redfish71 Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 G'day, can anyone shed some light on where is the best place to pin a fish to use as live bait, and what fish you can use as live bait, i have tried just out of curiosity, but the result was not good , i can only assume that the fish got away, it was only in the water for about a minute and when i reeled it in there was no fish there anymore . Does the livebait require weight or is it better with no weight, any help would be great, cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 What fish are you wanting to targeting with a live bait? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Are u fishin from shore...boat..any current..shallow..deep..target species...too broad a question to answer properly Edited February 26, 2018 by rickmarlin62 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campr Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Need more detail to answer properly. The basics are if drifting or in a fast current you need to secure bait from front of head or bait will spin and drown. I hook fish throgh mouth and out through top of head in front of eyes. Too shallow and bait is ripped off but too deep will kill bait. You can use a 2 hook snelled rig for jewies with 2nd hook lightly pinned near tail. You can also bridle bait in front of eye socket as per marlin fishing. If fishing straight under boat in slow current or with sinker anchored bait you pin bait under dorsal fin not deep enough to touch backbone. Also good for unweighted free swiming bait in slow current. Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 What’s with the font? Looks like a wedding invite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cossie Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 1 hour ago, flatheadluke said: What’s with the font? Looks like a wedding invite. ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 i am fishing from a wharf targeting Flathead with fast current , the channel is not all that deep, i have tried live baiting in the past and had a few near hook ups but whatever is hitting the live bait keeps missing the hook, the first time i live baited i put the hook just behind the head and something struck and all that was left was the head, the second time i tried i pinned the hook a bit more toward the dorsal fin and not a strike at all so next time i might pin the hook through the mouth of the fish between the eyes like you suggested and see how that goes. i really don't know what fish to use as live bait, i have tried Tailor which got hit but no hook up, other than that i don't really know what fish to use and whats legal and whats not as far as size/species goes, will keep persisting and hopefully get a result soon, thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Here is the link to the dpi website that’s tells size and bag limits. https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/fishing-rules-and-regs/saltwater-bag-and-size-limits If you are targeting flathead with live bait, I’d either use poddy mullet or pencil sized yakkas! (Yellowtail Scad) Fishing the shallows I’d use a small float and pin it through the nose. Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Thanks Scratchie will give it a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Thanks everyone for the advice , will give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasponge Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 On 28/02/2018 at 11:24 AM, redfish71 said: i really don't know what fish to use as live bait, i have tried Tailor which got hit but no hook up, other than that i don't really know what fish to use and whats legal and whats not as far as size/species goes Remember, the size limits Scratchie linked apply for fish being used for bait as well. If you're using tailor, they need to be min 30cm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 i just checked out the link on sizes and bag limits etc, wrote it all down so i can remember, catching poddy mullet is going to be tricky , can you use a trap for poddy mullet i didn't see that on that link , would be a lot easier if you could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 traps are legal and easier than with a line...rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasponge Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Traps are legal but there are requirements on size of trap, opening etc. and need a tag. Theoretically, the good ol OJ bottle with a whole cut in the top still needs to comply with DPI rules. https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/fishing-rules-and-regs/perm-prohib-saltwater 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaxland Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 On 2/28/2018 at 11:24 AM, redfish71 said: i am fishing from a wharf targeting Flathead with fast current , the channel is not all that deep, i have tried live baiting in the past and had a few near hook ups but whatever is hitting the live bait keeps missing the hook, the first time i live baited i put the hook just behind the head and something struck and all that was left was the head, the second time i tried i pinned the hook a bit more toward the dorsal fin and not a strike at all so next time i might pin the hook through the mouth of the fish between the eyes like you suggested and see how that goes. i really don't know what fish to use as live bait, i have tried Tailor which got hit but no hook up, other than that i don't really know what fish to use and whats legal and whats not as far as size/species goes, will keep persisting and hopefully get a result soon, thanks for the advice. could well be tailor that take your bait. Flathead are ambush predators and less likely to chase bait however you could try a paternoster rig with a heavy sinker and a two hook snelled rig. Learn the rules re fish size to both protect our fishery and prevent yourself from getting prosecuted. I have a friend in one of the regulators e.g. WaterPolice, Maritime Services and Fisheries and since the introduction of fishing licences they have more resources and are targeting illegal recreational fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 thanks for the advice, i went to my local wharf the other night and caught a couple of good size Flatties on ganged pillies, that was good fun. On another subject while i was fishing for those flathead, i saw hundreds of Mullet schooling everywhere, they were not taking baits of any kind, i don't know what they were doing there i have never seen them there before, they have appeared the last couple of nights on the low tide near the surface it looks like they were gulping air ,it was really weird, just out a bit further there were big bust ups maybe there were Flathead there chasing the mullet i don't really know but it was fascinating to watch though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Schooling up for the spawning run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 plus one spawning run..rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish71 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 its quite amazing the things that go on in the water when i sit there in the quiet of the night with just the wharf lamp lighting the corner of the wharf and mullet jumping in the darkness further out , a big stingray swam past, a large longtom , octopus, all kinds of creatures swim past in the night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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