Bracey

G'day Followed up on the advice and tried a 10gm Halco Twisty. Nice lure and did the job. Question about the trebles though. I lost a nice salmon at the boat and this made me wonder about the hook set. Also caught some choppers and the trebles made a mess when trying to quickly release them to get back to the salmon action. Do many guys change these out for singles. I have heard of using inline hooks or maybe a second split ring. The catch and release would definitely be easier. What size and type (circle or J) of hook would you use on a 10gm. Cheers, Bart

G'day 5ky For yakkas try 30m off West Head opposite the pillboxes. This is just south of your red no go line. Early morning you will see other boats there for sure. For kings you can try off any of the points along the western side. On another thread there was some recent success at Long Nose Point which is where the Pittwater label is on your map. There has been a fair amount of Bonito and Salmon schools around although it depends on the day. I'm zero help when it comes to squid. If you find out, let me know. Cheers, Bart

G'day Guys Fairly basic question but I don't want to lose my anchor by getting it wrong. At the yakka spot in front of the pill boxes off West Head do you use a danforth sand anchor or is it reef underneath there and need a pick? Cheers, Bart

Thanks for all the suggestions. Will try again next week armed with some new ammunition. Cheers, Bart

Out in Pittwater yesterday. Many schools of Bonito in the bays on the falling tide. They were very actively feeding on the small baitfish. Thought here we go, it's on. So frustrating to throw plastics at them for 45 minutes with not even a single hit. Tried several different lures, although they were probably too big, the smallest I had was a 4" minnow. What do you guys recommend for Bonito? Would a small metal slice have been the go or is it sometimes they just won't take anything. Have read similar cases with Bonito in Botany Bay from some of the guys. Cheers, Bart

Thanks Zephi All those considerations make a lot of sense. Thanks for the reply. Bart

G'day Guys Need a new reel for a 7' ugly stick that I want to have primarily as a live bait setup. I will mostly be at anchor or drifting and only occasionally trolling. My query is how important is it to have a freespool feature for live yakkas when anchored or drifting. The shimano baitrunner series get a big tick if you go this way but if you don't need to freespool then obviously there are lots of other options. Also, how are the DL baitrunners. I guess you get what you pay for but the price seems right. Any suggestions much appreciated. Cheers, Bart

I just bought an Ugly Stick Platinum 7'0" rated 6-10kg. I might have undercooked it a bit again! Nothing like a rushed decision online when your stuck away with work with only a computer. Cheers, Bart

Awesome thread. Left jockey wheel down on trailer for 100m. Forgot to connect trailer lights. Lost winch handle as I drove trailer away after launching. Only found out when it was time to retrieve. Hooked a tree driving off the ramp with rods still in the holders. My mate takes the cake though. I unhooked the winch and safety chain and was just standing to the side as he was about to motor off the trailer. He has a brain explosion and goes into forward gear. Boat lurches forward and thankfully just stopped 3mm from winch. And my head. The fuel into the rod holder by Phillipc made me laugh for 5 minutes.

The rod was a 6'8" Catana rated 6-8 kg. I was using 20 lb braid with 30 lb leader. I was just glad my knots held being new to this kind of setup. Thanks to Slinky for his recommendation of the slim beauty. So if I get a proper rod holder and with the hope of another king down the track should I get a stronger rod? I'm sure it was the poor position that caused this one to snap. Cheers, Bart

My boat is a bowrider and not really set up for fishing as I don’t have any rod holders. I had a live bait out the front with the rod just wedged against the front cushions. My mate and I were fishing off the back when the yakka got hit hard and the rod loaded up and was bent against the side of the boat. I scrambled to the front but it snapped just above the second guide as I got to it. I was fairly sure it was a king but I only had 4 foot of rod left. I was doing ok getting some line in, with the other bits of the rod sitting in the water with the line still through their guides. As I got him close to he did another run toward the rear and the line ended up around the motor. At this stage with no way to turn the fish and the line caught I thought I had zero chance of ever seeing this fish. We managed to push the line away from the motor with the net and he did one last run directly away from the boat. I just let him go for awhile and then wound as fast as I could against the drag. By the time he got to the boat he was knackered and so was I. My first king against the odds. The rod was in 4 pieces but I was lucky I didn’t lose the whole lot overboard right at the beginning.

Cheers guys thanks for the info. Bart

Security screening can vary from place to place and it is an argument that you will always lose so it's not worth getting into it with them. That said there has been a recent change for Australia to let rods on board. Cheers, Bart

You can take a rod on board any flight international or domestic but you can't take hooks on board. Checked baggage only for hooks. Cheers, Bart

G'day Raiders Very new to live bait fishing and I'm just after a bit of basic info on what sort of rig to use. Most likely will be using yakkas as bait and have seen a lot of images on where to run the hook either through the back or the nose. The info I'm after is what sort of rig do you use down to the fish? Float or unweighted, or sinker at the bottom of the rig with the livey coming off a dropper? Like everyone I would love to catch a kingfish. What setup is best to target them. Should the bait be presented near the bottom or just under the surface? I know a lot of people say squid is best but I'll start off with the yakkas. Any advice much appreciated. Cheers, Bart

Thanks again Slinky and Leo. I'll revert to the double uni until I have mastered the slim beauty knot. Using uni to the jig head and that's been all good. Cheers, Bart

Thanks Slinky. I'll check out the Slim Beauty and give it a try. If that knot was a bit tricky to tie in a rocking boat and I had to revert to something easier would the double uni be better than the Albright. Is it less likely to cut into itself? Cheers, Bartdude

G'day. Thanks for the input. So is the upshot not to bother with the Bimini at all? If you are using a straight Albright with the loop in the leader and the wraps in the braid mainline where would be the weakest point if it was tied correctly. Would the mainline or leader break before the knot? How many wraps would you recommend if using 20 lb braid and 30 lb fluorocarbon leader? Cheers.

G'day guys fairly new to braid and I can't find an answer to this question. If you have tied a Bimini Twist in 20 lb braid line, which knot do you use to attach the double to the leader? I tried using the Albright and using the double line to make the wraps. The knot was strong but too big to comfortably pass through the guides. I didn't try it but I imagine it would also be too big if you wrapped the 30 lb leader around the braid loop using the Albright. I also read some use a double uni knot. How does that work with the double line? Do you just hold it together so it acts as a single line, same as I tried doing the Albright. On my lighter gear I have just been using the Albright and that's been working ok, but for the heavier setup (20 lb braid and 30 lb leader) it seems most recommend the double. Any info would be much appreciated. Cheers.