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| Fishing with Surebite lures for Toman and Peacock Bass |
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by SHAN CHAI LOON
Feb 10, 2007, Saturday @ 08:21:21 PM
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Text: Darren Shan
Photo: C.R. Ooi, Darren Shan, JP LIEW
Surebite Super Crank 65 lure is most suitable for sight casting. Many Toman just could not resist its action.
Surebite DNA Shallow Shad is a shallow runner, when use in the right manner, it will be a deadliest weapon for trolling in the impoundment.
To fish for Haruan with Pencil will not be just a dream any more.
This XL specimen was hooked by 8cm white Surebite Ace Minnow when fish with slow twitching action.
This is an article set to discuss fishing with Surebite lures for Toman and Peacock Bass, the hottest species of dams and mining pools. First, we shall look at the Surebite lures that are suitable for these species and the environment.
The Choice of Toman Lures
Lure fishing for Toman is an exciting game, and the lures that I preferred are:
- CRANKBAIT - Deep divers such as Surebite Super Crank 65?and Surebite Crank N’80, which are suitable for sight casting and trolling in dams and mining pools.
- MINNOW - Deep divers such as Surebite Chaos?Surebite DNA Dancing Shad?and Surebite Blazer minnow shaped lures, which are suitable for sight casting and trolling in dams and mining pools.
- PENCIL – Bibless lures such as Surebite Tommy 100 pencil lures which is suitable for fishing the water around river mouth or coves of dams and mining pools.
- PROPELLER – Bibless lures such as Surebite Chopper 80 and Dual Prop 85 which are suitable for fishing in all areas of dams and mining pools, especially in calmer waters near the banks.
- POPPER – Bibless lures such as Surebite Pop Cruiser? Pop Tiger?and Super Pop, which are suitable for fishing near the river mouth or coves of dams and mining pools.
- MINNOW or CRANKBAIT - Shallow runners such as Surebite Ace Minnow?Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite DNA Shallow Vibra?and Surebite Gobimaru, which are suitable for trolling in dams.
- SPINNERBAIT – Spinnerbait such as SureCatch Flash Spinner which is suitable to slow spin for bottom dwellers.
- SOFT BAIT – Plastic baits such as Surebite Froggy and Super Stick, which are suitable for fishing the mining pools that choked with water lilies and snags. (For more information, please referred to last issue of SureCatch News)
Sight Casting
Sight casting is a favourite technique among anglers fishing for Toman. The trick is to cast deep diving lures to the location where Toman rises to the surface for air. The angler has to be alert, and the cast need to be true and accurate in order to bring the lure to the right spot at the right moment. The lures that I normally used for this type of fishing are deep divers, and the retrieve has to be fast in order to entice the fish to bite. As such, Surebite crankbaits or minnows such as Super Crank 65?Surebite Crank N’80?Surebite Chaos?Surebite DNA Dancing Shad?and Surebite Blazer are most suitable lures.
Attacking a lure that swim by is purely an instinct of the Toman, hence colour is not an important element. Sight casting is a waiting game whereby the angler has to wait for the fish to surface for air, and patient is the key of this game. At times, when the fish are not cooperating, it will be long and uncomfortable wait of 10 minutes or more before a single rise will be spotted. For larger specimens, they are more sensitive to their surrounding. Hence, the angler has to be patient and keeping very quiet so as not to frighten them off. Normally, those Toman that surfaced for air and dive slowly will be more willing to take baits.
Trolling
The lures used for trolling can be divided into 2 types, i.e. shallow runners and deep divers. For trolling works in dams, normally, I used shallow runners such as Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite DNA Shallow Vibra?Surebite Gobimaru?and Surebite Ace Minnow, to avoid snags that were abundance in theses waters. The results of trolling shallow runners near to the banks, if not better than deep divers, at least, they produced similar results. Unless fishing at some deep locations or trolling the deep water structures, I still prefer shallow runners for my trolling works. On the other hand, due to water near to the shores are choking with water plants, trolling in mining pools have to be in deeper waters, and deep divers will be the answer to fishes staying at the bottom of the pools.
There is a way to troll near the banks of impoundments. Normally, when I used Surebite DNA Shallow Shad for such occasion, the lure was set approximately 8 to 10 feet away behind the boat. One may wonder whether I am telling the truth, but in actual fact, every fish I caught with Surebite DNA Shallow Shad were from this distance.
This may sound strange, but in reality the answer is rather simple. The fish in the impoundments are so used to boat traffics that they are not afraid of the sound of them. When boats go near to the bank, they also flush out bait fishes that are hiding in the underwater structures, hence attracting the predators.
Quite different from sight casting, colours of the lures is an important element in trolling to ensure hook up. For example in Bersia, we normally used dark, bright, or even luminous colour lures for trolling, but the fish would prefer lures with darker colour. As such, the all the black colour Surebite DNA are very suitable for trolling works in Bersia Dam.
Top Water
There are several types of lures that I used for casting to Toman cruising on the surface. Pencils, poppers, propellers, and soft plastic lures are lures that were commonly used. Poppers and propellers are lures that are causing lots of commotion and bubbles. This is to simulate frenzy feeding on the surface to attract the attention of Toman.
Pencil is a type of lure that built with entirely different action. The metal ball in the body of this lure creating a knocking sound, and its twisting body action are the main attraction to Toman.
Surebite Froggy and Super Stick are soft plastic lures with anti-snag capability. Their ability to go within the underwater snag and their twisting action are the attractants to Toman hiding in these structures.
The primary requirement of using Pencil lure such as Surebite Tommy 100 is the cooperation among fellow anglers on the same boat. Keeping the boat stable and quiet is a must when casting with Pencil. The technique of fishing with Pencil is to make it swim zigzag on the surface or known as walk the dog. However, if the surface of water is choppy, such technique will not be effective.
In my opinion, the choice of rod is more important than the lines when fishing with pencil lures. If the rod tip is too stiff, it will be difficult to make the lure zigzag in its path. For those professional anglers who fished with pencil lures would prefer mono filament for its elasticity to liven the lure’s action. However, in view of the harsh environment of our water, mono filament could not meet the requirements of small diameter and high breaking strength. To fish for Sebarau and Toman in our water, braided lines with small diameter and high breaking stress will survive the harsh fishing condition, and to compensate for the lost springiness of mono lines, I go for rods with soft tip. Rods that meet such requirements are Surebite Professional, Surebite Elite, Surebite Gold, and Surebite Tournament XP.
It was common sight with Toman kept hitting the lures times and again without a hook up. When encountering such situation, the angler just has to speed up the retrieve to simulate the action of frighten bait fishes. This will enhance the chance of second and third strikes from the frustrated fish.
Surebite Tommy 100 Pencil is a surface lure, and its action mainly comes from the action of rod and line. As such, when using small Pencils of less than 12 cm, I will prefer 3X treble hook than those 5X or 6X, which are too heavy for such small lures. Normally, I will use shock leaders such as SureCatch SOFT MAX?SureCatch FLUORO MAX?or SureCatch Supreme, when fishing with Pencil to avoid straightening of my trebles. However, when the treble could not penetrate the bony structure of the fish mouth or when the fish went into a structure, the chance of trebles being straighten still high.
Apart from Pencil, Poppers such Surebite Pop Cruiser? Pop Tiger?and Super Pop are surface lures that created surface commotions to attract predator such as Toman. Under certain circumstances when Toman are attracted by lots of surface commotion, popper will be more effective than Pencil. When fishing in strong wind and choppy conditions, Propeller Lure such as Surebite Chopper 80? Dual Prop 85 will not be affected by such weather condition, but still, these lures will perform better on calm water surface. These 2 types of lures are easier to operate, hence, they are most suitable for the beginners.
Spinner Baits
The spinner baits, Flash Spinner, which was marketed by SureCatch, were hit to the local fishing scene. This type of spinner bait comes with several sizes to cater for whole range of fishing conditions. They are suitable for fishing Haruan, Toman, and Sebarau of all sizes. Flash Spinner comes with strengthened and sharpened hooks which are features lacking in other similar lures. Apart from these, the tightly tied rubberized ‘hair’ will prevent stripping off by the sharp tooth predator. Flash Spinner can be fished by allowing it to free fall to the bottom, and follow with slow retrieve to attract Toman or Haruan that hide in deep structures. Slow trolling deep coloured Flash Spinner will be effective along the bank of impoundment. However, boat speed has to be slow to prevent the lures from leaping above the surface.
Lures for Peacock Bass
After Toman, I will like to touch on Peacock Bass, the alien specie that spread fast in our environment. Fishing for Peacock Bass, I will prefer the following lures.
- MINNOW deep diver such as Surebite DNA Longbill Shad?Surebite DNA Dancing Shad?and Surebite Blazer that is most suitable to fish with jerking action.
- PENCIL type such as Surebite Tommy 100 and Tommy 70 that are suitable for mining pools or calm water of impoundments.
- PROPELLER type such as Surebite Chopper 80 and the new Surebite Dual Prop 85, are suitable for mining pools or calmer water near to shore of impoundments.
- POPPER type such as Surebite Pop Cruiser? Pop Tiger?and Super Pop which are suitable for inlet to any mining pools or calmer water of impoundments.
- MINNOW shallow runner such as Surebite Ace Minnow, Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite Pince Minnow, and Surebite Gobimaru which are most suitable to fish with jerking action.
- SINKING type such as Surebite Super Prawn II 5cm which is suitable for slow twitching retrieve.
Jerking Action
Although Peacock Bass thrives and are plentiful in the mining pools of Tualang, it’s no simple task to locate them. To locate the where about of these alien specie, lure fishing is considered as the most effective method. Among all the techniques, it is ‘jerking’ that I considered being the most effective.
‘Jerking’ is to impart movement to the lure by jerking and pulling with the tackle. Such action will catch the Peacock Bass by surprise and strike by plain instinct. When jerking the lure, it resembles jigging for deep sea species, but such action is necessary to hook the Peacock Bass. It will lessen the chance of the fish spitting the hook. Normally, jerking will impart better action for lures such as MINNOW or SHAD when fishing for Peacock Bass. However, such action did not go well with CRANKBAIT, hence, I prefer lures such as Surebite Ace Minnow, Surebite DNA Longbill Shad, Surebite Blazer, Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite Gobimaru, Surebite Pince Minnow and Surebite Explosion, and most the suitable sizes are 5?10cm.
Surface Lures
This method of fishing is very similar to fish Toman, but more suitable for fishing ground with different under water structures. Generally, mining pools have more open spaces for surface lures. The fishing spots that we pick are areas with grassy bottom but less than 7 feet in depth. Structures such as grass banks, edges of elephant grass, small islands, submerged tree trunks, deep submerged recesses, and outlets of streams are areas where bait fishes congregate. These are also the ‘restaurants’ of Peacock bass and they will be waiting for preys to pass by in these under water structures.
Sinking Prawn Lures
The newly marketed prawn shaped lure, Surebite Super Prawn II, is another lure that is effective against Peacock Bass. The best size is 5cm, and it only need light jerk and pull to impart the necessary movement. Peacock Bass just could not have enough of them.
After going through the use of Surebite lures, what you require is to outfit yourself with a set of Surebite rod, SureCatch reel, and other accessories which are comparatively good and cheap. With the better understanding of Surebite lures, why don’t you go to the nearest tackle shop to get yourself some Surebite lures. Perhaps you may get lucky…..who knows. |
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