INDIANANGLER

Came across an article in an overseas forum on what 5 lures one would take for saltwater fishing
internationally.

If we change this to 3 lures for similar fishing in India, what would you choose? Frankly, I do not expect too much in response as our anglers tend to play their cards close to their chest!

My selection:

. Halco Rooster popper
. Red head plug
. Squidgy soft plastic

My favourite Twisty metal lure (40 Gm) is omitted due to the limit of three!

Ball is in your court.

Kingfish

1. Halco Laser Pro (160) - Red Head
2. Halco Laser Pro (160) - Fire Tiger
3. Rapala Original Floater (F11) - Shiner

My selection based on terrain

Rocky terrain:
2 Halco Laser Pro 160 size in 2 different shades
For the 3rd Option I will take Z-man softplastic with a swim bait hook.

For the Surf
1) Rapala x-Rap
2) Diawa SP Minow
3) Halco/Zerek Popper

@humaid /Venkat

Looks like the Halco Laser Pro 160 is very popular amongst us ..... it did not make the list for the overseas forum ( I don't think they even know about this lure)!

Good to see that soft plastics are starting to appear upon the Indian saltwater scene.

Any others?

Kingfish

Nice thread Kingfish!

Here's three from the top of my head....

1. Squidgy soft plastic
2. Yozuri Hydro Magnum deep diver 120mm
3. Yozuri Hydro Tiger popper in transluscent white with read head

Cheers!
Maruthu

PS: Lately I am learning to fish a Mirrolure 77M (vintage lure) and I am kind of liking it more and more.
This might become my go to versatile lure. Will post an update depending on how my upcoming trips go....

Hello Maruthu,

Nice to see the Squidgy at the top of your list. More and more soft plastics are now showing up amongst Indian anglers, whereas not one would have made this list a few years ago.

Yozuri are great lures but seem to be underrated in India, don't come across too many anglers using them.

I have an original Mirrolure in my collection but I have not used it for its relative rarity value.

Looking forward to your trip reports.

Regards,
Kingfish

Difficult one, there was a time when I fished with just one or two lures because I did not have the means or access to lures, but now I take the entire trunk :)

I guess for me it would be:

1. Dull yellow and green minnow type lazer lure. (preferably yo-zuri)
2. Read head/White minnow (preferably Yo-zuri)
3. Medium - Large Size popper

The usual 4 suspects have answered on this topic.

We have close to 5000 members belonging to this forum .

Kingfish

Good start there Kingfish. As y'all know my experience with saltwater fishing is limited to fly gear, but from what little I've experienced with the conventional kit so far, the following top 3 should do it;

Surf:
1. Halco Roosta Popper 135 - Red-Head/Fusiler/Firetiger
2. 1/1.25 oz Silver Spoon
3. Bomber Longshot /Rapala XRAP SW/ Daiwa SP Minnow - Found them all to be similar performers

Inshore:
1. Rapala Twitching Mullet
2. DOA - 3" Shrimp
3. DOA - Swimming Shad

Cheers...

Hello Ulygun,

Good to hear from you.

Quite a comprehensive list there! Nice to see another proponent of a silver spoon and soft plastics.

If I were to succumb to having a separate list for surf fishing, I would probably go as follows:

. Halco Twisty 40gm silver spoon
. Rapala Xrap 12/14 in Ghost colour ( saltwater version)
. Squidgy soft plastic redhead ( named as Drop Bear )

I may consider putting up pictures of these lures to help newcomers , as well as to add some colour to this topic. Perhaps others may consider doing this also?

Kingfish

There is good reason not to take a soft lure if you can only pick three, softies get busted real quick

Hi there
I think this must be pretty interesting.
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/7-e ... ing-lures/
Sorry if links are not allowed.

Hello Bobby,

You are right, most soft plastics have a high attrition rate.

However, there are several brands that are extra tough and last a lot, lot longer. A prime example is the Zman soft plastics brand, mentioned above by Venkat. These are advertised as being 10 times tougher than normal soft plastics and I can vouch for their toughness and effectiveness.

The Squidgy brand is easy to shred by toothy fish but it is such an effective fishcatcher that one cannot discount it from the selection ( Maruthu will attest to that !).

Squidgies retail for about A$ 7 for a packet of 6, so it is relatively cheap. Replacement tails are readily available for less money.

Regards,
Kingfish

Hello Abdullah,

Nice to hear from a relative newcomer to the forum!

I read through your attachment and found it to be very interesting, with a bias towards US lures. The
bucktail is very popular in North America but does not get a mention from anyone in India.

What about your favourites?

Kingfish

Maruthu,

Thanks for clarifying usage of bucktails in India .... I remember you mentioning this before but apart from you and Binu, I do not think any of the local anglers use them ?

We are slightly adrift, on the stipulated choice of 3 lures, by splitting the fishing into surf and inshore but it is interesting to see the variety of lures mentioned.

Do tell us about your fishing last weekend on the West Coast !!

Kingfish

Kingfish,

I haven't seen anyone else here in India use bucktail lures either.

Regarding the west coast trip last weekend, we got there only at 8:30 pm on Friday morning and only had a small productive window to fish. Binu, Durvesh and I were fishing. We missed a few strikes during our first session. That evening it rained heavily and we were not able to fish.

The second day, the water was a bit murky due of the heavy rain the previous night and we fished a deeper spot in search of the Threadfins, but the fish weren't there. That evening, it rained heavily again. The next (Sunday) morning, the high tide was close to 10 am and Binu started fishing a little early at around 7 am and landed a MJ at around 7:30 am on a 6" golden bomber lure. It was a nice fish that weighed 3 kilos. I started fishing at 8 am and I had one strike on a 6" bomber A Salt lure in chicken scratch colour pattern, but I couldn't hook up. And the action died after that, though the water looked really promising. We tried a little bit of fishing that evening before catching our return bus to Bangalore, but nothing to show for it.

I'll probably fish this place again in November and/or in December. Hopefully land more fish then....

Cheers!
Maruthu

Maruthu,

Thanks for the mini report on your recent fishing trip with Binu, it adds interest to the forum . Good luck
for the coming winter trips.

Kingfish

Hi there.
I mostly fish very rocky locations and soft plastics are my lure of choice ..i use clear white/ firetiger in 30grms (1 oz) and 45 grms ( 1.5 oz) depending on the conditions . Storm prerigged paddle tails .
ps : liberal application of feviquick for repairs can make a soft plastic go a long way .

2: 30 grms( 1 oz) shallow divers ( storm /rapala ) in diff shades

3: 30 grms( 1oz ) poppers in diff shades .

@websinner

Nice to hear from another advocate for soft plastics!

I also glue torn up soft plastics in order to extend their life but have tried to switch to Zman soft plastics
wherever possible, as they are much sturdier and last longer.

However, they do not always make colours that match my favourite Squidgy soft plastics ..... so the latter always reside in my tacklebox.

Can you tell us what species of fish you have caught on soft plastics?

Regards,

Kingfish

Kingfish,
This thread is great, and will help a lot of anglers to choose productive lures from the ones that others have confidence in.

My top 3 would be a
2 3/8 oz Super strike sinking popper.
A yo Zuri mag darter
A metal lure like 2 oz Hopkins shorty.

I have not caught a lot of fish on the super strike popper, but its always a joy to watch this thing fly when you cast. There was one evening when huge barracuda were feeding 100+ yards beyond the surf. I had a 9 feet G Loomis surf rod, and couldn't reach them with most of my lures. I threw the SS popper and within a couple of cranks saw a huge splash on the surface, and thought that was a shark hitting my popper. After a 15-20 minute fight I landed this beautiful GT of 18 kilo.

Hello Binu,

Thanks for your post ........ your 100 yards cast is phenomenal and perhaps we can have a separate topic on our longest casts together with the rod and reel combination utilised.

However, I digress.

That is a superb GT you have caught under circumstances where the rest of us would have given up as
the action was beyond our reach.

If I am not wrong, the Super Strike poppers are a US product, very popular there but relatively unknown
elsewhere. I do have a couple of their smaller poppers and find them nicely weighted, have to try them
out especially after your experience.

I see that no soft plastics make your list but you do include a metal lure in your choice of three.

Regards,
Kingfish

list of my usual suspects

@ websinner

Lovely pictures and a good mix of species caught.

I like the last picture the most ..... if it is a threadfin then the acrobatics these fish put up when hooked is so exciting!

Thanks again.

Kingfish

@kingfish
the last pic is one of the only two times i have managed to catch sea bass (chonak\barramundi) on a soft lure ((they seem to prefer hard body lures from where i fish )) .....this pirticular fish shredded and completly destroyed a brand new softie ......havent had the chance to land a threadfin salmon ( rawas) on a soft bait so far ..the search continues!

@websinner

Yes, I was in two minds about that fish. It is quite a slim profiled barra in the picture and very
silver in colour throughout, looked just like a threadfin but without the feelers at the mouth.

Although the Storm soft plastics work well for you, try and obtain some Zman soft plastics. Those of us
who have used the latter can vouch for their toughness and fish catching ability.

I have caught a threadfin on a Zman ... I think the particular one is called a " Diesel Minnow " in the
Pinfish colour.

You are quite an accomplished Angler and it would be a pleasure to read about your future exploits, together with any pictures you may have taken.

All the best,

Kingfish

My top 3 lures are

1) strikepro popper popr
2) xrap 10 feet diver firetiger
3) xrap 12 cm glassghost

i have landed MJ/Groupers/barramundi/barracuda/GT on this 3 lures and are always in my tackle box

@RaMpEr

A Rapala fan!

I have used the Xrap 10 to catch Barramundi and MJ from a boat fishing in mangroves but find that it is a bit too light to cast when on a beach, in windy conditions.

The Xrap 12 seems to be the ideal compromise and I am also a keen advocate of the Glass Ghost colour.

Kingfish

@websinner

I just noticed the picture of your rod and red reel posted above ...... your reel is taped to the rod handle,
what happened?

The rod looks like it is a telescopic one.

Kingfish

Blue threadfin salmon caught on a Zman soft plastic, location is the Tiwi Islands near Darwin.
Kingfish

I understand that the blue threadfin salmon is not found in Indian waters.

Kingfish

Xrap10 in Glass Ghost colour ..... MJ killer!
Kingfish

My lure selections (in random fashion):

Halco Popper, Red Head Laser Pro lure and a metal Twisty( without hooks) can all be seen here.
Only the Squidgy is missing.

Kingfish

Some other, effective lures for India that I have used:

The Xrap 10 in Glass Ghost is 2nd from the bottom.

Top two are Classic Barra lures, for trolling.
Below that is a Thunder Barra, good trolled or cast.

The Pink one in the middle is a deep diving Halco Poltergeist, not caught anything personally but others swear by it .... so it is in my tackle box.

Very bottom is a Savage Gear Manic Prey, good on small silver Trevally.

Kingfish

Can other contributors kindly post some pictures of their favourite lures, please?

Thank you,
Kingfish

My 3 favourite lures are as mentioned below
1.yozuri mag dart (blue sardin)
2.Laser pro red head 190
3. Zeric popper

Regards,
Vijay.

Thanks, Vijay ..... nice to hear from you.

Yozuri lures seem to be quite popular with anglers in India.

Does anyone use Yozuri Crystal Minnows?

If so, what species have been caught on them ? I have not tried them as yet, although I have quite a few
in my collection.

Kingfish

Hi king,

I haven't used yozuri crystal lures. But I have used Halco Tilsan bigbarra it's a timber made lures and a deep diver too.
This are awsome lures where I used from jetty,rock and trolling fishing.

Regards,
Vijay.

Barracuda 4.5kg caught on B.barra from jetty (Fingerling).

Titan tiggers lure B.barra (Red Herring).

Grouper from jetty Tilsan B.barra (Fingerling).

Gt from jetty Tilsan B.barra (Red head).

Mangro jack Tilsan B.barra (fingerling).

Barramundi from jetty Tilsan B.barra (Blue herring)
Unfortunately unable to add the trolling picture due to size of the picture is too large. I used Fingerling lure and got a 2.5kg Gt.

@ Vijayfisher

Nice catches, Vijay.

Must take some Tilsan Barras to India this year ...... in fact, I am getting them from my tackle box right now for packing!

By the way ..... do you still have that pink and silver Halco Scorpion lure? It was a very deep diver, some 8 meter + , if I am not wrong.

If so, you can change the bib on it ( from another Halco lure ) so that it can be made into a shallow or mid depth lure. It depends on the replacement bib.

Changing the bib is quite easy. You first push out the cross piece behind the bib with a small nail, take out the old bib and replace with the new one, then push the cross piece into place to lock everything tight.

Hope you catch those elusive barracudas with it.

Kingfish

Hi Kingfish ...yes, i do have it with me, am waiting it to use in the right place. Twice got tangled in the abanded nets, I paid some money and got it from the local fisherman's. Sure I'll try changing the bib. Thanks for your advice.

Regards
Vijay.

Vijay,

So sorry that you had to pay to get the lure untangled.

To be frank, that is what I was afraid of all this time, therefore my suggestion to change the bib to avoid the lure going deep.

If you get a chance to go out on a boat, this lure is good for trolling at that 8 m depth . Caught me the biggest barracuda in Goa some time back.

Good luck,
Kingfish

Three Lures I've had good results with are,

1) Gotcha Plug - The most effective one yet for me, but the risk if snagging is really high and I've lost a few. caught Snappers, GT and also smaller barracudas on this!

2) Halco Twisty 30 G - This lure was on fire last month that i got tired of dragging in hairtail after hairtail!

3) DUO Drag metal cast. GT and snappers are pretty much all I've caught with these!

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