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  1. #1
    Barra Fingerling
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    Brisbane
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    40
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    Default Flicking Hardbodies Around

    Flicken’ Hardbodies and Poppers.
    By BrissyBreamer

    Welcome to my “Guide” for beginners or professionals about flicking Hardbodies (HB’s) around your local River or Estuary. This is aimed at bread and butter species including the humble Flathead and Bream

    The species mainly targeted in Australian Estuaries

    Bream (Both Black and Yellowfin, depending on STATE)



    Flathead



    Whiting



    The area you should be throwing your HB’s into

    You should be looking for structure similar if not the same as seen in my *Soft Plastics For Beginners* Guide. This may include Pylons, Oyster dumps, Oyster racks, Moored boats, Rocks and Weedbeds. Some of the structures I just mentioned can be hard to come by but remember IF YOU ARE NOT GETTING SNAGGED YOU AREN’T WHERE THE FISH ARE. One of the most popular places to flick HB’s for big Bream are Oyster racks. This doesn’t mean that you won’t get 40Cm Bream in Weedbeds. Weedbeds provide great shelter for Batifish which Bream and Flathead love to ambush on. So do Sandflats which have a good supply of Yabbies, Yabbies are another key food source to Flathead and Bream



    Knots

    The knots are the same as in my *Soft Plastics For Beginners* Guide. One of the most important if not most important thing to remember whilst fishing is your knots. When using lures I like to use an Albright Knot when connecting my Braid (Mainline) to my Fluorocarbon leader. A simple but very good knot, to do this knot visit this website http://www.animatedknots.com/albright/index.php. Then to connect my leader to jighead I use a Perfection Loop Knot, another great knot but quite easy to complete. To learn how to do this knot please watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlbv_8s7dPg

    Some of my favourite HB’s

    Choosing Hardbodies to use can be difficult so don’t be shy to use ones that are known to be great Bream and Flathead lures

    Surface lures

    Ecogear PX45F – The Ecogear PX45F is a great surface lure with a Walk-The-Dog action. It is 45MM’s which is a great size for spooky Bream and Flathead on the Sandflats and weedbeds. One of my most successful colour is “389” which looks identical to a small Prawn



    Lucky Craft Sammy 65 – Another great Walk-The-Dog action surface lure, deadly on big Whiting and Bream, in my opinion it has one of the best WTD action out of all the Australian HB range. It has a total length of 65MM’s which is a great size for a skipping Prawn. My most successful colour has been “B”



    Bushy Stiffy 50MM Popper – One of many great poppers out there, it has a good size splash which gets the fish really fired up and in a feeding mood. I must admit these lures are one of my GO-TO surface lures when the fish aren’t biting anything else I am throwing at them. My favourite colour has to be the “Pearl White” or “Prowler”. You may notice I like to use Clear lures



    River2Sea Baby Popper – A tiny little popper at only 35MM’s and 45MM’s with a nice sized splash from it’s mouth. At it’s small size it can catch anything from 20CM’s right up to 40CM’s plus. I always carry a few River2Sea poppers in my tray when wading the flats as it always produces. My favourite and most successful colour is none other then “G-22”



    Strike Pro Rack Popper – An awesome lure to throw around at a great price. It’s caught plenty of big Bream, Flathead and Whiting ever since it has come out. Without doubt there are some great colours to be chosen from but I always seem to have great luck using “Red Eye” as of its clear body.



    Bibbed lures

    Ecogear SX40 – With over 20 colours to be chosen who could not be tempted to use a SX40 whilst chasing Bream, Whiting and Flathead. They dive to approximately 2Metre’s and at 40MM’s no fish is going to say “No” to it if it’s in their face. The SX40 has been a very popular HB in Australia, mainly every Bream fisho has one in their Hardbody collection. The most popular colour is “307” with plenty of Bream falling to it, another great colour is “310”



    ZipBaits Khamsin DR – The Khamsin DR has a total length of 50MM’s and dives to around 1Metre. One of my GO-TO Sandflat and Weedbed lures. My most successful colour is “708”



    River2Sea Baby Cranks D 40F – The R2S Baby Cranks are brilliant lures for their prices. Many great colours to choose from as well. They are 40MM’s in length and have a relatively large bib which aids getting it down to the strike zone quickly. My favourite and most successful colour is without doubt “HC17”



    Atomic Hardz Crank 38 Deep – Another brilliant little crank to flick over Sandflats or into heavy structure such as Pylons and Oyster racks. Dives to approximately 1Metre and has a wide wobbling action impersonating an injured Baitfish, deadly on a Pause-Start retrieve. My most successful colours are “008” and “009”



    NOTE : All pictures in LURE SECTION taken off WWW.MOTACKLE.COM

    Retrieves

    There’s many retrieves used when using HB’s, but the most popular and successful ones are named below. Mainly if you have not got the right technique you will not get many fish

    Pause-Start : The Pause-Start retrieve is extremely simple but deadly on Bream, Whiting and Flathead using bibbed lures. To do the Pause-Start retrieve all you have to do is, cast your lure to the destined spot and slowly retrieve, every now and then pause for a few seconds and then start to slowly retrieve once again. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO MAKE A VIDEO OF ME DOING THIS ACTION PLEASE SAY, I WILL DO IF YOU WISH ME TOO.



    Walk-The-Dog *WTD* : The WTD action is a great action and quite easy to do but can get tiring. To do the Walk-The-Dog action correctly and successfully you need to cast your lure out to the desired spot and bring the rod down to water level, then return the rod back to it’s first position, once done, wind in a tiny bit but make sure you still have some slack in your line then quickly flick your rod tip down to water level and repeat. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO MAKE A VIDEO OF ME DOING THIS ACTION PLEASE SAY, I WILL DO IF YOU WISH ME TOO.





    Bloop : The Bloop action is used for poppers, it’s killer on the flats and Weedbeds. To do this action successfully flick your popper out to the appropriate spot and start retrieving, after a few metre’s of retrieving do a series of bloops by flicking your rod tip down to waterlevel and carry on retrieving, then pause and do a bloop and repeat the above. Also put some pauses in there as you will usually get hit on the pause. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO MAKE A VIDEO OF ME DOING THIS ACTION PLEASE SAY, I WILL DO IF YOU WISH ME TOO.





    Line

    Same as *Soft Plastics For Beginners*. When flicking HB’s around you should be opting to use Braid. Main reasons being that it’s tough and has a much higher sensitivity than Monofilament. This doesn’t mean you have to use Braid but all my lure work is done with Braid. My favourite brand of Braid is Stren Microfuse. It has a great casting distance compared to many other brands. Another favourite Braid of mine has to be the almighty Fireline. It’s been around for ages and has been a favourite to many anglers. For beginners I would use 6lb in either Braids mentioned before. 6lb isn’t too heavy and isn’t too light so that you can handle anything from 30Cm Bream to 60Cm Cod.




    Leader

    Mainly same as *Soft Plastics For Beginners*. The leader material used when using HB’s is another vital component whilst using soft plastics. Use fluorocarbon as it is invisible underwater, test it yourself. Leader can cost anything from $15 right up to $80 plus. To start off choose to use 8lb, so that you don’t get too many bite offs. There are plenty of brands to choose from including Berkley Vanish, Sunline FC Rock and Yamatoya just to name a few. When using surface lures I mainly use light, clear Monofilament so that the lure floats a little better. Around the 4lb mark for Bream and Whiting but somewhere around12lb for Flathead







    Rods

    Same as *Soft Plastics For Beginners*. Choosing a rod is a personal thing but here are a few I have used and find great rods at a brilliant price.

    Berkley Dropshot IM6 Graphite Blank Spin 2-4Kg and 6’6” in length : Brilliant rod for casting light plastics a fair way with it’s whippy tip and a nice length for a beginner.

    Pflueger Trion HM-45 High Modulus Graphite Blanks Spin 2-4Kg and a great 7” length : Superb rod for flicking lures into heavy structure. Has plenty of grunt but a whippy tip so that you can work your plastics a lot better.

    Shimano Starlo Stix Spin 7’2” : Perfect for a beginner lure flicker with a great length to flick those light lures a mile but has plenty of grunt in the lower section of the rod. Fuji guides are an extra bonus for extra life.





    Reels

    Same as *Soft Plastics For Beginners*. Once again, your chose on reels is entirely up to you. I’ll try and point you into a few directions though.

    Shimano Sienna 2500 : Awesome reel for it’s price with the following features, Graphite Frame, Graphite Sideplate, Graphite Rotor, Diecast Aluminum Spool, Varispeed, Paddle Handle Grip, Paddle Handle Grip, Dyna-Balance and Power Roller 2. Basically one of the best reels out there for under $100.00.



    Shimano Slade 2500 : Another great little reel by Shimano which doesn’t cost a lot. These nice reels have the great features, Graphite Frame, Graphite Sideplate, Graphite Rotor, Diecast Aluminum Spool, Varispeed, Ported Handle Shank, Dyna-Balance, Power Roller 2 and Super Stopper 2.



    Daiwa CY 2000 : A great reel designed and manufactured by Daiwa. It’s got great features including, Real four concept, Super metal body and sideplate, Braid friendly Airbail, Silent Cross Wrap oscillation, Infinite Anti-Reverse, Digigear 2 Drive System, Machined folding aluminium handle, Four stainless steel ball bearing including 2 CRBB bearings, Twistbuster 2, ABS aluminium spool with titanium nitride ring, Micro precision click adjustable drag. One of my favourite reels to use in its price range.


    Thank-You for reading, go out and get those big fish on Hardbodies! Feel free to add pictures of fish that this guide helped you catch.

    Thanks BrissyBreamer

  2. #2
    Tarpon
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    brisbane
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    183
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    Default

    again mate another top post about HB's it will help beginners by the looks of it. Top work.

    matt

  3. #3
    Staff
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Cairns, Far North QLD
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    1,589
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    Default

    Awesome Stuff Thomas...Thanks heaps for taking the time out & putting together that awesome report, I have no doubt you will help out allot of the Members!!...All they have to do now, is go out & put it into practice! LOOK OUT FISH!!
    No excuse - Just get out there and live it !!

  4. #4
    Barra Fingerling
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Australia
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    25
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    Default

    Thanks for the great info mate, I plan on giving HB more of a work fairly soon.

  5. #5
    Staff
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    SOR Perth WA, near water.......
    Posts
    2,580
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    Default

    Nice work BrissyBreamer
    Bream chasing addict of tackle and all things fishy...


  6. #6
    Barra Fingerling
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    40
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    Default

    This is the outcome of the Blooping action with the poppers



    Thanks BrissyBreamer

  7. #7
    Legendary Angler
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    in february?...Lonnavale.
    Posts
    2,730
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    Default

    Nice computer work there BB.

    Wish I could do stuff like that.

    Jeff.

  8. #8
    Barra Fingerling
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    40
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ffejsmada View Post
    Nice computer work there BB.

    Wish I could do stuff like that.

    Jeff.
    It is quite simple when you get the basics such as drawing a fish, some weed and a popper. If you want I could try and teach you some work? Also visit the Adobe website and get the free version of Flash if you want to have a go, they have a manuel and everything so I am sure you would be able to understand it.

    Thanks BrissyBreamer

  9. #9
    Tarpon
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    brisbane
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    183
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    Default

    thanks alot man really interesting
    Last edited by mattuna; 04-06-2009 at 04:32 PM.

  10. #10
    Trout
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    brisbane
    Posts
    94
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    Default

    Lol



    Thanks matt

 

 
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