...for serious pike and predator anglers!
Ultralight Lure Fishing Tips
What is the appeal of ultralight lure fishing?
That is a question that I’m often asked. Well, for me, it’s the not knowing what the next tug on the rod tip will produce.
From any of the rivers or broads that I ultralight lure fish on, I have the chance of catching a good chub, pike, carp, perch, brown trout - or even a salmon or sea trout, bass or mullet.
Without doubt, the larger the lure I use, the less chance I will have of catching ‘all’ the aforementioned fish.
Medium to large lures tend to attract nothing but pike for me – where ultralight lures allow me the chance of catching many different species of fish. There’s not a freshwater fish swimming that will not, at some time in its life, eat some form of living creature. All freshwater fish are predators. It’s possible to entice any freshwater fish with a well presented, ‘very lifelike’, artificial lure.
What is an ultralight lure?
Put simply, an ultralight lure is a lure that is ultralight in weight and ‘usually’ quite small in looks - they usually weigh in the region of 3-5g. A tiny lightweight plug or spinner would be termed an ultralight lure by most ultralight lure anglers – as would a lightly weighted fly. Lightly weighted flies, which can be very, very productive, can be cast a good distance with ultralight tackle.
Casting Ultralight Lures
To cast ultralight lures a good distance, the correct choice of tackle is a must. As tackle choice is a very personal thing, I will not try to push you in a specific direction – instead, I will list the tackle that I use and let you be guided by my choice.
My choice of ultralight tackle is a follows:-
Rod: I use a 7ft 6in Shimano Powerloop Spin 210M.
Reel: I use a Shimano Stradic 1000GTM.
Line: I use 15lb bs braided line.
Trace Wire: I use 10-15lb bs – depending on the make. The ‘stronger’ and ‘thinner’ the wire, the better.
Swivel: Personally, I much prefer to use a small stainless steel ring and whip wire to it.
Attachment Clip: A very reliable, small, strong clip, is a must. Personally, I prefer to make my own.
Which ultralight lures produce best?
When predatory fish are hungry, aggressive, and feeding competitively, a small plug or spinner can be the better option - but when shy, lethargic, or not too hungry, I find a lightly weighted 'tied fly' tends to be most productive. In my experience, I have found that it pays to start off by using lightly weighted flies. If the flies fail, I then go on and try tiny/small plugs and spinners.