Easing into Surf Plastics by Mark Ward

One feature of fishing with plastics that I love is the ease at which it can all happen. Grab a light spin rod, a few jigheads and a bag of plastics and you are on your way to catching fish. No stinky old bait, no bait collecting and not having to change baits after a bite, and the light tackle adds to all the excitement. Fishing with plastics is all too easy.

Around a year ago, during a stay on South Stradbroke Island, I had the boat on the western side of the island all loaded with soft plastics and light spin gear and the surf rods ready for the eastern side of the island. During a brief moment of inspiration, I decided to head east with the spin gear and try my luck in the surf with plastics.

I know it is not the first time that it has been tried but what was significant about that day was that I managed to land some great fish. This included a kilo plus bream that put his nose into the receding waves a number of times and pulled like a freight train. I just had to do that again.