Gear advice on sandflats

[faker]

Hi guys,

need some ideas on what type of gear to bring on sandflat to assist with quickly unhooking fish and putting it somewhere without trudging back to my gear and tackle box and bucket on the shore which could be almost 100m away.

Because its not very efficient what i am doing

Edit:should have worded this better What I meant is if there are storage solutions to have gear on water with me and keep fish with me instead of the bucket and tackle box on the shore

Edited May 30, 2023 by faker

[DerekD]

A fishing buddy.....

[Isaac Ct]

Wading bag, good set of pliers. You can put a lot of stuff (including bait) in the pockets of the wading bags.

[kantong]

A small tea towel/glove handy to help handle the fish or wipe your hands after handling fish. A pair of nail clippers I find particularly useful when re-rigging and much cheaper than those fancy scissors to cut line.

[faker]

29 minutes ago, Isaac Ct said:

Wading bag, good set of pliers. You can put a lot of stuff (including bait) in the pockets of the wading bags.

are wading bags like those nets that people keep fish in?

[Rob81]

As others have suggested, wading bag, or you could look into fishing vest, soo many different types to pick and choose from.

[Burger]

1 hour ago, faker said:

are wading bags like those nets that people keep fish in?

No, those are keeper nets. wading bags are like these . . . 

[AlbertW]

2 hours ago, faker said:

Hi guys,

need some ideas on what type of gear to bring on sandflat to assist with quickly unhooking fish and putting it somewhere without trudging back to my gear and tackle box and bucket on the shore which could be almost 100m away.

Because its not very efficient what i am doing

Edit:should have worded this better What I meant is if there are storage solutions to have gear on water with me and keep fish with me instead of the bucket and tackle box on the shore

Keeper net with a plastic bottle half full with water, helps with keeping it afloat

[Green Hornet]

When wading the flats and intending to keep a few, I have a keeper net with a couple of meters of cord tied the drawstring of the net and the other end around my waist or tied to a belt loop. A couple of half hitches in the drawstring around the top of the keeper keeps the fish secure.

It also helps to have a short handled landing net, again clipped to a belt loop, or a set of lip grips handy.

[XD351]

The shoulder bag as pictured above is probably the easiest and cheapest - there are other brands of bag as well which are cheaper  . You could go up market and go to a sling style bag which will give more tackle storage .If you want to go ultra light then a bum bag with some lures ,  leader, snips and pliers in it will see you good and once again if you want to keep a few you need to use a keeper net 

Edited May 30, 2023 by XD351

[Bennyg78]

That alvey bag is the goods, I use it for all my landbased sessions.

I usually have 2-3 tackle trays, pliers, scissors, some leaders,brag mat, ikijime spike and water. I usually have a plastic bag to put fish in after bleeding. I  will have a cooler in the car I will unload fish in.

Getting a bit cool for wading the flats though 🥶

 

[faker]

5 minutes ago, Bennyg78 said:

That alvey bag is the goods, I use it for all my landbased sessions.

I usually have 2-3 tackle trays, pliers, scissors, some leaders,brag mat, ikijime spike and water. I usually have a plastic bag to put fish in after bleeding. I  will have a cooler in the car I will unload fish in.

Getting a bit cool for wading the flats though 🥶

 

well you have to be in it to win it. its not that bad in the afternoon to be fair

[noelm]

I usually just use the bucket on the shore method, with some odds and ends in my pocket, but, now and then I take a keeper net on a string and "tow" it around, but mostly I am not walking for miles unless it's somewhere new.

[XD351]

3 hours ago, Bennyg78 said:

That alvey bag is the goods, I use it for all my landbased sessions.

I usually have 2-3 tackle trays, pliers, scissors, some leaders,brag mat, ikijime spike and water. I usually have a plastic bag to put fish in after bleeding. I  will have a cooler in the car I will unload fish in.

Getting a bit cool for wading the flats though 🥶

 

I agree ! The Crown Jewels don’t like it I can tell ya🤣

[campr]

I have seen a couple of inovative ideas used.  A long metal spike driven into the sand with hooks on top to hold bag and tie on a keeper net.  At Northhaven I have seen some of the  old blokes (like me) tie a light rope to their belt to tow an old baby bath which is used like a small boat to hold their fish and a bit of gear which leaves them free to roam the flats.  Ron 

[wazatherfisherman]

For years I used to have a "Kentucky Fried Chicken" foam surfboard with a cut out for a box and another for a tray for unhooking etc- take anything you want then because you're just towing via a cord attached to your belt, you could even put a cooler bag on (I had a keepnet with net corks around the top instead) "Anchor" was the bottom piece of a 'Totem Tennis' pole tied on to push in the sand as you went, even melted a hole for a rod holder (for re-rigging not fishing). Landing net sat on top instead of hanging off the belt.

Really handy when you walk extensive flats with no dry land for your keys, wallet etc and the tray was good for rigging on as stuff stayed on it rather than rolling off into the water. Surprised someone didn't sell something similar commercially

[Burger]

14 hours ago, wazatherfisherman said:

I used to have a "Kentucky Fried Chicken" foam surfboard

I remember those!  Showing your age Waza 🤣

Edited May 31, 2023 by Burger

[chris_55]

This came up in my FB feed today from TT lures Qld

[XD351]

They did a video on YouTube as well , has some interesting features especially the rod holder !
I couldn’t see them on their website so no idea of price .

I have a Daiwa one and it is plentiful big enough for me , there are a few other brands out there which cost less but finding places that have stock was difficult .

[JonD]

I use a shoulder pack with my gear. I don't need such things as rod holders as Im always holding the rod and working it. When I catch a fish and unhook it I slip the rod under the shoulder strap to keep it out of the water. You don't need to carry much gear, most people have bags of stuff they just carry around incase, where I make the most of the small amount I carry.

[Little_Flatty]

47 minutes ago, JonD said:

You don't need to carry much gear, most people have bags of stuff they just carry around incase, where I make the most of the small amount I carry.

Absolutely agree! I have a waist pack where I carry a small amount of gear and my net. Every now and again it gets a few things added here and there 'just in case' and then it starts bloating and gets heavier and heavier. Occasionally I do a big purge and get everything out and start again. My target is 2-3 choices of lure + relevant hooks/weights.

Presently I'm on a lure purchase ban (entirely voluntary, so please don't be concerned 🤣). I have so many lures I bought because they looked cool or because they were sold for a good price, but never get used. Right now my randomly pulled out lures include a bunch of 3 and 5 inch Z-man Diezel Minnows. I never use them (I believe they are cursed - story to come!), so that's all I have put in my tackle pack, along with the relevant hooks/weights required. I'm going to fish with them until they are all gone, or they become my favourite lure - whatever comes first.

@faker One thing to keep in mind is how tall you are vs how deep you want to wade. I'm pretty tall, but I have waded to a point where a waist pack starts to kiss the water. No place for smartphones, that's for sure! I have occasionally put phones on waterproof lanyards around my neck. You wouldn't want to spend a lot of time past waist height under normal fishing scenarios, but sometimes it is required to cross channels on the way to sand flats, etc (please exercise good judgement however!)

[mrsswordfisherman]

Breaking News 

Swordie is on a permanent lure, rods, reels, leader, braid, anything tackle and boat ban. 
Enforced by me who MUST be obeyed. 
Don’t be concerned 🤣🤣 @Little_Flatty

mrsswordie 

 

[faker]

4 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Absolutely agree! I have a waist pack where I carry a small amount of gear and my net. Every now and again it gets a few things added here and there 'just in case' and then it starts bloating and gets heavier and heavier. Occasionally I do a big purge and get everything out and start again. My target is 2-3 choices of lure + relevant hooks/weights.

Presently I'm on a lure purchase ban (entirely voluntary, so please don't be concerned 🤣). I have so many lures I bought because they looked cool or because they were sold for a good price, but never get used. Right now my randomly pulled out lures include a bunch of 3 and 5 inch Z-man Diezel Minnows. I never use them (I believe they are cursed - story to come!), so that's all I have put in my tackle pack, along with the relevant hooks/weights required. I'm going to fish with them until they are all gone, or they become my favourite lure - whatever comes first.

@faker One thing to keep in mind is how tall you are vs how deep you want to wade. I'm pretty tall, but I have waded to a point where a waist pack starts to kiss the water. No place for smartphones, that's for sure! I have occasionally put phones on waterproof lanyards around my neck. You wouldn't want to spend a lot of time past waist height under normal fishing scenarios, but sometimes it is required to cross channels on the way to sand flats, etc (please exercise good judgement however!)

I won;t go beyond knee deep honestly. Lets face it flathead and bream only need waist deep. all you need it Knee deep water to cast into the drop-offs.

On The other hand regarding gear. I think i am pretty well stocked on soft plastics for a while due to the some clearances occurring and i got some good Daiwa infeet cranks and spikes for $5 and a pencil lure for $2.(Helps when you swing by your tackle store Whenever you past to go bin diving). I reckon i have large enough range jigheads now too

I am more concerned about getting techniques to be consistent in catching. What I didn;t mention in narrabeen report was that I lost several fish from bites and reacting slower to bites. I probably need to work on fishing deeper water as well because its easy to hop SP and slow roll it near bottom in shallow water but I deeper water like 3-6 m is harder to work out