Local Lud #4 and a surprise species

[Little_Flatty]

Popped down to Meadowbank this morning again and got berleying. About ten mins in, I get a down and hook up to a powerful fish, using the current to maximum advantage. Get it close, see it is a decent luderick and then as I get the net out, the hook loses contact. Unlucky, but good to get a down so quickly. Didn't have the time to dummy spit, I baited up again and fished on.

Lose a couple more baits, then about fifteen mins later, I get a down close in. Again a powerful fish, but I fight it a bit more patiently this time. Get a visual and wait a sec...this fish is longer than a usual luderick? No, it can't be...but it is! My first ever weed-caught flathead!

This would have to be as big a surprise as the one topwater flathead I have caught. Whether it thought the weed was a baitfish or it felt like a side of salad with its jelly prawn main course, I'll never know, but I'm prepared to believe either theory.

Then it goes quiet for a bit as I notice the current starting to slow. Getting towards the turn of the tide it seems. Keep berleying, keep drifting. Then I get a down and again feel the weight of a powerful fish. This one stayed deep and put a deep curve in my rod. Hung there letting to rod do the work, then the fish surged close in and huh..I'm snagged? Seems like the fish had dived under a ledge. Thankfully with a bit of judicious rod jiggling I coaxed the fish back out and eventually landed Meadowbank Luderick #4:

One more drift, then that was it for the morning.

Recently I've learned a few lessons about float buoyancy and weighting. Firstly, fishing with a very lightly weighted float, I noticed the bait wasn't sinking as far down the water column, because of the current. My line beneath the float was diagonal in the current. So I got out a heavier ISO float, an 0.8, which I understand is fairly heavy by ISO standards and is used for stronger currents and rock fishing. This was coupled with a heavier 0.8 sized shot (a little larger than pea sized). Weighted this way, the bait sat more neatly beneath the float in the current.

I have some heavier stem floats on order (my home made float project is proving a non-starter thus far). Looking forward to getting them as I find them easier to see at distance.

 

[Burger]

Nicely done!

Ive always thought those bobby style floats must be for younger eyes than mine 😅

[Green Hornet]

Nice going once again Mike. I reckon the flathead mistake the weed for a baitfish, I once caught 3 in 3 casts on the drift and have caught many, hooking up just as I commence winding in.

[Pickles]

Funny what will take weed, I’ve caught Trevally, Tailor and even a Salmon when rock fishing for Blackfish years ago. (I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised as they should “eat their greens” like us, but again like us - prefer a solid chunk of protein - no offence to vegans, but I guess there wouldn’t be too many on the site🥴)
 

Thats a nice flattie Mike and solid blackfish 👍 well done.

Edited November 21 by Pickles

[Burger]

2 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

mistake the weed for a baitfish

I also reckon this is the case.

I’ve caught bream and flatties, hooked a salmon and had a follow from a group of 4 hoodlums.

[bookwa]

Also weed often contains tiny shellfish etc so plenty of protein!

[Burger]

Just now, bookwa said:

weed often contains tiny shellfish

Dad always said bait with ‘critters’ worked better.

[Fried Rice]

Nice catch. That Flatty is so skinny I reckon it would eat just about anything.

[Koalaboi]

I've caught bream, tailor, mullet and a couple of other species on weed or cabbage fishing for blackfish.

I'm with Burger above on using bobby floats. A float with a stem is much easier to see especially on glarey surfaces, the sun in your eyes or when wading or close to the water level.

Keep working on making your own floats, there's a real sense of satisfaction catching fish on homemade gear. I use 1/4 inch dowel for the stem and shape champagne corks using an electric drill clamped in a vice to turn the cork which is predrilled and mounted on a short piece of dowel set in the drill's chuck. A couple of grades of sandpaper to do the shaping work. Best done outside with a mask as there is a lot of dust. You could also use cedar but that's a bit more expensive. I bend stainless steel welding wire to make the eyelets and bind them to the float and finish the bind with araldite, superglue or nail polish. Paint them a colour you like remembering that flat black is easy to see on glarey surfaces. A winery trip away by you or a friend and ask at the tasting bar for old champagne corks and you'll get a lifetime's worth! 

KB

Edited November 22 by Koalaboi

[Little_Flatty]

8 hours ago, Burger said:

Nicely done!

Ive always thought those bobby style floats must be for younger eyes than mine 😅

Cheers Stu, yeah they get hard to see at a distance. I love the simplicity of the ISO matched shot to float size though, it completely eliminates all guesswork.

8 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Nice going once again Mike. I reckon the flathead mistake the weed for a baitfish, I once caught 3 in 3 casts on the drift and have caught many, hooking up just as I commence winding in.

You're probably right Pete. Since starting fly fishing I'm not surprised other fish might see the weed as something else.

8 hours ago, Pickles said:

Funny what will take weed, I’ve caught Trevally, Tailor and even a Salmon when rock fishing for Blackfish years ago. (I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised as they should “eat their greens” like us, but again like us - prefer a solid chunk of protein - no offence to vegans, but I guess there wouldn’t be too many on the site🥴)
 

Thats a nice flattie Mike and solid blackfish 👍 well done.

Always surprises when fishing for the old blackfish Bob! I guess we're always surprised by how other fish might eat weed, just as we may be surprised by a mate going for a salad when at the pub  

5 hours ago, Burger said:

I also reckon this is the case.

I’ve caught bream and flatties, hooked a salmon and had a follow from a group of 4 hoodlums.

I would've panicked if I saw the hoodlums following!

4 hours ago, bookwa said:

Also weed often contains tiny shellfish etc so plenty of protein!

Yes, my weed contains little bugs too, and my tank weed storage seems to be keeping them alive, so that may also be a plausible theory.

2 hours ago, Fried Rice said:

Nice catch. That Flatty is so skinny I reckon it would eat just about anything.

Thanks. Yes, come to think of it, it is a skinny flatty!

2 hours ago, Koalaboi said:

I've caught bream, tailor, mullet and a couple of other species on weed or cabbage fishing for blackfish.

I'm with Burger above on using bobby floats. A float with a stem is much easier to see especially on glarey surfaces, the sun in your eyes or when wading or close to the water level.

Keep working on making your own floats, there's a real sense of satisfaction catching fish on homemade gear. I use 1/4 inch dowel for the stem and shape champagne corks using an electric drill clamped in a vice to turn the cork which is predrilled and mounted on a short piece of dowel set in the drill's chuck. A couple of grades of sandpaper to do the shaping work. Best done outside with a mask as there is a lot of dust. You could also use cedar but that's a bit more expensive. I bend stainless steel welding wire to make the eyelets and bind them to the float and finish the bind with araldite, superglue or nail polish. Paint them a colour you like remembering that flat black is easy to see on glarey surfaces. A winery trip away by you or a friend and ask at the tasting bar for old champagne corks and you'll get a lifetime's worth! 

KB

Thanks KB, yes I have lots of ideas for floats, just not the time to make them! I will definitely get to it though. Infinite scope to experiment, which is something I love doing  

[Burger]

4 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

I would've panicked if I saw the hoodlums following!

Initially, my reaction was YES!! EAT IT!! Then I realised I had 6lb leader and 10lb mainline on a VERY soft rod…. Then I was … NOOOOO!! 

😂😂😂

Oh… and a centrepin too….. 😱😂😂😂

Edited November 22 by Burger

[Little_Flatty]

#5 turned up on a second session yesterday as well...approx 30cm.

Going to stop counting now, but lessons learned are:

• Appropriately sized/weighted floats for the conditions (stronger current mandates a more buoyant float and heavier weights to stay in strike zone) - I didn't know this before!
• Fish close in on the high
• Fish in the current on the running tides.

[big Neil]

I love to read your posts Mike. You are a very busy man but you scrape time to get out and perfect your Blackfishing skills...no easy feat yet you are learning and succeeding to get better at the dark art of Luderick fishing. There is much to learn but you are well on the way to cracking the secret code. I really admire your dedication, aptitude, and results. Well done, bn

[Larkin]

Nice catch yet again Mike!

how far was your weed off the bottom to hook the flatty?

[Little_Flatty]

11 hours ago, big Neil said:

I love to read your posts Mike. You are a very busy man but you scrape time to get out and perfect your Blackfishing skills...no easy feat yet you are learning and succeeding to get better at the dark art of Luderick fishing. There is much to learn but you are well on the way to cracking the secret code. I really admire your dedication, aptitude, and results. Well done, bn

Cheers Neil, yeah it’s been a fun journey. A lot more to come! Just donutted hard this morning in the lower harbour.

24 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Nice catch yet again Mike!

how far was your weed off the bottom to hook the flatty?

Thanks Chris, it was probably about 1.5ft off the bottom, so not far off. The water is deceptively shallow, even though you can’t see the bottom.