CRC Tackle Guard & Reidy Big Ass B52

CRC Tackle Guard

Spray on moisture and rust preventive sprays are popular with outdoors people. Sprays like WD40 are well known for removing moisture from electric components in hard to start in vehicles. Gun, fishing reels and camera equipment sprays are just some of the amazing variety of sprays available for different outdoors gear applications. However, light sprays are unsuitable for long-term rust protection as many a gun owner has discovered when opening his safe after a lengthy period of storage. The same applies to reels, oil them with a heavy-duty oil and grease during long periods of non-use.

Lately I have been using CRC Tackle Guard on one of my fishing reels. The blurb on it says it does not harm fishing line, and with the cost of braid line I hope they are right. This reel has been used fairly heavily during the last three months leading up to the wet season.

After each day out, I sprayed it with the spray, both internally and outside, tacking little notice if it contacted the line or not. I also avoided washing the reel with water as I wanted to find if it this stuff really works.

However, I am happy to report that the line is as good as it was when I began to conduct the tests. No sign of corrosion is evident on the reel and all gears and working parts are working smoothly and as they should.

Tackle Guard fights corrosion, lubricates, displaces water and does not harm fishing line, EVA grips, seals, etc according to the instruction on the can. It claims a specially formulation to use on all tackle by simply applying a light spray each day after use. Or you can use it during fishing if the reel has come in contact with saltwater spray, especially if it has been dipped in the sea.

Results are pretty good so far. CRC Tackle Guard really seems to do what it claims and I now spray all my reels with it after a day spent fishing, doing this regular maintenance is a lot easier than pulling the reel apart in the dim lights of a camp fire. I've done that and it's not easy.

New Reidy Big Ass B52

CRC Tackle Guard is imported and distributed by Reidy Lures, which brings me to the subject of their new Big Ass B52 lures. They are making a huge impact on anglers who target big impoundment barra. The B52 range are long, and slightly stout minnow style lures, which have a top reputation enjoyed since the first production minnow lure.

Other highly successful minnow lures last century were the ABU killer and Rebel, which have now vanished, having been replaced by more effective modern versions.

The Reidy B52 is well-known and is available in four sizes for all size fish.

I tested the Big Ass B52 prototype and have caught a number of barramundi on them up to 102cm in size.

As they are now readily available, more anglers will catch big barra when the wet season declines and the run-off starts, while the East Coast QLD dams and farther inland, Lake Moondarra at Mount Isa, have had some amazing catches recorded during 2010.

It's a well proven fact that big lures are attractive to big fish and while many fish are caught – the facts are that if you want to target big fish successfully, big lures will certainly give you a head start. A bunch if us were fishing in Corroboree Billabong, east from Darwin last year and we were using small lures and rubbers as the word on the bush telegraph was that only small lures were working.

Well, we got bugger all. In the afternoon I started trolling a Reidy's Daily Devil in only 3m of water a few metres behind the electric outboard and caught a couple of 80cm plus barra, as did the others when they switched to bigger lures.

Father downstream, while fishing the run-off the previous year and Mark McFadyen and Chip Tosoni we caught little on deep trolling lures in 10m of water, until I switched to trolling a Big B52 and caught a 93cm barra in very short order.

The fish were feeding on the surface and trolling large surface lures proved to be the lure of the day. During last year's wet season build-up, a mate caught two barra over 130cm on one of my prototype Big Ass B52s while casting about weed beds in Lake Tinaroo, a noted hotspot for big barra. It was a dark night, but the new lure made it one to remember.

The B52 are surface lures and the original designed by Jeff Reid was made to directly compete with other slim minnow lures, like the Bomber.

Current Reight Lures owner, Colin Burdon, has expanded the B52 into the four models we have today. It was a good move that is paying dividends, not only for Burdon but also for grateful anglers, including myself, who are always pestering Jeff to make the move.

Many people compare the B52 to the Bomber, but they're not the same as the B52 is heavier for the same length and will cast further due to its weight control system that moves the lead balls of course, make the unique buzzing rattling the noise the lure is gifted with when it is pulled through the water.

The B52 action is also different and varied compared to other slim minnows. The Big B52 was an instant success and is very popular with impoundment fishers targeting big barra about weed beds and snags. It is also an excellent trolling lure and I have caught many big barra, threadfin salmon, mackerel tuna, GT and queenfish on it, including in deep water, because fish are not always on the bottom and very often are feeding on top.

There's no doubt that the Big Ass with its longer length and thicker body will be welcomed by anglers in barramundi land and of course elsewhere.

B52s range from a diminutive 10cm to 180cm in lengths. Both the Big B52 and the Big Ass B52 are very good blue water plugs and will work on many big pelagic. They provide strong robust bodies, and coupled to 4 x Strong hooks this makes them unbreakable.