Taking one for he team

[mulcahya]

Launched from Tunks Park this morning with a plan to get some squid and/or yakkas from the spit thru to balmoral and then scoot off some else and try for something big like a kingfish. After getting no squid and nothing but sweep, it was looking ominous for the day. Fortunately our luck changed a little and we got seven yakkas in 15 minutes after we upped the burley. And off we go.....

...but everywhere we went, nothing but stripped leather jacket, who were stealing not just our bait, but our entire running gear on multiple occasions. after loosing countless hooks, sinkers, and swivels, in all sizes, it was either go home or start targeting them. We chose the later because a) they don't taste too bad and we figured we should start a harbour LJ cleansing program, which would benefit all fishers, and not just us. one more LJ in our boat is one less gear thief in the water.

All in all we bagged ten of them which we'll eat tonight, and which hopefully reduces the LJ population in Sydney by 0.000000001%. You all can thank me next time you're on the water. ??

Baffler

[Guest hawkesbass]

Unlucky on the big fish with the dent made in the jacket population you will get your kings next outing

[tasksta]

Ha can i join the club? We had them swarming the boat last week and went home with 15 between us.

0.0000000002 % cleansed!

[leonardgid]

just out of curiosity how big are these jackets? the ones inside the harbour are no way big enough to keep.

[mulcahya]

AFAIK, no legal size limit on leather jackets, but possibly a bag limit of 20. Probably because they are a plague!

[Choicebro]

Damn Jackets, very frustrating indeed!!

Even worse when you can't even hook them cause they eat the tackle.

How did you end up catching them without losing your rigs?

Did you go to wire traces or smaller hooks for their little mouths??

Cheers

Choicebro

[oz_brett]

Keep it up guys get rid of them jackets, Your doing the world a favor!

they are the only fish I will not release want it or not.

[mulcahya]

Smallest long shank hooks I could find in the tackle box, like the ones I use for catching yakkas. Metal traces helped eliminate gear loss. Tied the main line straight onto the metal trace, all unweighted, to give better feel, and minimize gear loss.

The trick we found was to keep the bait in sight, and when you see them start sucking on it, drag it away and you'll either be on or very shortly. Cast a little wide (but still in sight), with a slow retrieve, will keep tension on the line so you can feel them.

If you do drop the bait out of sight, you will be baited without knowing it in no time, unless you jig the line up and down into and out of sight. On the up stroke pay attention for extra weight and strike if it's fishy feeling.

Best of luck raiders. If we work together we can rid our waterways from this pest. ??

BTW: tasted great! Wife and kids loved them.

[leonardgid]

just out of curiosity how big are these jackets? the ones inside the harbour are no way big enough to keep.

what i ment by big enough to keep is that they are too small to get much meat out of them by the time you clean the things

[Cougar2007]

They do make pretty good eating. Great for a breakfast fry up. But yeah you have to have the size.

[manhands]

Good for babies, easy to skin/bone and just enough to make a meal from each one. I'll usually keep 3-4 each trip.

Another easy way to catch is using a bait jig (Slimy-medium). Just don't leave down for too long or they'll strip half the hooks off. Hook one, bring up slow and get 4-5 every time.