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NT Report: Whip it … whip it good!

“When a problem comes along… you must WHIP IT!” Who can ever forget that immortal line from Devo’s early ’80s world-wide hit Whip It?

At the time I was still a young pup attending Darwin High School and I can say with confidence we had no idea what that song or the bizarre video clip was all about, except that everyone sang along whenever a ghetto blaster was smuggled into school. It has had such resonance over the years that comedy genius Mike Myers even weaved the line into one of his Austin Powers movies, in the scene where Dr Evil was shooshing his errant son each time he tried to speak. Yes, fond memories indeed for those with a love for the trivial.

Well I’m thinking that the guys at Halco Lures in the west are closet Devo fans, as for a while now included in their range has been something called a Whiptail jig. For those unfamiliar, this is a lead head bucktail-style jig, but one sporting a trailing piece of extra bucktail rigged on mono. This addition gives the jig a longer profile and a more enticing action that pelagic and other fish species just love. What also sets it apart from other jigs is the inclusion of a sonic rattle chamber which helps predatory fish track it down in dirty water or low light conditions.

I’ve always had a soft spot for bucktail and marabou-style jigs because back in the ’70s and ’80s we grew up using them for all manner of species from queenfish to barra because they worked well and were cheap to buy.

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Eighties Devo fan Ash Winks used one of Halco’s new 60g Whiptail jigs to nail this cracker of a goldie out from Darwin.

As I do a lot of vertical jigging on larger tides, for me one of the limitations of Halco’s original Whiptail jig in this deeper water scenario is its light weight at only 10g. Thus when asked back in June to trial a new 60 gram version I was very keen to see how it would go against the usual range of metal jigs and soft plastics that we use.

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Trevally, macs and reefies have all fallen for the new 60g Whiptails during trialling over the past six months.

Well six months on I can report that the big Whiptail jig has been the most consistent all-round fish-catching lure used aboard Barraddiction. Whether it be Spaniards and GTs higher in the water column or goldies, trout and cod on the bottom, this jig has fooled them all both day and night.

What has made an already highly effective lure design even better has been the addition on the 60g version of a 3/0 super-sharp stinger hook into the Whiptail’s trailing tail itself. Even better, the trailing tail is now rigged on multi-strand wire rather than mono thus preventing macs from snipping it off – meaning you land more of them. The stinger itself, as well as the 7/0 main hook, are both Mustard Needle Points and so bloody sharp that I usually prick myself every time I handle them. This sharpness and dual-hook arrangement pin fish with an uncanny ease meaning a higher strike to hook-up conversion rate which is what every angler wants.

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They say every great song has “a hook” that catches the listener’s ear. With a super sharp 7/0 main hook and a 3/0 stinger in the tail the big Whiptail is also a chart buster.

So if you’re looking to rekindle memories of men in silly flower-pot hats trotting out catchy lyrics, and more importantly fish with a highly effective new lure, check out the 60g Whiptail jigs, hitting your local tackle store soon.

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Whiptail Devolution – In shallower water the smaller 10g Whiptail worked a treat, pinning this small black jewfish for Halco’s Tim Carter while the new 60g model accounted for the colourful trout (top).

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