Shark Bait

I tried one on a worm hook out one side of the boat, & a squid strip out the other side of the boat. They were each rigged on a running sinker set up with a metre leader, set just off the bottom, bobbing up & down with the boat. The squid strip caught 2 legal soapies & the gulp squid caught nothing. I'll spend 3 or 4 days next week on the hawkesbury & I'll try it again. Let u know how it turns out. Cheers.

Nice. Red's fast, hey.

Makes my boat look like an antique. Nice set up.

You'd rather the fat passenger sat in the middle of the boat, not at the back. 20kg's in motor weight will make a difference getting onto the plane, particularly when the weight is over the back of the transom. Not such an issue if you have power to burn though.

Hopefully, when you disconect your plug leads 1 at a time, all 3 cylinders will get a more equal result. If you have a weak fuel pump, the way your carbies are plummed, the lowest carbie will allways recieve fuel before the next highest. Described another way, if your motor uses more fuel than your pump supplies, the bottom carbie has first pick of the fuel until it's full. Only when your lowest float bowl is full will it let fuel go to the middle carbie, & the highest gets fuel last. Hope this makes sense. Good luck.

Hi youngy. I don't know your area, but if I were in your shoes I'd buy a map of your area & go to every local tackle shop & have them scribble things all over it. Having each shop scribble on your map, they'll try & out do each other with better spots & advice. Bugger. I should have thought of this years ago.

I'd go 16, but I generally fish light. I catch more fish on light gear, & I havn't been spooled yet, but I've come close a couple of times.

Yep. Tie on 1.5 to 2 rod lengths of flourocarbon leader, you won't look back. Learn a knot to tie it on though.

That little rod is a lot stronger than you think. My wife & I bought a loomis each & have never looked back. I have a DSR820C & she has a DSR820S. They are 7 foot rods rated 2 to 4 kg. We use them to flick plastics around. Never caught so many flathead, tailor (biggest was 55cm), my first jewfish on plastics (small at 55cm, but I'm still happy) & I've hooked a few kings but snap my 16lb leader when I get greedy with the drag. Never caught so many fish. If u break it,& I don't think you will, they'll repalce it for $200, no questions asked. Just hand them the lower section of the rod with the Loomis logo on it. Use it, you'll never look back. Rick.

I fished hard for Jewfish for 2 years before I started to catch them. Dunno what I changed, but after my first, they're a regular catch. Just keep trying & changing things till you crack that first one.

Thanks inhlanzi. I'll spend more time on the river, rain hail or shine, & vary my baits more. The past 12 months, I've only fished for jew with squid. I'll add yellowtail & tailor to that & see if it makes a difference. I've let the bad weather put me off a bit this year after spending a couple of stormy nights on the water. I'm yet to catch any good fish in bad weather, & i've spent many a wet overcast weekend out on the water trying to catch a jew. I guess I'll try harder to catch more baits & spend this summer moving around & changing things till I put it together again. Thanks for your help, Shark Bait.

Thanks jewgaffer.

You noticed the braid thing too. I fish braid & mono at the same time. The mono catches me more jewfish. Don't know why, must be the stretch in the mono.

Did the hawkesbury fish better for Jewfish last summer. Last year around this time, I used to catch 6 or so jewfish per outing. This year I fish 2 turns of the tide, & more often than not, I go home empty handed. Am I loosing the plot? Should I change tactics or forget about jewfish & chase something else for now?

Doesn't help me. I still struggle to catch them. Lucky to get 2 a night.

Shouldn't brake above the knot though. Take it back.

No squid in Lake Burrendong.

Thanks humsey. I'll fish both J's & circles & do the maths. Circles in free spool & J's in gear. I caught my first Jew on plastics a couple of weeks ago. Only small at 55cm long, but put a smile on my dial. So many ways to fish & so little time to fish them in. Thanks all, Rick.

Interesting about the hollow cavity mouty & circles. I used to use gamakatsu octapus hooks, & found I was getting bitten off by ooglies. I also caught a lot of pike eels. Big ones, & they'd bite me off at the side of the boat. I'd go through heaps of hooks & leaders. When I changed to circles, I stopped catching pike eels. I think the circles may not hook up in their shape mouth. I still catch hammerheads, port jacksons, stingrays as a by catch, but I still catch jews, all hooked in the corner of the mouth. Perhaps I don't catch as many as I used to, but it's easier to release them in good shape because the hooks are easy to get out. I don't go through anywhere near as much gear as I used to either. Does anybody else gut hook lots of Jews with normal J hooks. Could it be because I fish for jews in free spool. Perhaps if I fished for Jews in with the real in gear, I wouldn't gut hook as many jews with normal J hooks. What are your thoughts?

Or overcast & rain......again. Bugger!

Good feeling isn't it. I caught 1 on plastics for the first time last weekend. An 80mm squidgy fish in black & gold with a 3/8 jig head. The jew was only small at 550 long, but I still smile when I think about it.

Hi all. When fishing squid strips on circle hooks for jew, should I fish with my reel in gear, or free spool with ratchet on. When I fish squid strips on normal (not circle) hooks for jew, should I fish with my reel in gear, or free spool with ratchet on? Which hook catches more Jewfish? I tried standard hooks in free spool, but gut hooked alot of fish. This worries me cause I let most of my fish go & I hate to hurt them. I now use circles in free spool. Works OK. Is there a better way to fish? Thanks, Rick.

Your motor is starving for fuel. Your primer bulb going soft suggests there is a vacuum in your fuel line. Make sure your tank breather is breathing. Make sure your fuel supply line is not blocked or kinked. Does your fuel bulb go soft because it is old? Placing the auxilery tank above motor removes all vacume in fuel line by supplying gravity feed. In summary, Check fuel vents & breathers in tanks. Check fuel line is not kinked or blocked. Check condition of fuel bulb. Check/change fuel filters. Last, check fuel pump. They have a filter screen in them & the manual suggests they should be serviced via the maintenance schedule. This gets overlooked until the pump fails. As far as the condition of your plugs go, your bottom cylinder is doing more work than the others. This could be idle mixture or linkage adjustment (Ballance). Dealers seldom touch carby linkages because it is a time consuming exercise. If you want a happy, reliable motor, you'd best get your carbies serviced & set up properly. This may mean pulling them down, cleaning them & setting float levels, idle stops, mixtures & linkages.

Well said Swordy & Mondo! Wonder how many hooks he found in that one? What a bloody stonker!

Way to go Skunga.