Armor Shads - One Plastic per Fish?

[ozxtreme]

Hi Guys,

Been using soft plastics for approximately a year now and noticed a lot of AFO users using Damiki Armor Shads with a lot of sucess. So last weekend bought myself a pack of 3" Armor Shads and headed over to Green Island with a couple of mates. My two mates fished bait for the few hours we where there without catching a single fish whilst I landed a number of small squire using the Armor Shads (they seem to love them).

Normally I use Gulp and Squidgies, and normally catch a few fish before the lure is no good but this was not the case with the Armor Shads. It seemed every fish caught the lure was no good and if I had a bite without a hook up the lure was slip half way off the TT jig head.

Just wondering what everyones else experience is with the Armor Shads and if it's normal to go through so many lures?

I would like to use the Armor Shads regularly but don't won't to be going through plastic lures like no tomorrow as the missus won't be happy with me spending money on lures everytime I go fishing. LOL

Cheers for your feedback,

Rob

[Surfingant]

I can generally get more than one fish out of them, it's the gulps that I only get one bite out of before they are stuffed. Usually I'll go through about half a pack of armor shads in a session, but I usually chop and change the plastic to see what is working.

[crazywalrus]

I love them but I agree you do not catch a lot of fish per plastic. I think the very reason they are so good is the softness of the plastic and the Shrimp scent. I am happy to get one fish per plastic I sometimes get more but happy with one. I would rather use a couple of bags of plastics and catch fish than use a few plastics and catch nothing. Also I find if the Armor Shad is old and the scent is gone it can effect the bit as well.

[Cheyne_jones]

Never had this problem, I probably have some in my box that have caught double figures and are still going strong. You didnt say what fish though, could make a big difference.

[51MPL]

Like above I generally get a few fish per plastic, depends a lot on what species you are chasing though.

[ellicat]

Never had this problem, I probably have some in my box that have caught double figures and are still going strong. You didnt say what fish though, could make a big difference.

Yes he did. --- Small squire.

[Cheyne_jones]

Never had this problem, I probably have some in my box that have caught double figures and are still going strong. You didnt say what fish though, could make a big difference.

Yes he did. --- Small squire.

:blush: Booking my appointment at the eye doctor now :blush:

[Stevodevo]

speaking about damiki soft plastics what hook size and weight would you use for the damiki 4inch rippers would it be worth to put a stinger hook at the back , because i just bought some and would appreciate the help

[Manni79]

I had a bite without a hook up the lure was slip half way off the TT jig head.

Hey Mate

You can also try the new TT head locks jig heads that are coming out soon if not already out (I saw them at AFTA which were design for some of the ZMAN plastics which some of the would keep slipping off), part of the lead runs along the hook with grooves to reduce/prevent the plastic to slip down the hook. I also find the atomic seekers jig heads work well to keep the plastic on the hook

Even if the plastic rips a little you can always take it off and put it back on running the hook through a new part of the plastic yet still retaining a good action

[crazywalrus]

+1 for the seekers jig heads

[JarrydA]

I had a bite without a hook up the lure was slip half way off the TT jig head.

I find i get this on most jigheads and plastics sometimes, its cause the fish grabs the plastic behind the hook and literally pulls it off, not much you can do.

I also find that i only get 1-2 fish off one armour shad, which is a price im more than willing to pay. As they catch the fish to start with.

I also find that they dont work quite as well when they are a bit older, so i dont buy large stocks and instead just keep 5-6 packs.

[Carter]

I'm happy to get a fish per plastic but usually get more using the armour shads, they are a great allroud plastic, look crap but work well.

[Zim man]

Hi Guys,

Been using soft plastics for approximately a year now and noticed a lot of AFO users using Damiki Armor Shads with a lot of sucess. So last weekend bought myself a pack of 3" Armor Shads and headed over to Green Island with a couple of mates. My two mates fished bait for the few hours we where there without catching a single fish whilst I landed a number of small squire using the Armor Shads (they seem to love them).

Normally I use Gulp and Squidgies, and normally catch a few fish before the lure is no good but this was not the case with the Armor Shads. It seemed every fish caught the lure was no good and if I had a bite without a hook up the lure was slip half way off the TT jig head.

Just wondering what everyones else experience is with the Armor Shads and if it's normal to go through so many lures?

I would like to use the Armor Shads regularly but don't won't to be going through plastic lures like no tomorrow as the missus won't be happy with me spending money on lures everytime I go fishing. LOL

Cheers for your feedback,

Rob

Hi Rob

Thanks for using our gear and glad to hear that they are working for you. Armor shads like all damiki plastics are pretty soft. Its this softness that gives it its tood action and gets the fish biting ( as crazy walrus) a number of factors affect how long the lure lasts like

Type of fish targetted

Agressiveness of bite

Aggressiveness of strike

Size of jig head also plays a part.

Personally I usually get 2-3 fish per armor shad when targeting squire, on good days maybe more, bad days maybe 1 fish per plastic, which seems to be the nrm judging for other replies.

Try experimenting with different weighted jig heads, I use 1/8-1/30 weights depending on what I am targeting. Unfortunately it is the nature of soft plastics that they don't last too many fish. We try and counter that by offering more plastics per packet to give more bang for buck.

I hope the above has been of use to you

Cheers

Rob

[ozxtreme]

Thanks for the feed back! I don't mind losing a plastic per fish, if there legal I will definitely sus out the new tt jig heads. Cheers

[Zim man]

speaking about damiki soft plastics what hook size and weight would you use for the damiki 4inch rippers would it be worth to put a stinger hook at the back , because i just bought some and would appreciate the help

For squire, I don't use a stinger as I have found that they just smash it completely.

For bream, my pro staffers rig them with a stinger although further south in Vic, they don't bother as the bream there don't mind bigger lures.

Off the top of my head, I think the jig head I use for squire is a 1/0 or 2/0 in 1/8 and 1/12 size depending on the current and depth I am working. For bream I try and go lighter weights

Cheers

Rob

[Runty66]

When i fish the bay i only use 2 types on plastics, one being armor shads.

Since i have started using armor shads about a year ago Ive loved them.

If you play around how to rig them then you can figure out that you can rig them up side down, up side down then flipped around and so on.. I'm really stingy so use them in till they are completely useless..I can normally get up to 4 -5 squire on them or just 1-2 on them, all depends really... i normally use a 1/16th or 1/12th size 1 or 2 hook for them.

The key is to rig them right the first time and not take them out, otherwise they get wanged from the weight of the jig head.

Good luck

[richard7785]

the ones ive found are only good for one fish have defintely been the gulps. ive caught up to 6 flathead on one zman plastic but. the zmans do tend to slip so i just add a dab of super glue at the head of the jig head so they stay in place. the pastics still come off the jig head when i yank them off, but the fish cant pull them off. just bought my first pack of damikis today to try out this weekend. last weekend the zman paddlerz in houdini and electric chicken in 4' were cleaning up the flattys