Catching my first tailor

[linewetter]

I have lost my precious after work fishing time recently due to a return to the office mandate.   Today was the sparkle that made my week a little better - no one was around the office so I left work a little early to go fishing.  

I checked the tides and figured I'd give somewhere different a shot than my usual after work spot.  I had been there before throughout a rising and falling tide so have been able to observe the landscape both at low and high tide and knew what the minimum tide height would be for good fishing.  It was a longer trip out which means less fishing time so I was hoping it would be a productive 45 mins spent fishing to make it worth the extra 7 min drive.  The minutes count when you only have double digit minutes to fish!!! 

 

I got to the spot and started to tie my tackle.  Today I was trying out some crankbaits I bought.  I haven't really used these before so was pretty excited to test them out.  I had some name brand ones like the Jackall chubby and some cheaper generic ones I got online.  I decided on this occasion to tie on the cheaper generic one.  Here's where I went wrong first honestly.  I tied my uniknot to a mini snap and it ended up being dodgy knot and I knew it.  But to hell with it I say, the clock is ticking.  I walk around casting a dozen or so times and actually got some interest!  No fish hooked though, so I continued walking and casting.  About 10 minutes into the session I hook onto something!  It's small, it's shaking vigorously, and as it got closer I could see a swarm of the same fish following and surrounding, trying to get a piece of the pie.  I pulled up the fish and it was my very first tailor:

 

I've always heard that tailor will hit anything.  It was interesting to see how the others were following the lure and hooked fish too.  I have heard that pelagics will do that, where they see action going on and want to get in on it too.  I unhooked the fish and with this thought in mind, cast in the same general area I just pulled the fish out of.  I got a couple of hits still actually but nothing that connected.  I went for my next cast and felt the dreaded weightless cast.  I watched my lure go into the water but something didn't feel right...I look up at the rod tip and the line was limp.  My dodgy uniknot failed.  I could tell because I could still see a part of the knot at the end of my leader.  Well, I'm a glass half full kind of guy so at least I only lost a cheaper $5 lure instead of the name brand one that would've cost me $20!  

This was a floating crankbait so I could see the lure on the water surface.  I hurried to tie on something to try and bring it in.  I decided on tying on a Daiwa slippery dog because it was the biggest lure I had at the moment and seems like it had the most potential to be able to snag it back in.  After 3 unsuccessful casts, it was getting too far for me to see anymore.  I looked at my watch.  The clock was still ticking.  Whatever I told myself.  It's a $5 lure.  I'll buy another one instead of wasting precious fishing time trying to get this one back.  Besides, imagine if I lost this $25 lure trying to save a $5 lure... 

I swapped lures onto another one of the generic crankbaits.  They're cheap but they worked really dang well in terms of its action.  I had a couple of casts just trying out different retrieves.  On my next cast, as soon as the lure hit the water, there was a big splash and I was on!  This time it was a slightly bigger fish since it even had the power to pull a little drag.  I retrieved it in and it was my second tailor! 

 

This was turning out to be a nice little surprise of a session.  After a few more casts, I moved towards some pylons to cast at.  It was here that I managed to get my line & lure tangled on some bushes down below the shore.  I tried to untangle it and shake it around a little to get it loose and ended up breaking off my line.  Great...  Good thing the bush wasn't too far, so I was able to reach down and get my lure back.  I took this as a sign that I should switch to soft plastics and not risk losing another crankbait.  At least if I lose a jighead and a plastic, it's only like $2 I reassured myself.

I tied on a new leader and now I only had 10 mins left to fish.  I started to make my way back to the car while casting and walking along slowly.  I was hoping to hook onto a flathead since the conditions seemed right for it.  After several casts with no luck, I threw one in front of me in the shallows and had a big splash at the surface!  I don't know what it was but the splash was big.  I recast past the area and retrieved my lure over the same splash zone but whatever it was, was gone.  Oh well.  I looked at my watch again and it was time to go.  I had one last rushed cast and mistake number two...I threw the dang lure into an overhanging tree - in my rush I only checked around me to make sure no one was in my casting vicinity but didn't think to look up.  I tried to get the lure back but it was a lost cause.  I was happy at least it was only a jighead and plastic and not another crankbait at least...glass half full.  

Lesson learned for the day...fast is slow and slow is fast!  Even when it comes to fishing!  If I wasn't in such a rush, I would've retied my uniknot in the beginning and I would've taken in more of my surroundings on the last cast.  I normally would have done both as a best practice, just this time I let the rush get the best of me.  Happy to have hooked onto my first tailor at the end of the day, I have always wanted to catch one and now that's another one off the list. 

As an aside, I saw a ton of big mullet in the water.  I've thrown white bread at them before, both fluffy & balled up, and none ever seemed interested.  Mullet is another fish I want to catch and I just haven't had luck with enticing them with bread.  If anyone has any other suggestions on hooking onto them, I am all ears.  It was interesting watching them in the water.  I feel like they're one of the more interesting fish to just stand there and watch.  They'll make seemingly mindless circles around stuff and I've noticed now at this particular place, they all seem to love a specific rock in the water.  There's tons of rocks and structure around but for some reason, there'll be literally dozens of mullet crowding against each other to hang out at this one specific rock even though there's plenty of other rocks around this rock.  Maybe they're like sheep and just follow the leader.

[Yowie]

Another saying - haste makes waste. Just take your time and don't rush things.

The mullet would be most likely sea mullet. Rarely do they bite. That particular rock may have certain weed growths they like to eat. One has a go and the others follow - yes, like sheep.

[DrRaymondSnapper]

It takes character to admit to making mistakes when knot tying or casting into structures. Don`t worry , we all still do it , no matter how much fishing experience we have or how much we try to deny it. . The trick is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them in the future. Unfortunately , errors will still occur , but it just means there will hopefully be less of them. Losing fish and fishing gear is all part of the " fun " of the sport. Don`t forget , the more you fish the more you learn. Congratulations on the first of many tailor to come.

[dirvin21]

sounds like a fun little session, tailor are a great species to help hone your lure skills especially with hardbodies. Prolure have a good 38mm crank, they're way cheaper than chubbies and work really well 

[Little_Flatty]

Nice one @linewetter. How you have avoided tailor so far beggars belief! They are the bane of my existence, especially at that size!

Yes, those return to office mandates are becoming increasingly common. Not sure where your office is, but if it’s near water, maybe you could take the chance to fish new waters!

I used to work in north Sydney overlooking the harbour. My then boss (also a mad keen fisho) and I used to think it was torture when we could see fish busting up in the distance!

[Yowie]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

I used to work in north Sydney overlooking the harbour. My then boss (also a mad keen fisho) and I used to think it was torture when we could see fish busting up in the distance!

[linewetter]

8 hours ago, Yowie said:

Another saying - haste makes waste. Just take your time and don't rush things.

The mullet would be most likely sea mullet. Rarely do they bite. That particular rock may have certain weed growths they like to eat. One has a go and the others follow - yes, like sheep.

Interesting…I’ll have to do some more research and observation next time I’m there. Maybe I can spot the weed and forage for it elsewhere and try catching them on that - they’ve gotta eat at some point. There’s just so many big ones in the water, I would love to catch one 

[linewetter]

8 hours ago, DrRaymondSnapper said:

It takes character to admit to making mistakes when knot tying or casting into structures. Don`t worry , we all still do it , no matter how much fishing experience we have or how much we try to deny it. . The trick is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them in the future. Unfortunately , errors will still occur , but it just means there will hopefully be less of them. Losing fish and fishing gear is all part of the " fun " of the sport. Don`t forget , the more you fish the more you learn. Congratulations on the first of many tailor to come.

I’ve lost a couple lures now due to dodgy knots. Every time I’m like okay I’m never letting a dodgy knot go again 😂 I’ve stocked up on a lot of jigheads on clearance over time so nowadays losing those at least does not hurt as bad - usually costs me around $1 if I get snagged, with most of the cost coming from the soft plastic. 

[linewetter]

7 hours ago, dirvin21 said:

sounds like a fun little session, tailor are a great species to help hone your lure skills especially with hardbodies. Prolure have a good 38mm crank, they're way cheaper than chubbies and work really well 

Great recommendation. I’ll give them a look the next time I’m in the tackle shop - maybe this weekend since the weather is quite poor for fishing. So far I’ve been enjoying the crank baits, though the whippy rod I’m using does dull the sensation for when the crank hits a snag though. My stiffer rod I didn’t bring out since I heard softer action is better for hardbodies to avoid pulling the trebles. 

[linewetter]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

Nice one @linewetter. How you have avoided tailor so far beggars belief! They are the bane of my existence, especially at that size!

Yes, those return to office mandates are becoming increasingly common. Not sure where your office is, but if it’s near water, maybe you could take the chance to fish new waters!

I used to work in north Sydney overlooking the harbour. My then boss (also a mad keen fisho) and I used to think it was torture when we could see fish busting up in the distance!

Unfortunately my office is not near any fishable water at all 🫥 the closest is Lane Cove River but would have to go a long way to access the fishable part since a good portion of it is restricted for bank fishing. I do want to give the allowable upper waters of the river a shot one day though as an exploratory trip - just not sure how good the fishing is or if the water level is good. Google maps makes it seem quite skinny.

I don’t know how I’ve avoided tailor for this long but it made me want to catch them that much more because they seem to plague everyone else 🤣

[lhan]

Sounds like a fun session! If it comforts you, I lost @DerekD's bent minnow on the first cast when I was having the first session with him. Good side is I always open bail arm before casting now, 1000%.

[Little_Flatty]

51 minutes ago, linewetter said:

Unfortunately my office is not near any fishable water at all 🫥 the closest is Lane Cove River but would have to go a long way to access the fishable part since a good portion of it is restricted for bank fishing. I do want to give the allowable upper waters of the river a shot one day though as an exploratory trip - just not sure how good the fishing is or if the water level is good. Google maps makes it seem quite skinny.

I don’t know how I’ve avoided tailor for this long but it made me want to catch them that much more because they seem to plague everyone else 🤣

I believe there are some bass to be found in those fishable upper reaches, but you’ll need to work for them. Plenty of bush bashing and you probably don’t want to be there at low light periods for safety reasons/insects etc.

A big tailor > 50cm is a real thrill on light tackle.

[linewetter]

2 hours ago, lhan said:

Sounds like a fun session! If it comforts you, I lost @DerekD's bent minnow on the first cast when I was having the first session with him. Good side is I always open bail arm before casting now, 1000%.

Haha I have nearly lost one of his lures as well on accident into a tree…I casted forward but somehow it went a mile into the sky and got into a tree. Luckily we were able to get it back! I’m blaming the wind on that one 😄

[linewetter]

2 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

I believe there are some bass to be found in those fishable upper reaches, but you’ll need to work for them. Plenty of bush bashing and you probably don’t want to be there at low light periods for safety reasons/insects etc.

A big tailor > 50cm is a real thrill on light tackle.

I have yet to catch a bass and have been really wanting to catch one of those too - especially out in the wild like that. I’ve bought myself a snake bite/first aid kit from the Easter show recently and now I’m more confident in going out there into the bush. My last experience with the leeches and insects out in the bush left me feeling woefully ill prepared! 

[faker]

Nice chill session. Oddly enough I have not seen a single tailor off the ocean rocks.

This is abnormal for me, I have seen endless bonnies

[DerekD]

3 hours ago, lhan said:

Sounds like a fun session! If it comforts you, I lost @DerekD's bent minnow on the first cast when I was having the first session with him. Good side is I always open bail arm before casting now, 1000%.

And he bought me a replacement which shows to me @lhan has had an excellent upbringing and moral fiber. He is also a lot of fun to fish with too.

[Steve0]

When they are on, Tailor are great fun at almost any size. You definitely should not waste expensive lures chasing Tailor, but most cheap lures have rubbish hooks and rings. I recommend, replacing standard trebles and rings with high quality single hooks and rings. Why singles? They won't reduce you hookup rate, hold well  and make fish a lot easier and quicker to unhook. They are also safer for you and fish you  release.  Tailor's teeth are razor sharp and a school in a feeding frenzy will attack whatever they see in the water, including leader knots, rings, swivels, surface bubbles caused by line moving through water. Cast at the edge of schools to minimise these problems. Check the business end of you line occasionally to ensure you have no nicks.     

Metal lures give casting distance. Chrome slices and Stingers are usually available in a common department store that sells tackle. 

[linewetter]

4 hours ago, Steve0 said:

When they are on, Tailor are great fun at almost any size. You definitely should not waste expensive lures chasing Tailor, but most cheap lures have rubbish hooks and rings. I recommend, replacing standard trebles and rings with high quality single hooks and rings. Why singles? They won't reduce you hookup rate, hold well  and make fish a lot easier and quicker to unhook. They are also safer for you and fish you  release.  Tailor's teeth are razor sharp and a school in a feeding frenzy will attack whatever they see in the water, including leader knots, rings, swivels, surface bubbles caused by line moving through water. Cast at the edge of schools to minimise these problems. Check the business end of you line occasionally to ensure you have no nicks.     

Metal lures give casting distance. Chrome slices and Stingers are usually available in a common department store that sells tackle. 

I have actually replaced the treble on a Halco twisty I have based off @DerekD's recommendation for the same reasons you list as well.  I haven't caught any fish on it yet but also have hardly spent much time casting it.  With the Halco twisty I worry less about swapping the trebles to a single hook affecting the action, but with the crankbaits, I do have to wonder if it'll negatively affect it.  This session was one of the few times I've caught fish on trebles too and this time it wasn't as hard for me to unhook them, but was noticeably more finicky than a single hook that I'm more used to.  Had to pull out the pliers out of caution so that fish and man did not temporarily become one by being connected by hook.

[Pickles]

A thorough and interesting report @linewetter. It’s a challenge when you’re getting hits (or catching fish) and in a hurry to tie up a new rig. A very xperienced and successful dog handler told me when I started training a new pup “Bob the fastest way to train a dog, is slowly”. Like @Yowiesays “haste makes waste”. I also know what you mean about mullet - good thing is, they herald in the jewfish season (one of their favourite target species)..