# Sooties on poppers?



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

hey guys
in the mackay region we have jus had about 150ml+ of rain and the saltwater is no good cuz its got too much fresh in it so i was thinking that can u catch sooty grunter on poppers? which poppers? are they the same as whiting or bream and barra?
thx guys 
walker


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I've only ever caught a handfull of sooties and they've always been bycatch. The poppers I use are probably too big so not really sure whether they'd take them or not, can't see why they wouldn't if they were willing to take a surface lure.

The small Tassie Devils work well on them, but like any fishing, they don't come with a guarantee :lol:


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)




----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I don't know anything about the feeding habits of sooties but if they will attack something on the surface I'd say those poppers should work a treat. One thing I know about barras and poppers is that they usually feed on the surface in the mornings, haven't tried late arvo, but they definitely get more shy as the day goes on and are less willing to surface strike. Can's say whether sooties would be the same of not.

Sounds like you're keen to use the poppers and, if that's the case, can't see how you'd go wrong with the ones you've got. Try them and see, if there's no action try something a bit deeper and see if there's a difference.


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

yea im keen these are the ones i got for whiting but hadnt been able to use them yet  oh well i hav tried barra on poppers late arvo i only got one small one about 25cm ahah well shud 9 oclock be too late for the sooties??


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

Not an expert so don't know but my gut feeling is that 9am might be getting towards the tail end of when they might be on the bite....but like I said, I don't really know.

One things for sure, I'd like to catch a few more sooties myself. I might just have to try specifically targetting them one day.

Good luck with the fishing, I'm guessing you'd have a heap of water headed your way with the rain you've had. I expect the Burdekin should also get a bit of a run with the run-off from downstream of the dam.


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

haha yea there will be.. well thank u heaps i will have to talk to u about barra cuz i wanna target them jsu while the rain has just hit...u seem to know a fair bit about them.


----------



## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes, sooties love poppers and yes, those ones will work. 
White poppers are good for dawn / dusk fishing but sooties will hit poppers in shaded areas all day.


----------



## polylureosis (Jul 24, 2006)

Those poppers will work fine for about 1 fish.

Sooties are rough on trebles.
upgrade the trebles and you will be fine.


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

oh ok.. how do i upgrade the trebles?


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

are sooties lyk barra?? do i hav to pause retrieve or fast retrieve??


----------



## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

Sooties love poppers. Try a jitterbug for giggles!


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

jitter bug??


----------



## ringo (Oct 3, 2008)

Hey Walker. Sooties are great fun on light line. Those poppers that you have look fine. You don't want anything too big. I love the River 2 Sea Bubble Pop 65mm in any colour for sooties. Early morning and late afternoon are usually the best times for poppers but as Junglefisher said, you can get sooties on poppers any time of the day because they are so aggressive. If you cast close enough to the structure, the sooties will smash the popper as soon as it hits the water. I prefer to use a slow retrieve by making a small 'bloop' and then letting it sit still for a while.

When the sun comes out, try using a small hard body deep diving lure in a bright contrasting colour scheme like red/black or yellow/black(although Sooties are generally not that fussy and will smash almost anything).

I also agree with Polylureosis. Purchase some replacement stronger trebles in the same size as the ones that you're replacing. 3x strength trebles are great but be careful(especially with poppers) that they don't change the action of your lure and make them sink with they're supposed to float. Attach the trebles to your lures by using a good set of split ring pliers.

If you catch a sooty, move away from that spot and try somewhere else. Sooties are very territorial and will not allow any other fish within their area. Come back to that same location later on and you will likely find that another sooty has moved into that prime position.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.


----------



## Walker (Sep 14, 2010)

thx ringo im thinking about going out this weekend to go for some sooties


----------



## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

Here's a link to jitterbugs at MO Tackle. I've only used the from colour and they were dyanmite- even my initial test cast to the middle of the stream pulled fish!

http://www.motackle.com.au/index.cfm?pr ... gue&search


----------



## geminiwraith (Nov 26, 2010)

Sootys and JPs will snap up poppers no problem. I can't recall what poppers we were using in Cairns (Upper Mulgrave with my mates tackle...i'll ask him), but there's a pic below where u can just make out the popper backend.

To be honest i suspect the little buggers would take just about anything you threw at em. We had them jumping for the lures suspended out of the snags after poor casting. :lol:

The Upper Mulgrave is a top spot. Some of the best freshwater fishing i've ever done, and I highly recommend it (if you don't mind dragging a yak/canoe up through several sets of rapids).


----------

