Beach Fishing

[troy]

hi guys im going to fingal bay at easter ,so my brother in law and myself are gonna try some beach fishing i will be oour first attempt actually his first attempt at any fishing, ok im going out to buy a nice big rod and a reel for this purpose nothing to flash though. but what i really need to know is what sought of rig we should use and what bait and what ever else i need to know eg tides best times you know the usuall stuff thanks troy

[BTK]

when i first started beach fishing i only used pilly on a Gang hook rig and have had great success with that ever since, when i first started and didnt want to spend to much money on it before i seen if i liked it i would buy these Surecatch Gang hook rigs that came in a little packet like wrapped around a circle peice of cardboard in the packet from any Tackle store for about 3 Bucks each, this was cheaper because i didnt have to buy Leader line, because the rig comes with everything you just need to tie it on.

If you want more info then let me know and ill see what i can pull up

[troy]

thanks btk i recently done a fishing class with gb it was great but haver forgotten most of it although i do have heaps of literature for it . just want to make it simple for both of us.

[slinkymalinky]

Big question Troy....

To cut to the chase my main advice is to keep it really simple. If there's a lot of water movement (strong rips, lots of waves) use a paternoster rig with a star or even a grapnell sinker (the ones with prongs that look like an anchor)... this will help hold your rig in place. One dropper above the sinker is enough

If there's less water movement use a running bean or ball sinker above a swivel, with a trace of around 60cm.

To the trace or dropper/s of each rig, attach a hook suitable for the bait you're using and the fish you're after... whiting or bream with worms or pippis... something like a #4 to #1 long shank worm hook. Tailor with Pillies... a gang of 3 or 4 5/0's... etc. Likewise use line, terminals etc to suit your target.

Best baits are the ones you gather yourself locally... pippies, beach worms, crabs are great. Pillies are excellent anywhere including the beach. Strip baits of freshly caught tailor or mullet are worth a go. If you get really serious even livebaiting... but off the beach that requires a more specialised approach so I wouldn't recommend it for a first go at beach fishing.

The other thing you MUST do if you want to catch some fish is to learn how to 'read the beach'... this is simply checking out the beach to work out where the fish are most likely to be. FIsh on a beach tend to congregate in specific areas like gutters, channels, deep holes etc. It's a big topic in itself so grab a fishing book or DVD to get a feel for it.

It's very common to be fishing a nice gutter (a channel of deeper water inside the surf) catching plenty, while watching people on either side on relatively 'barren' bottom catching zip... it's THAT important.

Hope this helps as a starter for a huge topic.

Cheers, Slinky

[BTK]

Big question Troy....

To cut to the chase my main advice is to keep it really simple. If there's a lot of water movement (strong rips, lots of waves) use a paternoster rig with a star or even a grapnell sinker (the ones with prongs that look like an anchor)... this will help hold your rig in place. One dropper above the sinker is enough

If there's less water movement use a running bean or ball sinker above a swivel, with a trace of around 60cm.

To the trace or dropper/s of each rig, attach a hook suitable for the bait you're using and the fish you're after... whiting or bream with worms or pippis... something like a #4 to #1 long shank worm hook. Tailor with Pillies... a gang of 3 or 4 5/0's... etc. Likewise use line, terminals etc to suit your target.

Best baits are the ones you gather yourself locally... pippies, beach worms, crabs are great. Pillies are excellent anywhere including the beach. Strip baits of freshly caught tailor or mullet are worth a go. If you get really serious even livebaiting... but off the beach that requires a more specialised approach so I wouldn't recommend it for a first go at beach fishing.

The other thing you MUST do if you want to catch some fish is to learn how to 'read the beach'... this is simply checking out the beach to work out where the fish are most likely to be. FIsh on a beach tend to congregate in specific areas like gutters, channels, deep holes etc. It's a big topic in itself so grab a fishing book or DVD to get a feel for it.

It's very common to be fishing a nice gutter (a channel of deeper water inside the surf) catching plenty, while watching people on either side on relatively 'barren' bottom catching zip... it's THAT important.

Hope this helps as a starter for a huge topic.

Cheers, Slinky

That advice is most likely the best you will get, only thing i can add to it is if you can find a high vantage point on the beach to look down at the water then spend anywhere from 10minutes to 30minutes watching the waves and seeing where holes are etc, when you get down on the beach things normally look alot different and ive found can make it harder. Also you will be able to see a gutter by watching a wave if you see the wave to full (or Fat) to break in one area but its breaking in another then your best bet is that the area not breaking is a Hole, Sometimes you may even be fishing a gutter at your feet so you dont always need a cast a mile either. Another way of seeing a gutter is if a wave Breaks and then it reforms and breaks again, inbetween the breaks there is a good chance is a hole or gutter.

Cheers

Cory

Edited March 20, 2009 by BTK

[troy]

thanks guys im pretty good at reading the water in the way of gutters and stuff i use to surf alot when i think back 4 weeks ago we were commenting on the gutters when we were swimming