Light Estuary Popper Fishing
Three weeks ago a mate suggested I get into Top water fishing for the usual bread & butter species I target. The lure of choice was the 3B Berkley Popper.
After the first weekend I was addicted had around 15 Top water hook ups on herring landing all also had 3 Hits and 3 Follows from some BIG! yellowfin whiting however non landed. Also there one big black ray ramming my leg as well turns out you shouldn't leave your wading bag with necked fishing in waste deep water.......
Second weekend similar 15 or so Top water hooks up on herring with a couple of hits and follows from yellow fin still yet too land one.
Third weekend the best herring fishing I have had in years, schools and schools out there with 30+ Hooks ups, 25 or so landed with 10 kept. The conditions were perfect crystal clear no wind. There were hoards and hoards of BIG yellowfin on the flats however they were not interested in the popper this week. I tried subsurface stickbaits and also a hardbodys but very minor interest.
Does anybody have any suggestions surrounding getting these yellow fin whiting on poppers would be appreciated.
The herring were decent models too around high 20s/30cm.
Sam
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Hi mate...
...I've found that once you hook and lose a whiting on a surface lure, it won't come back and hit it again. So I'll change over to a very lightly weighted softie, like a Berkeley gulp sandworm or a 2" Zman grub, and that will get them 9/10 times.
I typically blind cast when surface fishing for whiting...they respond better with a bit of wind chop (less able to see hooks I guess), but to do this with soft plastics would result in too much blowie damage. When you know the whiting are there, and they've sussed out that your topwater lure is a fake, go the softie!
During a normal surface session for whiting, over maybe 1-2 hours, I might get half a dozen follows and maybe land one or two fish, but every now and then you'll come across a school of them, and they become quite competitive, and that's when every stickbait/popper you own will get smashed, and you'll get double-digit numbers of fish!
Lowza
Posts: 136
Date Joined: 30/10/11
Blind Cast
Cheers for the info mate todays session, todays session was exactly as you described it was flat and like foot of water and clarity was 110% they were too smart for me!
Placcys were the next option, I just hope the blowies population play friendly.
Could you elaborate on blind cast?
Cheers
Sam
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Blind casting...
...where you're randomly flicking lures around, as opposed to seeing, and casting to, individual fish. Because blowies are just about everywhere in the Peel, doing this with soft plastics would be pretty much a disaster. Hardbodies/stickbaits/poppers will withstand this onslaught and once you locate individual whiting while using them, and they start to become shy, then go the softies!
I must say, sounds like you got yourself onto a good hezza patch! I only ever seem to pick up the odd one or two while doing this sort of fishing...they're a blast on the whiting gear. Got a nearly 40cm skippy last week, what an argument! No net, light leader...had to wear him out for five minutes or I would've pinged off my $20 stickbait!
caughtup
Posts: 360
Date Joined: 06/02/14
may i ask the location where
may i ask the location where ur gettin these herring lowza
Lowza
Posts: 136
Date Joined: 30/10/11
Location
Mandurah Estuary
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Its getting pretty late in
Its getting pretty late in the season for surface whiting now, as the air temps start cooling they'll shut down more and more. Our best session was back in November hitting poppers just about every cast, landed 60 odd between three of us in a couple hours.
We've noticed the hotter it gets the more they seem to come on the bite as they move up into the warmer water on the flats so our best sessions have been from about 11am til 4pm.
bradzino
Posts: 153
Date Joined: 27/06/12
hooked hey...
dont do that much bait fishing anymore- especially enjoy the light gear flicking plastics, stick baits and the all time poppers. imagine if herring were 6-10kg models? awesome little dirtbags for their size on bream gear...
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
You can get 6kg+ herring,
You can get 6kg+ herring, they're called salmon! And its just about that time of year again yew!
Lowza
Posts: 136
Date Joined: 30/10/11
Missed them
I do feel like I've missed the surface whiting season, despite the quantity of them around on the flats, its currently not like how multiple people have described to me around late last year with the hook up ratio,
However after fishing bait for 13 Years I cannot see myself going back, my local tackle shop is also loving the bill I am racking up weekly on lures, the bastards aint cheap! 20$ a pop average,totally worth it!
I cannot complain though with the success on herring these gear the 30cm models pull drag and feel like mini tuna.
tangles
Posts: 1367
Date Joined: 17/12/06
cheaper
hey lowza. Have a look on ebay you can pick up some sick cheap surface walkers. I just cant justify $21 for a surface stick bait when I can get em for $7! Bein a single dad doesnt help so gota get em ifu can cheaper. The whiting are still thick up here on the flats n having a ball on the surface fishing!
Lowza
Posts: 136
Date Joined: 30/10/11
Good Call
Yeh I was just starting to look around online substantially cheaper,
I got back from Kal a month ago didn't have time to go fishing the flats / river for whiting too stuffed after beach fishing for tailor in the morning..
plogs
Posts: 47
Date Joined: 25/01/13
Hi Lowza, I went fishing to
Hi Lowza, I went fishing to Mandurah yesterday and my daughter landed a cracking yellow fin whiting on a Berkley 3B Prawn Dog.
crasny1
Posts: 6986
Date Joined: 16/10/08
+1
Prawn dog, scum dog and puppydog in order.
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
Mike17
Posts: 323
Date Joined: 30/06/13
Colours
crasny1 what colours do you reccommend
We've been getting a few feeds but only with bait and would like to try to get some on lures.
Use The Force
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Transparent clears and browns
Transparent clears and browns are the best
crasny1
Posts: 6986
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Im posting this pretty much
Im posting this pretty much as told by guys on here, like Ryan from Oceanside and others.
Have been using the crystal clear one's on clear sunny days, and the prawn coloured ones on darker, chopped up days. Im not someone who looks at the codes pertaining to colours, but have tried some with brighter colours and havent had much luck.
However Im no experts, and even though I live a 100m walk away from some nice Peel flats have only managed to get out a few times, and hooked about 30 odd. Landed about 3/4 of those.
Best advise I can give so far is "have a small landing net" as I lost a few stonka's trying to grab them, and then letting some slack in the line!!!
But thats fishing, and when you try something new, you learn.
Ah, just looked up the scumdog and the ones I have used is: clear days I think it is the "Hooch" or "hey you", dirty days it certainly is/was "dirty dog"
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
bradzino
Posts: 153
Date Joined: 27/06/12
hey Beau
theres always the resident Salmon that swallow Mcarthy softies like lollies if you know where to look...love those clear ones when they get fired up.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Ha yes I used to be down your
Ha yes I used to be down your way a couple times a week back when I was doing shiftwork a couple years ago, used to constantly pick them up all year round, I used to slay them on Rapala xraps. Wouldnt be surprised if we bumped into each other maybe
Grant Jones
Posts: 91
Date Joined: 17/08/13
I've had good sessions on
I've had good sessions on the penguin island sandbar. Good whiting when they are there, usually plenty herring. I find a quick pop pop pop retreive works well and don't stop when they follow. Just watch out for the seagulls, I've had two grab my popper!