landbased Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Hi all, I've recently purchased a combo for the beach as I thought I would give that type of fishing a go, but I find that I have no idea whatsoever about how to read the surf or what to look for. I've tried to fish Cronulla once or twice but wasnt even able to catch a cold I was wondering if there was anyone who would be up to showing me what to do, what type of baits or lures etc I need? I am available to go usually on wednesdays or thursdays as they are my day off. Thanks guys/girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choad Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 this time of year you should try with a whole pilly on a gang hook in the late afternoon. should pick yourself up a tailor or three. i'm not sure how cronulla is fishing at the moment though. I'm sure a fellow raider will help you out on that point. in terms of what to look for, take your time choosing a spot. get to the beach and watch the waves from a hill for a bit. gutters close to the shore can be identified as blue bits of water between braking waves at the shore line and more braking waves a variable distance out (eg. 50m). i like to cast at the further braking waves and drag my bait back a bit until it's just inside the gutter. fish tend to bite a bit harder in the surf. i like to fish the high tide early morning or late afternoon but i don't think it's a big deal so long as you find a nice gutter and fish the morning or afternoon. if you don't get any bites and find your bait untouched for about 30 mins, move spots. fish will congregate in one spot and leave many others baron. there's not much point sticking it out in one spot for two hours if they aren't biting. good luck. and remember to post your reports whether it be a succuess or a dud. you'll learn something from the experience and probably get more raider replies if you tell us how your session went and what techniques you tried. welcome to the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 thanks man, hopefully I'll be able to give that a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Hi Landbased Welcome to Fishraider Check out the articles page as well on http://www.fishraider.com.au/fishing-articles.php There are some fantastic tips there on all sorts of fishing! If looking for specific tips you can 'search' within the fishing chat or fishing report sections (down the bottom, just write in what you are looking for) and all going well, will get some info back! Hope you get into some fish soon - beach fishing is great fun. Don't take too much tackle with you, just a few sinkers & sets of hooks & bait - if you store it in one of the 'shoulder bags' you can wander the beach without lugging big plastic pails with you! The fish go in the bag as well (the gear goes in the outside pocket!) I was totally landbased until a few years ago when I got a kayak & now just love fishing quiet estuaries & bays. More mobile & a lot of fun as well. Looking forward to hearing your reports Cheers Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billythekid Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Hi Landbased, Beach fishing is all about learning to read the surf. Learning about gutters and currents. Choad is on the many early morning or late afternoon a couple of hours before the top of the tide, cast past the back of the gutter and bring your baith back in. I like to use squid, yellowtail, mullet and trevelly (As fresh as possible, nothing beats live bait on the beach) on a double hook running rig with 8/0 to 10/0 hooks and a large star sinker to hold bottom. Make sure you leave your drag nice and loose and let the fish run and take the bait. Travel light so it is easy to move on, I recommend when you have not much on to go down and learn your beach get up on a good high spot and learn to spot good gutters. I also like to study the currents and use them on a nice long gutter by using my bait runner reel on fresh dead baith. I target mainly jews, and have found late night sessions also can turn it on. Lastly patience is the key, but the rewards can be huge. Good luck and let us know how you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 26, 2007 Author Share Posted August 26, 2007 Thanks for the tips, cant wait to get out there on Wed morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webby Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 (edited) Hi there- I am by no means an expert but whenever I go fishing it's rock or beach fishing and I've donme it for a few years so I have picked up some things by trial and error which no-one told me when I started (I didn't know about Fishraider back then!!) - so here's my tips 1. It helps if you can spend a few minutes watching the waves and how they're breaking from a good vantage point. If you wear polarised sunnies it helps - the darker patches are usually good indicators of gutters etc 2. Look for any kind of 'structure' in the water like large rocks etc as flatties, bream etc tend to like to hang around these for the cover they provide 3. Travel light - this was already mentioned but you'll need to be able to move around fairly quickly and carrying three rods, a large tackle box and a bucket doesn't really assist (yes, I have done that!!). I carry everything in a small backpack, have a rod and a second rod or a net depending on what I'm going for. Also, as Roberta says, don't take too much tackle - it's really easy to get your bag wet or to leave your tackle box open and knock it over into the sand - it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to deal with this happening to one or two packs of hooks, traces, swivels etc than your whole collection!!! 4. Experiment - the only way to learn where the fish like to hang out is to explore. Go to your spot the first time with the idea that you probably won't catch anything - that it's a "reconaissance" mission - then anything you catch after that is a bonus. Experimenting, taking note of what works and what doesn't will mean that after a while you'll be pulling in fish while the tourist anglers won't be catching anything!! Try different sinkers sizes, rigs etc depending on the conditions and see what happens (I'd suggest a size 2 sinker and a 1/0 to 4/0 hook as a starting rig - I prefer no trace but you could put one on if you wanted to, esp if you're going for tailor I'd use a light metal trace. Either that or use gang hooks as previously suggested. Pilchards are great bait.) 5. Burley - I can't stress this enough - use your favourite mix (see the burley thread for 'recipes'), stamp it into the sand and let the tide take it out occasionally. I better do some work now but hopefully that helps Edited August 26, 2007 by Webby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 28, 2007 Author Share Posted August 28, 2007 Thanks for the tips guys , I'm off to give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share Posted August 29, 2007 O.K I'm back but unfortunatly nothing altho i did lose my bait a couple of times Dunno what went wrong but it was fun anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webby Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) O.K I'm back but unfortunatly nothing altho i did lose my bait a couple of times Dunno what went wrong but it was fun anyway. Hey there landbased Bummer!! Don't get discouraged though - it will happen!! Still fishing's better than working, especially in this weather!! When did you go? What bait did you use? How was the sea - flat? How did you rig up? Edited August 29, 2007 by Webby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share Posted August 29, 2007 when: I left home ats about 4.50 am where: cronulla beaches (around the greenhills part) seas: flat and on rising to falling tide rig: main line about 15-kg with similar trinene leader(about 1m or so) then to a running large bean sinker (can't remember the weight) 3x 1/0 mustard gang hook bait tried some packaged pillie (man that stunk ) then full fresh pillie (from a bait bar) also used lots of berly pellets and juce from the pillies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Stick with it. Patience is the key. I fished the beach at Cronulla for many years, until I got my boat, so I don’t go there as often as I’d like now. It’s a beautiful spot. It took a lot of trial and error and talking to locals to learn what to do. What Times? I found the hour before, and two-three hours after dawn the best, especially when it coincides with the high tide. Also, the hour before and after sunset is usually productive. Even though I've said that, I’ve caught fish at all times and tides. There should also be a decent swell or waves. I usually caught zip when it was calm. I fished from Wanda up to Greenhills. Stand on the sandhills and look for sand bars, holes and the channels at low tide. That’s when you can see where to go later on or the next day. I like the throw onto the sandbar or just on the edge, for whiting and flathead, and the deeper holes for bream. Tailor like the channels or gutters. I used fresh bait whenever possible; blood worms, beach worms and pippies if I was targeting bream, whiting or tarwhine, and pilchards and whitebait for flathead, tailor, and salmon. I always seemed to catch more whiting and bream in the morning. Afternoons and evenings were best for the flathead, tarwhine, tailor and salmon. Carry as little gear as possible and move around. I got nothing once for three hours, packed up and started waking back to the car. Decided to try one more throw in only a hundred metres from where I was fishing and bam! Twelve whiting in twenty five minutes! One thing I did learn was to go as light as possible with the gear. I never used line greater than 12lb (5kg). Small hooks can also catch big fish. I’ve caught sharks, a 63cm flattie, big salmon and tailor all on light rigs when I was targeting whiting or bream! You sometimes get busted off but, if you have the drag set and are patient, it’s amazing what you can drag in. I never used burley, although it could be useful for tailor or bream. Good luck and keep trying. Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webby Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) when: I left home ats about 4.50 am where: cronulla beaches (around the greenhills part) seas: flat and on rising to falling tide rig: main line about 15-kg with similar trinene leader(about 1m or so) then to a running large bean sinker (can't remember the weight) 3x 1/0 mustard gang hook bait tried some packaged pillie (man that stunk ) then full fresh pillie (from a bait bar) also used lots of berly pellets and juce from the pillies. Sounds like you got the timing right, maybe the fish just weren't hungry this morning. My only suggestions would be maybe try going to a lighter line (6kg) without a trace & a smaller ball sinker especially if it's flat - you can use the pillys as the casting weight. Also try a single 1/0 hook & see how that goes. I usually cut the pilly in half, thread a single hook though its eye and stick the hook in the flesh at the back. For the tail I just make a slipknot around the tail and stick the hook in the flesh. Also maybe try a different spot if your one this morning wasn't all that productive. You will find 'the spot' with time. I personally find bread mashed with thinly sliced pillys and seawater is good burley (it really stinks though!!) - I put a fair bit out to start then handfuls at the morning progresses. Hope you get one next time mate Edited August 29, 2007 by Webby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fibbo Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Great discussion guys, keep it going. Afew months ago I went beach fishing at Garie Beach RNP, took about 4 goes until I got anything but boy was it satisfying dragging in that 70cm salmon hehe The tips about being mobile and moving on if you dont get any bites will be helpful to me - will hit the beach again shortly I think! Are there any other nice beach fishing spots around Sydney? Cheers, fibbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) Are there any other nice beach fishing spots around Sydney? Hi Fibbo Take your pick, any stretch of Sydney's Vast coast line is, at one time or another, ON FIRE. I Personally LOVE the Surf Beaches. Problem is the waves are also pretty good most of the time so the surfers tend to be out from sun up to sun down, most the year round, Hence very early and very late are not just the most popular times, but thankfuly also the most productive....... and when you do hook up, you know it won't be a Tea Bagger. If you want a calm and peaceful midday spot, why not try one of the sandy beaches in Botany Bay. Baits or lures, Yackas to Kingfish, there is always something, somewhere in the bay. Here are a few from one of the Bay's many Beaches Knife is 40cm long ( For Scale) Good luck Bigfoot Edited August 29, 2007 by Bigfoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Looks like a 20cm knife to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landbased Posted August 30, 2007 Author Share Posted August 30, 2007 maybe i should try to set up a day to go out with one of you guys that actually know whats going on. The only thing is the only days I get off are mid week (sometimes monday) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Looks like a 20cm knife to me Hey Loco It's a little bigger than my foot if you want to check that out for size! Bigfoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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