Bunch of Newbie Questions

[Armpits]

Just a few questions I am curious about:

 

1) Fishing with a spinning reel and with bait. When a fish is about to eat the bait does the fish automatically hook itself or I would need to yank the rod up all the time? Asking this because I see in some videos of people drag on the reel going off and they run back to their reel to fish it in.

2) For land based fishing around Sydney what is the best bait to use for Bream and Snapper? Please list fresh baits and servo baits. Also what setup rig should be good for these species?

 

3) What is the main thing to do or need to heighten the chances of catching a fish?

 

Thanks guys!

[daniel ogden]

1) You can either strike when the fish bites or sometimes the fish will hook itself, you will ind your preffered method by practice.

2) In my opinion, pealed prawns are the best bait for bream especially, you can buy a bag of peeled prawns from Aldi which i find good bait.

3) Main tip to catch more fish is a road question as there are many things but i will name a few. For bait fishing you should berley, this is when you throw in fish bait or fish attractant suh as prawn heads, bread mixed with tuna oil or so on in the water to attract the fish to your area. Also use google maps to find an area you think will hold fish. Fish will always hold around structure or a food source such as rock walls, pylons, jettys, weedbeds, drop offs and so on so aim your spots around areas with these structures.

Hope this helped, goodluck,

Daniel.

[blaxland]

Hi Armpits, I do not believe there is a correct answer to your questions as there are many techniques and baits that work well. The one thing I have found to be constant is time, the more time and effort you put in the more likely you are to catch a fish. With this comes experience which will allow you to choose baits, rigs and methods to handle what presents on the day. Even with perfect instruction practical experience will heighten the chance of catching a fish.  

I believe pilchard to be the best all round bait as I have caught everything from yellow tail  yakkas through to king fish in the harbour using pilchards and you can also use them as burly. Legal snapper are hard to find in the harbour and are normally targeted on the offshore reefs but the odd just legal can be found.

Finally there are not many secret spots left in sydney start where other people fish and hopefully you will meet a few friendly like minded people.

Tight Lines and good luck.

 

[Armpits]

Thanks guys!

 

Another quick question I’ve got is without proper tools how would I set the drag? Should it be not too easy too pull but not too hard to pull either? Or should it be loose? 

[blaxland]

I have never done this but 1 ltr water = 1 kilo weight fill a 2ltr milkbottle with water and tie your line to it set drag so it starts to tick just as you the lift the bottle off the ground 2 Kilo drag will do you until you have more  experience assuming your using about 12lb line. Most people recommend drag set to 1/3 of the lines breaking strain 

[Fab1]

On 13 November 2017 at 2:09 PM, Armpits said:

Just a few questions I am curious about:

 

1) Fishing with a spinning reel and with bait. When a fish is about to eat the bait does the fish automatically hook itself or I would need to yank the rod up all the time? Asking this because I see in some videos of people drag on the reel going off and they run back to their reel to fish it in.

That's because those guys running to their reels on telly are usually using circle hooks where the fish basically hooks itself under drag pressure.

Sometimes the fish hit baits hard and will hook themselves,other times they nibble at it and you need to be patient and let them swallow the bait before lifting the rod tip up swiftly for the hookup.

I usually hold my rod tip up at a 45deg angle and when I feel the bite drop it down to give the fish some slack line for a few seconds,then lift the rod up and 9 times out of ten the fish is on.Practice different things.

2) For land based fishing around Sydney what is the best bait to use for Bream and Snapper? Please list fresh baits and servo baits. Also what setup rig should be good for these species?

There is no best bait,it depends on what they prefer on the day.Sometimes it will be prawns,others it will be pillys etc.

I would take a few baits like pillys,prawns,squid etc and try different baits to see what works on the day.

I've caught bream and pan sized snapper using baits like pillys,prawns,whitebait,squid,chicken gut,mullet,salted tailor fillets,etc,etc.

Plenty of guys knock Servo baits but in the end they can and do catch fish.Live or Frozen is superior of course but don't be fooled that servo bait won't catch fish because it will.

 

 

3) What is the main thing to do or need to heighten the chances of catching a fish?

This is something I need to do more.Get out there and experiment with various baits,rigs,locations and question everything.

 

 

Thanks guys!

 

[campr]

Best way to increase your catch rate is use best baits.  There is an old fisho saying.  Fresh is better but live is best.  Learning to catch your own bait not only provides bait and saves money but you learn more about how the world of fishes works and you will be a better fisherman. 

Learn to catch yellowtail, slimies and poddy mulet and squid.  And also buy a yabbie pump.  You will also need good buckets and an airator to keep bait alive.  You can freeze left overs for future tripsmain problem sometimes is its so much fun catching the bait you forget to stop and actually fish.

Ron

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

Some great advice above. To improve your catch rate will take time, experimentation and thought. Winds, tides and tiddal movement, swell, moon, time of year, cloud cover are all factors to consider as well as baits, rigs and lure types you use.

Keep trying and when you get fish take a note of the conditions, location etc.

After a while you'll build up a store of experience which will see you able to target the right species with the right baits at a range of locations that will see you having a better than even chance of scoring a feed. It's the challenge of fishing that makes it so interesting and addictive.

Enjoy!

 

KB

 

[antonywardle]

I've found with Bream, hardly any drag and go as light as you can.I use a 1 or 2 running ball sinker down to a swivel. I attach a leader that is as long as my rod and i use a number 2 hook. I've used cook prawns for bait or chicken breast, and berley if I am anchored.

Bream don't like to feel any weight when they pick up the bait so you have to wait until they take off with it. Then when the reel is screaming, you can tighten up the drag and set the hook. The long leader means that if you loose the hook, you can retie with out too much issue. For line, i've been using Berkely trilene 4lb flouro line and this is good enough to also use for the leader.

I have two rods that I have been using, A shimano 2-4 kg spin rod that is about 6ft, and a diawa crossfire 1062 which is also a light spin rod. It takes a bit of getting used to landing a fish that is that long. Reels, I've been using the shimano hyperloop 4000. They are only $34, and if they die, I get another one but keep the spool so that way, I can easily swap lines without respooling.

These setups also work for flathead, but the main difference is that if you do get a flatty, you need to check the leader for wear and retie your hook. They have a rough mouth and can wear through the light line. Just run your fingers down to the hook. You'll notice if it is roughed up.

 

good luck!

[longy509]

On 11/13/2017 at 5:33 PM, daniel ogden said:

1) You can either strike when the fish bites or sometimes the fish will hook itself, you will ind your preffered method by practice.

2) In my opinion, pealed prawns are the best bait for bream especially, you can buy a bag of peeled prawns from Aldi which i find good bait.

3) Main tip to catch more fish is a road question as there are many things but i will name a few. For bait fishing you should berley, this is when you throw in fish bait or fish attractant suh as prawn heads, bread mixed with tuna oil or so on in the water to attract the fish to your area. Also use google maps to find an area you think will hold fish. Fish will always hold around structure or a food source such as rock walls, pylons, jettys, weedbeds, drop offs and so on so aim your spots around areas with these structures.

Hope this helped, goodluck,

Daniel.

Hi, just make sure you prawns are local as some of the ones from oversea contain the White Spot Disease and should not be used for bait from what i have read.

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by longy509