jamesc5562 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hey raiders hope the christmas break is treating you all well i recently set myself a goal of catching a 20kg+ king off the rocks (yes i am crazy!). went out and bought myself all the gear i need however one problem...i cant catch any fish. i know lbg is 99% waiting on the rocks and watching but i have had zero luck. i cant even catch a bonnie to use as live bait, only using yakkas at the moment. so my first question is: im spinning 40 / 60g chromies and floating pilchards, all with 20lb fluro, am i doing anything wrong to catch bonnies? iv even been using waxwing lures but to no success second question: how do you control the drift of your bait? every time i throw out the yakka it ends up at my feet, is it just about throwing into some wash so it can be dragged out third question: im using 2X6/0 gamakatsu live bait hooks, should i bridle rig instead? muck thanks in advance as im starting to wonder whether spending the $$$$$ on all the gear was worth it (although it is fishing gear so its always worth it) james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Coast Fisherman Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hi James, Where on the coast have you been fishing? I too have bought some LBG gear recently and am hoping to get a few kings. With bonnies I only use 20g surecatch knights. I have tried lots of other metals in different sizes but have always come back to using the 20g surecatch knights. I only use my bream gear for catching the bonnies. Ie 2-4kg rod, 2000 size reel and 6lb braid. You can throw the 20g lures pretty far with this light setup and you can have a bit of fun catching the bonnies. Unfortunately the only bonnies i've caught so far this season have been massive. The big schools of smaller bonnies haven't seemed to have turned up yet. They should be here soon though. I've been hearing that the bonnies have been pretty thick at Avoca lately. I'm going to give Terrigal ago tomorrow afternoon. As for the yakkas, i too seem to be having trouble getting them to swim out. I've given up on them. I did catch a big squid a few weeks back and he swam out great. But didn't get touched. I'm hoping to go quite a bit over the christmas break. I think i'm just going to keep trying for the bonnies. If i keep catching the big ones i think i'm going to put some wire trace on and see if any sharks want to play. Hook size should be ok. Although i have been using the mustad hoodlums in 8/0 to 10/0 size. Hopefully some warmer water pushes in soon and the kings will come with it. Although is seems that there are some big kings around Sydney at the moment. Cheers, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesc5562 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Hi James, Where on the coast have you been fishing? I too have bought some LBG gear recently and am hoping to get a few kings. With bonnies I only use 20g surecatch knights. I have tried lots of other metals in different sizes but have always come back to using the 20g surecatch knights. I only use my bream gear for catching the bonnies. Ie 2-4kg rod, 2000 size reel and 6lb braid. You can throw the 20g lures pretty far with this light setup and you can have a bit of fun catching the bonnies. Unfortunately the only bonnies i've caught so far this season have been massive. The big schools of smaller bonnies haven't seemed to have turned up yet. They should be here soon though. I've been hearing that the bonnies have been pretty thick at Avoca lately. I'm going to give Terrigal ago tomorrow afternoon. As for the yakkas, i too seem to be having trouble getting them to swim out. I've given up on them. I did catch a big squid a few weeks back and he swam out great. But didn't get touched. I'm hoping to go quite a bit over the christmas break. I think i'm just going to keep trying for the bonnies. If i keep catching the big ones i think i'm going to put some wire trace on and see if any sharks want to play. Hook size should be ok. Although i have been using the mustad hoodlums in 8/0 to 10/0 size. Hopefully some warmer water pushes in soon and the kings will come with it. Although is seems that there are some big kings around Sydney at the moment. Cheers, Phil mainly been fishing off avoca but im gunna try winney and maybe up north (wybung and hat head) yeah the bonnies have been pretty big, although i havent got any yet. is it better dawn and dusk on a run in tide? (thats when iv had the most success in the past) i might go out and upgrade my light gear as the rod just broke. im definitely keen to give it a fair go over the christmas period, might see you around (would be good as i dont have anyone to go with which restricts me going to more remote places) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesc5562 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yakkas need to be sent out on a torpedo float and try hooking them in the tail above the lateral line. You need to feed out the line constantly to allow a belly in the line that acts like a sail and will allow your yakka to head east. Regards Stewy iv been hooking them through to shoulder so that could be why, is there any benefits to bridle rigging? iv been keeping the line tight as yakkas pull against tension, however next time i might trying leaving slack in the line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Coast Fisherman Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I have never really paid to much attention to tides when fishing for bonnies. I guess I have probably caught most of mine in the afternoons but when the big schools are here I don't think it matters to much. For the last few years they have seemed to come around in the big schools around late January and they are smaller models which I think will be great bait size for big kings. Although I've never actually used them for live bait yet, nor have I caught a king from the rocks yet. What lbg gear are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesc5562 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 I have never really paid to much attention to tides when fishing for bonnies. I guess I have probably caught most of mine in the afternoons but when the big schools are here I don't think it matters to much. For the last few years they have seemed to come around in the big schools around late January and they are smaller models which I think will be great bait size for big kings. Although I've never actually used them for live bait yet, nor have I caught a king from the rocks yet. What lbg gear are you using? iv got a 8ft live fibre 15-24kg with a tyrnos 30 and 50lb mono. iv only started out so im not expecting results straight away but its frustrating when you see 'pillie under float people' pulling in bonnies and im spinning, floating bait and using lures and cant get a hook up...thats fishing unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hawkesbass Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 yakkas will always try to swim back in close to the rocks, slimies if you can get them will swim out away from the rocks.i rig mine up under a baloon blown up to about 10-15cms in diameter with a offshore wind it will also help your livie swim out aswell.when live baiting the rocks sometimes you will only need to be 10-20 feet off the rocks as the predators will cruise the washes no good getting a bait out 100 mtrs if it is in no mans land with no fish around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Mate never under estimate the greed of a big king they will chomp down huge baits.. I wouldn't worry bout the size of the bonnies unless they're 2kgs and above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBG. Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yakkas need to be sent out on a torpedo float and try hooking them in the tail above the lateral line. You need to feed out the line constantly to allow a belly in the line that acts like a sail and will allow your yakka to head east. Regards Stewy I disagree. Keep tension on the line as they will always pull against the direction they're being pulled from. Sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep up with that 99% part and you'll find the 1%. It's been slow anyway around the coast, more action north a bit. Avoca is fishing best of the ledges you've mentioned. Winnie has been a complete waste of time and effort. Wybung, Snapper and Catho have been most consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I disagree. Keep tension on the line as they will always pull against the direction they're being pulled from. Sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep up with that 99% part and you'll find the 1%. It's been slow anyway around the coast, more action north a bit. Avoca is fishing best of the ledges you've mentioned. Winnie has been a complete waste of time and effort. Wybung, Snapper and Catho have been most consistent. Winnie isn't a waste of time any day of the week! If you beat the crowds and u know the ledges it's well worth it!! There have been consistent reports out of Winnie but no one speaks of them, they've been braining the kings down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBG. Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) Winnie isn't a waste of time any day of the week! If you beat the crowds and u know the ledges it's well worth it!! There have been consistent reports out of Winnie but no one speaks of them, they've been braining the kings down there! Yeah, true, I wouldn't know.... How many times have you fished it the last 6 weeks? Edited December 22, 2011 by LBG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesc5562 Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 thanks for all they help guys. i guess persistence is the name of the game! ill keep trying and eventually come up trumps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickman Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 the trick is to keep the yakka in a spot were it doesn't wont to be if it keep coming back under your feet it's seeking refuge or trying to hide use stewy advise about the belly in the line to get him away from the ledge it works a treat a wash from a gutter also helps and one uther good trick is give the yakka a hair cut just remember keeping the yakka out off it's comfort zone is the key cheers gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBG. Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 just remember keeping the yakka out off it's comfort zone is the key cheers gary And keep it active. Don't just put it out there and jam your rod in a crack. Be on your rod AT ALL TIMES and constantly jiggle the line to keep the vibrations going to it. This is where the belly technique fails, you can't get good vibrations through it and they fall asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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