Halco has come up with a radical new lure design and upgraded an old favourite, thereby increasing its versatility.

HALCO WHIPTAIL JIG

Halco has come up with one of the greatest lure innovations of the last decade. The Whiptail Jig is no ordinary lead-head jig! First tested on Brazil's mighty peacock bass, it has now been thoroughly field tested on Australian species, with devastating results.

Pelagics like this shark mackerel proved to be fond of the Halco Whiptail.

Well-known fishing writer and photographer, Col Roberts, realised the potential of the jigs on other species after using them on the Amazon River. Since returning to Australia he has been raising eyebrows among Northern Territory fishing guides with stunning results on barra when other lures had been given the thumbs-down.

Not content with success on one species, Col followed this up with awesome mangrove jacks to 6.2 kg at the Montebello Islands. Even giant trevally and estuary flathead love them!

The versatile Whiptail Jig can be cast and retrieved, jigged directly over submerged snags and weed beds, and trolled. The jig is particularly effective when probing deep underwater snags beyond a normal lure's depth range.

The Whiptail is an innovative new jigging lure, which is producing fish in a variety of situations.

At the recent Abrolhos Islands Game Fishing Tournament, MD of Halco Tackle, Ben Patrick, and his crew used the jig with deadly effectiveness around the islands - catching everything from snapper to shark mackerel on the small jig, to take out the light tackle section.

What sets it apart from conventional jigs are a number of clever innovations. The first is a rattle cage inserted along the hook shank under the bucktail skirt, which resonates with an audible sound that fish find enticing. Secondly, and more importantly, the jig has an extended tail tied onto a separate monofilament leader that trails the main bucktail skirting. This actually pulsates in the water and is one of the keys to the lure's success.

Ben Patrick with a cracker jack from the Abrolhos Islands, caught on Halco's new Whiptail jig.

Best of all, the jig is almost indestructible and a great alternative to soft plastics. When soft plastics have annoyingly lost their rubber tails, the Whiptail jig keeps on keeping on doing what it does best - catching fish!

The jig comes with a 3/0 Mustad Needle Point chemically sharpened jig hook and the painted head weighs approximately 10 g. It is available in 6 fish catching colours: Hardy Head (red/white), Micro Jack (red/yellow), White Bait (all white), Slimy Mack (chartreuse green/white), Blue Sardine (blue/white), and Pink Surprise (fluoro pink).

NEW HALCO 12O LASER PRO

With so many lures on the market today, it can be a bit of a chore to distinguish the best one for a certain application. Halco has recently upgraded the Laser Pro 120, making the lure a more versatile option for anglers who want to cast or troll.

Vertically jigging the Whiptail over reef structure produces bottom species like snapper.

The new 120 mm Laser Pro Deep Diver fits perfectly into several scenarios. As a trolling lure the Laser Pro can be towed at up to 10 kt without blowing out, for species such as tailor, mackerel tuna, yellowfin tuna, kingfish, Spanish and other mackerel species. Having a small profile with great speed capabilities will see this one become a favourite with offshore anglers.

For creek, river and impoundment trollers, it's a must-have for barra, jacks, big flatties, trevally, queenfish and just about any predatory fish that call these environments home. Made from the same indestructible materials for which the whole Halco range has become renowned, ensures these lures will withstand the harshest treatment any fish can dish out. The upgraded Laser Pro also sports two sets of beefed-up #1 3X strong Mustad hooks, making it one tough customer.

The updated Laser Pro 120 has been doing good business on Queensland's impoundment barra.

Apart from the obvious changes that have been made, one improvement that only becomes obvious when the lure is cast is the new trajectory-compensating self-locating interior bearing. This stops the lure tumbling in the air, delivering long, smooth casts every time and reducing overruns or backlashes caused by wind-resistant lures.

Another important modification to the new Laser Pro is the change of buoyancy values. On splashdown, the interior bearing finds its way forward to its self-locating cradle and the lure now sits horizontally with almost neutral buoyancy. During trials, it proved to be indispensable for slow retrieves and long-lasting pauses necessary to induce strikes from shut-down fish.

The shallow diver is a must for barra, and jacks and between the 2 depth variations all tropical estuary and impoundment casting species become more susceptible to anglers' efforts.

Among other features, the Laser Pro 120 features Halco's new trajectory-compensating self-locating interior bearing. This stops the lure tumbling in the air during a cast.