arpie Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 (edited) Hi guys I have been having great success with this float for catching mullet! It is a hard wood 'boat shaped' piece of wood, about 4mm thick. It is heavy enough to cast a fair distance but light enough to float well. Balsa would be too light to toss. Paint it white, so you can see it easily - it also looks like a slice of bread. It is about 10cm x 7cm. Cut the corners off both ends, to form a point. Drill a hole in each corner for a short trace & hook, including end for the snaplock attachment. 10lb line is recommended for the trace - the mullet really fight hard! Put a bit of small compressed bread square on each of the 3 small hooks (8 - 10 are good) - some act as burley, others hook up! You virtually get a fish a cast, sometimes 2 or more. Use a big snaplock with swivel to go thru the hole of one end, then squeeze the snaplock shut with pliers. You can even put a bit of a hole in the middle & shove some bread in that (eg the crusts you cut off) as burley. I find it un-necessary tho - the 3 bits provides enough! Keep the traces fairly short - 10cm max, especially if you are fishing over the oyster leases where they tend to hang out up here! Otherwise you may get stuck on the oyster racks & lose your rig! Also, then tend to catch each other if too long. It takes a couple of minutes to make one, but well worth the time. Just inside the leases up here where the fences run parallel to the flow of the tide or near the weed beds is a good place to start! When you get tired of flicking sps to flatties, just take the sp off & replace it with the float (attach it to the swivel.) Good luck! Cheerio Roberta Edited January 20, 2007 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 That looks like a "Mullet Weapon Of Mass Destruction" there Roberta. I bet it works a treat on the mullet as they just love to school around bread baits like that. Good on ya for inventing such an awesome float. If you want to name it..try The "Roberta Mugil Cephalus 4 In One Lure"! Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 (edited) I bet it works a treat Hi Pete Yep - it works a treat, big time! I got 12 the other day & could have kept going, kept some for bait (brother arrives at the end of the week) & smoked the rest. Yum! It is important to use a really strong, big snaplock & crunch both of the little lips that it sits on (to swivel as well), so it doesn't come undone. I lost a rig last week when I was tied up outside the lease & tossed in - it was a dodgey snaplock & separated from the swivel when I hooked a big fish! It is still swimming around with the rig in it's mouth! I was really annoyed! If I had been inside the lease (which I usually am) I may have been able to retrieve it, but somehow doubt it! It is best not to tie the line direct to the float - it gets chafed & busts! Cheerio Roberta PS I have only used it on fairly quiet water - not in strong currents. Works fine in oyster leases - stay up current of the school of mullet & let it drift towards them. You tend to get bigger ones on the edge of the school rather than tossing it into the middle of the school, spooking them! PPS Those pre-tied snelled rigs (12 in a pack, size 12) you get in some supermarkets are great for them - just a bit long. They don't rust either. Edited January 22, 2007 by Roberta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wastin Time Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I remember a couple of years ago my mate, my young bloke & I went down the nepean for an arvo mullet session. We got all set up ready to go - started rigging lines & bugger no floats.....hmmmmmm what can we use???? Well we did have a couple of empty VB cans on board. What a laugh, done the job though. The faces on some of the more experienced bass anglers was priceless. Just think outside the square, so to speak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaulpang Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 I've just made up a batch with the dropsaw, Im testing them tonight at Hen and Chicken bay, it should be lots of fun. I scouted last night and saw heaps of the buggers jumping around. Will post results tomorrow. Paul Ps thanks for the idea Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 Hi Paul Good luck! Hope it works for you. Depending on what timber you used, if it is a bit light to toss & is very bouyant, you could put some thin lead on (double sided tape) to make it heavier but still float. For the bait, I use fresh white bread. I cut off the crusts & use a rolling pin (or beer bottle or tin...) to roll it absolutely flat (about 2-4mm thick - no air in the bread! Fresh is best.) Using a really sharp knife, then I slice the bread into little squares - about 8 - 9 times in one direction then the same in the other direction. This gives you over 50 individual squares to bait up with (each less than 1cm square.) Usually, one or two slices will do the whole trip! Use the crusts as burley or take extra bits as well. To help the bread stay on longer, I usually squeeze them in half & in half again, so they are quite small & really dense and stays put on the hook! The smaller, the better, as I reckon they nibble the big ones, but swallow the small ones. The other 2 on the board act as burley. It is not unusual to get a fish with each toss. Just watch for the 'swirl' as they start to 'suss it out.' Great fun on light tackle. I use 6lb braid & 20lb leader. Hope you get the jumpers! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaulpang Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Hey guys, I fished the mullet float at night and caught a bream and a toadfish but no mullet. Im not giving up though, will try this arvo somewhere out of the wind. Btw I fished at Hen and chicken last night and caught 5 smallish bream. Caught on chicken and bread. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
femalefisho Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 A duck feather - a chinese man was fishing for mullet off a wharf at Berowra and nailing them. Been pretty successful for us to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danielinbyron Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 thats gold roberta....i'm gonna try both these, but unless i tear the doona i reckon the hardwood'll be an easier find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 ...A duck feather - a chinese man was fishing for mullet off a wharf at Berowra and nailing them..... I've heard of the feather trick to locate bees nests .... but mullet! You must also have a float attached somewhere?? or does it just float out in the current, looking like bread?? Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneMoreFish Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Do people still eat mullet? are we really that desperate? watch out for the blind mullet too!.... (you can tell them ...they have a beter flavour) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaulpang Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Do people still eat mullet? are we really that desperate? watch out for the blind mullet too!.... (you can tell them ...they have a beter flavour) What the.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveD Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I never liked eating them as much as fish such as bream or flatties. Maybe it just depends on the way it's cooked. I know a few people out there seem to enjoy them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 (edited) ....watch out for the blind mullet too!.... That doesn't dignify an answer. Let's keep it clean! ... Maybe it just depends on the way it's cooked. I know a few people out there seem to enjoy them though. Hi guys Freshly caught, skinned & filleted and lightly dusted with flour or just breadcrumbs - they are great eating. I bet you wouldn't even know they were mullet unless told! They are especially nice when smoked. Fresh mullet does not smell. I don't ever buy them from the big supermarkets (that may also include co-ops) - you can usually smell them before you even see them. That is the sign of old fish. I wouldn't even buy mullet there for bait. On light line, they are tremendous fighters - the small ones, you can put straight back onto a hook as a 'livie' and catch a monster flattie - by 'small' it can be up to 20cm+. They are also, of course, one of the best 'fresh baits' around especially for bream - even the guts. They are the best 'stink' for raising beach worms, as they are an oily fish. The humble mullet is a very versatile fish - there is nothing more frustrating than seeing the big bully mullet cruise by in the lake here & refuse everything that you toss at them. One of those would feed 2 people! Oh to be allowed to use a throw net! Even more so, when you see the netters run their boats around them on Nine Mile Beach & take out virtually the whole school - tonnes of them! They are also a great fish to get the kids into - they get so bored when there is 'no action'. When the mullet are on here, virtually every cast is a winner. If you don't get mullet, you can get garfish, butter bream & regular bream. The kids don't mind, so long as they are catching & putting back! Try them, you might like them - but first you've got to catch them to be sure they are really fresh! Cheerio Roberta PS My preferred fish is still blackies & flatties! Edited January 24, 2007 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 (edited) Mullet is a very popular, and very effective cut bait for all sorts of fishing, it works particularly well on Flatties... i'd pass if it was served up on a plate for me though although many years ago they were common fare in fish and chip shops Edited January 22, 2007 by Sammy0884 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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