FISHING with lure makers can be an interesting and educative process. These guys can be considered the “creative geniuses” of the fishing world. Some lure makers take their creative vision to the outer limits and verge on the eccentric, which usually makes a day on the water with them a fascinating experience. Regardless of their mental state, top-line lure makers are almost always extremely perceptive and talented anglers and you can learn a lot by watching and talking with them.
I recently spent a couple of days fishing with Patrick Sebile, the French founder and designer of Sebile Lures. I first met Patrick at the 2010 AFTA tackle show on the Gold Coast, when the Sebile range was launched in the local market by Nomad Sportfishing.
Patrick took time from his busy schedule to run the Fisho crew through his range of innovative and unique lures. We were all pretty impressed with the lures on display, and it was obvious that the rest of the Aussie tackle industry was as well because Sebile Lures cleaned up at the AFTA awards ceremony.
Like most other lure makers I’ve met and fished with, Patrick is a super keen and highly proficient angler. Fishing with Patrick reminded me of spending a day out with Fisho writer David Green. Like Greeny, Patrick is obsessed with technical perfection in regards to his rigs and gear and is always thinking and observing. He also just doesn’t stop casting.
We were battling the conditions on the Shoalhaven River, where I’d hoped to get Patrick onto bass, estuary perch, bream and maybe a jewie. A 30-knot westerly, and a dropping barometer, puts the odds firmly against us. My buddy Wes Murphy, along with Fisho associate publisher Chris Yu, were fishing with us.
A focused Patrick Sebile works one of his lures in Jervis Bay.
Patrick opened his South Coast account with a respectable 37cm bream on one of his nifty mini Spin Shads, which he made snag proof by moving the treble from under the belly to sit with the blade at the rear of the lure. I stuck with a Sebile Crankster, a 35mm hard-bod which produced a couple of small to medium bass. The Crankster dives to just under a metre and has a tight shimmying action when slow rolled. A more erratic retrieve sees the lure twitch, pause and rise beautifully. A ball bearing gives a nice loud rattle and also assists with maximising castability. Personally speaking, I’d like to see a deeper diving version of the Crankster but Patrick reckons he’s designed a new lure that will fit the bill. Stay tuned for that one – it should be ideal for bream, bass and flatties.
Unfortunately, the conditions were tough and the fish were shutdown but Patrick got to catch a few bass and also check out the natural beauty of the upper Shoalhaven. He also regaled me with tales of his fishing experiences in Africa and other exotic locations around the world. Patrick spent years as a fishing guide, mainly in Africa, before starting his lure business. He’s caught some amazing fish, including massive tarpon, and used to specialise in guiding his clients on to huge jewfish, mainly from the beach. The biggest jewie he’d hooked was estimated at an amazing 80 kilos!
It was really interesting to listen to Patrick talk about his fishing adventures and also learn about the techniques he’s devised to fish his innovative and unique lures to best effect. I came away from my day out with Patrick with plans to target snapper with his Magic Swimmer lures (jointed sinking stickbait style lures which descend in a spiralling motion) and also do some deep estuary jigging for jewies and flatties with the larger Spin Shads.
Next day I arranged for Patrick and Chris to spend time with local guide Greg Reid, from Bay and Basin Sport Fishing (0413 610 832, www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au).
The plan was to fish St Georges Basin for big bream and then hit nearby Jervis Bay for inshore pelagics. Patrick keeps a meticulous record of all the different species he caught and a salmon was in his sights for fish species 664. He was also keen to lodge a record claim under the IGFA’s new measurement system. The current record for a salmon was 41cm. Greg was pretty confident he could get Patrick a slightly bigger one!
Thankfully, the next morning was clear and warm. The westerly had dropped off to 10-15 knots and according to the weather reports was scheduled to die away completely by mid afternoon. Wes and I fished around the boys as they moved around some of Greg’s productive locations and while they scored a few very nice bream, plus a couple of flatties and a cool shallow water reddie, we remained fishless. Both of us had things to do that arvo so while Patrick, Chris and Greg headed off to the bay, we packed up and went home. That arvo I received multiple text messages from Chris detailing the fact that Patrick had caught a pending IGFA record 60cm salmon and that they were enjoying a fat time catching the hell out of the bonnies, tailor and sambos.
A solid dusky flathead for Sebile (top) and black bream (above).
JB really produced the goods for Patrick, with plenty of fish and perfect weather. The gun lures were Patrick’s Stick Shad stickbaits, which produced multiple fish from the washes around the eastern edge of the bay.
The boys finished fishing on dark and Chris and Patrick headed back to Sydney where Patrick was to stay the night before flying to Queensland to head out to the Coral Sea with Nomad, where no doubt he’ll get connected to some reef dwelling monsters.
Sebile’s lures accounted for bonito (top) and snapper (above) on last week’s visit to the NSW South Coast.
Stay tuned to Fisho to find out how Patrick went!
