[Nick Rowe]

Hi,
Apologies if this has already been covered in detail.
I'd appreciate any help you could give to refine my Bass Sp collection into an LRF based setup please:

What would be the top five colour/colour combinations you would start with for a UK LRF tackle setup?

and

what size SP would you go up to?

I'm guessing from the posts I've read so far that I can safely stay below 4" and the majority would be 3" and under?

Are the Japanese Soft plastics massively superior to all others?

Thanks

 

[Keith White]

Hi,
Apologies if this has already been covered in detail.
I'd appreciate any help you could give to refine my Bass Sp collection into an LRF based setup please:

What would be the top five colour/colour combinations you would start with for a UK LRF tackle setup?

and

what size SP would you go up to?

I'm guessing from the posts I've read so far that I can safely stay below 4" and the majority would be 3" and under?

Are the Japanese Soft plastics massively superior to all others?

Thanks

LRF ?

Its about bulk and weight.

2 -4" but, a thin 4" not a bulky one.

for instance, a 5g jig head with a DOA CAL 3 would be exceeding most LRF.

Yes, at the lighter, smaller end, the Japanese lures seem superior in manufacture.

Colours:

pumpkin, watermelon, junebug/purple, white and perhaps a brighter coloured water lure.
Blue and clear are also both very useful.

Personally, get yourself a collection of Reins lures.
Proven track record now. The one up shads in 2 and 3" are great as are 3" spindleworms.

remember, LRF is about 9g or less all up weight.
8lb braids or less though many start with 10lb which is ok but too heavy IMHO to stick too.

Most true LRF is at 6lb braid or 5lb FC.
I even have a 2.5lb setup.

 

[Nick Rowe]

SP Creatures vs Gobies

Many thanks Keith, a very helpful reply,

Light line shouldn't be an issue as I'm keen to try this style fishing right from the start, I have a spool of Stren microfuse braid 6lbs/0.15mm that should get me started. I hadn't figured out what I was going to use it for until now (it was £2 in a bargain bin! couldn't walk past it...)

Would .24mm line be too thick? I have a spool of Shimano AR-C 19lbs pink line I'm itching to try, it's more for plugging than anything else I suspect

Do any of the many types of creatures and crabs etc work well for UK LRF?

Or is it mainly gobies/flukes and small worms?
you mentioned Zoom gobies as being good and they feature in a few catch photos

I'm also keen to try bucktail jigs with SP trailers after seeing some underwater footage recently where they looked incredibly 'alive' hopped along the bottom of an aquarium, are they any good? they do seem to be fitted with massive hooks as standard though, is itmore appropriate for LRF to dress much smaller Jig heads?

Thanks once again

Nick

 

[Keith White]

Gobies / crabs are more a feature of HRF. Little craws have been super successful LRF though.

0.24mm would be quite thick m8 as an LRF line. I don't really know what diameters these lines are we are using but they are VERY thin.
0.24mm would be around 8lb mono and these lines at PE 0.2 -- 0.8 are close to 1lb mono. Yet the 0.8 is still 12lb hence why we've gone 0.2 / 0.6 for most braided LRF.

Bucktails with trailers are awesome but, you've got to have faith and the skills. In fact, the simpler the jig, the more confidence you need.
Many newcomers to LRF / HRF don't seem phased by paddletail or shad tail lures, or even curly tails but, show them a straight tailed bait and confidence is out the window.

Trust me, bucktails of any size are some of the best fish catchers ever designed. Me and Kev have over a decade of success behind us with them but, we REALLY struggled at first and nearly gave up. We just had the whole idea wrong. Read the bucktail article on my blog to learn more and search for 'bucktail' on here as there was a comprehensive post or two.

Basically, try dressing any jig but keep it simple and IME, not too much bulk. Rubber skirting is another way to get flowing lines without getting messy and we strip those thinner too to get thinner, sparser profiles in the water. The basics behind Bass jigs all hold water but our presentations need modifying to suit OUR saltwater baitfish.

Hope this helps.