In the opinion of many anglers (myself included), “sight-fishing” is the most exciting form of fishing ever devised. Seeing your prey before you make a cast and then watching its reactions to your bait, lure or fly lifts fishing to another level altogether, and really ratchets up the “hunting” aspects of our wonderful pastime… It’s also highly addictive! Whether you prefer to use natural baits, lures or artificial flies, I believe that there’s simply no bigger thrill in the whole wide world of fishing than sneakily stalking your visible prey, carefully placing your offering in front of it and watching what happens next. I defy anyone not to hold their breath and tense every muscle in their body with delicious anticipation as that target fish closes in on the trap you’ve just set. It matters little whether it’s a beautiful, wild brown trout tailing in the margin of a shallow lake, a fat, blue-nosed bream mooching under an estuary snag, a lumpy golden trevally hunting across a tropical sand flat… or even a stinky old carp mooching through the shallow margins of an outback dam! Time seems to slow and stretch as the seconds tick agonisingly by. Will the fish eat, or will it spook away in alarm at the last moment? For better or worse, once you’ve tasted the sheer delights of sight fishing, “blind casting”, “prospecting” or “flogging the water” will always be a distant second best. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS NOTE: To read the rest of this blog, you must be a member of “Starlo’s Inner Circle” of Fishotopia.com. To discover all the benefits of belonging and find out how to sign up, simply click...

With the growing interest these days in fly fishing — especially in saltwater — I thought I’d have a close look at one of the more readily available estuarine and inshore species, and one that represents an ideal starting point for a bit of “swoffing”. That fish is the humble flathead. But first, a few thoughts on fly-fishing in general: WHAT IS FLY FISHING? Fly-fishing has a reputation for being a mysterious and difficult art, mostly practiced by crusty, pipe-smoking old toffs in tweed jackets resplendent with leather elbow patches… But the times have indeed changed! These days, fly-fishing has largely been de-mystified, and it’s also no longer solely about catching trout… nor even fishing only in freshwater. The biggest trick to breaking down any remaining misconceptions surrounding fly fishing is to accept that it’s really no more than a specialised form of lure fishing, in which the “lure” is too light or too wind resistant to be cast any serious distance using conventional spinning or baitcaster tackle… Simple as that! Flies are just artificial baits, exactly like any other lure. However, being made from fur, fibres, tinsel and feathers lashed to a hook with thread, they’re virtually weightless. This presents a challenge from the casting perspective. Through the centuries, that challenge has been overcome by incorporating the necessary casting weight into the line instead of the lure. So, a fly line is effectively no more or less than a long, skinny sinker or float! Its weight or mass is used to deliver that lightweight lure to a fish. The best way to throw such a long, skinny casting weight is to swish it back and forth through the air in order to form a travelling loop that can be extended and then unfurled...

In this fourth part of my ongoing blog series about our new Beastmaster Boats Snubby 500 rig, I reveal the “vital statistics” of the boat and share a few recent images of it in action. If you’d like to read Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here. And for Part 3, click here. Also, don’t forget that you can watch a short video of the boat’s maiden voyage right here. Okay, down to business!   VITAL STATISTICS: BEASTMASTER SNUBBY 500* LENGTH: 5.0 metres (16′ 6″) BEAM: 1.98 metres (6′ 6″) HULL DEPTH: 0.76 metres (2′ 6″) HULL SIDES: 0.57 metres (1′ 11″) DRAFT: 0.26 metres (10″) DRY HULL WEIGHT: approx. 375 kilos (827 lb) * Explanatory Notes: Measurements quoted are generally to within a few millimetres and all conversions to imperial have been rounded up or down to nearest inch or pound. Hull Depth refers to the maximum depth from gunwale tops/coamings to the deepest part of hull. Hull Sides are flat sides from coamings to chines. Draft (vertical distance between the waterline and deepest part of keel) is an approximate figure (+/- 10%) for the unladen hull and will depend on weight added, load distribution, salinity of water, etc. For this reason, the draft shown should be regarded as a minimum under ideal conditions. Dry Hull Weight is an approximate figure (+/- 10%) and obviously does not include motor, batteries, fuel, electronics, safety gear and other equipment. Next time we’ll have a look at the Yamaha F70A four-stroke outboard fitted to the Snubby, along with the MotorGuide Xi5 bow-mounted electric trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and various other fittings. Until then, tight lines… and meanwhile, here are a few more images of the rig in action:   For more, follow me on...

Let me share an amusing little story that helps explain just how well the unique camouflage patterning on the Starlo’s Finesse Fishing Wear I designed for Mad Keen Australia actually works: During February 2017, Jo and I competed in the final round of the annual Australian Freshwater Masters tournament series. This round was staged at Lake Mulwala, on the Murray River, with the iconic Murray cod as its target species. The comp’ coincided with an incredible heat wave that saw the mercury climbing well into the mid-40 degree Celsius range on three consecutive days. It was so damn hot that I took to slipping over the gunnel of the boat into the lake and having a soak a few times each day to cool down. I’d leave my clothes on for these dips (including my SFF shirt), as the damp material helped lower my core temperature after I climbed back on board. Besides, it only took 15 minutes or so to completely dry out in that heat! During one of these short dips, I was hanging off the transom of the boat when Jo (who fished on through it all like the trooper she is) let out a shout and announced that she’d hooked another fish. It was a smallish Murray cod and she soon had it alongside the boat. Rather than climbing back aboard, I had Jo pass me the measuring mat so I could measure, unhook and release the fish in the water. Jo snapped a couple of photos of me doing this. Unfortunately, the cod was shy of the legal length, so therefore not a point scorer. With the fish measured and safely unhooked, I cradled it gently in my wet hands and then let it swim free. What happened next...

The Australian Freshwater Masters is a unique tournament series that pitches teams of anglers against each other across a time frame of several months at three very different venues, targeting a trio of iconic native species. Jo and I competed in The Freshwater Masters for the first time in 2015/16, and were fortunate enough to ultimately win the event… Here’s the inside story of exactly how we did it: The Australian Freshwater Masters is an innovative tournament series first conceived by well-known Aussie lure maker, Wayne Lennon, some two decades ago. Wayne successfully ran the annual event for many years before handing the reins to Dave Silva. Later, Dave Shelton picked up the baton and, in more recent times, has been ably assisted by Matt Cunneen, creator of Gangster Lures in Wagga. As of last year, Matt is now running the event largely by himself. The Masters is a brilliant concept, with three rounds taking place on three very different waterways, targeting a trio of our most popular and iconic freshwater natives: golden perch, Australian bass and Murray cod. Teams consist of two anglers, and their cumulative scores carry forward from one round to the next, eventually deciding the overall champions. It’s definitely a concept that rewards versatility, determination and consistency of performance. The Masters is a lure-and-fly only event, with both casting and trolling allowed and, naturally, it’s all about catch-and-release. Live fish are photographed on standard issue Fisheries measuring mats and, where possible, witnessed by another team, although the welfare of the fish always comes first, so if there are no witnesses nearby, a date-stamped digital photo is acceptable. While ostensibly an invitational series, expressions of interest from new teams are invited every year and are generally accepted, at least until the...

My good mate Paul Kneller first began making lures professionally a quarter of a century ago, in the early 1990s, under the banner of Deception Lures. He quickly carved a loyal market niche for these beautiful, hand-crafted timber hard bodies. Deception Shrimps, in particular, became the “go-to” lure at places like Lake Windamere, in central western NSW, while his Nippers, Cherax, Yabbies, Palaemons and other models also developed a strong following amongst both fresh and saltwater anglers. The Deception brand was eventually sold to the Brisbane-based Tacspo company around 2004, when Paul and his wife Cheryl opened a tackle shop in Maclean, in far northern NSW. Following this change-over, Paul’s original Deceptions quickly became collector’s items, attracting high prices on the boutique secondhand market. I’m pleased to announce that after a long lay off from making and designing lures, Paul is back with renewed vigour and passion, keen to take his lures to the next level in terms of detail, action and quality. The models shown here are just an entree, with many more lures to be added to the line-up over the coming months and years. Best of all, every Kneller lure is crafted from wood, and Paul insists that this will never change! Here’s a very quick rundown of some of the gems in Kneller’s new range. You can find out more by visiting his page on Facebook here, going directly to his on-line shop here, or emailing Paul at: shake.bake@bigpond.com CHERNOBYL SHAD 55FD The Chernobyl Shad 55FD is a 55mm fat-bodied lure that could be best described as an all-rounder; suited to bass, bigger bream, flathead, estuary perch, trout, sooties and so on. The Chernobyl Shad will dive to around 3 metres on the troll or off a long cast, with...

In this second installment of the Snubby Boat Files, we finally get our new Beastmaster Snubby 500 boat wet. You can watch our short video of the event here, or by simply clicking the play button below: Even a grey, overcast and cool day couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for giving “Mad Keen” (yes, she’s been officially named!) her first on-water run. Launching was a breeze and everything worked exactly as it should. We puttered slowly up through the 8-knot zone, then gradually increased the power… With the brand-spanking new F70A Yamaha still very much in run-in mode, we needed to frequently vary the revs and only touch full noise very briefly, but we were extremely impressed by the rig’s initial performance. It seems the motor height and prop choice (a Yamaha SS [stainless steel] Talon SDS 14K 13 1/8) were spot on… which is always a huge relief! (Find out more about those amazing Talon SDS props here.) Please note that the preliminary performance figures shown below are with a motor that’s still very new and therefore a tad tight. Also, there was very little additional gear in the boat, apart from basic safety equipment, 10 litres of fuel and two people. Here are the initial speeds we observed (via the GPS) at various revs: INITIAL PERFORMANCE FIGURES 3500 RPM = 15 knots (28 km/h) 4000 RPM = 20 knots (37 km/h) 5000 RPM = 25 knots (46 km/h) 6000RPM = 29 knots (54 km/h) 6100 RPM = 30 knots (55.5 km/h)* * Wide open throttle I’m particularly impressed by being able to sit on 20 knots or a whisker over (around 40 km/h) at 4000 to 4200 RPM, as this is an extremely economical mode of operation. I’d expect to be covering close...

Bait versus lure? Which is best? Here are a few nifty graphics from a piece on that subject I prepared for www.fix.com.  If you’d like to read the full story, simply click here. Source:...

The third and final round of the hard-fought Australian Freshwater Masters tournament series was staged in mid-February this year on the waters of Lake Mulwala, a picturesque impoundment straddling the NSW/Victorian border, an hour or so west of Albury. This unique, three-stage challenge targets a trio of iconic Australian native species at three very different venues. The first round of the latest Freshwater Masters took place last November on Lake Windamere, near the NSW regional town of Mudgee, and was devoted to the pursuit of golden perch or yellowbelly. A few days later, round two was staged on Glenbawn Dam, in the Hunter Valley, with Australian bass as the nominated target species. Finally, almost three months later, competitors gathered at Lake Mulwala to hunt the elusive Murray cod. A catch-and-release series devoted entirely to lure and fly fishing, The Australian Freshwater Masters challenges its field of two-person teams to measure, photograph and release up to 10 legal specimens of each target species at each arena over the course of two days’ of intensive fishing. Cumulative point scores (one point per millimeter) carry forward from round to round, ultimately deciding the outcome of the event. This year, the eventual winners were Team Starlo’s Squidgies, consisting of high profile fishing communicator, Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling, and his wife Jo. Consistent performances in rounds two and three allowed Starlo and Jo to hold onto the significant lead they’d amassed on Windamere’s goldens in round one (where Jo was also the individual champion angler), finally giving them an 800 point break over the second-placed Jigheads Team of Mitchell Skeers and Brad Gardiner. A further 1,300 points behind in third place was Team Windybanks, made up of Simon McAlpine and David Dobson. Overall Champion Angler for the Masters was Mitchell...

Here’s a fantastic new option for mainland anglers planning a Tasmanian fishing trip! The acronym “FIFO” stands for fly-in, fly-out and is most often used in relation to remote mining operations employing workers who fly to the site to commence their week or fortnight of shifts, then fly home afterwards for a break with their families. However, with the advent of fully-equipped “turn-key” hire packages of vehicles and boats, the FIFO concept now has genuine relevance in fishing circles as well! In late spring 2015, my wife Jo and I took advantage of exactly such a business that’s now operating on the island state of Tasmania. The brainchild of Ulverstone tackle shop proprietor, Clinton Howe, Tassie Boat Hire kicked off in mid-2015 offering a single boat rig and 4WD vehicle, but has already begun expanding with the addition of new hire packages. Jo and I were picked up from Launceston airport upon our arrival by Clinton in his first full rig: a 420 Quintrex Renegade towed by a 2011 model Mitsubishi Triton dual cab ute. Clinton drove to a nearby service centre to run us through the rig and complete the necessary paperwork, and then we were off under our own steam for a wonderful week in the Central Highlands chasing Tasmania’s famous wild trout on fly. From the outset, Jo and I were totally blown away by Clinton’s professionalism and the incredibly high standard of every component of the hire gear, from vehicle, boat and trailer to the smaller but equally important stuff like safety gear, battery charger, drift drogue (sea anchor), marine radio and on-board electronics. Everything worked exactly as it was meant to! Tassie Boat Hire’s 420 Quintrex Renegade is powered by a 40HP Evinrude 2-stroke motor on the stern, has...

Lots of anglers still struggle to crack the bream-on-lures code. Truth is, these fish are no pushover. But if you follow my simple, five-point plan below, and watch the accompanying video clip here, I’m confident you’ll be posing for a photo with your first bream on a soft plastic very soon! As I travel the country fishing, researching stories and gathering material for this blog and the many publications I contribute to, I come across increasing numbers of anglers who’ve embraced lure fishing and, in particular, the use of soft plastic lures. The uptake of soft plastics has definitely been one of the most significant trends in Australian recreational angling over the past 10 to 15 years, and its popularity shows no sign of diminishing any time soon. Softies are great lures and they’re not all that hard to use. Most new chums start catching at least the odd fish very early in their plastic-flicking careers. But some species are tougher nuts to crack than others, and the humble bream is perhaps the trickiest of the lot. It’s also the one I get asked about the most. The question typically begins with a statement along the lines of: “I can catch plenty of flathead on plastics, but I’m damned if I can work these bream out!” If you’re in that camp, I’m here to help! Below I’ve listed a simple, five-step strategy for cracking the bream-on-plastics code, and this is accompanied by this short, no-nonsense how-to video clip on my “Starlo Gets Reel” YouTube channel. You can go straight to that video by scanning the QR code at the bottom of this page, or by typing this URL into your browser: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wuLI5-M3UQ Okay… Are you ready to learn how to catch your very first...

The use of wire traces or leaders is one of those necessary evils that anglers must occasionally embrace when targeting “toothy critters” that could otherwise easily chop through their lines. Here’s the best way to tackle the need for a little bit of bite insurance (watch the video by clicking here):   There are quite a few Australian species of fish equipped with teeth sharp enough to slice, chew or chop through an angler’s line or leader. Obvious contenders in this category are genuine “razor gang” members such as Spanish and spotted mackerel, wahoo and tropical barracuda. Down south, tailor, barracouta and even pike and snook all have sharp teeth and, of course, most sharks are well-equipped in this department. Big flathead, barramundi, Murray cod, queenfish, mahi-mahi and the like also have hard enough jaws or sufficiently rough scouring pad teeth to damage finer leaders, and billfish like marlin and sailfish have sandpaper bills that do the same thing. In many instances we can hedge our bets against these fish by upping the diameter and breaking strain of our mono leaders. Moving from 6 to 10 kg nylon or fluorocarbon may be all that’s required to prevent regular chew-offs from big flatties, while a 30 to 40 kg leader or bite tippet will usually cope with all but the very biggest barra. However, tropical mackerel, wahoo, big tailor and many sharks will continue to easily cut such leaders. If this starts to happen on a regular basis, fishers are likely to reach for the wire. Faced with these chop-off challenges, many anglers choose to buy a couple of factory-made traces. These are usually constructed from 30 to 40 cm lengths of plastic-coated, multi-strand wire with a barrel swivel at one end and a snap...

By now, quite a few anglers have become aware of a new player on the fishing line market called GLISS, or GLISS KG, manufactured by German company WFT (World Fishing Tackle). Some are touting this stuff as the potential replacement for existing braided and fused gel-spun polyethylene fishing lines, others as a cross-over between braided lines and monofilament… while still others are panning it as an abject fail… So, what’s the real story? I first became aware of GLISS after reading this article on the Angling International website during 2014. Since then, Angling International have run several more pieces/press releases about the line, including this one (followed shortly thereafter by this clarification), then this piece earlier in 2015, and most recently, this report about GLISS KG winning the award for best new braided line at the 2015 EFTTEX Show in Europe. (Click on the highlighted links in the previous sentence to read each of the write-ups, or find out more about EFTTEX.) According to these reports and other research I’ve done, GLISS is made from extruded and fused HMPE ( high modulus polyethylene) fibres. HMPE is widely used in high quality marine ropes, tow lines, etc. In a fishing context, it’s claimed to have very low stretch (like braid), to be ultra smooth (like mono), and to have ridiculously thin diametres for its strength… Reading those descriptions, I just had to get hold of some and try it, as it sounded perfect for a lot of the styles of “finesse” fishing I do… Tracking down some WFT GLISS wasn’t easy. Eventually, I ordered a spool of 6kg in the translucent finish on-line from a British mail order business (6 kg was the lightest they had in stock). After waiting several weeks for the line...

I’d just like to take this opportunity to wish all the friends and followers of my StarloFishing blogsite and my dedicated page on Facebook a safe, happy and fish-filled Christmas and a wonderful New Year! I look forward to bringing you lots more valuable fishing information, news and ideas in 2015 and beyond… And I have some very exciting new projects in the pipeline, too! If you want to be sure not to miss any of them, go to the www.starlofishing.com home page right now, scroll to the very bottom of the page and subscribe. It’s as simple as typing your email address into the space provided before hitting the SUBSCRIBE button. It’s totally free, and you can unsubscribe at any time… How’s that for a great Christmas present from Santa Starlo? Catch you soon. Cheers & Tight Lines,...

Here’s part of a blog I wrote for a great site called Fix.com  If you’d like to view the piece in full, there’s a link below the graphics. Source: Fix.com To read the full story, click...

It’s not every day that you get to launch a comprehensive range of hard-bodied lures and semi-soft topwaters onto the Australian market, knowing that each lure will retail for $10 or less, yet still be an excellent fish catcher, with a classy finish and better-than-average hardware. However, that’s what I’m happy to say I’ve been able to do with my new STARLO PRO Lures range, designed and selected by me exclusively for the BCF chain of stores here in Australia. Now, I realise from past comments here and elsewhere that not every Aussie angler is necessarily a huge fan of BCF. There’s no doubt that the big chains (including BCF) have led to the demise of some small independent tackle stores, just as the competition from Coles and Woolworths has resulted in a reduction in numbers of local grocery outlets, butcher shops and so on. Nonetheless, for better or worse, I suspect there’s a certain inevitability to this sort of evolution in the world of retail. It’s also true that the better independents (in all fields, including fishing tackle) will not only survive but thrive in the face of such competition. They achieve this by providing the sort of expert advice, individualised customer service and “value adding” that most chains simply can’t or won’t offer. Meanwhile, BCF and their ilk do provide an excellent service to a great many customers, employ a heap of Aussie workers in the process, and don’t, in my experience, indulge in the sort of “crazy, crazy, crazy!” unsustainable discounting that could damage the industry. So, I’m more than happy to be involved with sourcing and designing exclusive lines of tackle for them, just as I have on occasion for other companies.         Anyway, if you’d like...

Most modern fishing reels, regardless of their style or type, are equipped with a drag or “slipping clutch” mechanism of some sort that allows line to be pulled from the reel’s spool under a pre-set tension. On a threadline or spinning reel, drag pressure is usually adjusted via a knob located on the front of the spool or (more rarely) under the rear of the reel’s body. Overheads and baitcasters either have a star wheel under the handle or a lever on the side of the reel for adjusting the drag, while sidecasts and centrepins typically feature a nut or star in the centre of the spool. This drag is intended to prevent the line from breaking should excessive force be placed upon it. Instead of snapping, line slips from the spool against the pre-set drag tension. When a large or powerful fish is hooked, it usually needs to be “played” using a combination of drag resistance and rod work. The term “playing a fish” means taking your time and bringing the fish in more slowly and smoothly while using the flex of the rod as a shock absorber. If necessary, you will also need to allow the hooked fish to “run”: in other words, to pull line from the spool against the reel’s pre-set drag or slipping clutch. This may happen many times during a fight with a strong adversary, especially on lighter line. A big, strong fish can easily pull the rod tip down and rip line off the spool against the resistance of the reel’s drag. However, if the drag has been set too tightly, the line can possibly snap, or the hook might bend or straighten and rip out of the fish’s mouth. On the other hand, if the drag...

For those who missed it first time around in print, here’s a piece on open water bream luring that first ran in FishLife magazine earlier this year: The art of luring bream has been one of the major engines of change in Australian sport fishing over the past few decades. In less than a single generation, catching bream on lures has gone from being an accident or a novelty for most anglers to a regular pursuit for many. Even those who don’t “get it” and wonder what all the fuss is about must grudgingly admit that the pursuit of bream on artificial baits has completely transformed our sport. Before many of you reading these words were born, that doyen of Australian fishing writing, Vic McCristal, offered the opinion that anglers skilled enough to regularly take bream on lures would tend to find most other species easy. It was McSea’s quietly understated way of doffing his cap to the bream clan as perhaps our most challenging piscatorial targets. What Vic could hardly have guessed in those days was the passion with which this country’s sport fishing community would eventually embrace that particular challenge, and how doing so would completely revolutionise our tackle, our techniques and even our angling mindset. Make no mistake: bream luring has radically altered the shape of Australian fishing, and this significant evolutionary upheaval is far from having run its course. Discoveries remain to be made. For many, open water breaming is just one of them. Middle Of Nowhere For most of us, thoughts of catching bream on lures immediately conjure mental images of structure fishing: accurately casting our soft plastics and little hard bodies at shorelines, rocks, snags, pylons, oyster lease racks or moored boats. But what if I told you...

In mid-September, 2012, my wife Jo and I were lucky enough to sample the extraordinary fishing on offer around the remote Cobourg Peninsula, north east of Darwin, as guests of a wonderful operation called Venture North Australia. Owned and run by affable brothers Aaron and Hugh Gange, Venture North has historically been an eco-tourism, wildlife and cultural-experience guiding operation offering a little casual fishing on the side (usually aimed at catching dinner). However, earlier in 2012, all that changed with their purchase of a Darwin-built, 7-metre CustomWorks Eliminator plate alloy sportfishing boat powered by a 225 HP Yamaha four-stroke. To say the boys have made a decision to take the fishing side of their business a lot more seriously would be something of an understatement! Interestingly, my good lady Jo was partly instrumental in this significant upgrading of Venture North’s fishing focus. While looking at the Gange brothers’ website in her role as a marketing consultant, Jo noticed quite a few photos of big fish. She asked why they didn’t place more prominence on this aspect of their operation, and her comments obviously got the guys thinking! Less than a year later they’d bitten the bullet, bought the big boat and significantly ramped up the angling side of the business. As something of a thank-you to Jo for her advice, Aaron and Hugh invited her up to Cobourg for a few days, and mentioned that she might as well bring her old man along, as apparently he didn’t mind a spot of fishing, either! Back to Cobourg As our light plane banked in over the broad, sparkling expanse of Cobourg’s Port Essington, I reflected that it had been at least 25 years since my last visit to this fantastic part of the world… Far...

In my last two blogs in this series I’ve been exploring the exciting subject of customizing your soft plastic lures to alter their actions, colours and sink rates in order to better suit specific applications, fishing scenarios and target species. As I explained in both of those blogs, this entire subject area of customizing plastics is a branch of tackle tinkering that far too few Aussie anglers appear willing to experiment with. Many seem to believe that these lures must be used in exactly the form supplied for sale by the manufacturer. But as we’ve been discovering, that’s not the case at all! In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike most hard-bodied offerings, softies lend themselves extremely well to individual input and fine tuning from the angler, allowing you to clearly stamp your own personal identity and fishing preferences on the lures you use. In the first blog on Customising Soft Plastics, I focused on tweaking colours and patterns using various dyes and marker pens to achieve specific results, whether attempting to “match the hatch”, suit the environment, stand out from the pack or simply emulate a successful hard-bodied lure finish. Last time around, in Part 2, we pulled out the scissors, razor blades and hobby knives and started playing with the actual shape, bulk and profile of these versatile lures to adjust their actions, overall sizes and sink rates. This time, I want to look at the intriguing subject of lure hardness and its impact on action, “mouth feel” and durability. So, let’s kick off by tackling the subject of relative hardness in soft lure materials: TO READ THE REST OF THIS BLOG & OTHERS IN THE SERIES, CLICK...