Matching the Hatch Bait Junkie Style

By Mark Gercovich

Daiwa’s Bait Junkie lures have been around for a while now, but knowing where to start when confronted with an imposing wall of them at your local tackle store can be daunting. Here is a brief rundown of a couple of applications that I’ve been using just a couple of the styles in the massive range for. 

Matching the Hatch

The common galaxias is a prolific bait fish in the south west of Victoria occurring in a wide variety of environments from freshwater rivers and lakes as well as coastal estuaries. It goes without saying that it forms a big part of the diet of popular lure angling targets such as trout, estuary perch, bream and mulloway.

One of the great things about the new Bait Junkie range is the glittering array of colors to choose from, and there are a number of them that replicate the galaxias colorations well. Pearl gudgeon, ayu and copper flash are all colors that mimic a baitfish well in both clear and dirty water. I prefer to use a minnow pattern when trying to match the hatch, while a curl tail pattern I opt to use when fished on the bottom or on a heavier jighead. 

Bait Junkies match the hatch perfectly when it comes to baitfish imitation, and are highly durable, yet still retain a soft natural feel that fish love to eat. 

Surface Slam

One the bluewater side of things the 7inch Bait Junkie Jerk Shad in white pearl has quickly become a favorite. Most of our kingfish luring involves quickly skipping surface lures to entice a bite, there are times though, like when a school is under the boat, that a weighted soft plastic does the trick.

The Bait Junkie Jerk Shad has a great shimmy on the drop, and more often than not it’s when the plastic is sinking through the water column that it gets eaten. The Jerk Shad isn’t just a perfect baitfish imitation it’s also incredibly hard wearing, with one bait often lasting multiple days and fish. Sadly this isn’t a trait that applies to all soft plastic brands. Regardless of what the fish are eating and what style of lure they’re keyed in on I’ll always have a rod rigged and ready to go with a Jerk Shad on it. It’s good to be prepared and it’s always good to have a Bait Junkie right at your fingertips.