Lure selection New Cal

[steve sims]

I am going to New Cal in 2 months for a 5 day liveaboard and being reasonably  green to GT fishing it would be great to get some lure recommendations
i.e how many? what types? what sizes? ratio of stick baits to poppers? and also if there are any absolute must haves.
I have had  conversations with Duncan and more so Aaron from Fishhead but would appreciate some more opinions.
Thanks in advance, Steve.

[Brandon Khoo]

I'd suggest you take a mix of poppers and stickbaits and have them ranging in size from around 130 to 200g. The big mouthed poppers like the Hammerhead G and I Cup are heavily recommended by LPB as are big Orion Bigfoots. The big poppers are very good in the deep areas but you simply can't use them all day otherwise you'll die!

I'd suggest you look at some Fullscale 200 (they're 200mm, not 200g), FCL Ebipop 200s and 140s, Some Heru Cuberas poppers and Dogtooth stickbaits, some Orions Bigfoots if you can get them etc. Theer are a heap of poppers that will work well there. Fisherman Bigmouths, S-Pops are all good. Crftabaits are excellent if you can get them. A couple of Craftbait Realbait would be good.

[Malcolm Crane]

Hi Steve,

I assume you are lucky enough to be going on a live-aboard charter with the boys from LPB? If that's the case you'll have an excellent time.
 
David & Rudy are definitely of the school that believe that big poppers, big splash, big presence attract big fish. They have the results on the board to back that up. I am sure they would be recommending large faced chuggers from the Hammerhead, Craftbait and Fisherman stables. Likewise large sinking stickbaits that have a lot of presence in the water along the lines of Orion Bigfoots in the largest sizes.

Whilst I agree with them that these lures will bring results, you really need to bear in mind that it is absolutely exhausting to effectively work lures of this size for extended periods of time, quite apart from the fact that you need rods capable of handling these lures.

What I found to be the most sensible way was to spell yourself by alternating between the big guns when you were in an area that had that big fish smell about it, then swopping to more manageable sized poppers & stickbaits in the 150gm range. Of course its always going to be Murphys Law and you'll hook up to a monster when you are using the lighter weight outfit, but believe me there is no sense in exhausting youself by working I-cup Hammerheads all day only to have the big mama hit you at 5:00 in the afternoon. The lactic acid will kick in and the arms will lock up and you'll be in every kind of trouble!

Anyway - numbers? You never really need as many as you think you should have. For a 5 day live-aboard you could no doubt get away with no more than 10 poppers, maybe a few less stickbaits and 4 or 5 pencils. You don't absolutely have to outlay huge dollars on the Hammerheads/Craftbait/Fisherman even though they are proven to work and nice to have - the Heru/Nomad/Blackjack range of Cuberra poppers in 125gm and 150gm are excellent and easy to work, and the same brands 150gm stickbaits are also proven lures at an acceptable price. Also the FCL Ebipop's in 140 and maybe the 200's. The FullScale range of Kongs have also produced very well in New Cal.
If there was an absolute must have for me in New Cal though it would have to be the Fisherman Bigmouth 220HP Tail, maybe the 200 of the same. They work in the environment that David & Rudy will put you in. Also the Orion BigFoot up around the 200 area. Can be hard to find though. Also you don't want to work these all day!

Whatever you take you'll have a lot of fun and hopefully come back with arms longer than when you went.

[steve sims]

Thanks guys, yes I am going with LPB I've already got at least 10 or so Cuberas from 125 to 150 grms and  a couple of Uluas,I received a Full Scale Kong 200 and a Ebipop popper that is almost half the length of my ARM!!!  from Aaron at Fishhead yesterday.
I recently purchased a Zenaq Fokeeto Trevally 80/10 and I'm hoping that it will be sufficient for the trip [I will also take a GT Special]
I can't imagine that the trip will be anything other than the best fishing I've seen to date and can't wait to get there!! [ I know my other half wishes I've already been and gone because she can't believe that you would throw a $90.00 lure to catch a fish you can't eat, maybe one day she will get it!!  She's had a reasonable sense of humour so far!!]

[Kasey Leong]

I would bring:
Hammerhead I-cup
Hammerhead G-Cup
Fisherman 220g hp tail
Orion Bigfoot 190g or 225g
to target the big fish when they rise.
Maybe FCL Ebipop 200, but I was not very happy with this lure. It just tumbled all over the place, except in rather calm conditions. I haven't yet had the pleasure of using a Fullscale Kong 200 but I'd imagine if Brandon and Malcolm recommend it, it merits a place too. The Hammerheads take a fair bit of practice to get used to. To be fair, all of them are really heavy and will take a while to get used to - I hurt alot on my first trip 

The logic of all these big chuggers are that in NC, you will be popping some really deep water. Sometimes, the boat may be sitting in 70 m of water and you are casting to 20-30m of water. And the strike might occur right at the side of the boat! In these circumstances, you need something that will really draw the fish up to get the hits.

On the lighter side of things, I would also like to recomend the Fisherman LongPen 100. You can call this your secret weapon - chuck one in when you see a school of fusiliers or baitfish and find out! 

[Scott Maybury]

[ I know my other half wishes I've already been and gone because she can't believe that you would throw a $90.00 lure to catch a fish you can't eat, maybe one day she will get it!!  She's had a reasonable sense of humour so far!!]

Steve....you aren't secretly married to my wife are you?? Sounds like they are cut from exactly the same mould mate

[Scott Maybury]

Hey Steve I am going with LPB in 4 weeks also by the way and the 3 lures Brandon notes they suggest strongly were said by David to me to be 'must haves' ie Hammerhead G and I cup and Bigfoot 200-220gms

He also gave the thumbs up to some of my lures (Hammerhead e-cup, cubera 150's, Fisherman S-pop and big mouth) but referred to them as 'little lures' 

[steve sims]

Scott,
We could be sharing the same wife, mine seems to spend a lot of time at a place she calls "WORK"
On a more serious note, it seems to be a bit of a waste to spend all this money on a trip and not have the right gear for the job.
You guys seem to be pretty good at choosing lures that are pretty hard to source!! i.e Bigfoots. also is there any colour preferences??
Also, what would be a fair amount of spare line to take??

[Brandon Khoo]

The biggest Fisherman Bigmouth HP Tail is actually bigger and heavier than an I Cup. David hasn't exactly set you an easy mission - the Hammerheads I and G Cups are hard work but Bigfoot 220s are a very specialised item indeed.

I will also reiterate what I have already written and that is if you go only with huge poppers, you'll die!!

[Graham Stevenson]

I'm off there with LPB next week. Am taking some Nomad stickbaits and Cuberas , and am going to LPB's retail store on arrival to stock up on some large blooping poppers.Is probably an expensive way of doing it but difficult to source good poppers in NZ . Trip is 50/50 popping and Jigging and we head way south (weather permitting ) to walpole island stopping off half way at the Isle De Pins to refeul. Eight days fishing and am expecting some beatings up.
As an aside asked LPB if it was ok to take some light spinning gear to play in the lagoon at dawn/dusk - they said fine - PE 3 or 4 - I was thinking 15-12 lb braid- will take it anyway and see what happens.

[Kasey Leong]

Hi Graham,
I would recommend a minimum of about 20lb. Bring a handful of bay rubbers/madai jigs too. They are highly effective at night at the back of the boat!

LPB stock a very big chugger that is something of a copy to an I-cup made by Kronik, or something like that if I'm not correct. I think it weighs close to 220g but is pretty good and quite affordable compared to the HH.

[steve sims]

Kasey,
What species could we expect to catch from the boat at night?, and  would you recommend any particular colour for the Fisherman long pens?

[Stephen Polzin]

As an aside asked LPB if it was ok to take some light spinning gear to play in the lagoon at dawn/dusk - they said fine - PE 3 or 4 - I was thinking 15-12 lb braid- will take it anyway and see what happens.

Hi Graham, if the Lagoons are anything like the Barrier Reef lagoons up here in Cairns, I think your 15lb braid is only going to cause you frustration.  I started out throwing bibbed lures around up here on 20lb braid.  Anything over about a pound will bury you very quickly.  It is fun the first couple of times but then it get's old very quickly.  There are so many fish like various sweetlips, stripeys, bass, trout etc on the reef that dart straight into a bommie as soon as they're hooked.  I reckon they're spot on, PE3 is about the minimum for that sort of stuff.  Still very sporting.

I'm very jealous of your trip.

cheers,

steve

[Kasey Leong]

From the boat at night you can pick up anything from trout, emperors, cod, trevally and even GTs.

I would save my energy for the I-cups though! 

[Graham Stevenson]

Thanks for the advice - probably confirmed my thinking that 15lb might be too light - will respool with 20lb . don't like taking a knife to a gunfight but will see what happens!. Off tomorrow.