How do you use hard bodz????

[dkbreamer]

I need some help with using diving hard body lures.

I know how to use soft plastics and poopers but I don't know that much with the divers (or minnows I think they are called.)

Is it just a slow retrieve with stops or is there more to it than that????????

Any information would be great:-)

dkbreamer

[Hotrods]

go to your local tackle shop and ask for the book
'How to catch BREAM, on lures and fly's'
by Kaj and Steve, VERY informative..will answer any question your ever going to ask...

[Superduperman]

Yeha, you got it, slow with stops, or try twitches, variations in speed, nodding or even just a straight retrieve.

[Brad Y]

I generally find that a standard hb retrieve will be more than enough ie just crank it back slowly.

Now from here it gets technical

If you feel a hit but no hookup, I pause and twitch it so it appears wounded

If you get a quick hookup then it drops off, pull your lure out and leave that spot for a tic as you would have stug the fish and it will be very wary.

If you fish sand flats and not deep snags, you will want to use a lure that digs into the sand with its bib to kick up dirt. Make sure you obviously use a deep enough diver for this and once it starts digging in, just keep it moving really slow across the sandbar.

Then there are hard bodies that are better for twitching like the zipbaits 46S, in these situations the lure usually sinks and has a shallow bib so let it sink down a bit then give it a few twitches then pause to let it sink further.

Some others are long and skinny like the zipbaits 60SS and these I find you should cast out and really impart some action into them by twitching the rod etc and giving them an aggressive action.

But basically if fish dont hit a straight retrieve then add some pauses into it. If that doesnt work then you will want to go lighter and more finnesse and plastics might go better.

[Superduperman]

mmmm 60SS, love em! On the 46S, if you let it sink under no tension, it wobbles on the drop...very seductive.

[Bear]

In the Cupboard this time we have a few hard body retrieves for those just starting out, and for those who may have not yet tried them. Many anglers start themselves out on hard body lures as they are considered the easiest way to try and catch bream. The reality is often different as many times, hard body lures won’t be able to get down deep enough, quickly enough to hit the zone. That’s not to say they won’t catch fish, there are many places hard body lures are very effective if you keep a few things in mind.

The first is that slow and steady wins the day, and that’s where we are with our first hard body retrieve. I’ve included this as I see way too many anglers retrieve hard body lure far too quickly. You’re looking to impart just enough speed to get the lure working. A good way to practice this, as each lure has a different speed that’s ideal for its action, is to head out into the back yard and have a cast around the pool. The crystal clear, well I hope it is, water allows you to see the lure perfectly. Changing the retrieve speed allows you to see just how the lure is working and helps you to understand how much slower or faster you can retrieve. In the end, it’s all about experience.

It sounds silly, but a simple slow, steady retrieve can be very effective. It allows the lure to be in the zone for as long as possible and gives a fish a good look at the lure and, hopefully, get angry enough to hit the lure.

One other aspect of this retrieve is also going to be important. That is to try and resist the urge to strike if you feel a hit, or what you think is a hit. Bream often body check a lure if they are in an aggressive mood and if we strike, this may turn the fish away instead of having it back to bite the lure. The variation of the steady retrieve is to pause the lure if you feel a hit. This keeps the lure in the bream’s face and gets him just that little angrier.

Our next option is a variation on the steady retrieve otherwise known as Nodding the Rod or the Spad’s Nod. This technique was shown to me a number of years ago by State Champion angler, Geoff Spadiccini. The nodding effect of the rods serves to create speed variations on the lures and to even pause it. The nod is caused by the angler lifting and lowering the rod while still using a steady retrieve. As the rod lifts up and down from the centre or pause point, the lure actually speeds up. As it returns to the pause point it slows down and actually pauses before speeding up again on the lift or drop.

The reason this retrieve is so effective is that it introduces a quick way we can vary the speed of the lures without having to do much work ourselves. I’ve used this technique a lot and have found that you get a fish actually following the lure, almost curious as to the intruder who it moving around in its territory. A bream will actually stalk the lure and wait until it thinks the time is right to hit, usually right on the pause of the lure. I’ve often wondered if a bream looks at the erratic movement as though it’s a wounded bait fish.

The problem with the nod is that it requires the angler to be almost perfectly face on to the cast lure to have the nod work correctly. There is a way around this by using a small pulling motion towards and away from the body to get the same speed change you get with the face on nod. The pause can be a little more pronounced to make the fish strike if required. Again, resist the urge to strike and let the fish do the work.

Another thing to be aware with the retrieves so far is that while they suit all styles of lures, any lure you pause may rise depending on its properties. A floating lure will rise quickly and is not suited to pausing for any length of time. This rising\floating lure may also turn a fish away as the movement is foreign to the fish. The best suited lure for the pause is any suspending lure. Something like the Strike Pro Pigmy, Ecogear SX40 and Eddy’s Lip Ripper are ideal suspenders.

This brings us to our final retrieve and one that really only suits those suspending style of lures we have just mentioned. The Twitch or the Aggravated Twitch has been around for a little while and is an effective retrieve to use when you find that bream are a little slow to hit a lure. As we’ve mentioned before, bream are a very aggressive fish and will hit a lure out of anger as much as hunger. The idea of the twitch method is that it is a vigorous movement in bream territory that can induce them to or and it can also resemble an injured bait fish.

The biggest question is, just how do we twitch? I’ve heard a lot of people refer to it as a shaking of the rod, but it’s a little more forceful than that. I often like to get people to think of the sort of wrist movement you use when you tap your leg with a ruler. Use a stiff wrist and about a 15 degree movement out and back in swift movements rather than a sloppy shake. We usually twitch around 3-4 times before taking in some of the slack line. The key with this method is to vary it and even combine it with other retrieves. One way is to use the twitch in with the slow retrieve, use a good pause of several seconds at the end of a twitch before you start the slow movement.

Well, there you go. A great way to get into your hard body fishing, and I hope that these can get you into a few fish. Stay tuned as we look at even more in future editions.

Tight lines.

[Superduperman]

Top article that one, very helpful. Was there ever one done for stickbait style soft plastics?

[Bear]

One of the guys did one in WAFM a while ago SM. I'll see if I can dig it up.