If you want to try a deadly new fishing technique that will see you hooked up to some of the best sports fish in the country, then fishing with surface lures are for you. Just a warning though, the strikes and hook-ups you get are very visual and can cause trembling knees and is not recommended for anyone that excites too easily or has a heart condition. Surface fishing with poppers and stick baits could be the most exciting and visual form of fishing you can do!
What to target
Fishing with surface lures will work for just about any predatory fish from bass and cod in the freshwater, bream and flathead in the rivers to salmon and tailor off the beach to mackerel, tuna and kingfish offshore. The style of fishing is deadly on just about any fish in all types of water from little freshwater streams to deep offshore. The key is to match your popper or stick bait to the type of baitfish your target species will be hunting. Don’t be put off by using large poppers and stick baits. For trevally and mackerel I usually use a 200mm long stick bait and I find that this is like a lollipop to these predatory fish.
Lures
Poppers and stick baits are the two most common types of surface lures you will use. A popper does exactly what its name suggests and splashes and ‘pops’ water when you sweep your rod back. While a stick bait is a minnow style lure with no bib that typically darts frantically on the surface as you work the lure back. On both styles of lure you need to ‘work’ the lure to get the desired action that is irresistible to fish. This simply means that you sweep the rod to work the lure and then wind up the slack and repeat. On all styles of surface fishing pausing the lure for a brief moment in between your winding is a deadly technique. It is usually when the lure is stationary a fish will race in to enquire and most of the time this is when it strikes. Mix your technique up and try both long and short pauses and even try spinning it back quickly to see what will work best. I find spin tackle works best with surface lures and longer rods at least 7 foot in length. That way you can belt your lures way out and cover more water with each cast.
Terminal tackle
This will depend on what you are targeting and most styles of surface fishing will require some finesse to your rigs. Light fluorocarbon leaders will work great in creeks and rivers, especially when you are targeting fish in the shallows. When you are fishing the blue-water for hard fighting species such as trevally, mackerel and tuna then you will need to upgrade the hooks and split rings that come standard on most surface lures. I’ve seen big Giant Trevally literally snap split rings and straighten hooks like they were nothing. While fishing for these brutes is a completely different game from bream and bass, you really do have to go overboard on your terminal tackle and I will generally run 200lb mono leader, especially if I’m fishing shallow water or near a reef edge.
