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| Bottom Bashing With The Ultimate Squid. |
Every once in awhile, the entire fishing industry is spellbound by a product that completely blows everyone's mind. When Chasebaits launched the Ultimate Squid at AFTA 2017 and released a little teaser video, the clip broke the internet. I, for one was mesmerised by the realistic movement of the wings, which undulated so naturally as the lure was in motion. I knew i had to get my hands on them.
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| Chasebaits Ultimate Squid, Flick Prawns and Smash Crabs. |
Fast forward to a couple of months later when the first shipment from Chasebaits finally arrived. I was so excited! I simply could not wait to take the lures for a spin. I texted my old friend Captain Zam from Desaru, to arrange a trip but as usual, Mr Popular was fully booked so he had me send some lures to him instead so he could try them out first.
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| Glow Ink colour working well on a cloudy day. |
It didn't take long for him to catch a fish with the ultimate squid. In fact, i was pleasantly surprised early one morning to receive a Whatsapp message from him. It was odd as this was the timing that he would usually be out at sea and out of range for data. The message began with a cheeky emoji that was grinning and a photo followed. His first fish was a green eyed grouper caught in shallow waters.
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| Crystal colour is every effective in clear water conditions. |
Zam was using the 1oz TT Headlockz 6/0 jig head i had sent him with the lures. Even the deckie got in on the act and scored another grouper shortly after. The feedback from both was that the lure was easy to use with the lift and drop method. They just raised the rod tip up and followed that up with a tensioned fall. This enabled them to detect structure on the bottom quickly and react to it accordingly.
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| An interesting rigging method by Capt Mel from Singapore. |
Day by day the urge to get out on the water and fish with the ultimate squid grew and it did not help that i was receiving photos of catches from both friends and customers. Everyone was going on about how effective the lure was and how easy it was to use it. I reached out to some my friends who had bookings with Zam and managed to join Uncle David's trip. Finally, it was my turn to go fishing!!!
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| Jokes all around because of the size ratio between me and the fish! |
My first fish on the chasebaits ultimate squid was a hungry little grouper who smashed the lure as soon as i lifted it gently off the bottom. I had to use a heavier jig head as the current was slightly stronger and it was windy. My 45g Decoy Salt Groove SV-34H jig head allowed me to keep my line vertical longer, even as the boat was drifting pretty fast due to the wind.
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| Calamari colour also works well in clear water conditions. |
Not to be out done by my mini giant, the skipper soon reeled up another healthy green eyed grouper after coming dangerously close to getting snagged on a large coral cluster. We observed that letting the lure drift beyond a 45 degree angle resulted in a high chance of getting snagged, especially when the boat was drifting quickly due to the wind. It was not fun losing these amazing lures to the rocks!
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| A different rigging method. |
After losing a couple of lures to snags, i experimented with a different rigging style and i was very surprised to hit a feisty tusk fish, 3 cranks off the bottom of a big patch of coral. These buggers are not known for taking lures in these parts, so it was high fives all around. I was using my Evergreen Poseidon PSPJ 603-L paired with my Shimano Stella 3000 so the fish was subdued pretty quickly.
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| Another catch on Glow Ink. |
Jith loves squid. Whether he is hunting them from shore in the night or jigging for them out at sea, he is simply obsessed with them. He was so captivated by the lure's action in the water, he told me he wished he was a fish so he could eat it! He scored a grouper which ate his ultimate squid as he bounced it off the bottom like how you would normally work a Madai or Tenya Jig.
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| Bottle colour looks like the squid we see in the market! |
I hit one more green eyed grouper to end the day and some of the guys were also reeling up their lures as Zam wanted to reposition the boat. Curiously enough, a big fin reef squid followed one of the lures to the boat and even grabbed it like it would an actual prey. Fooling greedy fish like groupers is one thing, but to attract a wary squid and tempt it to attack puts this lure's realistic action on another level.
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| Bottle colour scoring again. |
The next day i got a text from one of Zam's customer asking me which colour was most effective. Colour selection is a very personal thing, but in general, natural colours like Crystal, Bottle and Calamari work well in clear water (shallow). In murky or low light (deep water) conditions, the luminous Glow Ink or the UV painted Nitro will fare better due to the enhanced visibility of the lure.
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| A prized catch on the Crystal colour for a hard working angler. |
When targeting demersal species like snappers and groupers on soft plastics, slower currents are ideal. However, even with perfect water conditions, we may find ourselves at the mercy of the wind. In these instances, it pays to have a good range of jig heads in your tackle box. I usually have 28g, 45g, 60g, 80g and 100g jig heads with me when i am fishing although i mainly use 45g and 60g.
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| Nice Goldie had 3 bites. Third times the charm! |
Snappers are a little more tricky to catch compared to groupers. They tend to target the head of the lure as compared to groupers which totally engulf the lure. I haven't managed to land one yet but Zam scored a nice fingermark snapper which hit his lure 3 times before committing. His tip is to continue working the lure up the water column, increasing the pace gradually when you feel a hit but don't connect.
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| A Beautiful Coral Trout on Bottle colour. |
If by now you are wondering why there are no catches on the Nitro colour, it's because they always sell out first! I wasn't even able to keep a few packets for myself. Looks like it's one colour that attracts the anglers even before it catches any fish! So if you happen to visit my online shop and you see them in stock, you better grab them quickly before they are gone!!!
This is the original clip from Chasebaits that broke the internet and caught my eye back in 2017. How sick is that wing action? If you guys want to learn more about how i rig and repair the Ultimate Squid, check out my Youtube video on Rigging & Repairing The Ultimate Squid. Cheers!
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