Quick Bait : Very Good Looking Fishing Lures.

Hi there,

Some times ago, I received some very good looking fishing lures made by Quick Bait.
And when I say good looking, this is really what I mean.

Look at that:

The deep Buster.

What did I told you, isn't it nice?

This is the Quick Bait Buster, the deep version, and it is in my favourite colour from the Quick Bait range.

Look at a close-up portrait of it:

Portrait of a deadly lure.

From all the lures that Quick Bait kindly sent me, I think that this is the only one that I will not use…

Simply because I like the colour too much to take the risk to lose it.

The Buster also exist in a shallow version, and her it comes:

Shallow Buster by Quick Bait.

I can see this lure being very efficient, either in the billabongs, or on the harbour muds flat.

Can't wait to catch a fish on it.

The deep version swims at 4 m and the shallow one at 1-2 m.

Talking of fishing the harbour, there is another lure that should do well, this is the Zig Zag:

Quick Bait Zig Zag.

This one, I think will be interesting to work, when targeting Queenfish or Trevally.

It's action, is as its name point to, is made of continuous zigzag in the water. This is a sinking lure, so can be worked at speed, and should be fun with the small pelagic fish from the shore of Darwin Harbour.

Then comes the Slash, and no we are not talking guitar hero here, but fishing lure…

The shallow version of the Slash.

This is actually the only one that I really had the time to try, and not for very long.

It swims at 1-2 meter deep.

Between the bad weather, and other thing that have creeped in my life lately, I was not able to fish as much as I wanted/needed to. This will have to change.

Any way, as I said, I was once able to troll this lure behind a friend boat, once, for a very short time.

It was on a day, of difficult fishing, when no lures had taken any fish. But just a few minutes in the troll run and this one got me a little Catfish.

Catfish on the Quick Bait Slash.

So at least, I know that these lure look the goods from the fish point of view.

The Slash also came in a deep version that swim at about 2.5m deep.

The deep ones look nice too:

Quick Bait Slash deep version.

Quick Bait Slash deep version.

These two lures, I am sure, will catch me some good fish.

I have a good mate who when talking about fishing lures colour, often says: "If you are not using green, you are not trying."

Yes, I think that this green one, will prove to be a very attractive lure for the fishes…

And last but not least, came the Tinto.

The deep version of the Quick Bait Tinto.

This version is swimming at 4m. A shallower version exist, and it swims at 2m.

And now, if you are still trying to find Nemo… Look no more, because here he is:

Quick Bait Tinto.

How beautiful is that!

The Quick Bait range is not moulded plastic like so many mass produced fishing lures today. It is made by foam injection, a bit like the surf boards.

This mean that they have no rattles and should then work very well, when the fish are a bit shy and a silent lure is needed. And they are handmade too!

Thank you Quick Bait for sending me these fishing lures to test, I am sure that I will have a great time in their company.

Now, I know, I have not posted a lot on the blog lately, and I apologise for it. Sorry about that, but life has been a bit complicated. Things should finally start to be on the right pass from now on, or soon from now.

I will then be be able to regal you with more posts about beautiful fishing lures, and some stories about fishing trips.

But that might still take a few weeks…

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

10 Lures From My Sponsor.

Hi there,

Yes I just received ten fishing lures from my sponsor WildBait Lures.
A young Australian fishing lure company.
You may remember not so long ago, when I said that I had been selected among the people to be sponsored by WildBait Lures, and how happy I was.
Well I was even more happy when the lures arrived in my  mail box.
Not just one or two, but ten of them!

Look at that:

In a nice little lure box.

Ten nice fishing lures.

As you can see, ten lures, in two different sizes and four colours.

the biggest ones are about 7 cm (2.7559055 inches) and the smaller ones are around 6.5 cm (2.5590551 inches).

The longer ones are Minnow and dive to a depth of 2 metres (78.740157 inches).

While the shorter ones are Stalker and swim between 1,5 and 2.5 meters (59.055118 and 98.425197 inches).

Here comes some portraits, enjoy the beautiful models:

WildBait Minnow 7BRT.

WildBait Minnow 7BBT.

WildBait Stalker 6G.

WildBait Stalker 6VBG.

This is the two sizes and four colours that I received, beautiful!

WildBait Lures, as already stated is a relatively new comers to the fishing lure industry. The company is Australian, but the lures are hand made in Poland.

A country where I have travelled extensively in  my youth. I am sure that fishing with these beautiful little lures, will bring back some fond memories to me.

I think that they would be very efficient for billabong fishing, where we usually fish with much smaller lures than in rivers or the sea.

They should also produce some good results fishing the many rock walls along the Darwin's shores, with bream and maybe even whiting on the sandy beaches...

Lots of place to go and test them, how exciting is that!

Yet I can't go fishing today, and will have to wait as patiently as one can, a few days before being able to test them. Hard life ...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

A New Fishing Sponsor

Hi there,

Yes! I just got a new fishing sponsor, and I am really happy about it.
I have been very lucky and my application was accepted by Wild Bait Lures as one of their sponsored tester.

Here is a photo that they have put on their FaceBook page announcing the 14 winners of the contest they had organised to choose the sponsored fishing lure testers:

Look at the third last one...

So now the pressure is on, I better have to catch some fishes with these Wild Bait Lures.

So I really hope that the Barramundi will like them...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Do You Want A Fishing Sponsor?

Hi there,

Do you want some free lures, coming to you under the form of a fishing sponsor?
Well here might be your chance to it:

Feeling lucky?

If you think that you have what it takes, just go for it and good luck!

You may find yourself being sponsored by a fishing lure manufacturer.

I have to say, that I have never fished with the WildBait lures yet, so I can't say much about them, this is just something I saw on FaceBook.

So yes, I did send them an email to try to be among the chosen ones. 

And maybe one of you will win the favour instead of me...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Top End Barra Series Round 3

Hi there,

It was time for the round 3 of the Top End Barra Series, and this time the action was taking place all over the Mary River Billabongs.

I was ready to be deckie in a new team with whom I had never fished before. When on the Friday before the event I found myself boatless, as the skipper had to attend some very urgent family business. 

All seemed to be lost for my weekend of fishing and I put a message on the FFF forum asking if any one had a spot on his/her boat for me.

Well I did get very lucky to be offered at the last minute a spot on Arrabmundi boat for the Sunday, and even if I had never met him before, as soon as the offer came in I said yes in a heart beat.
I was not going to regret it.

He told me that he would pick me up at 5:00am, so as a very eager kid, I woke up at 3:15am and could not fall asleep anymore...
So I got up to check my lure selection one last time and the overall state of my gears... 
Then before I realised it, he was there and I jumped in the car and we hit the road, destination the billabongs.

During the trip, I asked him as innocently as I could: "Have you fished the billabongs before?" and the reply came simply as any inexperienced angler who was going there for the first time would have dreamed it: "Hundreds of times mate".
Great I was in with a chance to catch a fish then!

Because yes, I had never been on these billabongs yet, and kept reading about it.

We had a quick stop at the Corroboree tavern for a few snack and a quick chat with Bullet and Co about the previous day of fishing, and then in no times we were at the boat ramp.
Where, as discretely as possible I was trying to scan the water for any signs of crocodiles...
None were around, or I did not see them, and off we sailed first towards the Rock Hole, to try to catch the first action of the day on day break.
To say that the weather was nice and fresh would be an understatement, And I started to wonder if I should have taken a pair of mittens with me...

A nice and fresh morning on the billabongs.

Yet it was a great thing to see, a place I would love to take my child to, one day.

Any way as we arrived to the spot we saw Zulk and Uncldug casting away in front of a Pandanus, and not far away Dingo, Doors Off and Muntzy doing more or less the same.

Casting lures in front of the pandanus.

The skipper decided to troll and that was absolutely fine by me.
First I used a Big Lucifer and got a strange hit wasn't too sure of what was going on...
I started to reel it in, thinking that I had a strange lump of weed, or maybe a baby catfish, a billabong's kitten maybe...
But no, I had a Glossamia aprion, a fish that most anglers know under the name of Mouth Almighty.
This was the first time that I saw one, what a great looking little fish!

My first ever Mouth Almighty.

In fact I did show the photo to the fish specialist at the museum today, and I was told that this was a very pale and interesting specimen.
And I was told that I should have brought it back for the museum collection...
I told them that I did not eat it, that I just put it back in the water, honest, scout honour and all... But now you know if ever you were to catch one of a simillar size and colour, the museum would be very interested to have it in the collection. I was told that this is because usually they are darker.

So we troll again, me just happy to look at the scenery and to have seen this nice little fish when bang! 
Another hit and this time with more punch than the last one.
I started to reel it in, but the thing do not jump at all just go for the depths and in a very amateurish kind of way I say: Maybe it's a Toga? (Remember that at this point I was yet to have ever seen a saratoga in the flesh).
To which I am told no, this is a Barra!
And sure enough this is a clean little Barramundi that Arrabmundi scoop easily in the net.
Ho yes I was happy! Only 61 cm, but hey I got it!

Look at the chrome on this fish.

Do I look happy or what?

Now, usually if you have a lure that caught you 2 fish in a few minutes, you stick to it... Well being who I am, I told myslef, time for a change of lure...
And I put a little Shaker 60 SR made by Ofmer, in the gold colour...
This was a good move, not even 15 feet in the troll run and I was screaming: I'm on! I'm on! I don't even think that this little lure had the time to descend as deep as it is made to swim. First a good pull on the line, then nothing... Then another pull and a nice jump, then another stronger pull and the line start to peel from my reel and .... nothing ... 
I got busted in open water...

I usually alway check my leader after each fish and I didn't do it after the first Barra...
Should have, this is a lesson that I hope to remember...
That was a nice little lure, and I had only one like this, but apparently a nice Barramundi liked it more than I...

This would have been the fish of the day, and it showed, albeit for a very short amount of time, how this little lure could be effective for Barramundi fishing.

And this was nearly the end of my fishing exploit for the day, and Arrabmundi turn to shine.
During the rest of the day, he was to boat 7 Barramundi, one Saratoga, a Giant Gudgeon and hook quite a few Tarpon too.
Here are two of his fishes:

A Barramundi on soft plastic.

A Saratoga in close-up.

And the full animal.

This was the first time that I saw a Saratoga in the flesh and not just in a magazine, they are very nice fish too. The colours on them is just amazing, for a fresh water fish.

He was getting most of his fishes on soft plastic...
I tried poppers, diver, walk the dog styles of lures, fizzers and finally decided to try some of my own soft plastic...
I did get a few little hits, but no hookup... And he kept telling me: You should try one of mine....
And I kept telling myself: As soon as I'll try one of his, I will loose it to a snag...
And finally by the end of the afternoon when he caught a 64cm Barra just under my nose, his 7th Barramundi for the day, I had to ask: Can I borrow one of your lure for a few minutes please? ...
He smiled to me and said: This is what I told you to do for the past few hours... 
So I did, and guess what?
Just after a few minutes of trying, just where he got his 64 cm Barra, I got an Oxyeleotris selheimi, more commonly called Giant Gudgeon.
This once again was a first for me! And Arrabmundi then said: I should have forced you to use one of these lures...

My first ever Giant Gudgeon.

Made me very happy.

Now, this is the folks at the museum who told me that this is a Giant Gudgeon, and that it is not a sleepy cod.
Apparently the difference is in the fins and some little spots on them. If it has some darker spots on the dorsal fins, this is a Giant Gudgeon.

(Thanks again to the good people from the Museum in Darwin for all the information about fish that they keep giving me)

We also passed by Itsinmeblood and Turtle during the day, they were busy casting some scum frog in the lilies...
Not long ago if someone had told me that he or she had spent the Sunday morning casting scum frogs in the lilies, I would have wondered what was that all about?...

So all together, this was a very relaxing day on the water. Very enjoyable with quite a few new fish caught or sighted to me. 
In a truly fantastic location, where I had planed to take more photographs... But got myself busy with the fishing...

But I did manage a few photos of a White Bellied Sea Eagle, and here is one of them:

A magnificent bird.

Thanks again  to Arrabmundi, I had a great day, in a place that I really wanted to see.

So yes with just one Barramundi of 61cm, I was on the board, as this round proved to be hard fishing for most of the participants in the series.

It gave me the 10th position in the round 3, and on the overall board for the Series I am now 13th.

For a total of 38 participants.

And yes on the score board, I am very very far from the 3 first ones.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

The Ofmer Rambler 120F DR

Hi There,

I just got a new lure given to me by the good guy from Ofmer fishing lures in Australia, and the lure is the Rambler 120F DR.
And this is a nice lure, when I look at it, my only regret is that I didn't have it when I was fishing on the Daly River 2 weeks ago. As I am pretty sure that it would have produce over there.
I don't know if you remember, but I had already done a post some time ago about the Ofmer lures. Well, this is the same quality of lure, with a very beautiful finish, and some really strong hooks. And this one has a clear and see through body and paint.
Ok, no more game playing, here it is:

The Ofmer, Rambler 120F DR.

This is a floating lure of 120mm (4.7244094 Inches), it weight 32 g. (1.1287668 ounce) and dive to a depth of 4.5m. (147.6378 feet). It has a wobbling and rolling action.

It also has a magnet system in it, which can move the weight inside of the lure, for better longer casts. Very cool to see it through the clear body of the lure.

Now my big question, is will it be any good when chasing pelagic at  full speed, or is it more of a Barramundi lure?

To this I will be able to answer only once I will have made a few test with it.

So yes it is time to go out there and do some research!

I know, this is a hard life...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My first fishing sponsor.

Hi there,

Today I received some new fishing lures, and I got them free, because they are my first ever fishing sponsor!
Yes I am getting sponsored to practice my favourite hobby...
How good is that?!?!

It started a few weeks ago, when one of the Australian agent of the Ofmer lures contacted me through the FFF internet forum. He then basically asked me if I wanted to try some of his lures in the Top End Barra Series, in which I am a participant.
Guess what I said?
Yes of course!

And today I went to the post office and picked up a parcel with my new lures in it.
So no more waiting game, if you have been hooked by the words, here are the images.

First the X-Minnow 110F, a 110mm long floating lure of 10.7g. It dives to a depth of 80 cm (2.6246719 feet).

Ofmer X-Minnow110F

The Jerker 80F, a 80mm long floating lure of 8.1g. It dives to a depth of 1 meter (3.2808399 feet).

Ofmer Jerker 80F

The Shaker 60SR, a 60mm long floating lure of 12g. It dives to a depth of 1.5 meter (4.9212598 feet).

Ofmer Shaker 60SR

The Shady 75F, a 75 mm long floating lure of 9.9g. It dives to a depth of 1.5 to 2 meters (4.9212598 to 6.5616798 feet).

Ofmer Shady 75F

And now two surface lures, which is great because surface fishing is one of my favourite.

There is very few things that I enjoy as much as seeing a nice fish smashing a lure on the surface.

The MJ-Pop 75F, a 75mm long floating lure of 10g. It is a surface popper, so it does not get down, it pop and splash on the water surface.

Ofmer MJ-POP 75F

And the Doggy 100SL, a 100mm long floating lure of 12.3g. Once again a surface lure this one just slid along the water surface in a walk the dog motion.

Ofmer Doggy 100SL

Yes they are all shinny and very well finished and I can't wait to use them.

I even think that I will have to give them a test run before the next round of the Top End Barra Series, which will come in May.

So I will have to wait a few days to test them.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.