Beginner 1. Cast it out....count to 5 and retrieve it at a steady but slow speed with your rod tip held at your hip height...unlike a normal buzzbait it wont sink and will therefore stay in the strikezone on the surface all the time!
Advanced 2. Cast it out...count to 5....with rod rod tip held at your chests' height give it a hard tug....retreive slack line...wait and count to 5 again...repeat this excercise until you reach your boat or the waters edge, but before taking it out of the water do a figure 8 with the lure...wait again for a 5 count,,,,then take it out. This action can be applied to most lures as fish often follow a bait but need some time to decide if they are going to eat it or not...
Alternative techniques 3. If the wind is blowing and the water is a bit "choppy", cast it close to structure and just let it sit. The wave action will make the long soft plastic tail ( that you screw onto the back ) whip to and fro,looking very alive! Just wait ready to strike ( keeping line as tight as possible ), bass have the tendancy to start feeling uncomfortable with a "intruder"...this is called the intruder technique. After 5 minutes no action, try a different technique.
4.Double up- Tie a 3 way swivel to you line. Attach 2 pieces of line ( I prefer mono ) of about 3 foot to the swivel. Tie a HERMINATOR-HYBRID to one and a soft plastic lure like a Fluke to the other ( shorten this line to about 40cm). Cast it out and retrieve it with a fast "stop and go" retrieve. This will immitate a baitfish being chased by another predator. Sometimes Bass will take the Fluke,other times the predator, and sometimes you catch 2 fish at the same time!
5. SIGHT FISHING - If you can see a fish cruising beneath the surface layer cast well past it and retrieve quickly so that the lure will be in the "way" the fish was traveling. Once the fish is close ( about 1 to 2 metres ) give the lure a tug and see if the fishes' "body language" changes...give it a few softer tugs and hold on...this usually ends in a fight!
Notice the wake and bubbletrail caused by the lure!
A hungry Tigerfish spotted in the Sabie River ( close to the Kruger National Park ) cruising subsurface looking for a victim...
What you hope to findwhen out at sea...lots of bird action,meaning lots of baitfish,the ideal area to cast your lure!
Redfish tailing ( feeding and hunting Crustaceans ) in the Mosquito Lagoon in the US. A surface lure brought past them will result in a immediate strike!
Below : An ideal place to cast and work your lure,between and over the lillies!
Notice the extreme splash and bubble trail behind the bait!
Note the cammos...my favourite outfit when fishing from the bank!
What you are looking for...an aggressive surface strike!
TIP WELL WORTH REMEMBERING...FISH UP ROD DOWN,FISH DOWN ROD UP! BECAUSE YOU ARE FISHING THE SURFACE LAYER OF WATER THE CHANCES OF YOUR FISH JUMPING OR TAILWALKING IS HIGHER THAN WITH FOR EXAMPLE A CRANKBAIT OR SOFT PLASTIC. TO KEEP FISH FROM JUMPING TRY TO DIP ROD FISHING ROD TIP ABOUT 1 - 2 FEET UNDER THE WATER,THIS WILL HELP IN LESS JUMPS AND MORE FISH LANDED.
The ultimate Black Bass...A nile perch jumps after being hooked close to the surface - lake Nasser Egypt
As can be expected, a Tarpon will always jump 4 to 5 times so remember ...fish up,rod down...
The Arapaima in the Amazon will give an acrobatic display for free!
Taimen are great fighters and love striking surface lures!
The mighty Golden Dorado also loves jumping and throwing lures!
Not to mention Pike...they are acrobatic fighters!
You can also expect this from the Dorado or Dolphinfish as they are also known!
But the jumping winners has got to be Sailfish...
...and the Marlin!
ROTO HOOK SYSTEM>>>
Because our target species sometimes jump,they often "lock" the hooks on lures against the hook hangers,( almost like a fulcrum or crowbar effect ) wich gives them leverage to unhook themselves...This is where the ROTO -HOOK system comes in! The hooks spin freely 360 degrees thus the fish cant lock it against the lure and this means less fish lost,especially on the jump!
Another problem with aggressive and big fish is that the hook hangers or screws sometimes pull out ( especially on "cheap" lures )....All Herminator-Hybrid lures feature through wire construction meaning the hooks cannot pull or tear out of the lure!
Old fashioned hook hangers on top and the 360 degree free spinning ROTO-HOOKS above- attached to the through wire construction via a heavy duty ball bearing swivel!