Makin the switch! SP's to HB's

[Rbadger]

Gday guys, thinkin of hangin up my sp boots and movin to hard bodies. I have always been put off of hb's because of the price but hey if ya manage to not lose em (even though i will) they essentially last forever unlike sp's.

So anyways what lures can people reccomend? through searching seems as though strike pro micro vibes come up alot, also crank crabs. Thinkn of layin down $100 budget to try cover most bases. I already have some stiffy poppers but havnt managed to land anythin on em yet.

Also how with my setup will need to change? Im running a 2500stradic with 6lb sufix and 6lb vanish leader which i usually run at about a full rods length (7ft).

[Sloth]

What type of areas are you fishing ? Structure, depth etc and what's your location?

I fish hards and softs on the same outfit so I don't think your gears a concern. Choice of lure will depend on what you're chasing and where though.

If you've only got a hundred bucks to play with I'd be looking at the atomic and strike pro ranges. A few cranks, shads , vibes and blades would cover most things.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Sloth

What type of areas are you fishing ? Structure, depth etc and what's your location?

I fish hards and softs on the same outfit so I don't think your gears a concern. Choice of lure will depend on what you're chasing and where though.

If you've only got a hundred bucks to play with I'd be looking at the atomic and strike pro ranges. A few cranks, shads , vibes and blades would cover most things.

^Great advice there.

Oh, and when you finish your spool of Vanish, try something else for a change: (FC Rock, Unitika III, Sunline Sniper FC, Famell, Nitlon FC etc.)

Cheers

[Rbadger]

Haha yeah have been meaning to update from vanish for a while now, have only just got back into fishing.

Main target areas will be flats and estuaries. Im from melbourne but frequent the balcombe near mt martha and usually take a trip or two up the east coast of vic, headin to mallacoota end of march so hoping to get geared up before then.

I still plan on usin sp's which im confident in using for easy fish (salmon, trevally, flathead) but mainly want the hards for bream, ep's and bass but predominately bream as they will be the most accessible to me.

[Sloth]

I'm sure people can give you specific 'coota advice - I've never fished there.

For around melbourne and flats and estuaries you'll be right with strike pro pygmy IIs, atomic crank38s, atomic hardz shads, a few blades (I just use ebay ones - around 40mm and 6 or 7g is fine for bream). If you're going to be fishing pontoons, docks, jetties, pylons then strike pro micro vibe (if you're fishing open water I wouldn't bother with the micro).

Cranka cranbs are great - BUT a very targeted and specific lure. Not a great searching lure. With your budget I'd prioritise getting a couple of the above mentioned lures over a single cranka crab.

With the crank38s you'll need to add some weight to them if you don't want them to float so quick. Lead tape off ebay does the trick.

100 isn't much if you consider multiple colours and running depths. If I was starting out I'd grab some blades as they catch everything and then probably go for lures that suit the majority of my fishing - so if you're open rivers and estuaries I'd be looking at the cranks and shads first. If I was docks, jetties structure I'd be going vibes first.

Personally I wouldn't bother with topwater starting out. Not down here anyways

The other option is to wait for a "pack" to come up in the classifieds or Facebook selling pages. Just means you often get a bit more of a random assortment but it can be a very budget conscious way to start off.

[Goody1971]

Yes, agree with Sloth, the Atomic lures are a good option and a nice sort of mid price - The Hardz Shad in mid or deep in colours like Muddy Prawn etc. is worth having in your collection.

[FTP]

Blades are the best starting lure for switching from sp. they force you to think a bit more as to where the fish are likely to be. SPs have scent and/or s-factor etc which helps the fish find the lure. With hards you need to use sight and vibration to alert the fish, it's a big shift in approach. Blades handle this step really well.

4-7g blades in metallic gold are my fail safe lures. If everything goes wrong and I haven't caught anything out comes a 6.6g Gold blade, if it fails....there are no fish around!

Atomics are great as well, I would just get the 38 mid and get a couple of colours, make sure they are different colours not just the same but slightly different shade. Get clear, black, green etc so that you can discover what colour works well, then investigate the different shades.

If you can get at least 1 Berkley flicker shad that would be great. Kmart, big w etc stock them at around $7 each. The green one is a machine up here in qld.

Lastly, fish them like you're going to lose them. Big fish don't just hang out waiting for a novice to hesitantly reel in a lure away from the snags. Big fish love snags, you will lose some lures. If you fish away from the snags you will never lose a lure but you won't catch fish.

Your gear sounds perfect for hb lures

[Pistol]

I reckon that vibe fishing is pretty much the same as soft plastics so they're not much of a change. Best thing I ever did with vibes is get rid of the trebles and just use ZX stinger copies off eBay, just as many hook-ups but less snags. In HBs, the advice re Atomics and Strikepros is good given your budget. I'd add Hurricanes as well. If fishing from a boat then get, or better still, make a lure retriever. Make one by getting a 3m telescopic aluminium tent pole from Poles Apart (Google them) cut off the spike on the end and get an engineering shop to twist a piece of 3mm stainless steel rod into a pig tail and cable tie it to the end of the pole. A made one is better than a bought one as its telescopic and quicker to extend than a screw together one. I haven't lost a lure to a snag since I made mine.

[mazman]

another good lure retriever is a heavy d shackle with mesh netting hanging down from it and a long piece of rope on the other end

[nereus]

And be prepared to go for a swim,I did this quite a bit in my early days.It was refreshing in summer and invigorating in winter.
cheers nereus
p.s make sure you wear clean undies

[Rbadger]

Heaps of great info guys, much appreciated.

Yeah im not too keen on blades like Pistol said there pretty much the same as SP's.

Most of my fishing will be landbased so yup definately preparing myself for a swim or twenty haha!

Cool, will avoid the cranka-crabs as for tge same monetary input i coukd get a few different hards, looks like im leaning towards atomics and strike-pros.

After my hobart trip ive decided to downsize my rod, even though i havnt had my supreme xt for long after using a similar rod in the 2-4kg i feel as though its a bit heavy for me so will be lookin at goin more towards the 1-3kg range rod. Probably anotha supreme xt as im very keen on mine but yeah just a tad heavy for my needs

[The G factor]

daiwa double clutch 75. It is great for by catch, casts a mile, can be fished at various depths and bloody works.

I struggled with the switch from SP to HB and still struggle to some extent these days with them, but I think that has more to do with my patience levels

Good luck mate

[tresurehunt]

I got mt first ever bream on a hard body the other day ,lure was an ecogear cx40hs (527)