TT Lures Tornado Spinnerbaits

Martin Auldist has been fishing the Murray-Darling Basin rivers for over 30 years and in this time he has seen his share of interesting developments in the fishery and the tackle used by recreational anglers. Recently Martin has become a convert to using spinnerbaits for catching golden perch and Murray cod, and has had some terrific success using TT Tornado spinnerbaits.

Written by: Martin Auldist

1. What drew you to grab hold of the TT Tornado spinnerbaits?
While I was working at the AFTA Tackle Trade Show in August last year I was checking out the new range, and the quality and innovation of the product impressed me. What I found exciting was the double skirt idea, a neat way of providing some great contrast on the skirt.

2. How do you fish these spinnerbaits for native fish?
Spinnerbaits are really easy to use and everyone can do so popular with anglers. My method involves searching for suitable structure, which is mostly fallen red gums, with about 2-10 feet of water around them. I've mainly been fishing from the bank lately, because of the low water levels, so I cast firstly along any large limbs or trunks. I'll usually let the spinnerbait fall for a few seconds to get it near the structure, and then start a slow roll. If I feel the lure bump over branches, I'll stop the retrieve and let the lure free-fall down the face of the branch. I've found a lot of native fish sit under these branches and will smash the spinnerbait as it free-falls. After the free-fall I'll continue with a slow roll back to the bank. My next cast will target other structure with a similar retrieve. I'll spend upwards of 15 minutes working a good snag for Murray cod, but if I'm chasing golden perch, I'll only spend about 5 minutes because they are a little more aggressive when they're on the chew.

3. You mentioned the double skirt, what is that all about and what does it give the angler?
According to Gareth from TT Lures, the double skirt was an idea that sprung up over a few beers. It was originally thought of as a way to bulk up the spinnerbait, much like adding a soft plastic trailer. When it was trialled and the spinnerbait was swum, the designers at TT Lures noticed that the skirt pulsed. They then went back and chose contrasting skirts and swum that in the test tank. Almost immediately they noticed how well the contrast of skirt colours worked and set about finding the right colour combinations. The double skirt gives anglers a bulkier lure without the need to add a plastic trailer and adds a great colour contrast, something most other spinnerbaits don't have.

4. Do you find colour makes a difference?
The colours in the Tornado range are all winners. From the loud fire tiger pattern to the natural gold and black pattern they all catch native fish. However, for all round versatility I really like the purple pattern. It throws a great silhouette in the water and cod and goldens really like eating it.

5. Can you describe the best session you've had with Tornado spinnerbaits?
I recently had the opportunity to fish in the Darling River at Wilcannia with my good mate, Mark Etheridge. We drove up to one of the bigger holes and had an exploratory cast at some bankside snags. Mark had six golden perch landed and released before he let me in on the secret retrieve. The key was to not let the lure sink too far before winding it back. The fish were sitting on the snags in mid-water, so a 3 second sink was about right with a slow roll retrieve. That session we caught and released over 40 golden perch. The biggest we measured was 54cm - it was an absolute blast. The next day we fished the same hole. The golden perch were a bit quiet, but Mark caught a nice cod of around 8kg. We got a few more goldens too, to top off a great trip.