THERE are not too many facets of Winter I enjoy.

I’m very much like a reptile – the colder it is, the harder I find it to get going. But there are some exciting fishing options available for those keen to brave the cool weather, with tailor arguably the pick of them. These fish bite freely on bait and lures during the cooler months.

I’ve always enjoyed chasing these spirited fish and have spent many a cold morning and evening flicking baits, lures and flies around likely washes. I remember some terrific sessions at places like Lennox Head, Broken Head and Brunswick Heads, as well points farther south like Point Plomer, Diamond Head and Point Perpendicular at North Haven.

Despite being hundreds of kilometres apart, the same techniques and tactics will produce the goods at virtually all likely haunts up and down the coast. And with the tailor season upon us, let’s look at a few different approaches to tempt them.

Most anglers look at tailor as a shore-based species, so we’ll first examine a few different tactics that produce results from shore.

Perhaps the most recognised approach is the trusty old ganged hooks and pilchards and it’s probably fair to say that more tailor have fallen to this method than most others put together. A major part of the ganged hooks and pilchard success is the way the pilchards invariably fall to pieces once a fish hits the bait. Basically, they berley the area you’re fishing, attracting distant fish and holding the ones that are already in the area.

A good session with a block of pilchards can see everything from bream to mulloway drawn to the zone you’re fishing.

Garfish are another popular bait for anglers using the ganged-hook rig. While garfish are nowhere near as oily as pilchards and create far less of a berley-trail effect, there’s no denying their appeal to tailor – especially the bigger greenback models.

I guess it’s the big bait, big fish theory with the gars as they’re usually twice the size of your average block pilchard. Either way, if you want to target the bigger tailor using the ganged-hook method, hunt around for some good-sized sea gars – you’ll be surprised at the class of fish they regularly attract.

Perhaps the second most common method to tempt tailor from the shore is with lures. There’s a whole range of lures out there that will tempt tailor; it’s more a matter of picking particular types that suit the location and conditions you’re fishing.

I’m a bit fan of the metal slices and the more traditional spoons. There are not too many tailor swimming that will baulk at a fluttering spoon like an Abu Toby, Wilson Big T or Maniac. Slices like the popular Halco Lazers and Raiders also pin plenty of hungry fish; it’s a matter of picking the size and weight of spinner to suit where you’re fishing.

If you’re fishing a wide open surf beach and the likely gutter is a fair way out, you’ll have to tie on the heavier class metal lures, around 60g to 100g. The same goes for rocky headlands where there’s deeper water quite wide. The lighter slices and spoons (say 20g to 50g) shine when there’s little swell and short distances to reach likely water. Best bet is to have a reasonable range of shapes sizes and weights, that way you’ll most likely have one to suit.

There are not too many tailor out there that won’t belt a well-worked fly. The problem, especially for shore-based anglers, is casting them far enough to reach the marauding fish.

Shore-based anglers will have to choose their fishing locations very carefully and fish only those with deep water right to your toes – headlands or surf beaches. But there’s no denying the fun to be had as you strip the Clouser or Deceiver back to your feet and it comes to an abrupt halt before heading skywards in a tailor’s mouth.

Both floating and sinking lines will catch fish, though I’ve found the sinking lines, being quite thin, cast greater distances with less effort than much thicker, floating lines.

As tailor have a fair set of dentures, it’s recommended you use a short length of light wire when fly-fishing. Multi-strand wire around 10kg breaking strain works pretty well, as does the new knottable wire now available. Whilst it isn’t certainly not essential to wire on your metal spoons and slices, it isn’t a bad idea and will give you a little insurance when a big fish does come along.

My favourite lure type for tailor is undoubtedly a surface plug such as a poppers or a fizzer. Those visual slashes and wild chops are a major drawcard for using surface plugs, not to mention how user-friendly they are in bad country.

There are not too many lures that can be worked in and around rugged bomboras and exposed reef with little fear of snagging up. But with a little clever rod work, you can virtually ‘walk’ most surface lures in and around structure that usually sees a metal lure snagged in a split second.

It’s the combination of profile and splash that make surface lures so effective. Many topwater lures have an inherent garfish-type profile. So as the tailor look up to see what the splashing is all about, they see a shape representing one of their favourite baitfish.

And being usually slightly larger lures, they tend to attract the better class of fish. In fact, many a greenback tailor up to 8kg has fallen to a well-worked popper, as well as quite a few mulloway.

My personal-best tailor was around 8 kilos. For most of the fight I had it pegged for a nice kingfish and only once it was at my feet did I realise it was a monster tailor. Sadly, a few frantic headshakes at my feet and the beast swam free, leaving me totally devastated.

While tailor fishing is traditionally recognised as a shore-based proposition, there’s a world of fun to be had by targeting these feisty fish from a boat.

First things first: We’re talking about headlands and inshore islands, not open surf beaches! The idea is to drift with the motor running and cast your lures and baits back to the shoreline.

This can be very productive and loads of fun, plus you get to scale the tackle down, allowing the tailor to preform even better.

Caution: You should do this only on days when the seas are slight and there’s an offshore breeze blowing. Don’t head out to sea on your own; you really need two sets of eyes to watch for incoming waves.

Being around headlands flicking lures back into the wash is certainly loads of fun and is practised by many North Coast anglers but it can be potentially very dangerous and should be done only under safe conditions.