HawkesburyParadise
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Posts posted by HawkesburyParadise
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49 minutes ago, Rebel said:
Just out of interest why did you change to Braid ?
Recommended by a mate whose heavily into fishing. I told him I couldn't feel the bites so he recommended using braid.
I can see its benefits already, it sinks much better in the water.
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3 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:
That's a tailor. There are also plagues of tiny snapper in the deeper water.
There's some squid around if you want to try something new.
Looks like you got your braid knots problem sorted. 😎
How do you know so much? Are you out this way?
Yea double uni with a 8lb mono
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I thought I'll beat the crowds and do an early session at Bobbin Head this morning.
Time - 6.30am-8.30am
Tid - High tide at 6.am so runout tide
Setup - Shakespeare 6 foot 2-4kg 2000 reel, 6lb braid, 00 sinker, number of hooks
Location - Bobbin head pontoon
Summary
Spent most of my half bag of prawns. I could feel the bites but not strong or big enough.
Later on I tried lowering a prawn off the pontoon as far as visible with polaroids. I could see small fish biting it. So I'm not sure If I need more depth or better hooks.
My setup is pretty light now so I should be feeling the bites. Anyway, seeing beautiful bobbin head at 6.30 itself made for a good day.
Someone please tell me whey kind of baby fish this is. Grabbed with a circle hook. Had a few close calls with fish this size.
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1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:
Hi HP,
Braid generally needs more turns than when tying the same knot in mono, because it is so slippery. It’s not just you; I lost a good fish on Christmas Day because I wasn’t familiar with a new brand of braid I was using.
Try adding another three turns over what you have been doing and see if it slips, and if it does, add a few more and keep going until you have working it out.
Also most of us tend to use a mono or fluorocarbon leader with braid. You can make the join with a swivel or a double uni knot when you can manage that.
Hope this helps.
I can manage a double uni, thanks will do that.
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I fondly made the switch from mono to braid. I got a 6lb braid and I tied it to 00 sinker and number of different hooks.
I looped it around twice on the eye of the hook and then made a uni knit. However, when I tied the bait on, the hook fell right off.
Is this due to slippage or I need a new knot for braid?
Cheers
HP
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11 hours ago, noelm said:
The sinker is still pretty big for calm waters, tarwhine for me too, the nose and stripes give it away.
How does the size of sinker matter? Serious question.
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47 minutes ago, Mike Sydney said:
Great work HB. What did you catch it with and which direction was the tide going ? It looks pretty high in the photo.
Shimano Fishquest 10lb line, ball sinker and fresh prawns. No swivel this time. Might do this setup more often, seems faster than swivel and leader.
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Quick session today after dropping family to the airport
Very popular spot under General Holmes Dr Bridge. No rain rush but a truck load of wind.
Lots of bites but only managed a baby bream and a sea shell. Some I kept getting lots of sea grass.
Overall, a good session.
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Hey Guys,
Heading down to drop family to the airport. Might make a day out of it. What are some land based spots near the airport?
I would prefer a jetty or rock wall if possible. I'm open to most of the Northern part of Botany Bay. Cronulla side would be a bit too far I think.
Cheers
HP
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1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:
I think maybe 'tight' is the wrong word. Maybe it's more about staying in touch with your bait.
Most of my bait fishing is done with unweighted baits. I watch for bites via the belly of the line, or watching for line stripping off the spool with an open bail like you describe.
Does the bait sink down eventually? I tried this with a piece of prawn but it took a long time to go anywhere and I had no bites at all.
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17 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:
I went looking for a chart to help you with this, but thus far haven't succeeded. So instead I'll give you something off the top of my head. As a general rule (others feel free to pipe in):
Size 12 and smaller will catch poddy mullet, garfish and anything that's small. If you get a bite with a hook that small, you're almost guaranteed a hookup on most fish, because they can easily take the whole thing into their mouths (which is probably the other reason Neil recommended it). You'll find an application for such small hooks if you spend enough time fishing, especially if you start live baiting. They always have a place in my kit.
Size 10 up to size 6 you can use for jackets (on prawn pieces) and whiting (on worms, depending on the diameter of the worm).
Size 4, up to 1/0 or 2/0 you can use for bream and flathead.
And then 3/0 and upwards for successively larger baits. Generally speaking, you want your hook point to be exposed, and the hook size should be chosen to achieve this.
There's not a definitive hook size for each species; it's a range and depends on your chosen bait and presentation method. Flathead for instance, have really big mouths and I've had just-legal fish take a big plastic rigged on a 5/0 hook.
Thank you. Yes, this explains what Neil meant!
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1 minute ago, big Neil said:
Hi HP. May I suggest something which will bring you immediate results? A cheap (light) rod and reel, 4lb mono, size 12 hook. Berley as I indicated, small bait into the berley trail, keep the line reasonably tight. Guarantee you will catch something around the wharf pylons...maybe even legal sized Bream.
Let me know how many you catch. bn
See this is what confuses me. People suggest hook sizes from #2 to 12. What will 12 catch? Baitfish? lol.
The rest I can do.
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2 hours ago, kingie chaser said:
As per your previous thread re braid & sensitivity, you wont feel a bite if your sinker is way heavier than it actually needs to be for the size of the fish your trying to catch, water depth/flow of current etc.
Can you explain why this is? I dislike the small ball sinkers for 2 reasons: 1) They get snagged very easily 2) I have a hard time keeping the line tight to a tiny ball sinker.
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4 hours ago, Max_fish said:
Hey mate,
Congrats on first fish, I know that spot very well, definitely worth giving squidding a try there specifically from the other wharf at the spot, pretty consistent spot for them, but you have to fish early morning or late afternoon into night. Also caught a king from there too, and a big flattie, lots of fish given the right times and right tides.
I met a bloke who was running lures for Squid. He came around 6.30PM just as I was leaving.
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Hi Guys,
Looking to get a new line to feel the bites a bit more. I am only going after small estuary fish so please let me know if braid is an overkill.
If I don't need a new line and a new leader then please let me know this as well
Cheers
HP
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2 hours ago, Rebel said:
Great report.
I'm lucky, never needed a leave pass.
Cheers.
I am waiting for my daughter to get a bit older so I can take her.
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14 hours ago, motiondave said:
I use #2 long shanks, I get anything from baby snapper and bream right up to the bigger model bream, flathead, odd jewies...
I'll try bigger hooks. Let's see!
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2 hours ago, big Neil said:
Thanks for your report HP, it made me laugh a bit. Lots of good anglers on this forum will shoot me down in flames for what I'm about to tell you, but that's what the site is all about. Ditch the circle hooks! Half the fun in angling is reading the bite and challenging yourself to hook the fish. Chucking a bait in with a circle hook leaves you with the minimum fun level of winding the fish in. Sure it will (most likely) be hooked in the corner of the mouth, but the real challenge is taken away by the fish hooking itself. I know there are benefits with circle hooks (possible less damage to the fish). Personally, I like to imagine what's going on beneath the water, it increases the anticipation level. You will soon learn when the fish has the bait in its mouth and is swimming away with it. Time to strike!
I agree 100% but I just wanted to understand to hook something before I give up. As I get more experience, I might leave the circle hooks for rainy days.
It seems like:
- Small fish are taking my bait without taking the hook
- I am not experiences enough to feel the bites both on the reel and rod. Only the biggest bites are being felt
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3 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:
If your bait is being taken without feeling a bite, I suspect a leatherjacket. Either that, or your line isn't sufficiently taut. I still say try getting yourself a pack of size 8 long shank hooks, put a little bit of prawn over the bend (doesn't matter if the rest of the hook is exposed) and learn how to rig a paternoster rig (google it) with that snapper sinker of yours. Then drop it to the bottom underneath the wharf and wind it up about a foot. Then gently lift and drop the rig.
There is a saying that you can catch a big fish on a little hook, but not a little fish on a big hook. I agree size 1 and 2 will be fine for bream/flathead but you won't have much of a chance at a leatherjacket or a sand whiting (for which size 8 is a good starting point). So it depends on what is around, and what you are chasing. I routinely use size 12 and even size 14 when I'm going for garfish and poddy mullet.
I actually bought the hand reel and 3 way swivels for Paternoster rig. In fact, the image of the fish is a type of paternoster rig. I tend to keep the snapper sinker close to the swivel to avoid tangling
In terms of leatherjackets, I have no issues catching one of them. However, I didn't think they'd be in the Spit. From previous posts, it seems like they were is the proper harbour. I would have gone for them at Cremorne Point Wharf.
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1 hour ago, maccapacca said:
A baby fish is still a fish, we’re the circle hooks sharp? As in by a decent brand and everything? And with the handling do you know if you have the right sized hook? As in if you go too big you can’t catch smaller fish and if you go smaller you can catch smaller and larger fish
I'll post the brands tomorrow. Brand new mate.
So everyone recommends Size 4 for Bream but I got size 1 and 2 because 4 looked tiny.
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Pre Fish prep: Trip to a shop for burley and circle hooks.
Location: Spit West Reserve
Headed out from home at 3pm but I wasn't sure if it might pour. Can't trust the weather man in this La Nina.
I'd been reading about setting the hook and how circle hooks didn't need to set.
After getting supplies, Initial plan was Cremorne Point again but Spit reserve was on the way and I could save 20 mins. When you get a leave pass from the wifey, every minute counts.
I found the best wharf at the Spit Reserve. It might be my fav wharf in Sydney.
Threw a few prawn bits from the hand reel I bought recently. I'm using it to test there are fish. As usual, prawn taken no hook.
Turned to the rod and I could feel the bites. So the "self-setting" circle hooks weren't working after all. I tried to jerk every time.
Eventually, I felt the bite and after the jerk I could still feel something on the line. A baby fish! I did it! Number 1 fish woot!
Like a lot of things in life, first car, first time I had sex and first hangover, it wasn't pretty but I appreciate the event!
P.S. It doesn't even count guys. Please go easy on me
P.S.2. No I didn't keep it
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13 hours ago, papafish said:
Just the harbour, rose bay/ parsley bay, high tide it’s better, the run out tide, I fish very light 6lb lines, and a small hook and I toss my bait out/prawns and I burley every 2-3minutes to attracts the fish to where I cast
How small a hook are we talking?
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Being an overcast and potentially rainy afternoon, I decided to try wharves again just to avoid a soaking.
Well, the rain didn't come and neither did the fish.
To be fair, high tide on the harbour was around 12 noon so being 3pm, maybe it wasn't the best time.
Rod: new Shimano fishquest - Bought as the last one broke. Prespooled with 10lb mono. 10lb shimano mono leader. Size 4 hooks for Bream.
Bait: Prawn and Chicken. Prawn got bites but there weren't a whole lot of bites.
Negatives - A lot of frustration
"Shoulda gone to Bobbin head" feeling
Positives -
Tried new rod
Got some good news from Parramatta Eels re:player signings. That's about it. Unrelated I know but I'm struggling hehe.
Next step - Might try new line as the 10lb pre spooled seems heavy, even heavier than my Shimano. Fishing closer to high tide may also help.
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Can someone please enlighten me. What is Burley and under what circumstances do you use it?
How to use this lure?
in Fishing Chat
Posted
So back 2 months ago, I was feeling a little optimistic and bought this lure from the local tackle store.
It doesn't have any weight and does a wiggle when reeling in or flicking.
How do you use it and for what species? Can you use a sinker on a swivel to give it depth - it sits on top of the water going maximum 10cm when reeling.