About a year ago, Bite Me Gamefishing Charters at Matava was asked by Palm Fishing & Outdoors Australia to test and comment on a whole range of new skirted lures and bibbed minnows manufactured by Lurestreet in China. Palm Fishing was interested in stocking the best lures from the range and needed some field testing.

My deckie Joeli and I were happy to oblige and a number of lures proved particularly successful.

Mother-in-law

This popper lure looks a little different from the wide range available nowadays but it essentially does the same job as all successful popper lures. It draws strikes and catches fish. Weighted slightly towards the tail, it casts well with no tumbling in the air or hook fouling. It has the large concave front that throws up a big splash of water as you work it over the surface. Its well weighted being heavy enough to give good casting distance but light enough to start chugging away the second it hits the water surface. I always tell my guests you want to get the lure moving the second it hits the water. Predators expect to see a target fleeing the scene of the accident. The splash draws their attention and the fleeing lure draws the strike. The Mother-in-Law works well for us in a broad range of conditions and you will now find a selection available on all our game fishing vessels.

Position: Casting Popper

Rigging: Comes rigged with two treble hooks

Leader: 3 feet of 150lb mono leader crimped to a split ring attached to the lure.

Best Colour: Green/Gold/Red

Tips:

If you plan a holiday to Fiji, are hoping to get a little fishing in, we recommend you beef up the size of the trebles and split rings. They are fine for general all-round fishing but Fiji’s waters contain some massive Giant Trevally. Most members of the Trevally family are good fighters but GTs are notorious. They might be considered the piscatorial equivalent of a T-Rex on steroids with a bad hangover. A 40lb GT is perfectly capable of pulling you overboard if your reel jams. It will utterly destroy normal tackle so beef everything up.

Maker – Lurestreet

Distributor – Palm Fishing Australia www.palmfishing.com.au