Right now is a great time to be fishing kabura jigs
The beauty of the Kabura is that the action of the current or water movement alone will produce enough subtle action to catch fish. A Kabura is simply dropped to the bottom and retrieved super slowly up and down off the seabed.
That’s the REALLY important part. Fish the lure S L O W and it will usually work well. This is a jig that can sometimes out fish you with the rod simply left in the holder.
Another nice snapper falls for an orange Catch Kabura
The key to fishing these jigs is to not strike when a fish takes. The tiny hooks will set themselves so just start playing the fish with a light drag. Striking can rip the little hooks out or break them, even though they are very strong for their size.
Better versions of the lure such as Catch Kaburas (featured in the video) will have a sliding head that runs up the main line and slides down to a wafting rubber skirt hiding tiny assist hooks.
The advantage of a sliding head is that once a fish grabs the lure, it has no leverage to shake the tiny hooks free as the weight simply slides up the line instead of swinging about.
Using a specialist slow pitch jig rod (designed to be very flexible and bends all the way through to the butt, or a light softer overhead bait caster outfit, attach a three metre leader of 15 - 20lb fluorocarbon and tie the end to the skirt loop.
For inshore waters, a little 20 gram head can be all you need, with bigger weights up to 120 grams deployed to counter current if required.
Kaburas work all year round, and snapper, kingfish, john dory and just about every other predatory fish love them. They are very good options in winter when fish are moving slower and want a nice easy target, or anywhere near workups or actively feeding fish such as springtime.
Colours are often a factor, with orange, gold, yellow and red being great performers.
Remember, the key to using all of these lures is to be in a drifting boat. A good sea anchor will be required if you are to fish in any sort of wind.
Light boats require only the slightest of winds to move them too quickly, so a good parachute anchor set off the bow puts the wind at your back.
Smaller boats are usually open and don't offer the comfort of a cabin, so this makes fishing much more enjoyable, as well as allowing a lot of ground to be covered.
Specialist gear and braided lines are a must for using these lures as they are intended, so gear up and give it a go if you want to have some fun and fill the pan.
