Helping beginner’s catch a fish

[grandad]

Helping beginner’s catch a fish.

What advice can you give to a beginner to help them catch a decent fish?

Why do some anglers have more success than others?

I think most experienced fishermen deep down know the answers, but how do you get this knowledge across to the novice. It can’t really be passed on vocally or in writing it has to be learned over time. You can read Roberta’s section on how to catch worms, everything is there on how to do it, but go down to the beach and it takes many attempts to be successful.

OBSERVE the successful anglers and learn from them is the best advice you can give. Using fresh bait would have to be the next thing on anyone’s list, this means catching your own not buying it from the servo. I know we may have had success on servo prawns from time to time but would you rather have prawns that you have caught the night before and still alive. Squid would have to be the next on the list, don’t buy it, spend a few nights on the local wharfs, observe who is catching them and what jigs they are using, copy their techniques. Yellowtail, burley with bread, use small baited hooks or bait jigs. Poddy mullet; spend a few weekends learning how to use a bait trap very frustrating at times, but what a superb bait. Live nippers always catch fish. Watch the tides and take a couple of kids with you, they love it and you don’t get nipped picking them up. Go down to the rocks; learn how and where to get Cunjevois. Watch and talk to someone catching Blackfish, ask them to show you how to bait a hook using weed or cabbage, they may even tell you where to find it. You will learn a lot on the way as you find your bait. Don’t just fish, target a specific species, don’t set your sights too high, learn how to catch bream first then whiting, Jewfish and Kingfish will come much later. If you spend the time learning how to catch fresh bait, the question of “where” can I catch a fish, will already be known to you. There are no shortcuts, experience is the answer.

I used to fish competitively on a charter boat along with 15 other people, and was quite successful often catching fish when the others did not, what made the difference? We were all fishing the same place, same depth, and the same rigs. Was it the fact that I used lighter line, smaller hooks that were hidden inside the bait, baits that were ergonomically shaped and did not spin, or the fact that my baits were the freshest that I could get or catch, or was it the fact that no foreign scent from my hands was allowed to touch my bait or lines. It’s no use wiping your hands on an oily rag and then baiting up. OBSERVE, watch what other people are doing, which angler has more success? Watch what he does. Are the fish being caught on the top or bottom hook what bait is he using. If the fish are being caught consistently on the top hook then try moving your top hook a metre further up the line. Notice if this helps. What baits were the fish being caught on; change your baits to match.

Hope this helps to some degree and remember, “ask” but be polite.

Grandad