Spring Sessions: Part 1

I absolutely love Spring time, it's probably my favourite time of year to fish. The weather is always superb, with crisp clear days and temps in the mid to high 20's it just makes for beautiful days out on the water.

Lately i have been making the most of the fine weather and getting out as often as i can to chase Bream and Bass on surface, as well as test some of the new Ecogear Bream Prawns.

Firstly the Bream Prawns, there isn't much more to say then if your planning on targeting Bream, Flathead and Whiting over the summer then get yourself a pack of these plastics. Fish absolutely love them. My first outing with them saw me score 2 Bream, a Flathead and a little Fingermark. This did not include the 3 bust offs i received at the hands of who knows what. Needless to say next time i head back i am packing the Cod and Jack gear. After that session i decided to take my brother out for another first, his first Bream on a soft plastic lure. He came up with the goods with a cracker fish and i made sure i had the camera handy to capture his first lure caught fish. He now thinks Bream are the freight trains of the estuary. "He's yet to catch a Jack", i said

A good 30cm plus fish taken on the 50mm Bream Prawns

Another good Bream taken on the 40mm Ecogear Bream Prawn

With Bream on the brain i decided it was time to venture into Bream Heaven and chase a few fish on surface poppers. My poison was the new popper range we have from Zipbaits. I did my homework and found a new location, picked some days of 0 wind and headed off on some early morning and late afternoon trips. By far my favourite times to chase Bream on surface.

If you have done any surface fishing for Bream, or any other species for that matter you know how addictive it can be. It doesn't matter what the species of fish it is there is just something about visual fishing that makes it in my opinion the most enjoyable variety of angling.

All in all i had some pretty short and sweet sessions, with one trip in particular i landed 5 fish within about 1.5 hours. I dropped about another half a dozen more in the same session, which brought me back down to earth. Regardless the action was electric, you only had one shot at each fish which made it very challenging, but that swirl behind the lure and the smash and grab take of a Bream hitting the surface is magical. Sunrise and sunset backdrops just add to the picturesque nature of this style of fishing.

One of the first Bream i caught on a popper this spring.

A small fish but any fish on surface is a good fish.

Some of the Bream were getting a bit better in size and the mornings wore on.

A little bycatch while taking the yak out of the water.

Zipbaits Skinny Pops, are one of my favourite poppers for Bream

There were a few trevs about which made for some good fun.

Lucky last. This fish was from my last cast at surface bream for a few weeks. Maybe?

And that's that for now. Part 2 will be all about some recent trips into my favourite skinny water for Mission: Bass on Poppers, including another first my Brothers first Bass on a popper.

New Products this week at Saiko Tackle

With the beautiful Spring weather of late and Summer just around the corner we have been very busy over the last few weeks adding new product for anglers to enjoy over the warmer months. We have 3 new additions to the store this week from 3 different brands.

First up is the 2 inch Damiki Air Craws. We are big fans of the Monster Mikis, and when we found out that a similar type of soft plastic was on it's way we were very excited. After seeing them in the flesh we know that these are going to be just as, if not more deadly then the Monster Mikis of Bream and Bass. The hollow claws mean slower sink rates and longer periods of time in the strike zone. Coupled with 10 great colours and 10 per pack there probably isn't a better value for money product in our store at the moment. You can see the Air Craws here: Damiki Air Craw

Damiki Air Craw 2 inch Colour Chart

The second new product in this week is the Pontoon 21 Crackjack 38mm Deep Divers in the Tiger colour range. We now have 9 colours in this 30mm Deep Diving lure including the new Tiger range of colours. The new colour range is spectacular and we can't wait to use these over the Summer chasing Bream, Bass and Flathead. At a diving depth of 1-1.4m they are perfect to work on the flats, around drop offs and parallel to structure. You can check out the new colour range here: Pontoon 21 Tigers.

Pontoon 21 Crackjack Tigers Colour Range

Finally we have a brand new range of jig heads from Ecogear in stock. The Skip In The Shade jig heads are an extremely popular jig head models in Japan. They have been brought to Australian shores for use with the brand new Ecogear Aqua Bream Prawns. And they match perfectly with the bream prawns. The main reason for this is the bait keeper on the jig heads. This means that your soft plastic won't slip and slide of the plastic when it's struck halfheartedly by a fish, meaning less wasted or torn plastics and more solid hook ups with fish. The design also allows these to be skipped into and underneath overhanging structure where other jig heads won't venture. We will be stocking up our own boxes with these and we know your going to love them too. You can see the range here: Ecogear Jig Heads.

Ecogear Skip in the Shade Jig Heads

We also have plenty of all your old favourites back in stock including:

• Ecogear VX35's
• Ecogear VX40's
• Ecogear ZX30's 35's and 40's
• Pontoon 21 Suspendots
• Pontoon 21 Gagagoons
• Yamatoyo Leader Lines

You can see all of this and more in the store: www.saiko.com.au

Strike Tigers - Tasmanian Trout Frogs have arrived.

Well after a fair few session out testing the Strike Tiger Frogs range we are proud to announce that Tasmanian Trout Frogs have finally hit the shelves at Saiko Tackle. These are one of those rare lures that took a great concept from frogging for larger species of fish and adapted to suit the bread a butter species a lot of us fish for. It must be something in the water down there in Tassie that has given us so many great lure companies over the last couple of years. I must say as an angler I appreciate the tim, effort and passion guys like Michal from Strike Tiger puts into his craft. It really shows.

Like the name suggests these Frogs are used by Tassie anglers already with great success, i can only imagine the sensation of a trout clipping one of these little frogs of the surface. We have decided to bring them a little further north because we know that these are going to be a great addition to our own tacklebox over the summer fishing for species such as Bream and Bass. Where we think these will really take off is with Saratoga anglers as you can work these frogs both across the surface and sub surface and rigged weedless you can drag them through the lily pads like no other lure i have seen.

I recently got out to chase some Toga on these and whilst i didn't come home with the goods i was extremely impressed with how well these cast and how deep into the lily pads you can work them. I was able to fish areas i would only dream about before, and i know this summer that i have a huge advantage when i head out chasing saratoga.

For Bass anglers well it doesn't get much better then this. I know for myself i would look at all the huge frogs on the walls of tackle stores and wondered when there would be a model that i could use for Bass and Bream. Well finally that time has arrived, and if your planning a trip to chase some Bass on surface then make sure you grab yourself a pack of these soft plastics.

These do require certain rigging techniques and hooks to match. We use the Damiki Viper wide gap size 1 hooks and can't fault them. These hooks when rigged texas style allow the perfect balance meaning you can high stick the Frog and work it along the surface with great ease.

If your interested you can check them out @ Saiko Tackle.

Here are a few pics to wet your appetite as well.

Tasmanian Trout Frog in Brown Marsh Frog

Tasmanian Trout Frog in Green and Gold Marsh Frog

Ecogear Aqua Bream Prawn in stock this week

"As part of the pre-order promotion all customers that purchase 3 or more packs of soft plastics will receive a free Ecogear Wristband. In addition we have 5 free packs to give away to the first five orders of 5 packets or more. Orders will be shipped this week, and Free Express Post for all orders over $100"

The highly anticipated Ecogearaqua Bream Prawn is arriving at Saiko Tackle this week. Seeing as this is one of the most anticipated lures of 2011 we are opening up sales for pre-order a couple of days early so that you can get in early while stocks last.

These have dynamite throughout the testing phase, and thanks to the guys at Ecogear Australia we will be sharing some of their testing videos and images with you on our Blog. The Bream Prawns have been 4 years in the making and it has been well worth the wait.

The guys at Ecogear Australia have brought us a 100% biodegradable hybrid soft lure that Bream, Flathead and other estuary species just love. They are infused with Bream attracting scents making it easier to catch the often wary Bream, making them perfect for beginner Bream anglers to get into a few fish. They come in 8 great colours with 8 pieces in a an easy to open pack.

Get in quick guys because these are sure to run out the door fast.

You can find them in store @ www.saiko.com.au

The Ecogearaqua Bream Prawn

A nice Bream that couldn't resit the Bream Prawn

Even the Estuary Cod can't resist

Another nice Bream falling to the Bream Prawn

Ecogearaqua Bream Prawn Colour Chart

Saiko Tackle Spring Sale

Spring is almost upon us and to welcome the new season Saiko Tackle is starting our Spring Sale Early. We have over 20 products on sale beginning today and running till stock runs out. You will have to get in quick though because stock is limited and prices have been slashed.

Some of the products that are on sale include:

• Pontoon 21 Crackjacks
• Damiki Soft Plastics
• Damiki Surface Poppers
• Ecogear PX Range
• Nories Hardbodies
• Yamatoyo Braid
• Yep Tassie Soft Plastics

Squire, Bream and Bass favourties - Damiki Soft Plastics

Bass, Trevally and Jacks love  Damiki Surface Poppers

Bream Slayers - Damiki Grub Soft Plastics

Bream Slayers - Damiki Monster Miki

Trout specialist lures - Nories Crankin Puppa

Topwater at it's best - Nories Zag Stick Pencils

Limited Edition Pontoon 21 Crackjacks

Trout and Bream soft plastics from Yep Tassie Tackle

Our favourite braid - Yamatoyo SW Super PE

Best Prawn Imitation ever made - Ecogear PX45 and PX55f

You can see the full range here : Saiko Tackle Spring Sale

On top of the low low prices we are still going to ship express post for FREE for all orders over $100.

So happy shopping anglers, and we wish you all a top Spring fishing season.

Zipbaits lures are now at Saiko Tackle

We have a heap of new products coming in over the next 6 weeks, and to kick us off is the very popular and extremely well regarded range from Zipbaits. Saiko Tackle has in stock 4 great styles hand picked by us for all of you lure fishing junkies.

In terms of quality it's hard to find better, these lures cast a mile and you can place them accurately in likely looking fish country. The colours we have chosen all catch fish so you will be able to find something you like to suit the conditions your fishing. The 4 styles we have in stock are the :

• Rigge 46mm Suspending Medium Runner
• Skinny Pop Jr.  70mm Surface Popper / Walker
• Tiny Popper 48mm Surface Popper
• SPM 55 Stickbait

All four styles were chosen to give all of out customers some variety without having to spend a fortune on lures. The Rigge 46 SP MDR is the perfect crank/minnow lure for a heap of estuary species. The Skinny Pop is a known Bream and Whiting surface slayer, and many anglers use this as their go to lure. The Tiny Popper is a great surface lure if your wary of the size of the Skinny Pop, and we can't wait to get these back in the skinny water this summer for Australian Bass. The Stickbait is the perfect all rounder, you can work it at any depth with any retrieve you like in order to get the lure to imitate any variety of bait fish to suit the conditions.

With the colour range, features and most importantly price we know your going to love these lures. You can get your hands on these in the online store @ www.saiko.com.au

Zipbaits Rigge 46SP MDR

Zipbaits Skinny Pop Jr.

Zipbaits ZBL SPM55

Zipbaits Tiny Popper

And as always we have a short demo video in the tank test for you to enjoy.

Saiko Tackle Mega May Sale

It is with great pleasure that we inform all of our customers that we are starting our first sale of the year with a bang. Starting Monday the 9th of May and running for 2 weeks is the Mega May Sale at Saiko Tackle. Unlike other sales - we are extending our sale to include all stock. So everything will be 10% off for the 2 week period.

"That's not enough!", you say, well for the length of the sale we are giving all customers the opportunity to receive an additional 10% off by liking our page on Facebook. That's right! 20% off total just by liking our page.

HOW TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT

So how do i get this great deal you ask. Well it's simple between the 9/5/2011 - 23/5/2011 our shopping cart will automatically deduct 10% of any purchase you make.

In addition by liking our page on Facebook you get access to a voucher code that will allow you to get an additional 10% off when you checkout in the store. It's very easy to use once your done shopping just go to the checkout and at the bottom of the page enter the coupon code and click redeem coupon, and it will update your total cost before you make payment.

Visit our Facebook Page by clicking on the F Icon.

Like our Facebook Page and refresh the page to see the extra 10% off Voucher code

Use the Redeem Coupon feature and enter the code from our Facebook page.

Please note that you must first like our page before you can see the voucher code.

Saiko home page link

Saiko Facebook link

TERMS OF SALE

• Valid only between 9/5/2011 - 23/5/2011
• Valid will all products in the store
• Promotion is valid with Free Express Post offer
• Promotion is not Valid with other coupons or vouchers

Because this is such a great offer, stock is limited so you will have to get in quick to score yourself a bargain. Happy shopping everyone, and as always if you have any questions feel free to contact us via our contact form.

Pontoon 21 55mm Gagagoons, 48mm Crackjacks and Famell Spinning Fluoro now in stock

Firstly we hope all of our customers had a wonderful Easter Break. I am sure 5 days away from work meant that many of you got to spend some much deserved time out on the water. We were fortunate enough to enjoy a few short sessions targeting Bass and Bream with mixed success, but any day out fishing is better then a day at work....unless you have a TV fishing show and get to do both.

Anyhow, we have some new announcements this week that we know some of our customers have been looking forward too. Firstly we have 2 new products from Pontoon 21, these are the 55mm Gagagoons and the 48mm Crackjack in Limited Edition colours.

You can see the colour charts for both new models below.

I had a chance to swim the Gagagoons earlier today and......WOW what a great little lure. You can see the write up on the product pages but i may as well state it here as well that the Gagagoon is super versatile and the sink rate is perfect, i can just picture wafting past a Big Bass lurking in cover, or darting of the bottom in front of a big Flathead. You can check them out here: Gagagoons @ Saiko Tackle.

We have the Gagagoons in all 4 colours in stock.

The Crackjacks are excellent as well, essentially its a size upgrade from the 38mm model last year but with greater size comes increased casting distance. We have the shallow running model in stock, which can still get down to just over 1m if you work it down with your rod. The biggest change is that we have the in 7 Limited Edition colours so you will have to be quick to get your hands on them. You can check them out here: Crackjacks @ Saiko Tackle.

The 7 LE Colours at the bottom are now in stock @ Saiko Tackle

Secondly, new to Saiko Tackle is the Famell Spinning Fluoro. Made famous by Shaun Clancy (Winner of the 2010 Daiwa ABT Grand Final), this spinning fluorocarbon is used by anglers all over the country when running a second setup for fluoro straight through. Aside from the fact that you don't have to retie leaders this line stands out when the fish are being super finicky, or the water is super clear and your braid might be spooking them. Because Fluoro sinks you can fish this line with a fast sink rate with Blades, Stickbaits and Soft Plastics. You can check them out in store here: Famell Spinning Fluoro @ Saiko Tackle.

Famell Spinning Fluorocarbon by Yamatoyo now in stock.

Aside from all the new products we also have been restocked in Nories Laydown Minnows, Sebile Splashers and Cranksters, Pontoon 21 Suspendots and some leader lines from Yamatoyo.

New Pontoon 21 Lures coming soon to Saiko Tackle

Coming soon to Saiko Tackle are some new products from Pontoon 21. First up is the much anticipated GagaGoon 55mm sinking stickbait. They will come in 4 great colours, and you can fish them at a range of depths. The size and sinking nature is perfect for estuary species like Bream and Bass where you sometimes have to search the water column for fish. It's a must have tool in the tacklebox if you love your hard body lure fishing.

Pontoon 21 GagaGoon colours arriving soon at Saiko Tackle

Some features of the GagaGoon include:

• PBD (Prism Body Design). Having excellent action, such body’s shape is well-visible under any angle of view.
• GE (Gaga Eyes). Specially made eyes create the impression that GagaGoon constantly looks on you (or target fish) from any position – this provokes predator for attack not less than action of lure
• KKBS (Koto-Koto Balanced System). Original balanced system consists of 2 balls with different density values, which move from side to side very slightly, just a few millimeters so Gaga Goon “shakes” during retrieving as well as during pauses. GagaGoon sinks horizontally, with the whole body giving a slight shaking whilst creating  low-frequency sounds, that’s gets predator fishes attention well before the retrieve has begun.
• Aerolip. The special lip’s construction together with all features above provides the most realistic effect of a live fish,  whilst keeping a high level of castability

And for your enjoyment the Searing Tackle team has compiled a short video of the GagaGoons for you to enjoy.

 

In addition we will have some very limited edition Pontoon 21 Crackjacks on offer. These are the 48mm shallow running variety. We have them in 7 limited edition colours so you will have to be very quick to get your hands on some of these. We will have all the details of them when they arrive in stock, but here is a quick snapshot of the colour range.

Pontoon 21 Limited edition 48mm Crackjack colours arriving soon at Saiko Tackle

A quick flick.

Last weekend i had the opporunity to head out with my brother James to trap some native fish for his fish tanks. Aside from being fishing junkies my brothers have always kept native fish and like fishing when your trapping native fish, half the fun is getting out and tracking them down.

This led to us investigating a spot where we had been told there were some native fish that my brother was trying to get for his tank. I thought i should bring a rod just in case, you never know what might be lurking in the water.

So off we went on a glorious Sunday afternoon, we arrived around 2:00pm there wasn't a person in sight and the trapping began. Whilst my brother sat patiently i tossed a a few lures around, and within 20 minutes i had landed 3 nice Bass just sitting on the edge of some fast flowing water.

Australian Bass taken on a Nories Laydown Minnow in Live Ayu

Australian Bass taken on a Nories Laydown Minnow in Live Ayu

I was over the moon at this point, i wasn't expecting to catch anything so to land 3 bass in the late 20's to mid 30's was awesome. We only had a short time so it thought i would explore some other spots and i came up with 2 more beautiful Australian Bass. One of them lucky enough to escape a shot form my camera, as i lost him at the bank while i was rummaging through my bag.

All in all it was a short session, in some new water with plenty of surprises. I got to throw plenty of my favourite lures and they all landed fish. My brother James however lucked out with 0 natives for his tank. But there is always next time.

One of the smaller Bass taken on a Cranka Crank

One of 2 Bass taken on the Damiki Vaults

The lures that did the damage were Damiki Vautlt's, Nories Laydown Minnows and the Cranka Cranks.

The video your about to watch was one of the bigger Bass we got on a Cranka Crank, we had lured him in some shallow water and were able to get a quick 1 minute of the final part of the fight.

Threadybusters Version 2 have arrived at Saiko Tackle

We are very excited to announce that Version 2 of Threadybuster series has hit the shelves at Saiko Tackle and is available for purchase.

This is the first time we got to see the entire colour range in both the 95mm and 85mm version and they are superb. Dan from Smoking Drags has done an excellent job in making sure that each lure is crafted with the utmost care and the finish on each is beautiful.

We have already had some go out the door, and by the looks of things we are encouraging customers to get in early while stocks last. We know the guys up north are going to enjoy them for chasing big Barramundi in both the fresh and saltwater. Don't feel left out though if you don't get to chase the iconic Barra, the Threadybusters are sure to make a splash with southern fishos when chasing big Kingfish, Salmon and other pelagics.

Fitted with the same components as their predecessor they are one tough bit of kit, and all of the testing so far has shown that even Tuna, Barramundi and Mangrove Jacks are having a tough time denting the lures.

So without further delay you can find each version at our store by following the links below to Saiko Tackle:

• 85mm Threadybuster Version 2 at Saiko Tackle
• 95mm Threadybuster Version 2 at Saiko Tackle

And you can check out the colour charts below.

Threadybuster Version 2 in the 85mm - Colour Chart

Threadybuster Version 2 in the 95mm - Colour Chart

Coming Soon: Threadybusters Version 2.0

We are very excited that in the next few days we will be receiving stock of the new version of Threadybusters by Smoking Drags. The new range means a totally new design that sees the introduction of soft tails to the range. In addition there are new colours which all look fantastic and some new sizes as well.

Features:

• 3 new sizes
• 8 new colours
• Soft Tails
• Improved design

We will be the first store that is stocking the new range so you will be able to get them before they hit the shelves elsewhere.

A few of our customers have been testing the new range alongside the old models and the feedback is very positive. In particular i want to thank Richard Stewart for the testing he put in on them. It was great having a chat with you Richard and getting some feedback on the new design. You will be able to see some of the pictures from early testing captures.

Amongst all of this great news there is unfortunately some sad news as well. As production has begun on the new range, it means the old model of Threadybusters has been discontinued. We have some stock still left so if your still interested in the old model it will still remain in stock. We are hoping to have a deal involving the old model when the new stock arrives in, so keep an eye out.

Finally before we get to the photos, Saiko Tackle would like to thank Dan from Smoking Drags for all of the interest and support he has shown to both Saiko Tackle and our customers. Dan has been a great help in not only keeping us up to date on all of the new products at Smoking Drags but also assisting our customers with tips techniques and information on Smoking Drags products. So top stuff Dan, we love all of your creations and we can't want to see what the future holds.

As per usual here are some images for you to enjoy in the meantime. You will be able to see more @ Saiko Tackle

Saiko Tackle customer Richard Stewart landing a nice Barra on the new Threadybusters

Threadybusters Version 2.0 new colour range and styles.

Saiko Tackle customer Richard Stewart landing another nice Barra on the new Threadybusters