Colour pallet

When I am talking about big soft plastics I have in mind the soft plastics I carry when targeting species such as but not limited to:

Barramundi (both freshwater & saltwater)
Kingfish (Yellowtail and Cobia)
Lutjanids (Mangrove Jack & Fingermark
Javelin fish (Barred Grunter and Silver Grunter)
Flathead (Dusky and Bartail)
Trevally (including Giant Trevally and Golden Trevally)
Queenfish
Reef fish
Mackerel

By in large I favour soft plastics that have a dark top and a lighter underside and have plenty of shoulder, body and tail movement so that in the retrieve the tail and body osculate between the back and belly colours making the soft plastic obvious and attractive to nearby fish

These are the colour combinations I prefer when either buying soft pastic off the shelf or making my own.

These are the colours I like best for soft plastic baits either on their own or in combinations.

SOLID COLORS

Qantas colours
• Red over white … AKA known as Qantas colours are arguably the most successful colour combination for barramundi hard bodied lures in Queensland fresh and salt waters. I have also had a lot of success with red and white flies around Gladstone. Given those past successes it’s no surprise that one of the first colours I made my Alpha Gar soft plastic in is Qantas colours and that is my goto colour for full moon night time fishing and a strong option for in murky and discoloured water in both fresh or salt water fisheries.
• The belly is a solid white and the back is solid red.



Catfish:

• This is my newest colour combination and is showing a lot of potential as a 24/7 option for targeting Barra in Awoonga and other fresh water impoundments that hold large populations of CatFish..
• The belly is a solid white and the back is solid dark grey.


 

Barred:

• It goes against the grain to put a light colour on the back of my Alpha Gar soft plastic but that has worked for Zerek on both the Fish Trap vibe and the Flat Chad and the GS10 Fishtrap (slow roll of dropped to the bottom and then fast retrieve)
• This colour combination was used by the winners of the 2022 Teeemburra leg of the National Barra Championships. The belly is black and the back is Yellow Chartreuse .

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Lime:

• As apposed to Chartreuse, Lime is another great colour option when targeting fish such as Fingermark, Grunter, Flathead, Mangrove Jack, Barramundi and Threadfin, that are scrounging around mangroves as falling tides flush prawns and small fish out of mangroves and discolors the water. One of the first colours I tie on when targeting King salmon or Saltwater Barramundi. In most cases I include a sprinkling of black, gold and red 0.3mm hex sparkle flash to help the bait stand out.

(Photo)
 

Pink:

• Pink: A great stand alone colour for a soft plastic or hard bodied lures and comes into its own when targeting fish such as Fingermark, Grunter, Flathead, Mangrove Jack, Barramundi and Threadfin, that are scrounging around mangroves as falling tides flush prawns and small fish out of mangroves and discolors the water.



Motor Oil:

• Motor oil was the colour of the first soft plastic that I was introduced to and that was something like 50 years ago. That was fishing for yellow tail bream in Mullet Creek which feeds Lake Illawarra near Wollongong NSW.
• With just a small amount of gold 3mm hex fleck or gold 3mm shred strip it’s one of my favourite colours when fishing 95mm or 120mm Grub Tail prawns in estuaries, costal and reef water around Gladstone.



Gold:

• I still like simple gold lures for many applications in both fresh and salt water applications and generally keep the colour relativity light and translucent and more often than not include a sprinkling of gold, white, red and white .3mm hex flash just to jazz it up a little.

TWO TONE TRANSLUCENT COLOURS

DAY GARFISH

Night garfish

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Dark Ale inspired