'Pinned' a Luderick - another first

[Little_Flatty]

Morning Raiders,

Have been experiencing a lot of donuts lately owing to a little project I'm working on, trying to find a luderick in the upper Parra around Meadowbank. My reasons for doing so are to find an easily-accessed (for me anyway) population of fish I can practice and experiment with new methods on. I've had a few hookups to mysterious fish but somehow they have eluded me thus far. Not even a visual!

Meanwhile I've started my first journey towards and all-in commitment to luderick - learning how to use a centrepin! I'm finding the learning curve about the same as when learning how to use a baitcaster, except this time you have to worry about when the line while fishing and also when the line is out of the water - you can get overruns at any time! Casting is proving a little challenging, but with a bit of help from the interweb, I'm getting started.

All that said, from the very first drift I 100% understood why float anglers use them. the line control is next level. You can minutely control the line you have out and trot the float in the current with minimal slack whilst not impeding the float's journey down the current. You're able to react to downs much more positively than you can with almost any other reel.

This morning I went down to the Banjo Paterson reserve at Gladesville to try to get my first 'pinned' luderick. This time I was fishing a G2 ISO float with a single G2 shot about 8ft down (ISO floats are really user friendly with their standardised shot sizing to pair with float specs). Deployed berley and started the drift.

It was a quiet morning, tried various parts of the wharf for nought, then I decided to drift the float under the wharf. Often this works for me. After about a minute, I got a down and struck. The rod heaved under the weight of a good fish and I realised that the human-controlled drag system wasn't working all that well (because of the human).

Anyhow, after a bit of mucking around waiting for the green fish to be not so green, I netted a nice luderick:

After that it was time to head home.

Hoping to get more as the week progresses.

Mike

[Burger]

You can’t go past the purity of pin fishing. Well done, but brave going under the wharf 😅

[saltrix]

Nice fish, I hope you enjoy lots of black fishing as they seem to be around often.

[Robbo from Sydney]

30 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Morning Raiders,

Have been experiencing a lot of donuts lately owing to a little project I'm working on, trying to find a luderick in the upper Parra around Meadowbank. My reasons for doing so are to find an easily-accessed (for me anyway) population of fish I can practice and experiment with new methods on. I've had a few hookups to mysterious fish but somehow they have eluded me thus far. Not even a visual!

Meanwhile I've started my first journey towards and all-in commitment to luderick - learning how to use a centrepin! I'm finding the learning curve about the same as when learning how to use a baitcaster, except this time you have to worry about when the line while fishing and also when the line is out of the water - you can get overruns at any time! Casting is proving a little challenging, but with a bit of help from the interweb, I'm getting started.

All that said, from the very first drift I 100% understood why float anglers use them. the line control is next level. You can minutely control the line you have out and trot the float in the current with minimal slack whilst not impeding the float's journey down the current. You're able to react to downs much more positively than you can with almost any other reel.

This morning I went down to the Banjo Paterson reserve at Gladesville to try to get my first 'pinned' luderick. This time I was fishing a G2 ISO float with a single G2 shot about 8ft down (ISO floats are really user friendly with their standardised shot sizing to pair with float specs). Deployed berley and started the drift.

It was a quiet morning, tried various parts of the wharf for nought, then I decided to drift the float under the wharf. Often this works for me. After about a minute, I got a down and struck. The rod heaved under the weight of a good fish and I realised that the human-controlled drag system wasn't working all that well (because of the human).

Anyhow, after a bit of mucking around waiting for the green fish to be not so green, I netted a nice luderick:

After that it was time to head home.

Hoping to get more as the week progresses.

Mike

Well done - that is a good fish!!

[Green Hornet]

Nice going Mike. That’s a terrific looking outfit you have. I have the same rod that I had built with a few personal touches and it’s a personal favorite for the river.

Though I really enjoy fishing the traditional way, curiosity has got the better of me and I’ll have to google ISO floats.

[lhan]

That's a good fish Mike. The spot looks really promising I'll definitely give it a go for topwater soon.

[XD351]

Top effort and nice fish ! Can’t say i have ever heard of anyone fishing for them up past putney . When the fish kill happened a couple of years back i remember seeing quite a few dead ones in one video i watched and this was shot between meadowbank and rydalmere so i guess they must be in there . 
Maybe try meadowbank and rydalmere ferry wharves ? I know the current rips through there so maybe last couple of hours of the run in tide. 

Wouldn’t be surprised if the rivercat has scoured out some holes around the front of the wharf .

Edited November 6 by XD351

[Ryder]

Well done Mike. I’m sure the human drag system will improve, it’s a great feeling being in direct contact with the fish like that.

Most problems for me learning to use that type of reel came from overruns when casting or not putting the ratchet on when I put the rod down.

[XD351]

26 minutes ago, Ryder said:

Well done Mike. I’m sure the human drag system will improve, it’s a great feeling being in direct contact with the fish like that.

Most problems for me learning to use that type of reel came from overruns when casting or not putting the ratchet on when I put the rod down.

Casting a centrepin seemed all to hard for me so i use the alvey reel - i want to fish not pull my hair out 🤣🤣🤣

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, Burger said:

You can’t go past the purity of pin fishing. Well done, but brave going under the wharf 😅

I don’t know any better 🤣 Fishing 4lb leader too!😱

2 hours ago, saltrix said:

Nice fish, I hope you enjoy lots of black fishing as they seem to be around often.

Thanks, they certainly are plentiful and easy to find…but not always easy to catch as I’m discovering…and that’s a good thing because it makes it fun 😎

2 hours ago, Robbo from Sydney said:

Well done - that is a good fish!!

Cheers Robbo. It was a great tussle.

2 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Nice going Mike. That’s a terrific looking outfit you have. I have the same rod that I had built with a few personal touches and it’s a personal favorite for the river.

Though I really enjoy fishing the traditional way, curiosity has got the better of me and I’ll have to google ISO floats.

Cheers Pete, ISO floats are essentially  very delicately weighted bobby corks. The floats themselves are weighted (I presume for casting) and only require one shot of the appropriate size to balance it. G2 is pretty delicate (more delicate than even a quill float), 3B or 2B is a bit heavier and good for the harbour in places without too much current and 0.8 and heavier is good for the ocean rocks as I understand it. I’m no expert, there’s a few ISO proponents in this community.

I love my outfit: it’s a 3 wrap Gary Howard Estuary with an NGT dynamic centrepin, spooled with HDF charisma floating mono. So light and good for luderick fishing.

1 hour ago, Ryder said:

Well done Mike. I’m sure the human drag system will improve, it’s a great feeling being in direct contact with the fish like that.

Most problems for me learning to use that type of reel came from overruns when casting or not putting the ratchet on when I put the rod down.

Cheers Ryder, yes practice makes perfect! That damn ratchet…I get more overruns when baiting up rather than casting!🤣 The ratchet on my reel is rather stiff, which is good because I can keep my rod rigged. I don’t need it as a bite alarm.

1 hour ago, lhan said:

That's a good fish Mike. The spot looks really promising I'll definitely give it a go for topwater soon.

It sure looks the goods Henry. Give it a shot.

1 hour ago, XD351 said:

Top effort and nice fish ! Can’t say i have ever heard of anyone fishing for them up past putney . When the fish kill happened a couple of years back i remember seeing quite a few dead ones in one video i watched and this was shot between meadowbank and rydalmere so i guess they must be in there . 
Maybe try meadowbank and rydalmere ferry wharves ? I know the current rips through there so maybe last couple of hours of the run in tide. 

Yeah that’s what I was discussing with the staff at the local tackle shop. I’ve found some weed eating fish (the only one I landed was a bream!), so I’ll keep persisting for a bit.

54 minutes ago, XD351 said:

Casting a centrepin seemed all to hard for me so i use the alvey reel - i want to fish not pull my hair out 🤣🤣🤣

Agreed, but line twist was also causing me to tear my hair out so I’ll see how this goes. No idea what’s going on because I know how to spool a reel and I don’t normally have line twist issues. I don’t really cast that far with luderick anyway, so the casting difficulties don’t really feature for me.

[noelm]

Love doing new “stuff” whether it be fooling around with the fly rod, using a centre pin, or an Alvey off the beach, using a new type of lure, the actual “fishing” can be quite rewarding in a lot of ways.

[Yowie]

Nice work Mike. Tried the centrepin reels as a kid (not too long ago  🤣 ) and after a bit of practice, you do get used to them. As you said, a bit better with line control after time using them.

[Little_Flatty]

1 hour ago, noelm said:

Love doing new “stuff” whether it be fooling around with the fly rod, using a centre pin, or an Alvey off the beach, using a new type of lure, the actual “fishing” can be quite rewarding in a lot of ways.

It sure is rewarding Noel. I’m just grateful for all the different opportunities I have right on my doorstep.

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Nice work Mike. Tried the centrepin reels as a kid (not too long ago  🤣 ) and after a bit of practice, you do get used to them. As you said, a bit better with line control after time using them.

Cheers Dave, hopefully the learning curve will be fun. I’m already seeing the benefits.

[Fishingwazza2019]

Hi Mike.

Love the report. I use to do a lot of fishing for blackfish and understand the challenges using the rig you have .. I have the same.
Keep telling myself to get out again (most of my fishing these days is offshore) so your report makes me think I should. 
Thks , and a nice fish . 

Cheers 

Warren

[Little_Flatty]

8 minutes ago, Fishingwazza2019 said:

Hi Mike.

Love the report. I use to do a lot of fishing for blackfish and understand the challenges using the rig you have .. I have the same.
Keep telling myself to get out again (most of my fishing these days is offshore) so your report makes me think I should. 
Thks , and a nice fish . 

Cheers 

Warren

Thanks Warren,

Until 2 years ago I was almost exclusively fishing artificials, and had been more than 20 years. It's kind of funny how my path started out with bread and butter bait fishing, then lures for 20 years then fly for the past couple which then led me to luderick the traditional way. I still love my lure and fly fishing, but there's something real addictive about fishing floats and weed baits.

It's a great option when offshore is not an option owing to weather!

[Koalaboi]

The trick to casting with a centrepin is to release the spool/line a little earlier than you would with other reels. Start gently by bringing your rod behind you, release the spool and cast. At this stage it will be a little too early a release but, as you gain practice, the exact moment will become clear. Stop the spool as soon as your float hits the water to prevent an overrun.
Practise gently at first before trying to cast a long distance. In time you will develop backhanded and one handed casts from both your right and left sides.

KB

[Little_Flatty]

32 minutes ago, Koalaboi said:

The trick to casting with a centrepin is to release the spool/line a little earlier than you would with other reels. Start gently by bringing your rod behind you, release the spool and cast. At this stage it will be a little too early a release but, as you gain practice, the exact moment will become clear. Stop the spool as soon as your float hits the water to prevent an overrun.
Practise gently at first before trying to cast a long distance. In time you will develop backhanded and one handed casts from both your right and left sides.

KB

Thanks for the tips KB. I’ll give it a shot.

[Larkin]

Well done Mike! And a decent sized one too.
Isn’t it nice when you have a plan and it bears fruit. 
Reading your reports over the last few years it’s like you’ve been working through the fisherman’s handbook. Lure making, fly tying, top water, mate you’ve gone through so many different types of fishing - another skill learned! 👍

[Little_Flatty]

17 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Well done Mike! And a decent sized one too.
Isn’t it nice when you have a plan and it bears fruit. 
Reading your reports over the last few years it’s like you’ve been working through the fisherman’s handbook. Lure making, fly tying, top water, mate you’ve gone through so many different types of fishing - another skill learned! 👍

Cheers Chris, I guess so! JetSki fishing still isn’t on the plan at this point in time though…I think I’ll just live vicariously through you😎

[big Neil]

Your post fills me with delight Mike. We all seek to use angling to fulfill particular needs that we have in our lives. In your case, I suspect, you have very little time to apply to your projects so you chip away bit by bit...aim being to become highly proficient. What could be more difficult than the "dark side practice" called Luderick fishing. You know where the goal is, all you have to do is figure out how to beat the timeframe odds and get the ball in the net.

You have scored the first goal, now you will need to keep challenging yourself. Though your time is limited, you will get there, and reap the rewards from the journey.

I will look forward to reading more of your challenges.

bn

[XD351]

2 hours ago, Larkin said:

Well done Mike! And a decent sized one too.
Isn’t it nice when you have a plan and it bears fruit. 
Reading your reports over the last few years it’s like you’ve been working through the fisherman’s handbook. Lure making, fly tying, top water, mate you’ve gone through so many different types of fishing - another skill learned! 👍

I think we need to chip in and buy Mike a chocolate wheel- with all the fishing stuff he has got himself into over the last few years there will come a point where Mike won’t be able to make up his mind what he wants to do on any given day !( don’t  ask how I know this I just do ) The solution is the fantastic fishing wheel of fortune ! 🤣🤣🤣

[Burger]

2 hours ago, XD351 said:

( don’t  ask how I know this I just do )

😂😂😂

[Little_Flatty]

4 hours ago, big Neil said:

Your post fills me with delight Mike. We all seek to use angling to fulfill particular needs that we have in our lives. In your case, I suspect, you have very little time to apply to your projects so you chip away bit by bit...aim being to become highly proficient. What could be more difficult than the "dark side practice" called Luderick fishing. You know where the goal is, all you have to do is figure out how to beat the timeframe odds and get the ball in the net.

You have scored the first goal, now you will need to keep challenging yourself. Though your time is limited, you will get there, and reap the rewards from the journey.

I will look forward to reading more of your challenges.

bn

Thanks Neil, I have plenty of time, it’s just in little packets here and there and I’m fortunate enough to be close enough to water to use it for fishing. Many more adventures to come!

3 hours ago, XD351 said:

I think we need to chip in and buy Mike a chocolate wheel- with all the fishing stuff he has got himself into over the last few years there will come a point where Mike won’t be able to make up his mind what he wants to do on any given day !( don’t  ask how I know this I just do ) The solution is the fantastic fishing wheel of fortune ! 🤣🤣🤣

Hahaa I do have some problems deciding what to do sometimes…so many options, though the species aren’t necessarily glamorous in the eyes of many.