Jackson Artist FR Lures

Easily one of the top lures on the market right now (and Jackson’s most popular lure worldwide), the Jackson Artist FR Lure is an allrounder bibbed sinking minnow with an action that entices an incredibly wide range of species both inshore and offshore, and a range of sizes and weights that allow you to target so many species. The ‘FR’ in the name stands for ‘fast retrieve’, as the lures were originally designed for high-speed retrieves when chasing fast-moving pelagic fish off the boat or from the rocks/shoreline. However, the Jackson Artist FR Lure is a fish catching machine in lakes, rivers, and estuaries for most typically found Australian species, especially the two smaller Artist FR sizes.

Check out our blog post titled “Our Best Flathead Lure” for even more info on these beauties!

Features:

• Sinking bibbed minnow
• An incredibly versatile lure that will catch a host of species
• Tight wobbling action that works with fast and slow retrieves
• 4 sizes available
• 2 heavyweight sizes are available too – Jackson Artist FR HW Lure

Jackson Artist FR55 Lure – 55mm

Originally designed for trout, the Artist FR55 is a certainty for other Australian species like bream, bass, perch and more. They’re still a small sinking minnow, and their compact size allows for a fairly good cast whilst only weighing 4g. A simple slow winding retrieve works wonders with this size, and the odd pause every now and then can also bring the bite when the fish are being more timid.

The FR55 comes rigged with two #12 trebles that are super sharp and heavy-duty enough to handle anything from tiny bream to big flathead, there’s no need to replace them.

Jackson Artist FR70 Lure – 70mm – Best Estuary All-Rounder

If you’re heading to the local lake or river and you want a lure that will catch you almost anything and everything in there, this is the one for you. The FR70 is a compact little minnow that weighs 5g and casts a lot better than you’d think. With the same great action as the other two sizes but in a smaller profile, it allows you to target bream, whiting, bass, perch, flathead, trevally, tailor and much more. It’s one of our go-to’s and we couldn’t recommend it enough, for beginners or experienced fishos.

How to use the FR70 size:

Our most effective action so far has been simply lifting the lure anywhere between 30cm and 90cm off the bottom (so small to medium rod twitches) every 1-2 seconds or as you slowly retrieve the lure. We often lift the lure at a slow to medium rate, but it also handles a fast-twitch with no problems.

Another really effective and even easier way is to simply wind the lure in at a constant pace along or near the bottom. So you cast out, let it sink down, and then start winding at a pace that’s just fast enough that you can feel the wobble/vibration of the lure through your rod.

The lure does all the work for you, and you’ll feel that no matter what action you decide to use.

Rigging the Artist FR70:

Our best success has come from rigging these lures with assist hooks off the middle tow point and leaving the treble on the rear. It has increased our hook-up rate and decreased our losses once hooked because the fish struggle to lever the hook out due to the flexible assist chord. The Shinto Pro Micro Assist Hooks in size 6 are the best suited for this job, and the colour is up to you!

Jackson Artist FR80 Lure – 80mm – Flathead Slayer!

The Jackson Artist FR80 Lure is a brilliant estuary flathead lure and the best size of the standard Artist FR lures for targeting flatties specifically. It’s profile is only slightly larger than the FR70 size, but that seems to ward off smaller species like bream and whiting etc more often, hence why it’s better for flathead. For such a skinny little lure it weighs a solid 8g, so you’ll get a nice cast out of it and a relatively fast sink rate compared to the smaller size which can be handy in deeper water or faster moving water.

How to use the FR80 size:

Simply copy the action and retrieve style from the FR70 above, it’s the same and works just as well for this size.

Rigging the Artist FR80:

Again, same with the FR70 above, the Shinto Pro Micro Assist Hooks but in size 8 are better for the FR80 size lure, although size 6 will work too.

Jackson Artist FR105 Lure – 105mm

This size has proved most effective on faster-moving pelagic species like salmon, tailor, kingfish, small tuna etc with a faster retrieve through the water, although you’ll still catch some solid flathead on these too. A simple cast and retrieve action works well with this size, and you can throw in a few sweeping pulls here and there to change things up. The bib keeps it underwater while you retrieve and it has a really nice, tight wobble, so if you do need to slow down your retrieve you can do so without hindering the lure’s action.