Rock Fishing Tips

[zoso]

My girlfriend and I usually fish the local rivers and such but we have lately been having a go at some of the local rock walls (north coast NSW - Ballina, Brunswick Heads). We've been having trouble, generally losing heaps and heaps of tackle on the rocks and I lost a nice big bream this arvo which really annoyed me. The first problem I guess is that we only have two 6' rods and one 9' rod, this is ok because I can generally cast far enough with the 6' rods and I give the bigger one to my girlfriend so she can cast further. The problem has been more that no matter where I cast I ended up washed up on the rocks, it was an outgoing tide and I tried every single spot on the wall but I just kept getting washed back onto the rocks and snagged. Lost $10 of sinkers in the last two days.

So has anyone got any tips on keeping away from those nasty rocks?? A nice fisho down at brunswick told us how to reel in quickly with the rod held high to keep from getting snagged and I've got the hang of this but its more that I can only have the bait in the water for a minute or two before I have to either reel in or end up on the rocks. The thing that really gets to me is that if you leave your line right up close amongst the snags thats where all the fish are!!

We just got home from a second day of throwing tackle into the rocks and no fish

[TunOFun]

Maybe try using a rig with the sinker at the bottom and the hook 30 cm or so above this, but this may not help if the surge is that strong and your getting washed back in all the time.

Maybe a heavier sinker? a sinker shape thats not going to move with the ocean (eg not a ball)?

Good luck

[jewnut]

theres no real foolproof method to avoid snags in bad areas but just remember that fish love structure!!!

a few options i could give you are:

1. Use a float on your main line and adjust the depth of your stopper until you locate what depth the fish are feeding at. Berley up around the float with some mashed bread/pilchards and tuna oil.

2. Dont use a sinker at all or just use a splitshot and fish in close to the wall. as u said you were getting bites close in so the fish are obviously there. If you decide to use a sinker, dont use a swivel-let the sinker run right down on the hook (always use as light a sinker as possible)

3. Against the rules normally but try burying the hookpoint into the bait more to avoid fouling on the bottom.

4. Once youve cast out, walk along the wall as the tide moves your bait along and that way you will always have your line out the desired distance.

5. Buy longer rods. 10ft+ rods will allow you not only cast further if you wish but will give you greater control of a fish when it comes in close. You can also steer them clear of rocks at your feet with a longer rod.

hope this helps and good luck

[Guest lbgking]

Hi Zoso And

Mate go twelve foot. There are plenty of starter options. I started with a 12ft Shimano combo for $70. After many years of abuse and lack of care it is now used as a vistors rod.

Don't even bother with the bottom, there are many pelagics (samon/tailor/bonito/kings/tuna) that are easy pray in the top ten feet of water. Also remember as jewnut pointed out here are plenty of fish at your feet.

good luck

Edited December 18, 2005 by lbgking

[Bashir]

That is what happens on breakwalls mate, to get bream off most walls fish very light and cast out your fresh baits. they will slowly drift back towards the breakwall, once your line looks like its too close, bring it in and repeat the process. Most of the bream will be caught fairly close. 9ft is a minimum I use my 12ft blackfish rod for bream off breakwalls. Jewnut has also given some good avice, in particular point #4 is a great way to fish if the bream are hanging out in the eddies.

[zoso]

Thanks for all the tips guys, some great advice there!

I don't suppose any of you have been the the ballina rock walls?? I swear they are the biggest and longest rock walls I have ever seen in my life! and the break is truly awesome, I got sprayed several times while sitting right up on top which I reckon is about 8m above the water. Needless to say I havent quite built up the courage to go anywhere near the bottom!

Oh well, no fishing for a while thanks to christmas, maybe I'll get a chance to get a bigger fishing stick for my next outing.

My mate landed this 36cm bream on saturday though, so all was not lost.

Sorry for the poor picture quality.

[zoso]

I'm not entirely sure, someone said its a rock cod?

Its a bad photo of it from above but we catch them all the time from the rocks up here and I should put up a decent photo of one to find out because I cant find anything on the internet that really looks like it.

[gbrown1]

Hi

Just to let you konw the fish your have in your photo at the top is a Rock Cale (Crinodus iophodon) and the eating quality is extremely low. Better off returning them to the water.

Gary Brown