Hex Wobblers or Ticers – Weight-Forward for greater casting distance
Three long-range weight-forward hex wobblers or salmon ticers. The silvered ticer at the top with its shaped weight could be regarded as a deluxe version. The most popular weight is 68g.
Hex Wobblers or Ticers
For Salmon and Kahawai in the Surf
Hex Wobblers or Ticers are metal lures used for lone distance work. Designed for distance casting over breaking waves at the beach. They are almost never used to fish for salmon in the river itself. Ticers are made by cutting short lengths from a long length of a hexagonal shaped brass rod. Hence they are also known as “Hex Wobblers” and “Slices.”
Inventive anglers and manufacturers of fishing tackle have come up with numerous methods of improving the distance that these lures can be cast chiefly by making them heavier at the hook end. The aim of which is to make them fly through the air like a dart when casting so that they don’t tumble which would reduce casting distance. The best way to make weight-forward ticers is to weld on an extra piece of brass at the hook end of the lure.
Once almost all salmon ticers where silver with perhaps a flash of coloured prism tape applied. Nowadays the bloke next to you in the line could be fishing with a white, silver, or even fluoro lime green powder coated ticer! Surprisingly the later colour works well and takes many salmon at the mouth of Canterbury’s Rakaia River.
Most ticers are silvered to make them shine like a silvery baitfish. However many anglers also fish pure white powder coated models and many like to add a flash of red or yellow.
Strong sharp hooks are essential to set the hook into the hard mouth of a salmon. The lures pictured here have the popular VMC treble hooks attached.
Ticers are also the preferred lures for spinning for kahawai at river mouths throughout New Zealand. To cast very long distances salmon anglers use a special purpose designed long rod such as this Harrison or this Kilwell EnticerTW and match it with something like this top quality Abu 7500 reel.
Here is a great video about surfcasting for salmon with Malcolm Bell from The Complete Angler.
