Trends

Trends spotted at the SAFTAD show

Although the organisers this year ensured that only licence holders and sole distributors exhibit goods by asking all exhibitors for the brands they planned to show, the issue of retailers buying from parallel (grey) importers was a topic of concern to many exhibitors.

Drop shot fishing

There was hardly a tackle stand where rods, reels, hooks, weights and baits for drop shot fishing could not be found. This refers to a new riggng technique initially developed in order to hook those big lethargic fish lurking directly under the boat in real deep water.

Since then more anglers use the drop shot technique the same way they would use any other finesse worm technique — casting it up on the bank and shaking it back to the boat.

The hooks and weights used for drop shotting are sophisticated and most major rod manufacturers have designed tapers for the technique. The rods need to be light with a fast tip action. Many manufacturers have made special drop shot hooks, which must be super sharp with a Z-bend to keep the bait in place. These are tied directly to a light line (4-10lb) in a very specific way to ensure that they are at a 90-degree angle to the line with the hook point up. Fairly light weights and small plastic baits are used.

Vertical or butterfly jigging

This new technique used to hook the big guys hiding in deep gulleys and channels, is either called vertical or butterfly jigging. This refers to the butterfly fluttering action you create by dropping your jig down as far as it will go and then quickly pulling the rod tip up. This action is repeated several times in one spot, before moving on to another spot if you have no luck.

You need a medium baitcasting rod with a soft tip, strong butt section and enough backbone to lift a huge fish out of its cover. A high-speed baitcasting reel, a light line that allows you to keep in contact with your jig and small, soft baits, skirts or local baits are further requirements.

Learn more

• Drop shot
  http://bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot_fish.html
  www.tacklewarehouse.com/guides/dropshot.html
  http://fishing.about.com/od/basicfishinginstruction/a/dropshot.htm
• Vertical/butterfly jigging
  www.aa-fishing.com/art-070905-gregg-munck-3.html
  www.thefishfinder.com/articles/master4.html
  http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/fish/sac/us/en/butterfly_fishing.htm