Newbie looking for tips

[notoriousTASH]

Good evening guys and thanks for the add!

My name is Tash and ive just signed up to the site as I have seen quite a bit of good info on here and wanted to become part of the community. Also hope to get some help. Please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong topic etc, as I'm also new to forums. Also, apologies in advance if I rattle on too much. If you're disinterested, skip to the bottom to see my questions

So to fill you in, my partner and I have just started getting in to fishing. I am a complete newbie to the sport, having started fishing a couple weeks ago up at Nambucca Heads (30min south of Coffs). My partner used to fish when she was a child but hasn't had the opportunity to do it for a long time, until our trip to Nambucca where she, like myself, really enjoyed it and want to explore it more.

While we were at Nambucca, I managed to land my first fish, which was a whopping great big 8cm bream lol. Partner had more luck - she landed a couple of 36cm bream and a flathead which was 1cm undersize unfortunately.

 

Anyway, we ended up buying a couple of cheap rods (just to start off with) and have been out a few times around Sydney since then. Turns out I'm great at feeding the fish, not so great at actually hooking them. That was, until today. We thought we would check out La Perouse, hopped down on to the rocks at Bare Island (with newly purchased life jackets - safety first!). I hooked something there but it managed to get away, though it felt really big. Other than that, a few bites but most of our time was spent trying to deal with snagging issues!!

We then popped over to try our luck off the rocks at Malabar. Again, a frustratingly snaggy area to work with. Partner ended up catching a 46cm shortfin eel (ugly bastard) and I managed to land a 25cm travelly which was very exciting for me and has given me more drive to learn the skill of fishing even more. 

What I would like to know is:

1. Does anyone know of any land based spots that aren't so rocky? The snagging issue is really getting annoying, particularly for me as I'm still learning the difference between a bite, if the hook is snagging on a rock, the current pushing the bait/sinker around, etc... We live near Canterbury FYI

2. What heaviness should the sinker be? I get different answers and I suppose there isn't a correct one per se, but taking in to account my lack of knowledge in the sport.

3. What rig would be best for rock fishing to stop the snags?

Thanks in advance

[Krispy !]

Hello tash welcome to the site,

In regards to snagging, most places around rocky areas would be quite snaggy so the simple solution is to not use a sinker at all, this lets the bait move around naturally which is more appealing to the fish and wont snag up anywhere near as often. Alternatively you could fish off wharves around Sydney harbour, there are plenty of areas that hold good fish during summer such as Clifton gardens, balmoral and pier 2 just to get you started.

[notoriousTASH]

Hey Krispy, thanks for the info I'll give the no sinker a go and I'll definitely check out those places, though, will fish be edible closer to the harbour? I've heard the water is quite bad... Figured that a little further away would mean cleaner waters. 

[Aardvarking]

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately I can't help too much with land based stuff, I'm in the process of figuring out spots myself.

In terms of sinkers I am a firm believer in using the bare minimum sinker weight that will get your bait to the bottom. It really depends of water depth and amount of current, but the sinker should be able to just hold your bait where you want it without the hook drifting too much. I tend to use size 0 or 1 ball sinker in shallower water or low current, and 2 or 3 in deeper water or with more current, though I rarely go about size 1. From my experience that works for 80% of situations, especially land based. I'll sometimes even go down to a 00 sinker when the current is extra low, and weightless if the water is dead calm. A lot of people over do it with heavy sinkers, but don't understand that the more there is weighing down the bait, the less natural it looks.

If you're a beginner who's looking to avoid snags I would stay away from paternoster rigs, or any other rigs with lines coming off from the main line, as well as multi hook rigs. You can't go wrong with a simple running sinker rig. I personally leave the sinker sitting on top of the hook, but you can also put the sinker on top of a swivel a bit further up the line. What you have tied in the picture with the bream seems good to me. Avoiding snags is just about practice. If you get snagged never just pull on it as a reflex. Let the line go slack, then try to work it from different angles. If that fails leave in for a minute or two and then see if it has made it's way out. After than just tighten the drag and try to whip it out. If all else fails just pull on the line and see if it breaks or pops out.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Aardvarking

[notoriousTASH]

Hey aardarking, thanks for the in depth info about the snagging and sinkers. I'm definitely not at a level for multi hook set ups, wouldn't even know how to do that tbh, would need to consult YouTube on that one lol. I'll definitely take everything you've said on board. Many many thanks!!

[Krispy !]

11 minutes ago, notoriousTASH said:

Hey Krispy, thanks for the info I'll give the no sinker a go and I'll definitely check out those places, though, will fish be edible closer to the harbour? I've heard the water is quite bad... Figured that a little further away would mean cleaner waters. 

People have different opinions, but for me personally I find anything east of the harbour bridge to be fine, the pollution people talk about Is under layers of sediment at the bottom of the harbour, the water itself has never been cleaner. West of the bridge pelagic fish which are found higher up in the water column such as kingfish and bonito would be fine they could be a few kilometres offshore one day and up the Parramatta river the next so any "possible" pollution wouldn't effect them at all, the only fish you'd watch out for are the ones that bury themselves or feed off the sediment like whiting flathead and flounder.

[Fab1]

40 minutes ago, notoriousTASH said:

Good evening guys and thanks for the add!

My name is Tash and ive just signed up to the site as I have seen quite a bit of good info on here and wanted to become part of the community. Also hope to get some help. Please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong topic etc, as I'm also new to forums. Also, apologies in advance if I rattle on too much. If you're disinterested, skip to the bottom to see my questions

So to fill you in, my partner and I have just started getting in to fishing. I am a complete newbie to the sport, having started fishing a couple weeks ago up at Nambucca Heads (30min south of Coffs). My partner used to fish when she was a child but hasn't had the opportunity to do it for a long time, until our trip to Nambucca where she, like myself, really enjoyed it and want to explore it more.

While we were at Nambucca, I managed to land my first fish, which was a whopping great big 8cm bream lol. Partner had more luck - she landed a couple of 36cm bream and a flathead which was 1cm undersize unfortunately.

 

Anyway, we ended up buying a couple of cheap rods (just to start off with) and have been out a few times around Sydney since then. Turns out I'm great at feeding the fish, not so great at actually hooking them. That was, until today. We thought we would check out La Perouse, hopped down on to the rocks at Bare Island (with newly purchased life jackets - safety first!). I hooked something there but it managed to get away, though it felt really big. Other than that, a few bites but most of our time was spent trying to deal with snagging issues!!

We then popped over to try our luck off the rocks at Malabar. Again, a frustratingly snaggy area to work with. Partner ended up catching a 46cm shortfin eel (ugly bastard) and I managed to land a 25cm travelly which was very exciting for me and has given me more drive to learn the skill of fishing even more. 

What I would like to know is:

1. Does anyone know of any land based spots that aren't so rocky? The snagging issue is really getting annoying, particularly for me as I'm still learning the difference between a bite, if the hook is snagging on a rock, the current pushing the bait/sinker around, etc... We live near Canterbury FYI

2. What heaviness should the sinker be? I get different answers and I suppose there isn't a correct one per se, but taking in to account my lack of knowledge in the sport.

3. What rig would be best for rock fishing to stop the snags?

Thanks in advance

Welcome to the site my friend.I was in the same predicament as you years ago when I use to fish beaches/rocks a little.

My late friend that was a better fisherman than me showed me back then to use what is known as a spoon sinker as they are less prone to snagging as they quickly lift your rig off the bottom of the seabed.Another thing I did was use a weaker length of line from the swivel to the hook that way if I snagged up id bust off the hook and 99 times out of 100 I'd bring in the sinker.

good luck with it all.

[mrsswordfisherman]

Welcome to our forum

Everyone is friendly here it is a great community. 

You can use our search engine if you haven’t already, to find all sorts of info. There is an Articles section written by members also. Beware though you can spend hours on here reading  

Look forward to reading your reports and happy fishing Tash

 

[Burger]

Hi and welcome Tash!

If you're planning on getting into Rockfishing, I reckon get yourself along to the free Randwick Council workshop

On 26/9/2017 at 10:38 AM, mrsswordfisherman said:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/rock-fishing-workshops-registration-37380613421

 

check Randwick Council website

cheers, stu.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Burger

[robrooster]

Yo, Not sure if your the same people i saw at Kyeemagh breakwall on Tuesday arvo. 

Anyways, i find a paternoster rig with a small 'teardrop' looking sinker is good around snags. Dont need to launch too far from the rocks.

cheers,

[Regan]

i have fished that wall at nambucca a couple of times for some nice bream,

dirvin21, could probably give you some good tips for up that way

[notoriousTASH]

4 hours ago, robrooster said:

Yo, Not sure if your the same people i saw at Kyeemagh breakwall on Tuesday arvo. 

Anyways, i find a paternoster rig with a small 'teardrop' looking sinker is good around snags. Dont need to launch too far from the rocks.

cheers,

Were you the fella we were talking to, you caught a trevally? Also you were using some stuff to help attract the fish? (can't remember what you called it)

[notoriousTASH]

5 hours ago, robrooster said:

Yo, Not sure if your the same people i saw at Kyeemagh breakwall on Tuesday arvo. 

Anyways, i find a paternoster rig with a small 'teardrop' looking sinker is good around snags. Dont need to launch too far from the rocks.

cheers,

If it is you, you missed out! We watched a seal playing around under the bridge and doing a spot of fishing himself after we moved there when it got dark

[mrsswordfisherman]

8 hours ago, Burger said:

Hi and welcome Tash!

If you're planning on getting into Rockfishing, I reckon get yourself along to the free Randwick Council workshop

cheers, stu.

Good idea Stu - thanks for helping

[notoriousTASH]

9 hours ago, Burger said:

Hi and welcome Tash!

If you're planning on getting into Rockfishing, I reckon get yourself along to the free Randwick Council workshop

cheers, stu.

Stu, thanks so much for that! We are so keen for this. Awesome tip

[trigunner54]

Maybe try Dolls point off the groynes? Also you can try a floating rig. Basically your bait is off the bottom so doesn't snag. 

[notoriousTASH]

12 minutes ago, trigunner54 said:

Maybe try Dolls point off the groynes? Also you can try a floating rig. Basically your bait is off the bottom so doesn't snag. 

Valar morghulis and thanks Blackfish! (I'll assume you're a GoT fan and know what I'm talking about judging by your pic). I was thinking of hitting up Dolls Point actually. I'll be in Sans Souci tomorrow too so not far, might take the rod with me gonna do some shopping for more gear tonight so I'll be picking up a floater

Edited September 29, 2017 by notoriousTASH

[mrsswordfisherman]

1 hour ago, notoriousTASH said:

Valar morghulis and thanks Blackfish! (I'll assume you're a GoT fan and know what I'm talking about judging by your pic). I was thinking of hitting up Dolls Point actually. I'll be in Sans Souci tomorrow too so not far, might take the rod with me gonna do some shopping for more gear tonight so I'll be picking up a floater

Oh impressive you speak High Valyrian  Tash - it is very apt here heh heh

My only response to that is Valar Dohaeris (and that they must)

I was thinking of changing my name here to my Dothraki one - Khaleesi seeing as I own and rule this House Fishraider with khal ......

Jokes aside it is good to see raiders helping you on your quest - look forward to your reports Tash 

[notoriousTASH]

2 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Oh impressive you speak High Valyrian  Tash - it is very apt here heh heh

My only response to that is Valar Dohaeris (and that they must)

I was thinking of changing my name here to my Dothraki one - Khaleesi seeing as I own and rule this House Fishraider with khal ......

Jokes aside it is good to see raiders helping you on your quest - look forward to your reports Tash 

Crack up ? so if you're khaleesi of this great house, do you have three dragons or like.. 3 blue marlins? ?

Here's hoping I'll catch something to report on. Responses have been great, very helpful. 

[antonywardle]

A few people go off the beach at Umina or Ocean Beach. I've been over to Putty beach but the car park is in a national pack, so you have to pay for parking. Not many snags on a beach, but you need to have a reasonable casting distance. These places are a way up from you, but I often take my boat out so if you are thinking of coming up this way PM me and if I'm going out you are welcome to join me. Can fit two other people, although it can get a bit snug!

Edited September 29, 2017 by antonywardle
rubbish formatting

[mrsswordfisherman]

2 hours ago, notoriousTASH said:

Crack up ? so if you're khaleesi of this great house, do you have three dragons or like.. 3 blue marlins? ?

Hmmmmm I have thrones, dragons and the most revered black Marlin of all 

[notoriousTASH]

Yeah, theyre some nice thrones.. What do you think of mine? ? Thought I'd add a little pic of my decked out lounge room too

54 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Hmmmmm I have thrones, dragons and the most revered black Marlin of all 

that Marlin is amazing! 

[notoriousTASH]

3 hours ago, antonywardle said:

A few people go off the beach at Umina or Ocean Beach. I've been over to Putty beach but the car park is in a national pack, so you have to pay for parking. Not many snags on a beach, but you need to have a reasonable casting distance. These places are a way up from you, but I often take my boat out so if you are thinking of coming up this way PM me and if I'm going out you are welcome to join me. Can fit two other people, although it can get a bit snug!

Yeah I must say I can get a bit of distance when I cast, might give beach fishing a go! 

EDIT: Forgot to add - will hit you up for sure to join you on the boat! My partner really wants to go out on one. 

 

Edited September 29, 2017 by notoriousTASH

[mrsswordfisherman]

3 hours ago, notoriousTASH said:

Yeah, theyre some nice thrones.. What do you think of mine? ? Thought I'd add a little pic of my decked out lounge room too

that Marlin is amazing! 

Those cushion covers look insane! Where was that throne? 

Well it is my birthday tomorrow and look at my t shirt (pressie to self)

[notoriousTASH]

1 hour ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Those cushion covers look insane! Where was that throne? 

Well it is my birthday tomorrow and look at my t shirt (pressie to self)

It was my birthday a couple weeks ago. LOVE the T-shirt

Absolutely love my cushion covers. May be an overkill but I don't care, I needed all of them!!!

The throne was at EB Games Expo last year