The McArthy Paddle Tail (in 4″ and 5″) are all hand poured masterpieces from South Africa with a soft and supple body, with a large paddle that provide incredible action to the rear end of this lure.
Like all of the McArthy range, you rig these lures on any jighead you like to get the presentation you are after. Troy often rigs the McArthy 4″ Paddle Tail on a 3g or 5g jighead with a 4/0 hook giving great hook exposure and a lighter overall weight to fish shallow water. For the 5″ Paddle Tail he prefers a 5g jighead with a 5/0 hook.
Unlike jerkbait plastics, the McArthy Paddle Tail works best with more subtle shakes and draws rather than a rip and stop action. A shaky draw gives the lure an amazing action and flatties just can’t resist it! Imagine slowly drawing the rod tip up while shaking the rod holding hand and you’re in the right area. This retrieve also allows you to prospect all the gaps in the weed or fish a drain very carefully and effectively.
Another retrieve that works when you need to fish over the top of thick weed is a constant slow roll. With a slow roll retrieve, the jighead rigged McArthy has a slight body roll and an amazing tail undulation and beat. Using the supplied jighead this retrieve will attract flatties hiding in the weed mats in areas that are virtually unfishable with any lure other than a surface offering. It’s great to have options.
Colours are always a contentious issue, but Troy loves a lure with at least some UV in the mix. This means colours such as Coppertruese, Chartreuse Pearl, Hot Orange, Atomic Mullet and Motor Oil are all firm favourites. If he’s looking for a more natural presentation, Amber, Olive Deceiver, Lavender Shad and Orca are great options. Even when he’s going natural, Troy will often use a high UV pink or chartreuse jighead just to have that strike point – something he strongly believes in.
Tackle wise, the McArthy 4″ and to an extent the 5″ Paddle Tails are light line specials and rigging both up on a 3g or 5g head are realistic options. With this in mind the two outfits Troy uses for these lures are the Blade N Tails RLFBT17 (4-8lb 6’10”) matched to an ATC Virtuous Carbon Fibre 2000 reel and the Bone Shore Barrage 762L, which is a 7’6″ rod rated to 6-12lb lines and matched perfectly with an ATC Virtuous 2000.
Both outfits are spooled with 6lb braid and a Wilson Fluorocarbon leader from 8lb up to 12lb is tied to the end.
These are both light line set ups and the reality is that fishing this lure in these waters will see you connect to oversized fish so choose your leader carefully. For those a little less experienced, go for a slightly heavier leader. For those who are comfortable fishing light, the lighter leader will aid in presentations, retrieves and casting distance, but definitely leaves you open to being rubbed off!
This year we’re excited about how many fish the McArthy lures are going to catch. The Paddle Tails have an outstanding number of features that make it the perfect flatty lure in shallow water (and deeper water too with a heavier jighead used!) and catches already this season have been up in the scary area!
Check it out at your nearest tackle store and grab yourself some high UV models and a couple of natural patterns and start looking shallow for your flatty fix.
