Thanks Makka and LBD for the tip a few months ago about the GT Icecreams from Busted Fishing in Oz. With a steady retrieve it really looked like a fleeing piper just and got nailed near the shore in a big swirl.

It managed to take me around a rocky outcrop, but I backed off a bit and after some nervous minutes with the line vibrating nastily, eventually it swam free. Good fun on 30lb braid on my cheapie Jungle Stix rod.

Next mission is to get a nice keeper from the bay before summer is gone, but i think I'll use my heavier gear from now on.

what size is that ice cream?.........They are not very long for their weight...a 5 or 6 oz would cast like a bomb........

add a shout short assist off the end....not the long assist......it will add a bit more length to the lure and maybe attract a bigger specimen...........

If you get the bigger one in 5 or 6 oz......I will see if i have a good assist shout in my box and post it to you...just make sure your rod can handle that sort of weight on the cast....happy birthday

Here is a pic.......the top one is 4oz....probably what you have....the bottom one is 6 oz.....

the bottom one has a long assist on it but a short assist above for comparison.....

I would suggest the 6 oz if your rod can handle....further distance...maybe a bit longer(check photo).......I have that short one there....you can have but i will check what i have in the locker...if you want longer for the 4 oz...Perosnally id go that shorter one on the 6 oz.....that makes a longer and bigger lure...easy to post to you...PS..loving that camo grip.

But i also bought some 3oz versions that i'd like to try up north.

I have now perfected the FG knot and have confidence in it.

My top water gear is fairly modest, mate - it wouldn't handle anything over about 130g. 6oz would be way too much.

I can have a look through my arsenal and see if i have a smaller size for you but as you can see the one on my 4oz above looks the right sort of size.......you could get strikes from bigger fish on that small ice cream but if you went up one size and hang that shout of the back.....it would better imho.

i will see if i have something smaller too to suit the 3 oz one.....grunty cord and grunty hook.....nice secure hook up........i took the one that came with it off...straight away.....going to rust.

130grams = 4.58 ounces.

Makka's given you the link - they're a really reliable outlet. The NZ-made Tasline Elite White line was my main reason for going to the site, but Makka mentioned the Icecream, which I think is a Bokka invention. The 'Busted Lures' in 80g was his other recommendation, and i grabbed a couple in the 'Yakka' colour, which is the Aussie name for our jack mackerel, I think. 

They're kind of a plug, pretty simple but worth a try at that price. I haven't used them yet.

On 30lb braid, the 1.5oz Icecream is plenty, 3oz would go a mile and represents a slightly bigger piper. But in the particular situation I'm using them, distance off shore isn't really the issue - the kingies seem to hunt close, just off the weed line. At least the swirls I saw during the session were all within 10m of the edge.  I was mostly casting fairly parallel with the shore.

LBD's point was that bigger lure may = bigger fish, so I'll give the 3oz a go.

I tried casting the Icecream off the wharf at Kauri Pt (Tauranga) where there are plenty of piper, and I got a very serious follow, but no takers.

They are meant for calm-ish conditions, ideal for estuaries and harbours where piper are a key target for kingies in the shallows.

Yip, never give up hope PJC!! There are plenty of guys on here who catch dozens of kingies a season (lucky ba$tards), but it's all about perspective. That little fella meant a hell of a lot to me, in the circumstances. 

I don't own a boat, and only limited access to one. My summer plans have been overshadowed by two bereavements, and I had another downer last weekend when a trip I'd booked with Tony Orton at Mangawhai way back in November got canned due to the worst weather we've had in months! 

I've done half a dozen dawn outings to that spot where i got my kingie yesterday, and gone home without a touch each time. But I figure that kind of harbour shallows fishing comes down to patience, and being ready when your number eventually comes up. 

These guys in Aussie have got them as well.

http://www.elitetackle.com.au/gt-ice-cream-needle-nose-surface-plug/

http://www.elitetackle.com.au/solid-colours-gt-ice-cream-needle-nose-4-oz/

these guys used to sell em too......not sure if they do now......thats a bloody big one.

thanks mate. The photo memory of surface takes is a good happy place to go to when I'm having a bad work day.

I remember you were in the market for a new top water rig a while ago. What did you end up getting, rod wise?

TTK.......have you used those hooks yet dood?.......did you get a bigger ice cream

I need to save a few pennies before buying more Icecreams. I did use the 3oz I already had, but my FG knot was a dud and the lure headed into orbit without my line attached! Man, it went like a scud missile.

That's the first time one of my FGs has failed, though I had one or two come apart when I was learning to tie them - I think I may have forgotten to do that hard pull on both ends before cutting the trace line.

Thankfully I hadn't switched over to one of your hooks.

There is no doubt the FG knot is a very good knot but like any knot...it does have to be tied correctly every time........Many people use it and  are well into it........but there a few of us old codgers that dont.......both me and Boulder tie 1 inch PR knots......its just as good and just as slim line......thats what i do for my topwater sets........the question now is.....Can you tie a PR knot?

Either of them will do the job but both must be tied correctly.......whichever you feel most comfortable and confident using

But I studied the FG from the video posted by Nathan off Big Angry Fish. He uses the method of laying the braid loosely over and under the leader, then later on tightening up hard - rather than the others I've seen where they do some kind of convoluted plaiting around the leader under high tension.

 

I've landed some good snapper and that kingie off the rocks using the FG, so I think I get it right 98% of the time.

 

Thats the way......You need to feel confident in the knot you tie