Tailor would have to be one of the most sought out fish for shore based in the metro area. There are plenty of reasons for this with the foremost being that they can be caught from just about any of the local beaches, rocks and marinas. The other reason is there not a bad table fish if there prepared properly and eaten fresh. They are also a great fight on light tackle and aren’t an overly difficult fish to catch as long as you know what to look for. When fishing for Tailor you have to remember that they usually come on the bite first thing in the morning and just on sunset. They can be there for hours but generally there only there for short period sometimes only minutes, before moving on. This is why it’s very important to have your gear rigged up ready to go so you spend more time with your line in the water rather than spending the time sorting out your rigs.
Tailor fishing can be done a few different ways using bait. Mulies are the most preferred bait to use when targeting Tailor. There’s float fishing for them which I usually use a size 5 blob between 2 swivels and about 1 metre of 40-60lb leader. I like to fish this style when casting over reef so that my line doesn’t get caught on the bottom. Also when fishing with a float at night I put a glow stick just above the float so I can see when I’m retrieving. When fishing on the bottom for tailor I use a running star sinker attached to a metre or more of 55lb leader to a set of VMC 4/0 or 5/0 hooks. You can add a treble on the bottom or what I prefer is a small 2/0 Mustad tarpon, the reason I do this is so if I catch undersize tailor they can be easily released with minimal damage. Trebles can be an absolute nightmare to get out if a small tailor swallows them right down. And with the minimum size being 30cm, you don’t want this happening.
Russell Hood-Penns biggest Tailor to date 76cm
Ok I’ve done enough talking bout using baits to catch tailor because what I really wanted to talk about was how to catch big “Green Backs” (Large tailor) on everything except bait. Now when you first walk into tackle shops there are usually hundreds of different types of lures hanging on the walls and on display stands and it definitely can be quite confusing for somebody if they don’t know what to look for. First things first, you really have understand the area your going to be fishing before you start purchasing your lures. Along the coast there’s plenty of reef, sand, marinas and other obstacles you have to take into consideration. Now if your fishing around reefy area’s your best to use lures such as poppers and plugs because these sort of lures, are what’s called surface lures, and actually work the surface, so there is less chance you will become snagged on the underlying structure. In most cases poppers will actually float as well so they a defiantly a must have in your tackle box. You can also use metals which are very universal because you can actually vary the depth of the water column you target by the speed of your retrieve. Sometimes in deep water you let the lure sink for a few seconds before you start the retrieve. If you’re casting over reefs that are just under the surface, then you obviously have to go with the fast retrieve.
Soft plastics are a great way to catch tailor as well. My favourites would have to be the Berkley Gulp range. They come in various colours and sizes from bright pink, blue, green, white and basically any colour you can imagine. My favourite colours for Tailor would be the Sardine (blue white), Pearl (white) and also Pink. Rigging these plastics up with the right jig heads can be a deadly weapon to have in your tackle box. The weight of the jig head totally depends on the size of the plastic you choose and also the rod and reel combination you have. My weapon of choice is a 9" Shimano Starlo stick with a Shimano Stradic 5000 with 14lb Fireline. This is a great outfit for lures because its nice and light giving me plenty of distance and accuracy in my cast. Some people prefer to fish with longer rods as you would with baits, like 10-14ft surf casters but when fishing with lures its a lot better to downgrade your gear making it easier to walk up an down the beach, climbing over rocks and walking onto reefs. Graphite rods when matched up with smaller reels and braid are the ideal way to fish lures. Fibreglass rods are definitely more forgiving for the angler that’s a bit rough with thier gear but if you take good care of your equipment graphite has a lot more advantages than fibreglass. Rovex Bario make a good graphite rod at 10 and 11” which are as light as a feather. These are really good rods if you were to match them up with reels around the 6000-8000 size and between 15-30lb. In bigger swell this sort of outfit would be recommended over your 7-9ft’s.
The other lure I would like to talk to you about are Ritcher Plugs. These lures have been around for along time and have been catching Salmon down south for years. They are a very basic looking lure but don’t be mistaken, they are deadly on Tailor. Their shape allows them to skip across the water beautifully. Most of the time I use the white, or red tipped Ritchers and just retrieve at a steady pace. I find that when casting into Tailor country it is not long before they will entice a strike! I was recently fishing a patch of reef north of Sorrento and caught 3 good size Tailor within about 10 casts. The Tailor where hitting them almost the instant they entered the water.
Fishing with lures I think is one of the most enjoyable ways of fishing and there is definitely more than one way to use any given lure. I have worked in Tackle shops for the last seven years and I always encourage people to try different actions and vary their retrieve rates. There is no right or wrong way to use a lure. Sometimes I wind my lures in flat out, others really slow with a strong jerking action. Sometimes I let my lures sink all the way to the bottom with a fast retrieve and every few seconds pause before continuing. I’m always trying new things and continue to do so until I find a combination that results in a strike, and hopefully a fish. Its all about trial an error and this is what can make the difference between catching a lot of fish and just a few. Baits can be great and defiantly have their time and place, but there are occasions that people using lures will defiantly out fish the people using baits. It doesn’t happen all the time but where bait will just sit in the water, a lure might entice a fish that is not feeding into a strike. I also think that territorial fish have a tendency to attack a lure as an instinct, not just as a food source.
An important thing to remember when fishing for Tailor don’t get to carried away with the fillets because they don’t freeze the best but if bled on capture and then cooked up within a few days I recon there pretty good. My favourite way to eat them is in the pan with a little bit of butter and garlic. So hopefully this information might persuade people to persist with lures over bait which hopefully will pay off for them and I’m sure it will keep the ladies at home happy with less ‘smelly’ bait in the freezer.
Robert Meneguz
Ranger Outdoors Joondalup