep perservering with the popper or change it?

everyones got their favourite lure at the end of the day (and confidence in the lure plays a big part in my opinion), what i'm really trying to say is how long would you stick with one particular type of lure before you change it?

[Robert Palcak]

That's easy... a SeaFrog 

[Jon Li]

For GT fishing ;

Depends on the condition of the sea / current at the time . Wud use sinking stickbait or pencil popper when the sea is choppy or in strong current but happy to use surface stickbait n chugger when the sea is calm or slow moving current .

For other species , it calls for different lures not to mention sizes .

Jon .

[Chuen Fan]

That's easy... a SeaFrog 

hmm.. might have to keep 3 more of them just in case..! 

[Chuen Fan]

pak jon, thanks for the answer, but what i'm really trying to ask is how long would you keep using the lure for(when no interest in shown by fish) before u change and would u downsize the lure or upsize when you do decide to change for the given weather/sea conditions.

[Robert Palcak]

Sunny

I think there are so many variables that come into play... as Jon has already been mentioned.

I'd probably do some scouting around with bigger poppers first up, but working heavier gear for long periods is taxing, so downsizing when your body is starting to tire, might call for a lure change.
Also, if you see fish checking your lure out, but not really hitting it with any conviction, I'd definately be looking at a change.
If you're not seeing anything at all... maybe you're fishing dead water, or the fish are just off the bite... but I guess that would be another time I'd look at a change.

Cheers Rob

[Andy Rowe]

pak jon, thanks for the answer, but what i'm really trying to ask is how long would you keep using the lure for(when no interest in shown by fish) before u change and would u downsize the lure or upsize when you do decide to change for the given weather/sea conditions.

2 likely locations maybe 15 casts, but if your buddies are getting hit and your not then you better do something faster!!

A difficult to answer but interesting question, which would be made easier to answer if the fish are there and in feeding mode. If you think the fish are there but not 'turned on' you either have to wait until feeding time or be creative and try different lures/colours/retrieve styles and rotate them often until something happens. I think some locations the fish wise-up do to fishing pressure.

[Nathan Cefai]

Hammerhead I Cup surely,straight into the big popps!!!

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Untested waters would probably see a Surface Bull or similar large pencil popper come into play. They throw enough water to get attention without being overly heavy to pull in. Find the fish & get the hit. Popper selection does not matter that much especially in shallower water say 15 to 40 feet. Seen enough big fish (to 52kg) come up on pencils to discount the theory that big cups are the most effective way to go.

[Jim Squibb]

 a home made one 

[Brock Arifovic]

Sunny,

Very good question & Jon is on the right track, if you happen to be fishing with a few people this can be made easier, have all of you fish with different lures, if the fish come up on all various lures but are not feeding, well your all in the "shit" for a while, which means you have to wait until they are feeding but if they happen to eat 1 type of lure over the other well your question is then answered.

We had similar situations ( Jay please verify this) at a recent Bugatti trip, smaller poppers/stickbaits (GT 2's & Cubera 125's, dogtooth 80) to be the most effective. Other poppers & stickbaits did work, so please do not get me wrong, but these smaller lures were just dynamite over the larger lures.

If you happen to be working an area but you do not see any fish, well i guess you change lures give it some time & if nothing happens well you just move on & try that area again later in the day.

[Jay Burgess]

Sunny,

Very good question & Jon is on the right track, if you happen to be fishing with a few people this can be made easier, have all of you fish with different lures, if the fish come up on all various lures but are not feeding, well your all in the "shit" for a while, which means you have to wait until they are feeding but if they happen to eat 1 type of lure over the other well your question is then answered.

We had similar situations ( Jay please verify this) at a recent Bugatti trip, smaller poppers/stickbaits (GT 2's & Cubera 125's, dogtooth 80) to be the most effective. Other poppers & stickbaits did work, so please do not get me wrong, but these smaller lures were just dynamite over the larger lures.

If you happen to be working an area but you do not see any fish, well i guess you change lures give it some time & if nothing happens well you just move on & try that area again later in the day.

Yeah we definately had more luck with smaller poppers/stickbaits at Bugatti but I think this can be quite typical of this location at times. I think an obvious decision is to have each person try something different and then switch to whatever the GTs take a preference too.

When we were at Bugatti each guide seemed to fish differently, some would let you have about 2 casts in an area and if no one hooked up or we didn't see fish we moved on straight away whereas others would fish an area for much longer before moving on if they were confident of getting fish. Being persistant definately paid off in some circumstances but generally my preference is to keep moving and cover heaps of ground to find the fish.

[Brandon Khoo]

I would point out that when we were at Bugatti in April, we didn't get as many fish as the guys did in July but we  got a better quality crop of fish and quite a few of these were caught on bigger poppers like GT3s. George hooked a big fish on a huge Ebipop 200 but the fish claimed the ebipop as a trophy   

[Jay Burgess]

I would point out that when we were at Bugatti in April, we didn't get as many fish as the guys did in July but we  got a better quality crop of fish and quite a few of these were caught on bigger poppers like GT3s. George hooked a big fish on a huge Ebipop 200 but the fish claimed the ebipop as a trophy   

Yes quite interesting Brandon, some of the guys definately gave the bigger poppers a go with Duncan trying a 205 Masterd Bomb for a while and Mat using a G cup for most of a day but it's dificult to persist with the bigger chuggers when other guys are getting quite respectable fish on the smaller poppers!