nutsaboutfishing

You certainly do get what you pay for

Caught my first fish on an SP there

This what i use, $17 on ebay. I have a carabiner attached to my fishing bag and the net handle goes through that. You can either have the net folded or open

from the shimano website Service Pricing $30 per reel $50 per conventional or game reel All pricing is labour only and additional charges may be applied for parts. Or you could just go to your local tackle shop

After having donuts last few times out, I was determined to get a bream. With the heavy rains a few weeks back the “too much fresh”, “water too dirty” excuses were wearing a bit thin. Started flicking old faithful zman 2.5 inch grubz watermelon red 1/16 in a spot where I’ve had success in the past. Nada. The wind direction shifted so I moved so I still had it behind me, wasn’t far as I was fishing a small bay. There were one or two larger fish that were disturbing the bait at random areas all within casting distance. What were the chances of hooking one? Suddenly I was on. Takes off like a freight train. The draft was singing. I made sure I kept a good bend in the rod. The fish leaps, salmon! I’m using my bream rod but glad I had 10lb leader. After about a 5 min fight and half a dozen jumps I finally have the fish in the net. Unfortunately I proceed to drop the net with the fish inside it into the water. Normally I wear my shimano evairs when I fish but wouldn’t you know it the one time I drop the net with the fish inside it into the water I’m wearing thongs. So I put my rod on the grass and go in after my net, thinking to myself if this fish takes off it’ll have my rod and my net, something I think has never happened in the history of fishing. After a few hairy moments I’ve got fish and net on the grass. Completely stoked has it measures 60cn. A few photos back she goes. She takes a few tail swishers she proceeds to float belly up! What to do? Because I fishing about 70cm above the water I only got my net because it was attached to the fish which was attached to my rod so it was still on the surface. Preparing to jump in I had a brainwave I used afore mentioned net to swim the fish from the safety of dry land and finally she swims away happy. You know people say you should always rock fish in pairs in case you get into trouble. With my self made predicaments I’m wondering if I should do this with all my land based fishing. Never did get that bream I was after

I want to know who voted her in in the first place

How about for bream who prefer a skewer sink rate?

I’ve asked the question in other places and I’ve got the answer “depends on the type of fishing” so what do people prefer, Traditional front weighted jig heads or hidden weight system and why and when. One observation I’ve made is while HWS falls at a more horizontal and slower rate, and thus stays in the strike zone longer, this imparts less action to the SP tail which may make it not as obvious to fish thoughts??

Yup, I should have just said strike hard.

You ought to chop up your plastics first. The fish prefer small chunks.

You're quite right bream prefer a more subtle SP presentation and generally won't eat anything that plummets past them, whereas flathead will eat anything, I also reckon the puff of mud made when the jighead hits the bottom attracts attention. I think most scents are similar BUT others will swear by a particular flavour/taste With flathead I don't usually make too many SP changes as they'll eat anything. Bream I think need more SP changes, others may disagree. 14lb braid is OK, and next time you respool maybe try 10 or 8 lb, you'll a bit more casting distance. 10lb leader is good but make sure your drag is set so the fish can run. Flathead have teeth like sandpaper and if it's a big fish and it swallows the plastic and your leader is in contact with the teeth, they shake their head to try and throw the hook, if your drag's too tight they'll saw through the leader. The reason moving around for flathead is essential is that they're ambush feeders and lazy. They'll generally just lie there and wait for a meal to swim by (although I have seen them chase lures), so i f you keep casting the same spot and there's no fish there, nothing's going to happen. One more thing when you get a bite make sure you give a good hook set. Flathead have hard mouths and if you don't set the hook, you'll be winding thinking you've got a fish on and suddenly it'll be gone. happy fishing Richard

Since your new to soft plastics, I'd advised targeting flathead first, in my opinion targeting bream straight away may lead to a bit of discouragement. 1/4 Oz jighead is good. I'd recommend Squidgy fish lure in pumpkin seed or bloodworm. Important to make sure the lure is rigged nice and straight on the jighead. Plenty on Youtube how to do that. When retrieving make sure your jighead hits the bottom before you start your next retrieve, you'll know this has happened when the line relaxes or you see it belly more, again plenty on Youtube on how to retrieve. Also recommend you use scent. If you buy the Squidgy Pro range they come with a small tube of scent. Targeting flathead make sure you don't keep on casting at the same spot, instead cast in a fan shape from one side to the other, if no hook ups change location (maybe just 30-40m). I look at the wind direction and then fish an area where the wind is coming from behind, this increases your cast distance, also if the wind is coming from the side you'll get a big bow in your line which makes setting the hook less effective. Lastly are you using braid line?

What weight jigheads are you using?

hahahahaha!!

Anthman are the 8 carrier generally thinner than the 4? cheers Richard

Thanks for that. I suppose each one has it's own uses.

I’ve just learnt how 8 carrier braids are thinner than 4 carrier, so they cast further but coz they’re thinner they’re not as abrasion resistant. I’m interested in other pros and cons of both and also what 8 carrier braids people recommend. My only experience with 8 carrier is Shimano Kairkiri Thanks Richard

Hi GH, With the assist hooks do you use the ones with our without the bits of material (skirts?) cheers Richard

Hey Neil, I’ve been using hardbodies with the clear plastic bibs and am targeting bream. I’ve been using deep divers and when I feel then bumping the bottom I usually raise my tip a bit so they’re only lightly contacting the bottom rather than digging in, which got me thinking do I really need shallow divers if I can just raise my rod with deeps. Richard

Thanks for the reply BN. Reason I asked was I was wondering whether or not to invest in shallow divers or just use deeps with my rod held high.

I was at that day, and Pete was the one who first taught me soft plastics. I also follow his YouTube channel. Never was the more of a gentleman on the water. That Karen was lucky, with some of the hotheads I see fishing, she’s lucky she didn’t go for a swim. Cheers Richard

Just had a question. Is there any difference between fishing a deep diver with your rod tip held higher, to fishing a shallow diver in the usual the rod tip down position? Cheers Richard

Thanks Mike.

thanks GH

ta mate