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PNG Black Bass Product Testing Trip

In 2018 Wilson Fishing Director Graeme Wilson and General Manager Kord Luckus jumped aboard K20 to fish the Fly River with some of our suppliers to test gear to its limits.

What followed was one of the best trips any of them had experienced where the tackle really did get tested.

Check out the following images and read about the tackle used and how it stood up to the most brutal test in the fishing world.

Venom Black Bass Rod, 1 piece

RLFVBB

http://www.wilsonfishing.com/Products/Rods/Venom-Rods/HD-Baitcaster

Designed for black bass fishing, the Venom Black Bass rod is rated to 60lb braided line and is lightweight so it can be used all day without fatiguing the angler.

Ideal for either casting or trolling lures, the team also fished Zerek Fish Traps vertically off the rod to great effect.

Uncompromising toughness, the best componentry available and built in Australia, the Venom Black Bass was the stand out rod of the trip.

ATC Combat Plus

014CBPV2200

http://www.wilsonfishing.com/Products/Reels/Combat-V2-200

This was the trip where the Combat Plus was first tested for release. With an upgraded drag and a few stress points toughened up. To say the it passed with flying colours is almost an understatement.

Fishing a large double handle and stressing the drag to the max was the order of the day with the team literally trying to snap these reels into hundreds of pieces. The team failed to break the reels and the fish caught on the reel have given ATC a really good idea on where this reel's limits lie. And that limit? Way beyond any normal fishing situation!

Zerek Fish Trap 110

781FT110_

http://www.wilsonfishing.com/Products/Lures/Zerek-Innovation-Lures/Fish-Trap

This lure was the revelation of the trip. Fished straight out of the packet with the standard Mustad 4x Saltism trebles, the Fish Trap 110 was used to open up all sorts of new fishing areas.

Occasionally cast andÂ retrieved but mostly fished vertically deep within nasty snags, the Fish Trap 110 proved a real weapon of a lure for black bass.

Able to be fished at any depth and in places traditional diving lures just couldn't go, the Fish Trap took the punishment with the star of the show taking 15 black bass up to 90cm before succumbing to a fish deep in another nasty snag!

They key is that the Mustad Saltism trebles are incredibly sharp and penetrate well, meaning the leverage factor is reduced markedly and straightened hooks wasÂ rarely an issue. Also the soft body absorbed much of the down force of the strike, allowing the hooks to set deep and the fish to be landed.

Zerek Tango Shad 120

781TS120F_

http://www.wilsonfishing.com/Products/Lures/Zerek-Innovation-Lures/Tango-Shad-120

When it came time to troll the Tango Shad 120 prototype was the lure all the anglers fought over.

On 60lb braid and 60-80lb leaders, this lure dove to around 4m on the troll andÂ most times was set a long way back. The real key to success was to allow the lure to rise up over the snags and not drive the lure through the snags. The bass were eating trolled lures as they swam cleanly, rather than when the lures were bashing through the snags.

The prototypes all died a good death deep in the middle of the river, but not one of the prototypes was destroyed by the fish before they were lost.

The puncture wounds these nasty fish can inflict just didn't happen on the Tango 120 and the team were exceptionally satisfied with this lures toughness.

Mustad Fastach Clip

MFTC_

http://www.wilsonfishing.com/Products/Terminal/Swivels-Rings-Clips/Clips/Mustad-Fastach

As this was a tackle testing trip, the crew used Mustad Fastach Clips for the entire trip.

These unique and now much copied clips so easy to use that changing lures is no longer a chore.

The best part was that these clips withstood the enormous pressures placed on them by the heavy tackle and the brutal black bass and came up looking for more! As Kord said, "It's when you really push tackle to the limits that you start to appreciate just how good it is and the Mustad Fastach Clip is at the top of the mountain for reliability, strength and durability".

Fact Box

Sportfishing PNG

The crew fished with Sportfishing PNG aboard the mothership K20.

This all-inclusive trip gives you access to some amazing water and fish with everything taken care of for the anglers.

Log onto https://www.sportfishingpng.net/ to check out the trips and offers.