Fishing Victoria Forum

On the back of the PPB SP post, got thinking about re-doing my own SP collection. I haven't really fished them with much focus and as a result my collection has been made up of random cheap bits and pieces I don't really use or have confidence in using.

Wanted to re-do my SP arsenal by getting 2x "3 fo $x" brand lots that are commonly on sale at the bigger outlets - and select styles, sizes and colors that would be cross functional across smaller freshwater fish like trout, reddies and bass, as well as estuary/salt species like EP, flatties, pinkies, bream etc.

If you were to get 2x "3 for $x" lots of SPs to fit the above purposes, what would you buy?

Zman:
Grub motor oil
Slim swimz midnight oil
Jerk shadz nuked chicken or minnowz smokey shad

Gulp:
Turtleback worm pumpkin seeds
Nemesis pumpkin seeds
Jerk shad nuckear chicken

Squidgy:
Flickbait white 100mm
Wriggler 80mm-100mm bloodworm
Bio tough fish or just the paddle tail profish 80-100mm

The zman and squidgy are tough, those models are pretty all rounder.
Those gulp models are more salty to me.

If you want value for money and also some of the latest stuff, you cannot go past the 3 for $22 or so deal at the major chain stores.
pick the colours and styles from the other thread and you should be sweeet.

Just bear in mind, gulps will get hammered and are easier to go through a packet, must be stored in the liquid it comes.

zman will hold up heaps better to fish, but will also deform if not stored properly and subject to heat
the squidgy biotough is the same as the zman.

The others berkley Power series, squidgy pro series etc are somewhat in between, will last longer than gulp but nowhere as long as the zmans.

The savage gear brand from BCF is again 4 for 20 bucks, so even more value.
ive only used them on the salmon and they work, they seem well made and are very lifelike in the water (the minnow models)

If I'd pick only one for pinkie, flatty, bream, trout, ep. It'd be zman slim swimz.

If you limit it to 6 I would be looking at:
Zman grubs 2.5" - motor oil, bloodworm, watermelon red
Zman slims swims 2.5" - Bad shad, motor oil, pearl

This is really geared towards the way I fish and my confidence techniques, personally I would also grab a few packs of something bigger as well as the above for fishing in the bay. Something like a 4" worm or minnow style plastic to target pinkies or flathead

For the freshwater species i would have:

I use Monroes 3 inch grubs in motoroil

I would get some Strike tiger nymphs in 2 inch

Zman slim swims 2.5 inch

I would also invest in some TT jigspinners in size 1

Thanks all for the replies and input so far!

Where my head was at regarding what to get, brand wise was mostly looking at the Zman and Berkley Powerbait range.

Zman having the toughness and huge range of styles and colors, then Berkley having a decent range of styles and colors as well. Squigies seem a bit more limited in style/color/size options, Savage Gear gives bang for buck but feel like their range is really limited in options when trying to be specific with size, style and color. Gulp I just don't fish salt enough (at least at the moment) to validate them.

Style/size/color was thinking along the lines of:

3x Grub style in 2-3" range - silver/white, red based (bloodworm, motor oil, etc), dark profile (black, dark green, dark brown, etc) - all "all rounders"
2x Paddle tail style in 3" range - silver/white, dark profile (black, olive, etc) - all "all rounders"
1x Flick tail style in 4" - silver/white - probably more limited to estuary/bay

So for mostly freshwater usage - in the darker profile, what colors would you personally go for in a pinch? A completely dark colour like black, or something dark but more natural (green/brown)? Thoughts atm would be to go for a more natural dark, as it can get that silhouette in dirtier water, but in clearer water can better represent natural baitfish and juvenile fish.

Seniorfisho wrote: ↑

Tue May 12, 2020 12:42 pm

For the freshwater species i would have:

I would get some Strike tiger nymphs in 2 inch

Cheers señor - i've got some 1" and 2" black nymphs - but was also thinking on getting a few other ST options as well on top of these 2x 3 pack deals. What colour range do you have and how do you normally go about selecting a color to use on the day?

purple5ive wrote: ↑

Tue May 12, 2020 11:21 am

zman will hold up heaps better to fish, but will also deform if not stored properly and subject to heat

This.

Don't leave your gear in your car (or even a shed, in my experience) on hot days. This probably won't be relevant for a few months yet, but it's easy to end up with more than one packet of useless plastics. I suspect it's possible to salvage them, but I don't know if they'd ever swim straight again.

happyfriggincamper wrote: ↑

Tue May 12, 2020 12:46 pm

So for mostly freshwater usage - in the darker profile, what colors would you personally go for in a pinch? A completely dark colour like black, or something dark but more natural (green/brown)? Thoughts atm would be to go for a more natural dark, as it can get that silhouette in dirtier water, but in clearer water can better represent natural baitfish and juvenile fish.

brown/green are always my go to natural, then the other is crazy stuff like pink or bright red, orange, pearl white etc.

ChrisTaylor wrote: ↑

Tue May 12, 2020 12:51 pm

purple5ive wrote: ↑

Tue May 12, 2020 11:21 am

zman will hold up heaps better to fish, but will also deform if not stored properly and subject to heat

This.

Don't leave your gear in your car (or even a shed, in my experience) on hot days. This probably won't be relevant for a few months yet, but it's easy to end up with more than one packet of useless plastics. I suspect it's possible to salvage them, but I don't know if they'd ever swim straight again.

I had some dried gulps, put into the liquid thing, and they got back in action. But not as elastic as it used to.