Most of my lure fishing this season has been focused on using surface lures and have been particularly impressed with the cheap Cicada imitation lure by Kokoda lures. The ET Bat lure is a knock off of the successful lures the Tiemco Soft Shelled Cicada and the Megabass Siglet both lures that retail anywhere from online for $15 to $30 in some more expensive tackle shops. The Bat retails for $4.97 at Big W so you can get 3-6 lures for the same price. I have heard of some people having trouble with them not swimming properly I tend to think they aren't fishing them properly. It is worthwhile upgrading the hooks to Owners for instance but I have caught alot of fish on the original hooks no problems. One upgrade recommended is to upsize the tail hook to a size #8 treble but it will mean a little more tangling of both hooks. I have removed the belly hook split ring and fixed the treble straight to the wire hanger then closed it up again which keeps them just apart. I have also reversed the wings by unscrewing the fixture turning them around and fixing a hook to the tow point and tying the leader to the "tail" point. When I first started fishing these lures I was a little impatient wanting to move them but have since learned to leave the lure alone after the initial touchdown only giving it the odd plop. Many hits have been the moment the lure moves after a long pause whilst other times the lure is taken upon landing almost like the fish are sitting there open mouthed and the lure just drops in !!!!!! Some of the takes and miss takes blow me away at how subtle a "bite" on these lures can be. I have had several times where the lure is just being "sucked" or mouthed by the fish and pulled the lure out once the line was tightened. Damn frustrating !! But since I have been fishing with my mate Rob I have been picking up a few tips on increasing my success on both these lures and fly fishing for bass. Rob is a natural and can seem to pull bass with his eyes closed. The last two sessions we had together Rob pulled 13 fish to my zip in a morning session although I had some unsuccessful hits on fly. I do believe I have got Rob more enthused to use the fly rod in his local as it is definately more of a challenge and more rewarding pulling fish on the long wand. Our last session , before the rains flooded the river raising levels to unbelievable heights, Rob and myself had a great night session fishing from 6.30 to 11.30 at night. Rob wanted to test his short yak fly rod a remodelled 6'6" number and as usual pulled 4 bass on fly before it even got dark to my several missed hits -AAARRRGGGHHH !!He's got these fish trained ! Rob changed over to a Bat lure and started to pull some fish prompting me to tie one on as well and I finally started to get some. The night hours undoubtedly throw up a larger than average size fish with me landing 5 between 39 and 46cm and Rob landing 18 fish with the smallest around the high 30's and a high average around the mid to high 40's. However the fish were a bit slim. I did get absolutely dusted by an unstoppable fish where I couldn't get the rod tip out of the water and got busted off on the tree I was parked against. I saw it coming as I parked by this log so as to be able to cast up behind an overhanging tree touching the water. As soon as the lure landed I said if I get hit here I'm in trouble - sure enough 2nd plop of the Bat and the rod loads up and I can't take up any line saying to Rob "I'm in trouble" ping goes the line. Blown away. "Could have been the 50" Rob says. I'll never know. It was an awesome night with 23 fish caught averaging the mid 40's. Since the rain a fish that was tagged in there has been recaptured in another part of the system many kilometres away suggesting the fish have moved so it will be interesting to see if the are still around. Cheers Pat
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