Florida Road Trip 2013

[MuskieBait]

On a straight retrieve, not too much action. At best it may produce somewhat of a wiggle, but I wouldn't call that any real lure action.

You need to work it with a super fast walk-the-dog cadence...sometimes I reel constantly as I rip and "bounce back" (ie, return your rod tip to the position before you ripped). The lure is heavy and it sinks on the pause...so instead of a topwater walk-the-dog, it will still dart left and right, only that it rises as you rip and sinks as you pause.

So basically, it looks like this...

Rise left, sink, rise right, sink, rise left, sink...etc, etc, etc.

[Eli]

sounds like pain to fish that thing for any length of time...

hmmm...gotta wonder if a spittin' image or a zera spook would have been easier and produced the same results?

[MuskieBait]

No, it's not any harder to fish than any other jerkbaits or walk-the-dog lures...you are simply working the lure faster since Smacks like to chase.

You need a lure that can cast out a good distance to cover water...and especially if the fish are shying away from the pier or they are situated in deeper water.

But to make it a little more complicated, Smacks often chase anchovies, herring and small mullet...and to imitate them you need lures around 2-3" in length. Most lures around that size are too light to cast a long distance, especially topwater lures that are hollow and designed to float. Topwater lures do work...but it's only great if the fish are within a relatively short casting distance.

People do have good success with X-Rap 8 in Ghost. Personally, that lure has caught me other saltwater fish as well so I always have one handy and available.

[fishfight]

What size rod were you using on the 7' shark? Line size? I guess it would be hard to really predict what type of fish will bite on which rod, if one uses a heavy duty rod and a small fish bites, then one would hardly enjoy the fight, but if a big shark accidentally chose to take the bait on the light rod, then it would be so tough to land the fish.
How high was the bridge? Did you guys have to take two ropes, one front, one back to hoist the fish to the top?

FLorida plane tickets are only around $300+ right now to Fort lauderde for the following week Sunwing flight, so tempting to go after being envious witnessing the Shark being landed. Best ticket deal flight from toronto I have seen so far. Other option to Florida....Fly from Buffalo, stay for a night at Hampton Inn for $85, one can leave car at their lot for up to two weeks . Includes free shuttle, call just to verfiy parking lot not full.

[MuskieBait]

Rod: Tsunami Inshore Kayak Travel Rod
- 7', 3-piece, H, 15-25lb, 3/4-2oz (but I was casting 4oz + bait with this rod).

Reel: Shimano Baitrunner 4500
- 300yds of 50lb braid main line, 30yds of 60lb mono leader, 8 feet of 150lb rub leader, 2 feet of 135lb wire

Bridge was 15-20 feet from the water. We only have one rope and you really only need one rope, either to rope the tail or rope the front like we did. Nurse shark is not very dangerous so we can rope the front...but tooth sharks we would definitely rope the tail.

We considered the flight option in the past...but driving was still the cheaper option. The cost for gas for the return trip (from Toronto to Tampa) was about $460 (or $230pp). We calculated it would cost at least $500pp if we fly then rent a car for 2 week ($350 flight + $150 car rental).

The other thing that people don't consider is the gear issue. When you fly, you are limited to how many rods, reel and tackle you can take due to luggage restrictions. Some airlines charges $15 for 1st luggage and $25 for 2nd luggage. Reels with braid is considered a choking hazard and line and reels have to be checked into luggage. Rods too long for overhead compartment (most airlines do not allow rods as carry on now) will have to go into checked luggage too. Each piece of checked luggage has a 50lb weight restriction (if the airline is generous...some limits you to 40lbs only).

For just myself, I brought 10 rods and 8 reels for the trip (only spinning and conventional gear). My saltwater tackle bag weights 30lbs alone at the start of the trip when I was full geared. That is not even considering all the misc. gear like rope for landing sharks, Rope for general use, bucket for bait and handwashing, bubbler, cutting board and knife for bait, pier net, regular net, PVC pipe as rod holders...etc, etc, etc. There is no way you can bring all of that on the airplane...which means you have to purchase much of that at your fishing location and you likely will not bring all of it back with you after. It adds to the cost (purchase, use and giveaway) and waste your time having to go shopping for everything (time wasted is money).

So in short...that's why we decided to drive instead of fly to Florida.

[OldTimer]

(01-27-2014 07:19 PM)Eli Wrote:  sounds like pain to fish that thing for any length of time...

hmmm...gotta wonder if a spittin' image or a zera spook would have been easier and produced the same results?

The Gotcha lures in the original metal tube body have a much higher weight to volume ratio than any freshwater lure and do track totally different and in a different plane. They are designed to be fished in the surf with its currents. Plus the hooks, bodies and finish on this chromed metal type are more robust to take the more extreme abuse seen from the salt water and its beasties. The old ones are rust free with stainless hooks and hardware.

I really don't like the newer plastic bodied Gotchas.

I'm quite sure the lures you mention would work but possibly get messed up a bit quicker - I've used some large Rebel freshwater top water baits in the salt and they worked - but they did get fubar eventually.

Cheers,

OT

[MuskieBait]

They still sell the original chromed metal gotcha, OT. I find you do have to rinse them off well with freshwater though...the metal wire will corrode if you don't rinse them out well...learned that lesson last year...

The freshwater lures mentioned, like Zara Spooks, are not as durable as lures designed for saltwater. Some of them have really poor o-rings that rust easy, poor hooks that rust easy, and I say, with personal experience, that the Zara Spook plastic body is not very puncture proof. My Zara Puppy (smaller version of the Spook) can only sustain three 24-27" barracuda before they started sinking due to punctures to the plastic body (and water leaked in). After a few more barracuda of the same size, the screw eyes were pulled out of the plastic body. The first time it happened, I lost the fish thinking the hook just came out on the fight, until I took a closer look and noticed the hook, o-ring and the screw eye missing. I thought that was just an isolated incident but it happened to all the Zara Puppies I used after. Those fish destroyed 3 Zara Puppies after a 4hr fishing session.

Here's what my Zara Puppy looks like after a few barracuda...I didn't take the hooks off on purpose...those were ripped off by the 'cudas...the three slashes close to the head of the lure punctured through the plastic.





I wish they make wooden Spooks with wire through construction...

[OldTimer]

(01-28-2014 04:06 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  I wish they make wooden Spooks with wire through construction...

I could expand that wish ............a lot.

.............. And not just for the salt.

The general construction of many top water lure classics has waned dramatically.

I have found quality issues with current issue :

Dying Flutters

Tiny Torpedoes

Spooks (as you have)

Jitterbugs

Hulapoppers

...... look just great in the package............. but bite........ some track badly, some leak & sink immediately, --- plus the weights are just off somehow. Made to sell (catch us anglers).......not to catch fish.

OT

[MuskieBait]

I was chatting with someone the other day about quality of gear...basically it boils down to...

"If they (companies) make such good quality gear that last and last, how many products can they sell each year? Not a lot"

Which is what we're seeing here.

If the lures are not constructed as well, it forces you to buy more.

[OldTimer]

(01-28-2014 05:16 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  I was chatting with someone the other day about quality of gear...basically it boils down to...

"If they (companies) make such good quality gear that last and last, how many products can they sell each year? Not a lot"

Which is what we're seeing here.

If the lures are not constructed as well, it forces you to buy more.

Yes - but there are still a few who have not changed their designs from the original issues - Mepps, Williams, Dardevle, Little Cleo, Kastmaster, etc.

and yes - most names I mention are all metal construction, unlike topwater plugs, that we anglers snag up and lose frequently on the bottom prompting replacement. I prefer this mode of driving sales.

I would rather feel foolish for snagging up a lure and losing it - than tossing a relatively new lure away due to poor re-designs, sloppy fabrication standards and ineffective quality control........... or worse - greed.

OT