luderick

[nosquid]

Hi All, Well Sunday morning I went to fish a common spot that is North East of the Harbor Bridge. Armed with Fresh Cabbage and Short Bubble weed I was rather confident in getting a few. Well Arrived there just after 5:30am to start burlying and waited and waited. The first down came about after 06:15am and it was a straight pull I lifted the rod but did not connect. Cast out again and on the next drift the float goes down a little slower but stays down, lift and bugger sill nothing , reel up and notice that the hook is gone. A clean bite off. Anyway from there things went from poor to even worse as I retied the new hook, baited and casted in again to the same spot. As soon as the float sets, the float continues down…… I set the hook only to connect with Nothing ….. what’s happening here, Fish comes back as the float dives down sharply and I lift the rod again only to be bitten off again. I retie and rebait again and did the same drift. As the float gets to the certain spot I can see the fish playing / mouthing the bait as the float is rising and going down under the surface. The float does not go down any more so I reel in to check the bait and yip the hook is gone again and leader is cleanly bitten off. Very frustrating. AS I must of lost about 8 hooks in total that morning. I am fishing with 3kg Mono line and have caught these fish a number of times using the same gear. So not sure why I was getting bitten off so many times and not connecting on the solid downs.

Anyway the time was about 7 :20am and I still hadn’t landed a fish yet, On one of the next drifts I finally managed to connect with a fish, as I really waited for him to take the bait but set the hook when the float shot up very sharply. Finally One in the net and on inspecting the fish, it had swallowed the hook, It was a nice luderick of 37cm. Anyway after that I had a few more downs but still no fish. I tried at different times on setting the hook and still could not connect solidly to any fish, i.e. early / later / on the down / on the up. After 8am I decided to go and on walking back I noticed a number of luderick schooling in shallow water. Now with the water being very clear as it was only about 2 meters in depth at most. The fish were very easily spooked and even with a very rich burly they would come in to eat but dart away at any movement. So I cast out the float with shortened leader, Then throw out about 3 – 4 scoops of bury and sure enough the fish came back and took the bait but…. No matter what I did the fish just did not stay connected. Anyway the fishing was very visual and seeing them school all around the burly and then hone in on the baited hooks was great. There were some very big fish amongst the school and sometimes you would see them hang on the edges of where the float was, picking at the burly. I think I had about 4 solid downs here.

This continued for a short while and then some kayakers came through and spooked all the fish and then there was nothing. I decided on going as it was now already 8:30am and threw in the entire lot of burly that I had left which was about 12 scoops full. Not long after that as I was packing up, the school moved in and the fish were going mad eating all that burly…. You could literally see their mouths opening and closing and them competing for the food. Isn’t that just typical …. So with no more weed I had to go and left.

Thats fishing

[the one that got away]

Yea, ive been loosing alot of hooks as well when out targeting blakies? Wonder why? Never really encountered it before?

But non the less nice work and well done staying determined

[bharris]

Are yous using braid as mainline

The aim of the game is to fool the fish

[Guest hawkesbass]

Very unlucky adrian i will have the boat regoed next week so i will let you know when my next trip out will be

[Centrepin]

That is fascinating. I have never lost a hook from a down.

Blackies are always intriguing, always changing. Thanks for the post.

Geoff

[Yowie]

Could have been jackets or surgeon fish taking the hooks.

[luderick -angler]

Losing hooks happens on blackies more often than you think, striking too hard will cause it! Especially if you have a faster actioned and shorter rod theres no shock absorber, the line getting behind the gill plate is another. I recall 20 odd u=years ago fishing Hickson Road one arvo using size 10 French hooks and 10 straight downs resulted in a breakoffs I upped the the hooks to a size 7 extra short shank grub style hook and started getting fish to the net. In luderick fishing it comes down to the little things and trying something different plus a few years experience like Centrepin and myself have will help!!!!

Adrain I think we need to get you out and have another session to hone the skills mate! Still I reckon your doing pretty well!

[A.dawg]

Little chopper tailor I think I've been catching a fair few on weed especially when the current runs hard they think it's baitfish

[Twinfisher 4.9]

For what it is worth, having fished for blackfish for many decades, I have never been bitten off by one and on 3 kg leader dont think you would have busted - well you would know of you did. Have been bitten off by tailor, bonito, toad fish and leatherjackets. I think you are safe it is not the blackies that are biting you off.

[nosquid]

Rhanks for all the replys,

I am using Mono 6kg line with a Fluro leader of 3kg. As for chopper tailer I would be very surprised if they were as no one was catching any with bait so that still leads me to think that they were luderick. Also I have not hooked into any surgeons yet and from what I have heard is that they just take off like steam trains. Yeah Royce an outing with you all again will be good so do let me know.

cheers

Ad

[bangus]

Most likely a Surgeon especially around that area, and what makes me even think that is because your using cabbage weed too! you'll often strike and find out you have no hook they have razor sharp teeth try next time using a thicker trace and a bigger hook...

Cheers Team Bangus

[luderick -angler]

ever had that slow steady down and they keep going and going and going and you lift the rod only to be greeted by that one big thump and turn and then nothing! No hook..........thats busting on a blackie and I have this happen as mant times as I have had a roast chook! Surgeon downs well they just rocket!

[macman]

If they are blackfish, and I'd bet pretty good money that they aren't, then you must be hitting them pretty hard to break the trace. Not impossible, but I could count on one hand how many times I've been bitten off . If you were fishing the zoo or any of the kelp drop offs around that part of the harbour, there are a heap of surgeons that go twice as hard as the old blackfish and if you have a fast taper rod, you will get found out pretty quickly with a light trace.

BTW

Nice to see you posting again Royce, have you been away ?

Matt

[seacow]

For my 10c worth I think that it might be the rod or the strike. If the tip is a little hard and rigid a strike will place more than 6 pounds of pressure on the line right where the the most amount of resistance is. I can only imagine that will be where the fish has the hook and weed in his pie hole. Therefore broken line at the hook.

It's happened a few times to the old man. He has a strike on him like he is polling for tuna. I am pretty sure the fish that go back are in serious need of a denist after he is finished with them. I am very lucky that he hasn't taken out my eye with those missile floats screaming back at me on a missed fish.

[macman]

For my 10c worth I think that it might be the rod or the strike. If the tip is a little hard and rigid a strike will place more than 6 pounds of pressure on the line right where the the most amount of resistance is. I can only imagine that will be where the fish has the hook and weed in his pie hole. Therefore broken line at the hook.

It's happened a few times to the old man. He has a strike on him like he is polling for tuna. I am pretty sure the fish that go back are in serious need of a denist after he is finished with them. I am very lucky that he hasn't taken out my eye with those missile floats screaming back at me on a missed fish.

I don't get that need for belting the fish with a massive strike, I could understand it fishing well over a rod length maybe, but I have seen some really good fishos over the yearws fairly belting the strike.

[nosquid]

Rod is a fenwick graphite one piece that is about 2-4kg. It is actually very soft and I use it also for squidding. I am not striking but just winding up the slack line and lifting the Rod..... Anyways thanks for all the suggestions and feedback which is always welcome.

cheers

Adrian