2 Livebaits Swimming And No Action

[Jewdreamer]

OK guys - I feel like a total turd, I soaked 2 live yakkas all arvo on new years day, just inside cape banks, botany bay., realeased all the other yakkas we caught, ended up releasing the two live baits , relatively unharmed??

What am I doing wrong?? We fished the whole of the runout in 10M of water, with a burley trail full of yakkas running towards the livies, the livies 2=3M off the bottom under a bobby. Didn't get a touch!!!

WTF???

Help

I am a boating novice, spent most of the 80s as a reasonably succesful Sydney rockhopper, but I am getting old and just got a quintrex tinny (my lifetime dream), now I can';t catch a fisH!!!

Any clues would be greatly appreciated

[Josh88]

Sometimes you have to find the fish.. If there are yellowtail in the burley trail the while time you are fishing, you can assume there is no bigger fish around..

Thats what i though but i had yakkas and slimies in my burley trail at quarantine the other day and some other bloke was pulling kings off the marker every cast at the same time

[Josh88]

Did you pull any kings out josh??

That would of been nice, there were about 7 boats around the marker but only one of them catching kings

[sydfisher]

Get yourself a Downrigger mate.And learn how to use it properly.Youll love it.

[Jewdreamer]

Get yourself a Downrigger mate.And learn how to use it properly.Youll love it.

Please explain how a downrigger works?

We had the yakkas on a 2M trace under a 2oz sinker and a ball bearing swivel, then one 4M and 1 six M drop stopper knot to the bobby on the main line. Used to work for jew and kings off the rocks??

According to our sounder they were 2 and 4M off the bottom.

Maybe I'm really dumb, but I've never in the old days had a bait riggedlike that last 1/2 an hour let alone 6 hrs!!!

[Guest Aussie007]

you should have put down a fresh squid and a yakka and seen what went first ive read the kingy's will take a squid over a yakka as its soft on there throat

[Black CC]

Thats what i though but i had yakkas and slimies in my burley trail at quarantine the other day and some other bloke was pulling kings off the marker every cast at the same time

On NYE I scored 28 Kings (all rats) at that marker buoy and all were caught on peeled servo prawns. We had yakkas and freshly caught squid but the only thing they would touch was the prawns we had left over from catching the yakkas. I only tried the prawns in an act of desperation and we caught all the fish in less than an hour.

On NYD we caught another 22 (all rats) on peeled servo prawns.

I think the trick to the Kings is not yakkas, squid, a downrigger, poppers, a fly rod or prawns. It is trial and error on each day and to have as many options to try as you can. I have had the most success on fresh squid but have also had success on every other option I mentioned.

[brickman]

i'll have to agree with blackcc they are very fussy at present and the ppp will acount for the rats

next time you have a yakka out live give it a little hair cut remove the soft section off the tail and also one side off theside fin you now have a yakka swimming eraticly and in destress

i use this method when there is heaps off bait around the boat and on the sounder

cherrs gary

[Danielsan]

i'll have to agree with blackcc they are very fussy at present and the ppp will acount for the rats

next time you have a yakka out live give it a little hair cut remove the soft section off the tail and also one side off theside fin you now have a yakka swimming eraticly and in destress

i use this method when there is heaps off bait around the boat and on the sounder

cherrs gary

sometimes they just don't bite. I had 15 kings at the back of the boat yesterday and they were looking at our livies but were more interested in our bread burley. the ones we did get, were on much lighter traces - 10-20lb. as soon as i put out a 30 or 40lb trace, they refused to bite.

same deal with the downrigger. I've spotted them on the sounder, for no bites on 40 fluoro leader, as soon as i drop to 20/25lb the bite is instant...only problem is stopping them i guess!

i guess the best thing to do is try everything. keep changing and be versatile until you find your catalyst

[Keflapod]

OK guys - I feel like a total turd, I soaked 2 live yakkas all arvo on new years day, just inside cape banks, botany bay., realeased all the other yakkas we caught, ended up releasing the two live baits , relatively unharmed??

What am I doing wrong?? We fished the whole of the runout in 10M of water, with a burley trail full of yakkas running towards the livies, the livies 2=3M off the bottom under a bobby. Didn't get a touch!!!

WTF???

Help

I am a boating novice, spent most of the 80s as a reasonably succesful Sydney rockhopper, but I am getting old and just got a quintrex tinny (my lifetime dream), now I can';t catch a fisH!!!

Any clues would be greatly appreciated

Hey Jewdreamer,

don't feel bad about not turning a reel.

From memory, the water quality around new year at Botany heads was not good.

I believe it was 19 degrees and green. Not very inviting.

That kind of water has a much lower probability that there will be fish in it.

If yakkas come up the trail and don't seem too panicky for a while, chances are the kings are not there to make them nervous. If kings are there, you will see them come up the trail for a looksee and the livies will scatter, then re-group.

I think the water quality was the problem for the lack of fish - that's why no bites.

If, however you had confirmation the fish were there and no bites - then that's a different story.

Then you look at your approach and try to work out what is wrong or missing. Then you can decide, bait, tackle or something else. I'm surprised that no salmon, trevally or tailor showed up though...

Just to give you an example, a few days after that, I went out cape banks in 35m of water - green sloppy 2m water - put pilchard cubes on the bottom and hardly had a bait taken....when pillies come back unmolested from the reef bottom - something is drastically wrong....

Wait until that water turns a nice blue in close and try again.....

[Jewdreamer]

Hey Jewdreamer,

don't feel bad about not turning a reel.

From memory, the water quality around new year at Botany heads was not good.

I believe it was 19 degrees and green. Not very inviting.

That kind of water has a much lower probability that there will be fish in it.

If yakkas come up the trail and don't seem too panicky for a while, chances are the kings are not there to make them nervous. If kings are there, you will see them come up the trail for a looksee and the livies will scatter, then re-group.

I think the water quality was the problem for the lack of fish - that's why no bites.

If, however you had confirmation the fish were there and no bites - then that's a different story.

Then you look at your approach and try to work out what is wrong or missing. Then you can decide, bait, tackle or something else. I'm surprised that no salmon, trevally or tailor showed up though...

Just to give you an example, a few days after that, I went out cape banks in 35m of water - green sloppy 2m water - put pilchard cubes on the bottom and hardly had a bait taken....when pillies come back unmolested from the reef bottom - something is drastically wrong....

Wait until that water turns a nice blue in close and try again.....

Mate I don't feel bad at all. What was it someone said "the worst day fishing is better than the best day at work!" How are things look out there tomorrow?? Things are quite at work and i though I might nick off early and put in some boat/rod time.

Any more experienced fishraiders going to be out there?

[tide'n'knots]

I have seen kingies come up near the boat and scoff pieces of bread and not eat a bait thrown at them. I even went as far as to put a small hook into a piece of bread and float it back naturally with the burley and a kingie swam up to it had a look and swam away! very frustrating!

Pete.

[injay]

if the kings are not taking livies and ur at a well known king spot

then you should mix it up a bit

try sluggos, jigs, plastics and poppers to stir up the water

or alternatively try cut baits too

from my experience kings will strike, when hungry and strike out of curiosity

if you cover those bases then you should be sweet

but sometimes their just not on!

believe me its more frustrating when their at ur feet, you can see them and their not taking anything.

Jimmy

Edited January 6, 2009 by injay