May 14th, 2002

THE advancement in fishing tackle has certainly come a long way in recent times and every year there are new products and innovations of what will be the best tackle to target a certain species.

This year already there has been a number of new products enter the fierce competition in the marketplace. Some will be around forever and some will disappear as quickly as they came. A number of new fishing rods, reels, line, lures and not to mention the ever changing colour schemes of lure manufacturers.

Dave Killalea has produced a new lure recently called a 'snagmaster'. This is a small lure approximately 2 inches in length. It has a very tight action and by changing up one size in trebles, the lure will actually suspend in the water and not float back to the surface. Like all DK Lures, it has a one piece molded bib that is part of the lure and prevents any bib failures.

Redington rods are now available on the shelf and are well worth checking out. Predominately their market is in fly rods but there are two models of baitcaster style rods that are of interest. There is a 6' model and a 6'6" model. They are built along the lines of the G.Loomis crankbait series of rods and are excellent rods to fish with braided lines as they have a softer tip section. These two rods also come with an unconditional twelve month lifetime guarantee. That's right, you break it in twelve months and no questions asked you get a new one.

Not available for another few weeks is the new range of colours in the Killalure lure models. Most people are familiar with the 'Bobby Dazzler' colours with the reflective prism type material that are available in the Classic Barra lures. Well now all of the Killalure models will be available in the 'Bobby Dazzler' finish. Keep an eye out for them soon.

The range of soft plastics that has come onto the market in the last six months is mind blowing. This is mainly because of the huge interest in the Bass fishing down south. The stuff looks great, comes in a million different sizes, colours and shapes, not to mention the thousands of different types of jig heads to go along with them. Soft plastics are not as popular around Cairns and the Cape, but I think that they are certainly here to stay for a while especially while the Bass fishing keeps growing in popularity. I heard the other day that trolling large soft plastics for Barra's is becoming popular!

Glenn Campbell
Northern Angler