Sunday, July 30, 2006

Viva la Fry!



It was quite some time ago that I first saw the 3” Gulp! Fry. I was doing the weekly rounds of the US Berkley site when I came across this fascinating little chunk of bio rubber. From memory it was in the Salomon & Steelhead department of the now renovated Berkley site and to tell you the truth, it was just what I was looking for!!
For the past few years I had been more than happy fishing the 3” Gulp! Minnow under boat hulls and docks with the aide of a little lead and a good Jap hook. But something needed to give! I was looking for a more all-round plastic. Something I could fish just under the surface with that crazy ‘Shakin’ retrieve but could also let it hang and sink, sometimes all the way to the bottom!
Not to say that you can’t do that exact same thing with the minnow but on those long drifts to the bottom, I was thinking that I’d like a plastic that could do just a couple more things a little bit better!
The specific things I was look for where - 1/ On those long drifts to the bottom I was looking for a particular shape lure that would sink in a more horizontal fashion, rather than the semi spiraling I was getting from the minnow. 2/ Once I had let the plastic sink to the desired depth (usually the bottom), I was looking for a body shape that would allow me to swim it off the bottom with a 'slower then normal', 2 part rod lift. This motion was to be non-obtrusive, slowish and subtle. The sort of rod lift retrieve that says to the fish ‘I’m not sick, I in good health, and I can’t see you coming’!!


The body shape of the Fry does exactly that. It’s thick enough in the back end and not so fat in the front so that it has a more ‘level’ sink rate which allows a more ‘glide’ style action and quite simply a better retrieve.
On the 2 part lift retrieve this little cheese stick gets up the most beautiful little tail shimmy you’ll ever see. You see, the tail is slightly bulbous and flat which is what gives it that slight shimmy. It’s this tiny amount of tail action that will account for quite a proportion of your bag on the days when the fish are playing hard to get!
All in all this little lure is proving it’s self to be quite a winner! From ABT top 10’s to AFC top 2’s, this 3 inch long Gulp! French fry is without doubt one of the biggest little sleepers of all time.

And don’t you worry about that!! I’ve been spanked like a $3 pony from most of the anglers I’ve given this plastic to! It seems there’s more than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to fish the Fry!! Good mates of mine have been doing the rounds with this thing and its proving it’s self to be some sort of ‘go to’ plastic.



I do smell some sort of trend emerging here so I’ll leave it to you crew to make your own assumptions on how your Fry’s are cooked. But if one thing is for sure, mark my words, this 3” wonder will be coming to a bream, or any other type of fish, near you real soon!

So go the Fry revolution,

And Viva la Fry.

Royter.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Berkley Nitro Jigheads are world beaters!!


Hi there snapper heads,

I've finally got my hands on some of the new Berkley Nitro Jigheads.
Sweet, sweet, sweet!!!
If these an't the best the jigheads in the world I will go it for tiggy. Matt Fraser has out done him self once again. Not to say that he wasn't already making the finest jigheads under his own brand Nitro but to bring these two powers together and throw the rains to Matt Fraser was for shore a god sent!

Using Matt's incredible knowledge and experience in the design and manufacture of jigheads coupled with the power of a brand like Berkley, you can only expect one thing. Excellences!! From the super tight molding process that creates those wicked smooth lead head sections to the superior quality of Owner hooks. That's right, I said OWNER!!!!
All new Berkley Nitro jigheads come standard with a various range of Owners hooks including there world renowned 'Cutting Point'.
To start there will be 5 different types available. All Terrain, Bream Pro, Saltwater Pro, Torpedo and Fat Torpedo.

Something else Matt Fraser has been working on is a jighead with a hollow back side! This alows the head of your plastic to be inserted into the hollow cavity making a much better fit and more stream line profile. These have been extensively trialed with the 3" Gulp! Shaky Shad, one of the countries most popular flathead baits.

I'm sure that a lot of other PowerBait and Gulp! models will benefit from these unique jigheads! I'll keep you posted on their release date.

The line up of weights go something like this -

1/50 - 1/40 - 1/32 - 1/24 - 1/16 - 1/11 - 1/8 - 1/6 - 1/4 - 3/8 -1/2 - 5/8 - 3/4 - 1oz

And in hook sizes from 4 to 7/0.

My tip is that this will keep you occupied for a least a little while or until we can stop Matt from fishing and get him back to work on more!

So there you have it. Berkley, Owner, Nitro, the mind of Matt Fraser. This is going to good.... really, really good!!!!

Bombs away,

Royter.