Fishing World – September 2019

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fishingworld.com.au | September 2019 | 63

How you work a lure usually comes down to
the lure design. They are all designed for a
purpose so if you want to vary the speed or rod
tip action you usually have to change lures.
There is no place where this is more critical
than estuary fishing for bream, whiting, bass
and f lathead. I can’t say that I’ve ever caught a
bream on a fast retrieve. They’re an aggressive
predator at times but a slow twitch or “do
nothing” retrieve seems to be their undoing on
most occasions. A lightly weighted soft plastic
or suspending minnow worked slowly with
soft rod tip twitches is a great choice. Leave it
sit and slowly sink or even a short sharp twitch
now and then. Same with f lathead. They sit in
ambush on the bottom so the lure needs to be
down near the bottom and worked slowly
where they can see it. Rule number 2 – get
that lure in the zone and work it slow for
some species.
Lure action also plays a part here. All lures
are designed to be retrieved within a certain
speed range. Too slow will see a loss of action
or it sinking. Too fast will usually see it spin
or break out. Diving minnows are a classic
case. They can be worked slowly and with rod
tip action but crank them back at speed and
they’ll usually spin or break the surface. My

favourite minnows are suspending types that I

work with a slow roll or do nothing retrieve.

This keeps them in the zone and has them

acting like a wounded or distressed baitfish.

Having that lure imitate the available bait

source is vital. It needs to look and act like

something your target species would be likely

to see and eat. Rule number

3 – always work a lure as it’s

designed to be fished and

make it look real.

Now having said I’m a

big fan of the slow roll, rod

tip twitch and do nothing

retrieve, I must admit that

it does often involve a little

slack line between the rod

tip and lure. In some cases,

this can lead to missed hook ups and short

strikes. We’ve experienced this when chasing

snapper on plastics and getting hit on the

drop. These days I always keep tight to a

sinking lure

and feel for the slightest hint of a nibble.

You’ll normally get a better hook up ratio by

keeping a tight line to any lure and winding

it back at speed – even if it’s a slow speed.

Sometimes that faster speed may just get a

response from a fish that thinks its food is

about to escape. Rule number 4 – try and

keep in touch with the lure and feel for any

sign of an eat.

There are just too many variables when it

comes to lure selection and how you work it.

In the past, I’ve spent many hours honing a

technique only to have it all blown out

of the water when a fish is caught doing the

polar opposite. These days I take a lot of time

when it comes to lure selection and I work

hard to have any lure or f ly act like I believe

the target species would expect to see.

There are four rules above that I use but the

fifth rule is “don’t make any rules” because

there’s always the exception that will do

your head in. ●

“You’ll normally get a better hook up

ratio by keeping a tight line to any

lure and winding it back at speed.”