Kayak Fishing - Hints for hard body lures

Lure fishing for New Zealand’s sport and table fish is coming of age.

We are finally starting to see a reasonable selection of hard-bodied lures and blades discreetly appearing on tackle shop shelves. Small numbers of a limited selection proved brilliantly successful on our fish, so switched-on importers are looking at colours, styles and rigging options for next season. Soon we will be able to choose between soft-baiting, jigging, slow-jigging, bibbed and bib-less hard bodies, stick-baits, vibrating blades and more, to target fish like snapper.

As an avid angler, this is exciting stuff. Finally I’ll be able to choose from a selection of lures and techniques available ‘off the shelf’ without having to go through the rigmarole of importing them myself. I’ll also be able to talk about the ways I’m landing the big ones without having ‘mates’ lighten my tackle box of expensive hardware (hands off, you can now get your own!). Having discovered for myself how successful these lure systems are, it’s going to be fun watching others explore new techniques and successfully land big fish.

As a kayak angler, these new lures are brilliant because they offer fantastic potential for casting and jigging, and many will perform brilliantly when trolled at our modest paddling speeds. Bibbed lures with recognisable brand names, such as Rapala, have been available for a long time, but many were either too large (aimed at species like kingfish or yellowfin) or needed trolling speeds paddlers couldn’t maintain for more than a few minutes.

What makes them effective?

This class of lure offers a dramatic change in the look and sound of what’s being dragged through the water. Many look exactly like what they’re trying to imitate; they’re usually bright and reflective like live bait, and their full shape creates the right silhouette, completing the natural appearance. Some have a radical appearance hanging on the wall, but throw them in the water and get them swimming, and it’s very easy to see why they’re effective.

Hard-bodied lures also have the ability to fish around structure in ways very difficult to mimic with other fishing systems. Take the ‘floating diver’ as a prime example for targeting big winter snapper around the Karikari Peninsula:

•Cast this lure in against the rocks and pause. The lure will float happily on the surface, but the ‘plop’ of its landing will get the attention of any lurking moocher nearby.
•Now give the lure a twitch: lift the rod tip and wind the handle a few times. The lure lurches and dives a couple of centimetres, and the internal rattle sends a shimmer through the water. Pausing allows the lure to float up over the kelp without fouling – the moocher now has it in its sights… Anticipation is building!
•Lift the rod tip, begin the retrieve, and the lure is off, vibrating and diving, following the contour of the kelp and looking just like a wounded baitfish trying to make its escape…
•The crashing strike that follows has the rod held high, the drag screaming, and the angler in a frantic battle to stay upright, attached to the fish, and out of the rocks. This is the excitement and adventure of fishing hard bodies in its purest form.

There’s more to these lures though, and they can be used in a variety of ways. It’s possible to cast, troll and jig with them, and the different styles of surface, subsurface and diving actions can allow very imaginative presentations. Some lures also have a variety of sink rates, from intermediate to moderately heavy, letting anglers use presentations and techniques similar to soft-plastics. This can be devastating on mid-water fish normally thought to be too deep for hard-bodied lures, unless downriggers are used.

Tackling up

A very appealing feature of trying hard-bodied lures is that many of us already have suitable fishing tackle. When targeting kahawai, trevally and snapper, a good quality soft-plastic outfit is all that’s required. The highly desirable features of good casting ability, a little rod length for varying the action, and fine braid line for low water resistance and high sensitivity are the same for soft-plastics and hard bodies.

For those targeting hoodlums, your existing kingfish outfits are a good place to start. Larger hard bodies can be cast and worked effectively with popper rods, and I’ve found short mechanical jig outfits make ideal rigs when trolling deep divers. Just like jigging, no quarter is given in these battles, and the short rods and softer actions allow us to apply maximum pressure while staying on top of our kayaks.

Remember, the hook-up is going to happen behind the kayak when trolling, and there’s going to be a period of broadside action while you get the kayak turned and facing the fish. This can be heart-in-the-mouth stuff when hooked to a powerful and dirty fighter. This is where using the short mechanical-jigging rod reduces the risk of being rolled, and the softer action allows more time to react to line pressure and line angle changes.

Rigging

Rigging hard-bodied lures isn’t too complex. The key point to remember is that almost all their success on fish like snapper comes from the way they swim, making it critical to ensure your rigging doesn’t stifle the lure’s action. In contrast to soft-baits with flexible tails that still swim if the head is held rigid, hard-bodied lures must ‘swim’ or vibrate with their whole body. This means anything restricting head movement will slow the action of the whole lure and make it less appealing to predators.

The secret is to expand on techniques many are already using for soft-baits. Use the lightest practical leader/trace, and ensure the line is attached via an open loop or clip. This will give hard bodies the greatest freedom of movement and reduce the risk of them being turned (steered) in one direction or another by trace material tied tight to the front eye. In fact, many lures like the StrikePro range are supplied with either a solid or split-ring attached to the towing eye to help ensure correct action.

When rigging for snapper, kahawai, trevally, john dory, skipjack and albacore tuna, I’ve standardised two basic rigs on my normal soft-baiting outfits. The first is the one I use when trolling for kahawai, skipjack and albacore, and is nothing more than the usual 20lb (9kg) fluorocarbon leader tied to the end of my braid, but with a small Black Magic clip-swivel added to the end. Lures are then attached directly on and off the Black Magic clip.

The advantage of this system is that it minimises the diameter of leader or trace material ahead of the lure, maximising action and minimising visibility. This can be enormously valuable when targeting sight-feeding species like tuna. Having a swivel present also helps by unwinding any line twist that may develop when playing fish that run hard and fast on fixed-spool reels.

In this situation I haven’t found the lack of a trace or the presence of a clip that may be ‘bitten open’ a problem, and have yet to lose a lure. Same as the next rig I use for snapper and small kings, using a clip to attach the lure allows for rapid changes when necessary.

The second rig is the one I use when not trolling. It consists of a 16lb (7.5kg) fluorocarbon leader on the end of my braid and a small Black Magic swivel (no clip) at the far end. Attached to this with a perfection loop at each end is a short length of 40lb (18kg) fluorocarbon trace approximately 200mm long. Swinging on the terminal-end loop is a genuine Genie Clip (these seem a lot stronger than the imitators) to which lures and jig heads can be clipped.

The advantage of this system is that the very short trace gives some bite protection when big fish inhale lures and chew on the line. The trace also makes it much easier to handle fish without using a net or gaff. Using a Genie Clip ensures there’s no chance of a clip springing open if bitten, and is also less likely to cause problems if a big fish drags it through a kelp jungle.

I find these two rigs, along with small variations (e.g. adding small sabiki tear-drop weights above the lure to deepen the lures presentation), now cover almost all circumstances in which I use hard-bodied lures, other than when targeting big kings or gamefish like mahimahi.

	This article is reproduced with express permission of Stephen Tapp by Stephen Tapp - 2011 Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited Originally published in New Zealand Fishing News