Hi Liam, first fish was caught with a Sensation Ghillemientjie. The second two was with a topwater lure I make myself.

Much appreciated Dominik! I am very happy if my if my content is helpful!

I might surprise you here Matthew, but Salmo would not be my #1 pick for Yellowfish. I know if you ask almost anyone in South Africa which is the “best” lure for Yellows, almost all will say Salmo. I’m not one of them. Remember, time of year, water quality, depth and where you are in the country is going to play a massive role of the efficacy of a specific lure, so keep that in mind. If I had to pick JUST one lure to fish all year in any river I would go for the Sensation Ghillemientjie in Dikkop colour. It has been my most successful commercially purchase lure over the last 5 or so years. I would immediately replace the split rings and hooks on it though. The lure is excellent, hardware is not. I replace the split rings with ones I buy in bulk and recommend singles for Yellowfish. Good local options are VMC mangrove inline singles in the smallest size (#6) or BKK Lone Snipers in #8. If I can expand that list to 3 lures it would be the Sensation Ghillemientjie, the 2cm or 3cm (4-4.5cm for deeper water) Salmo Hornet in pearly shad, and the Rapala X-light mid-runner crank in ghost shiner (also replace the hooks on these, they are too big and cause lots of damage). With these three you can cover a lot of bases. Adding additional Salmo is Real identity perch, Yellow holographic perch and gold fluorescent perch are good options, as well.

Thanks for the reply! Just a follow-up question. Are the sinking or floating lures better (at least in the salmo hornet range)?

​@@matthewhesselink4075 , @matthewhesselink4075 , I dislike when people give advice like “go fish and you will learn what the fish want” or “the fish will tell you”. It’s an easy way of not actually giving usable advice but sounding like you have lots of experience, but it does not help in the least. Fish have never told a single thing, so I won’t offer you advice like that. I will acknowledge that I’ve learnt by spending days catching nothing, days catching a handful, or days catching on every second cast. It takes a lot of time on the water to learn what fish MIGHT want in specific conditions. There is no cheat sheet I can give you that will always work. Experience teaches you how to adapt, and that improves your odds. With that said, you’re question is a little hard to answer succinctly, as there are a lot of variables, and you have to adapt as you go, depending on the area as well as weather and water temp, as well as the depth you are fishing due to the previous three factors. At the end of the day, it is best to have a few of each handy. I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true When looking Specifically at Salmo hornets, if floating and sinking are available in the same size I'd opt for floating, based purely on the fact that they run pretty deep already, and there is a better chance of getting one back if stuck. In the smallest size (2cm) they are only available in sinking, so that's what I’d recommend. In minnows (longer thinner profiles), I might (likely) opt for a sinking over a floating, as that would allow me to drift it down with the current, adding twitches while staying at the same depth. Expanding a bit on why you could choose floating VS sinking: If you fish round a lot of larger rock, there is a good chance your lure can and will swim in under or between some. If it’s a floating lure, there is a chance you can free it by letting it float back up/out. Odds are less with a sinking lure. A sinking lure for the same size will also allow you to run it a bit deeper by letting it sink. On colder days fish are likely to be holding in deeper, warmer water. In low light, fish are likely to come to the surface to hunt as they are less likely to be spotted and evaded, but will be hiding deeper during the day. Lastly, sinking lures allow you to twitch/jerk while staying at the same depth, while floating lures will rise when paused. Most of these are personal choices based on experience and knowing what fish want in a specific area and your style. These choices matter a lot if fishing is tough, and matter less when fish are actively hunting. I’ll mention that it is more important to imitate what is in the water already, which is why I usually have more success with longer, thinner profiled lures, as that is what is prevalent in our river systems.

Had a quick look, and they seem to all be in the same genus, Barbus, so they seem to be related. Just wish they used a little more creativity when naming them. Yellowfish isn't particularly imaginative😅

Hi Peter!, They are in the same genus, Barbus, so it seems they are related, but that's about as much as I know. Ichthyology isn't my strong suit.

@@LightTackleLureAngling hey jano! Right on! It’s not really mine as well haha was just thinking it looks really similar to barbs or a carp haha. Nice catch my friend!

Thank you for the feedback and kind words. Good to know what I'm doing right. Can't remember that I've seen a spinning version reviewed either, but if they use the same blank, which they are likely to do, I'm sure it would be a solid performing allrounder. I rarely review spinning gear if similar casting rods are available, as I find them more comfortable and fit my tastes a little better. Thanks again!

Hi Jacob! It's a Noeby Keen Force Light Fast action 7'6 2-10g. Solid little rod!

Shouldn't, but I'll test it out for you this week

@@LightTackleLureAngling Right on, I'd appreciate hearing those findings.

@@Koops2245, Sorry for the delay. Tested out some #8 singles. The UL Shad does indeed still sink with singles in fresh water, but it changes the angle of the lure during the sink. As removing the trebles removes a lot f the middle and rear weight, it sinks nose down with singles. So changes the look of the lure a fair bit during pauses.

@@LightTackleLureAngling Thank you for sharing your experiment data here. You read my mind with the #8 hook size. I'm going to try a solitary single-point #8 hook on mine in a fresh-water stream. Now I'm wondering if one hook is more effective on the belly position or the tail position. More fun little bits of research for me. Cheers.

@@Koops2245 I'd got for tail if I were going with only one single. More likely to get hit on the back, and less likely to snag on the bottom. Would balance out the lip a bit better there too. Won;t hurt to try both and see.

Which country are you in, Wildside? Guess they don’t follow the same pricing strategy in your region?Asking as locally, for me, they are less than half the price of “normal” Rapala lures like the smaller X-Rap and Shad Rap. Smaller Rapala lures usually range from $8-12 US here, and the X-Light sells for between $4-5, which is comparatively affordable. Unfortunate hear it is not the same where you are. Thanks for watching, and the engagement. Always interesting to learn pricing from other countries.

Thanks Frank, I haven’t tried that yet, but I’ll give it a go!

It’s a difficult one. They are stamped as Fuji guides and visually look like Fuji guides, but BFS Fishing Channel did note the stamp was on the outside and believes the stamp is usually inside on standard Fuji guides. I am honestly not expert enough to tell the difference between real authentic Fuji Guides and good fake ones. They look real enough to me, when comparing to my Shimano and Daiwa rods with Fuji guides, and with the stamp on there, it’s enough for me. Handing has made an active effort to establish their brand in recent months. I don’t believe a brand will go through the efforts of marketing and building brand presence only to do something silly like lie about a replica component. Something that could be easily refuted. Stranger things have happened, but in this case I am willing to give Handing the benefit of the doubt and accept they are indeed Fuji guides.

Much appreciated!

The PE 0.6 I tested is rated for 10lb. That is somewhat conservative for a 0.12mm braid, as most PE 0.6 braids are rated for 11-13lb. I'm confident in saying I'm sure it'll do the rated 10lb. When doing the multiple knots for comparison I tensioned them very well. It'll likely do that with knots.