sashkello

Reporting back. Tried out my new Gamakatsu Panfish #8 hooks and later Daiichi #6 as well (bought both 6 and 8 sizes, just to see which I like more). Both did great job. Pulled 5 legal-sized blackfish on Gamakatsu without any troubles, the tiny hook held up with no visible damage. Got snagged on some oysters and so swapped for Daiichi. They do look quite thin and flimsy, but held up as well on 2 more luderick I managed on that day. Looks can be deceiving, they are thin! Will try going for drummer next week. Still trying to intentionally hook up a leatherjacket, so the tiny longshank ones are still to be truly tested. Thanks all!

Can it be stored for a prolonged period of time, frozen? Or it's only for bait which is going to get used within a week or so?

Oh, wow, it's less than $1 per kilo... That's a good deal.

Good on ya hooking some nice squid! But yeah, what Yowie says, and also let it take the jig, don't pull immediately. Lower your rod and let the line get slack, so that it can grab the jig in earnest and carry it for a meter or so. Then "strike", or more like gently lift the rod and start reeling in. Often smaller arrow squid are a bit shy and would touch your jig and immediately let go. I'd recommend changing jigs in such situations - either texture, or colour is putting it off and it's not sure whether it's edible.

Hey all! I was wondering whether it matters what kind of salt I use for salting my bait. I.e., I've got some cunji I wanted to use later and pilchards which I wanted to toughen up a bit. I have a few bags of cheap iodized table salt in the pantry, but someone told me it has to be evaporated sea salt necessarily. Can someone clarify whether it matters? Cheers!

That's a great spot, but be weary of literal crowds often fishing off the bridge - they constantly tangle with people underneath and don't seem to care much about fishing etiquette. You actually don't have to go that close to the bridge - bigger fish lurks at the edge of darkness, a bit away from the bridge. There are a few deeper spots a little downstream where I caught some decent tailor & bream, and wasn't as much bothered by undersized ones which will not leave you alone under the bridge...

Lastly, I'm becoming a big sceptic when people start talking about "natural presentation". Time after time I realize that it matters only for certain fish in certain circumstances, but at most times all that finesse is just something for the fisherman to be proud of rather than for the fish... People say that you need to put cabbage loosely on your hook so that it is all fluffed up and looks natural. But my hookup rate improved noticeably when I started doing the opposite - bunching / folding it up and squeezing around the hook, so that there are not much loose ends around. This way there is not much chance for the fish to not get hooked - just make sure the more fluffy part is around the barb and another side is not sticking out much. Otherwise there are lots of downs when they bite off the cabbage from the wrong side or the hook gets torn out without hooking the fish because it just is surrounded by cabbage. Look, if the fish is shy and you're wondering what else you can do, sure, finesse and try different things. But when you see that it's biting, it will bite whatever you present, the main problem becomes hooking it.

Regarding the rig, Derek is very much on point with his advice, but I just wanted to add a few things so that you learn on my mistakes rather than your own. The bead above the float is important if the eye of the float isn't really tiny. What happens is that the rubbery non-slippery stopper gets little way through the loop of the float and gets stuck there, so when you start reeling in it slides with the float a bit down and you lose that perfect depth you've set up. If you're using braid, it's better to put sinker(s) below on a separate piece of heavy line between two swivels. Braid wears off by the sharp edges of the sinkers, and if that happens you lose your whole setup. I'd also advice to check how your braid looks before every outing, as sliding float does affect it as well, and I'd cut off a meter or so off the main line every 3-5 trips just to be safe, as it starts getting a bit hairy... That is also why you want to have a light (6-8pound) leader. You will occasionally hook the rocks and lose your hook. That is, it will be only hook if your leader is lighter than your mainline. It doesn't really matter what braid you use (mine is spooled with 20lb for other fishing I do with that rod), just make sure that the leader is well below that grading as it's not a huge sacrifice.

Great advice above! I'm a beginner at blackfishing, but in my past 3 outings I had no trouble bagging out in about 3-4 hours (in under 2 hours once), and have never had a 0 session yet... The main thing is to get to a spot where blackfish is. If it's not there no finesse will help. If it is there, then everything else is kind of optional... I caught my first few blackfish on a 7.2ft rod. There is absolutely no point in a long rod when you fish off a breakwall or rocks which drop off to some depth right under your feet. I remember I fished next to two guys with those long 12ft rods and I was pulling one fish after another literally half a meter from the edge, from their burley trail coming towards me, while they tried to throw their bait as far as possible. Luderick hangs near the rocks where they look for weed or tiny crustaceans to get washed off. I find the long rod advice quite questionable. I've been using my 9ft Catana rod with ordinary cheap spinning reel as dedicated blackfishing rod and it has been perfect for the task. Another thing people say regarding long bendy rods is that it helps to set the hook properly without tearing it out. But I've never had that problem. Indeed, luderick has relatively soft mouth and at first I did tear a mouth of one or two fishes (never lost one on strike though). Just don't strike hard. I literally don't strike at all, just start reeling in with a moderately gentle lift, that's absolutely enough for a good sharp hook. Use soft hands, let your rod go down with the strong runs a bit, don't muscle it. Downsizing my hooks and waiting for 2-3 seconds after a bite were the two things which immediately improved hookup rate for me, and now if it's a genuine down, rarely I lose a fish.

Ah, I see, I didn't think it's that important, too jaded by meaningless marketing gimmicks. I do have a few of those in my bag, but I don't think I've used them much as what you're saying is the opposite of what I've heard before. That is, "use natural / white / dull colours in clear water during the day". Saying that, wouldn't be the first time when doing opposite of what everyone says works for me...

They are generally shy at daytime in shallow water, no matter the tide. Like with most fishing, early light or before dawn always worked best for me. If someone knows how to target squid in daytime, teach me, I'm out of ideas.

You absolutely do not need a 12ft rod for beach fishing. Whiting and sometimes flathead can be found like 10 meters off shore. Just don't go out in 2m+ waves. Below Roger is fishing exactly in conditions like shown in the original photo with a 7ft rod. I see people targeting whiting in any kind of conditions casting in the wash even when waves are quite a bit higher. Saying that, the whole point of going to the beach for me is targeting bigger fish like salmon, mulloway etc. For them, you definitely need a big rod Whiting & bream can be targeted in estuaries and it's a much more pleasant experience, without sand all over your gear and freak waves soaking you over.

Flat beach is quite hard / impossible to read, that looks like a tiny sandbar literally 5 meters from the shore, and unlikely to signify any fish presence. In such situations you don't need a heavy beach outfit (or rather, if you've already brought it, just set it up in a random spot and check whether something hooks itself up). Take a lighter rod and cast while walking along the shore. Don't cast very far, literally 10-20m there'll be whiting patrolling the beach - they will take worms or yabbies within seconds if they're around. Same for bream really, maybe a little farther out... If you're into soft plastics, rarely you see such good conditions to fish with them on the beach - use this opportunity to play with some paddletails and land a nice flathead. Just don't keep casting in the same spot - 4-5 casts in all directions, move 30 meters, repeat etc. Flathead don't move around, you need to find them. Also, if you can't see any structure, ends of beaches have structure by definition, so just go to the end if there's rocky headland or something and set up your rod there. Next to the rocks is where lots of different fish congregate.

Not joggers for sure, wet ocean rocks, definitely need something that won't slip.

Hi all! I bought myself my first pair of rock shoes with spikes about 6 months ago, and after about 9-10 uses the sole started to peel off... Well, they were the cheapest I could find, so no big loss. But looking through the catalogues it feels like they all look pretty much same as mine. Can you guys recommend me a good brand which won't die after few uses like that? Alternatively, do you think separate cleats which attach to your shoes is a better idea in terms of bang for the buck? I even saw some spiky plates with bolts, I'm not sure how to use those - just turning normal sneakers into cleats by drilling holes in them I guess? Cheers!