Q: I've just started using high-speed lures for billfish and other game fish (wahoo, dogtooth tuna, etc.). I use 49-strand braided cable exclusively, since I don't like losing expensive lures to toothy critters. Since I've only pulled live and dead baits in the past, can you give me some dos and don'ts for the most effective spread, as well as how to best care for the skirts and hooks?
I usually troll at approximately 7 knots with skirted lures to cover ground. I've been pleasantly surprised at the amount and variety of fish attracted to the lures.
As you're no doubt aware, North Queensland is still very much a dead- and live-bait fishery, but I believe there's lots of potential for lure fishing, especially when you're not sure of your chances of running across a billfish. I would also like to explore the possibility of using lures that work at 5 knots, since that would extend my range considerably.
I have a couple of Black Bart lures — the Prowler and a Breakfast — that I run on 50-pound outfits and a selection of Williamsons, Exciters, a Pakula Uzi and a Mold Craft pusher that we run on 20-pound outfits.
I guess in American terms, we aren't even close to high speed, and I have yet to try running lures while cruising between known marks, but that would be another option. I also read an article in which they mentioned a lure "blocking the spread," a term I've never heard before; can you explain?
Haydn Tilley
Townsville, Australia
A: Keep fishing at 7 knots. Seven knots is 1.4 times faster than 5 knots; therefore, in two days of fishing at 7 knots, you will cover almost as much ground as you would in three days at 5 knots.
I would highly recommend going to all soft heads. They keep working even when almost all the skirts are gone, and you'll get just as many bites. Re-skirting multiple lures because of visits from the razor gang is almost as expensive as buying new lures.
I won the Dunk Island tournament three years in a row against Laurie Woodbridge, Jim Dalling, etc., using Mold Craft soft-head lures. (I did switch to dead or live bait when I raised a whole school of billfish. That's when live bait really comes into its own, because you can keep hooking more fish after you've already got one on.)
When you start using the Mold Craft soft heads, don't bother using the inside skirt. Wait until almost all of the dangly parts on the outside skirt are chewed off the head. This gives you two skirts (and/or lures) for the price of one, and both will last almost forever, even with wahoo and dogtooth tuna snapping at them.
The Wide Range works at all speeds from 5 to 17 knots, regardless of sea conditions and where you put it on a wave. The Super Chugger runs great from 4 to maybe 10 knots before it starts to jump and flip. Use them in all the sizes, and you're good to go. You can pull Wide Ranges up to 17 knots when crossing wide, flat, dead-looking areas on the way to some good bottom structure or prettier water. (I have caught hundreds of billfish, tuna, wahoo and dolphin at 17 knots, but never had a bite over 18.)
Everything else is pure hype and marketing. I have no idea what "blocking the spread" is; however, if the wind is blowing hard, you can minimize tangled lines by fishing two short (flat) lines at exactly the same distance from the boat and two long 'rigger lines directly across from each other as well. You will catch more fish with four lures that will never tangle than you will by trying to stagger the baits to make room for additional lures. Tangles mean lost time, which means missed opportunities.
You could also add a lure in the shotgun position way back in the spread — I'd go with a small jet or bullet that stays underwater and doesn't smoke.
Pick whatever colors you like — it doesn't matter. You'll catch the most fish on the color you use the most. White works great, and most guys never use it.
