Like most of the lures in the Sebile range, the Pro Shad Finesse Spinnerbaits have been designed a little differently to the conventional main stream product.  The obvious differences include blade shape and the junctured link in the top arm wire.  These differences combined with perfect weight and size configurations and great colour schemes should make for the perfect spinnerbait...right?  Not necessarily. 

My initial on water experience with the Sebile Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbaits was a little disappointing.  Don’t get me wrong, straight out of the packet the lures worked fine and looked great in the water...when retrieved at the ‘right’ pace. The ‘right’ pace however is where my problem was.  For the majority of impoundment or slow water native (Murray Cod and Golden Perch) fishing I undertake, the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbaits had to be retrieved far too quickly for their weight to keep them in the strike zone and for the blades to perform (spin) correctly.  This faster pace is great for the species they were designed for, primarily bass overseas, and even in Australia for faster flowing native river applications. However, if I was going to get results on still water impoundment natives then these lures were going to require a few simple modifications. 

The first, and most significant, modification was to remove the rear blade and replace it with a larger Colorado blade.  Sure the blades on the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbaits are pretty and may no doubt be one of the features that convinced you to buy the lure, but functionality far outweighs cosmetics in fishing.  The blade change is easily achieved via the rear split ring.  Swim the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait now and straight away you’ll notice the difference in its resistance, pulsating action, slower sink rate and better ‘hang’ time  you get at a greatly reduced retrieve speed which is important for keeping the lure in the strike zone as long as possible. 

The second modification I made was to give the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait some ‘beef’.  Compared to Aussie made spinnerbaits, the Pro Shad Finesse looks a little ‘thin’ and ‘light-on’ to get the full attention of a large Murray Cod, or even a big Golden Perch.  The Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait needed a trailer.  Time on the water chasing both species has convinced me that Golden Perch respond better to a worm style trailer while a bigger, bulkier trailer is favoured by Murray Cod.  Sure I understand both species are ambush predators and opportunistic feeders and can be caught on both presentation styles, however for targeting purposes these are the configurations I prefer.  

For Golden Perch I add a Sebile 5” A.T. Worm rigged on a 4/0 Owner siwash hook to the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait and for Murray Cod I use a Sebile Magic Swimmer 105 rigged on a 5/0 Owner siwash hook.  The latter presentation is a lure that demands attention from big Murray Cod.  The beauty about both these Sebile soft plastic trailers is that they have pre-moulded hook holes and slots which make rigging a breeze.  Rigging the trailer using these holes and slots also ensures you’ll get the full inbuilt action from the plastic.  Another little tip is to dip the last centimetre or so of the plastic trailer in a red or yellow dye (SpikeIt dips work well).  This is something I have found can make the difference on tough days and definitely won’t hinder the lures performance on a good day.  Finish the trailer rigging process off by placing a piece of tubing or a glow bead over the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait hook to prevent the trailer from working off and your ready to rumble.  Rigged this way I have used both weight configurations in the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait to successfully target natives in NSW impoundments. 

The Pro Shad Finesse 14 gram spinnerbait is great for slow rolling over shallow weedy and timbered areas or gentle sloping banks whilst the heavier 21 gram model is perfect for fishing the steeper rocky areas where additional weight is handy to follow the contour of the bank and keep the spinnerbait in the strike zone for the majority of the retrieve.  The 21 gram model is also great for slow trolling amongst a spread of hardbodies like the Sebile D&S Crank 70 or the Sebile Rattsler 85 VLL (very long lip) in deeper water towards the end of the season for big Murray Cod (March to May).  The key with this technique is to only have the Pro Shad Finesse out short behind the boat (half the distance the hardbodies are set at) and hold on to the rod with the spinnerbait (as opposed to putting it in a rod holder) as you can ride it over snags and retrieve it quickly if one of the other rods goes off. 

Now at this point some of you might be thinking why buy a Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait and then modify it when I can just buy one of the many other branded spinnerbaits rigged this way off the shelf.  Well for this very ‘functional’ feature alone...the ‘junctured link’ in the top arm wire of the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait.  The top arm wire on the Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbait has been designed in two sections.  The first 1/3rd of the wire is fixed to the bottom wire similar to that of a conventional spinnerbait.  However the rear 2/3rds of the top wire, including the blades, are on a separate length of wire joined to the first 1/3rd of the top wire via a swivel, thus forming the ‘junctured link’. This design serves a few purposes however by far the best is that it allows the rear 2/3rds of the top wire to be pushed out of the way, maximising hook exposure on a strike. 

In my on water experience using the Sebile Pro Shad Finesse spinnerbaits this feature has proved to be a distinct advantage over conventional style spinnerbaits with noticeably more hits, bumps and short strikes being converted to instant hook ups.  Try it and see for yourself; at the end of the day photos of fish caught are better than stories about the one that got away!

Matthew Perdrau
Manager

Tackle World Canberra
130 Gladstone Street,
Fyshwick ACT 2609

PHONE: 02 6280 4530
Fax: 02 6228 1316

Email: info@tackleworldcanberra.com.au
Web: www.tackleworldcanberra.com.au