Pier 2 - 13/03/2015

[roughstyler]

I had a free day today, and even though the weather wasn't looking good, I'd been waiting for my broken hand to recover for about 5 weeks, and wasn't going to miss a chance to try out my new rod that I'd bought (but didn't get to use) prior to the injury. Little did I know it would be one of the best days of fishing I've ever had. While Pier 2 has a bad reputation, it certainly didn't disappoint today.

I'd arrived at about 7:00 am and there was only one guy there (or at least, on the side I was on). Unfortunately, I saw him catch and keep what looked like an under-size King. As he was leaving he also mentioned that he got caught a Jew early this morning (which I suspect was also under-size and taken home). However, after he'd left, the fishing was excellent.

I was mainly using bread as bait, but also some chicken breast which had been given to me. I was aiming solely for Yakkas on a 2-4kg rod to use for live-bait on the new rod. I'd never used live-bait before, nor had I caught a single fish that provided any sort of fight, so I was excited to give it a go. However, I just kept pulling up Diamond Fish after Diamond Fish, which got sequentially larger in size. What was great was that they were actually giving some sort of fight, and it felt awesome having a fish actually pull a little, rather than me easily reeling it in. I was surprised by the amount of power they had for the size they were, and the ones that were 20cm + were so much fun.

It took a few hours to finally get a Yellowtail, and when I did, I left it in the water and rushed as fast as I could to set up the Kingfish rod. After I quickly tied the hook, I went to bring up the Yakka, but it'd come off the hook. I was pretty gutted, but the couple fishing next to me were lovely enough to hand me the one they'd brought up just as I lost mine.

I went with the advice I'd been given a few days ago on here (braid>fluoro>hook, unweighted) and had a shot at it. I was surprised at how much the Yakka pulled, and that made me realise just how big of a fight I was in for if a King jumped on. After a few minutes, the bait seemed to stop moving, and this is what was left of it when I reeled it in:

Although I didn't hook on to anything(the one unlucky time a King attacks from behind haha), I was beyond stoked knowing that something had gone for it.

After that, I caught a few more Diamond Fish (which I didn't get photos of) and a nice Leatherjacket:

More people had arrived at around 2:00pm, and I was lucky enough to land another Yakka. After having it in the water for a while, a guy noticed my set-up and was concerned. He said that I'd always get busted off with 30 pound mainline and 50 pound leader. He also wasn't happy with the length of my leader (someone on here said to go for quite a long leader, around 5 metres for fishing the piers), and the fact that I'd gone for a line-to-line connection (Double Uni) rather than using a swivel. Since I'm not very experienced, it's difficult for me to know who's advice to trust (based on the fact that he was so shocked to see line connected straight to line, I assume his advice isn't the best). He ended up shortening the leader quite a lot and joining the lines with a swivel, saying that it'd make the rig stronger.

When the rig had been quickly adjusted, the Yakka was sent straight back in the water, where it swam for about 30 minutes with nothing going for it (there were points where my rod would shake quite a lot, but I can't be sure if that meant the bait was trying to escape a predator, or if it had just decided to make a run). At that point, one of the birds decided to have a crack at it, and managed to grab the Yakka. I managed to get it off the bird (the Yakka barely survived), but it then went for it a second time a few minutes later, and won the battle. As soon as the bird got away with my Yakka, a King flies across the surface, as if to mock me. It started to rain quite heavily at around 4:00 pm, so I decided to pack up and head home.

All-in-all, it was an amazing day, and I can't wait to go back. I'm a little worried about what the guy said about my line, though. He mentioned seeing people getting busted off on 100 pound leader, and mine is half that strength. Does anyone here think my line is strong enough for some of the legal and smaller Kings?

Also, when the Yellowtail were feeding on the burley, these big fish came up and started eating the bread too. They looked to be white, but I'm not entirely sure, and I have no idea what fish they were. The minute I saw them, I got out the new rod and tried getting them with a big piece of chicken breast. They'd approach it, and then get spooked and quickly swim away just before they went for the bite. Any idea what fish they could've been (sorry, my description isn't very helpful)?

I hope the report isn't boring - it is quite a lot of text.

Edited March 13, 2015 by roughstyler

[amkr]

That's the best story I have read in a long time.

Sorry but I giggled my ass off when I got to the part when the bird stole your live bait!

I wish I had some advice for you but I'm as new to this as you are! If I was you I'd stick to the advice here and ignore old mate at the pier though.

Goodluck and congrats on an adventurous day!

[roughstyler]

Haha, I was laughing when it happened and so were the people next to me, as the same thing happened to them (though, with a fish they'd caught rather than live-bait) minutes earlier. Cheers mate!

[GoingFishing]

G'day mate

Sounds like ur throwing your yakka out unweighted?

Try sending it out under a float, down to a sinker swivel and leader of about 2-3m. that way ur yakka will be out of reach from birds and within the strike zone of most Pelagics

[nickb111]

If you want to keep the line to line connection try using an fg knot - I spent about an hour last week learning it and can now do it about as easily as a double uni. It casts incredibly well

[Jimbu]

You don't Have to use a swivel, longer leader is ok, just keep an eye on line twist. Also, in my opinion your line and leader strength is fine unless you hook something huge. There are plenty of people out there who overkill their rig up and it may spook some fish if their line is too heavy, but it also makes for boring fishing if you hook up to something decent.

The bigger fish you saw were most likely mullet. The larger mullet put up a great fight however you need to keep the hook size down as they only have a small mouth (I find size 8 to be a safe choice). They will take bread, but if not, try a small bit of prawn or chicken.

[Linc]

yeah your rig sounds fine, anything over 50lb leader and you scare off 90% of the fish that otherwise might have had a go.

unfortunate you missed the first fish that attached your yakka as from the pic it looks like he had 2 goes at it.

Were the diamond fish Pomfret or sweep (or is there another species actually called diamondfish that I don't know about? if they were sweep the larger ones are quite good eating, and both can be used as livies when very desperate

[meg126]

Don't listen to that guy - line to line is how I catch all my kings - less knots mean less to go wrong in my opinion.

I'd agree with the float though I like to get the livie down a bit as that seems to get a better hit rate.

Great post, very entertaining.

[roughstyler]

If you want to keep the line to line connection try using an fg knot - I spent about an hour last week learning it and can now do it about as easily as a double uni. It casts incredibly well

Hey mate, cheers for the advice. I actually memorised quite a few knots that could run cleanly through the guides before setting up the new rig, but having never used heavy line like that, I didn't realise how much more difficult knot tying becomes. So, I knew how to do them in theory, but just kept screwing them in practice, and it was getting pretty frustrating. I couldn't even get the Bimini Twist right, which meant that I couldn't even try out the knots I was planning on using. That's why I settled for the Double-Uni, and even that was a little bit challenging because the thickness of the fluorocarbon meant that the line would spin like a slinky. I guess I'll get better with experience, but at this point I'll likely just end up getting frustrated with anything that isn't very simple.

Also, in my opinion your line and leader strength is fine unless you hook something huge.

The bigger fish you saw were most likely mullet. The larger mullet put up a great fight however you need to keep the hook size down as they only have a small mouth (I find size 8 to be a safe choice). They will take bread, but if not, try a small bit of prawn or chicken.

Thanks mate, that's really reassuring.

I don't think the bigger fish were mullet. From underwater, they sort of looked like this (though, they didn't appear to be blue):

http://rudy.hemnet.com.au/images/Eastern%20Blue%20Groper.jpg

But I'm sure many fish look like that.

yeah your rig sounds fine, anything over 50lb leader and you scare off 90% of the fish that otherwise might have had a go.

unfortunate you missed the first fish that attached your yakka as from the pic it looks like he had 2 goes at it.

Were the diamond fish Pomfret or sweep (or is there another species actually called diamondfish that I don't know about? if they were sweep the larger ones are quite good eating, and both can be used as livies when very desperate

Cheers mate, making me less worried about getting busted off.

Yeah, it's funny how they attack from the front 9 times out of 10, and this one goes from behind twice haha. I think these were the fish:

http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/581

I wasn't sure about their legal size so I just chucked them all back.

Don't listen to that guy - line to line is how I catch all my kings - less knots mean less to go wrong in my opinion.

I'd agree with the float though I like to get the livie down a bit as that seems to get a better hit rate.

Great post, very entertaining.

Cheers mate. I actually originally got a float for this exact purpose, but after trying unweighted, I really loved how simple it is and the fact that I can control the fish if it starts to swim toward the pylons. Also, because I don't have a car, I have to walk quite a bit holding both the rods, and I get a bit frustrated when there's a bunch of line everywhere, and a float would make this worse. When the rig is unweighted, I can reel it in all the way and simply have a hook at the end, which is easy to manage.

Edited March 14, 2015 by roughstyler

[nickb111]

Hey mate, cheers for the advice. I actually memorised quite a few knots that could run cleanly through the guides before setting up the new rig, but having never used heavy line like that, I didn't realise how much more difficult knot tying becomes. So, I knew how to do them in theory, but just kept screwing them in practice, and it was getting pretty frustrating. I couldn't even get the Bimini Twist right, which meant that I couldn't even try out the knots I was planning on using. That's why I settled for the Double-Uni, and even that was a little bit challenging because the thickness of the fluorocarbon meant that the line would spin like a slinky. I guess I'll get better with experience, but at this point I'll likely just end up getting frustrated with anything that isn't very simple.

Fair enough- my only issue with the double uni was when it mysteriously slips off and my lure goes flying off into the distance.

[KayakPat]

Landed a 76cm at the fork on 20lb main and 30lb leader from the rocks today, without net or gaf. I figure you'll be fine, be calm with kings and they will be calm with you. Pull their face off and they'll reef you in the first run. My report to come.

[Guest no one]

100lb leader??? I don't even use that on the skirts I troll... The guy is off his head!

[Scratchie]

I agree with tef1on. There's no marlin in the harbour. Your set up is fine. Damn those birds, they've done that to me before too! A float or a balloon is a good idea. Better luck next time!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[roughstyler]

Awesome guys! I'd been doubting the set-up for a while now, so hearing that it's fine is a big relief, and it's so reassuring to hear stories of legal Kings being caught with a lighter line-strength than mine.

I figured that guy had no idea what he was talking about, but he was genuinely trying to help, so I wasn't sure what to do. Should've just left the set-up as it was, but I hesitantly let him adjust it.

Regarding being calm with Kings, I've been given a bunch of different advice. Some say to up the drag all the way and reel as fast/hard as you can. Others say to leave the drag quite low and reel very fast, and I've also been told to leave the drag low, and take your time with the fish. What would be the best option in this scenario (that being a pier with a bunch of pylons around that the fish can easily run to)? I also remember hearing that if you let the King run for a little before trying to fight it, it will usually head out away from the pylons.

Also, a balloon/float probably would be a good idea, but I explained why I'd rather not use one above.

Cheers everyone for all the comments and advice, I really appreciate it.

[SgtBundy]

With the floats I was using yakkas at Cliftons and the float was the marker for the damn cormorants to go chasing after my cast and take the yakka. It was lucky the stupid bird didn't get hooked. They would probably chase and find it without the float but at least it might give the yakka a little more freedom to evade it or make it harder for the bird to chase it down.

[Linc]

As for when to lock the drag and pull as hard as possible vs when to loosen it off and play the fish really depends on the fish at the time and it takes some experience to know when to apply each method - basically if the fish goes for structure you want to try to guide it out and not give too much line but if its in the open let it run till it tires

[roughstyler]

With the floats I was using yakkas at Cliftons and the float was the marker for the damn cormorants to go chasing after my cast and take the yakka. It was lucky the stupid bird didn't get hooked. They would probably chase and find it without the float but at least it might give the yakka a little more freedom to evade it or make it harder for the bird to chase it down.

Haha, yeah, I was really worried I was going to hook on to the bird.

As for when to lock the drag and pull as hard as possible vs when to loosen it off and play the fish really depends on the fish at the time and it takes some experience to know when to apply each method - basically if the fish goes for structure you want to try to guide it out and not give too much line but if its in the open let it run till it tires

I see. I guess it's something I'll pick up with time. Thanks mate!

[Krispy !]

I reckon it was decent tailor that hit your yakka. Theres been a few around. I agree the guy who tild you to put a swivel had no idea. If you do your braid to fluoro knot properly it is 10x stronger than a swivel and it also gives the bait a more natural appearance

[roughstyler]

I reckon it was decent tailor that hit your yakka. Theres been a few around. I agree the guy who tild you to put a swivel had no idea. If you do your braid to fluoro knot properly it is 10x stronger than a swivel and it also gives the bait a more natural appearance

Do they attack from behind? If so, that would explain what happened. And yeah, I really prefer line-to-line.

[Krispy !]

Do they attack from behind? If so, that would explain what happened. And yeah, I really prefer line-to-line.

99/100 a tailor will hit a live bait from behind. They Bite the tail section so the baitfish can't swim away then they finish it off. Kingfish are the opposite 99/100 they take the livey head first.

[roughstyler]

Awesome, that would've been so much fun. The only Tailors I've caught have been in like the 20cm range or under.

[mike2153]

Lol that guy is an idiot mate your doing the right thing. So I'm guessing he tied your braid to a swivel? That is a big no no. I run quite a short leader for kings, I also use mono leader not fluro as fluro tends to get kinks in it and is quite stiff when you go up in the heavier line classes.

[roughstyler]

Yeah, he tied the braid to the swivel. I wasn't really happy with him doing it at the time, especially since the live-bait had to be taken out of the water for it to be done, but his intentions were nice. The reason for the long leader was because I don't have a net or gaff, and I'm fishing off a pier.