LB Sharking Q

[MoparKevUk]

Hello Peeps!

I have the casting range to get amongst the grey suited fellas in the river but am getting confusing info as regards bait deployment. Peeps are saying to keep the bait off the bottom, but can one cast a balloon a mile? and then what stops it getting drawn back into shore by the current? Would like some LB sharkers to give me the go on live and dead bait deployment for sharks in the river (IE a running current condition) Probably using mullet fillet as I'm unsure of legal sizes for livvies but have only ever caught little ones anyways!!! Would line-trace-big sinker-wire trace-ganged hooks streamlined mullet be the go? Can eels be bought? TIA!

[raven]

I'd be interested in replies also... I've received differing views in regards to bait on the bottom vs floating. Some say the bullies will scavenge the bottom (which no doubt they do) but I've also been told that they more often than not are looking towards the surface to round up bait fish, hence floating baits out.

But yeah, I'm in the same boat (bad pun) in that I'm stuck land based and ones ability to cast a balloon is limited and in a running current its sitting next to you on the shore in no time...

[fishingfon]

most people use a rig with out a balloon just a sinker, the rig i use is 14lb to 20lb main line, 5ft 40lb mono trace(incase the shark tail wraps and also you want the main line to be away from the sharks skin), size 3 to 6 ball sinker depending on current, 2ft 40lb to 150lb plastic coated wire (depending on size of shark you are targeting), size 6/0-8/0 hook depending on size of bait and size of shark you are targeting, as for bait i use harf a mullet, ( i find that they last longer then fillets)

Here is a Article by someone by the name of Neil Schultz,
/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/tacklebox/helpful-articles/255-light-tackle-shark-fishing

good luck Corey

[tomca]

I just use a live bream or catfish on a 2 hook wire rig, no weight.

[MoparKevUk]

All well and good but I don't often catch a Bream of legal size!!! Thanks for all the other tips. And Tomca, what stops the fish swimming inshore or off and about tangling other's lines??? I have more or less memorised that shark link I've read it so much over the last few years. Excellent advice, but just needed to fine tune the specifics, ie no word on sinkers and where it is placed in the rig, other than that fantastic!! I will also have to pay more attention to hook sizes and sinker sizes in my fleeting trips to the fisho section in Kmart when the missus ain't looking! At the moment i just buy what looks the right size!!!! I wouldn't know a Size 6 from a size 0 sinker even if it hit me in the head as I thoughtlessly trawled me trawler past the jetty at Colmslie......

Next Q; Bulimba or Colmslie?

[tomca]

Kev, I've had sharks smash livies at my feet and once a cattie bait was chased to the surface out in the middle of the river and smashed like a popper. Bream and catfish behave pretty well, but mullet make a nice crochet pattern out of a couple of set lines in no time at all.

once the river settles, I'll be down to the middle section of the river after work quite regularly, and I'll shoot you a PM

[ellicat]

Kev, ....., but mullet make a nice crochet pattern out of a couple of set lines in no time at all.

....

Sounds like someone's been making booties :S At least I hope that's why you had crocheting on your mind :laugh:

Forget the ballooning idea where landbased in the lower reaches of the river. Too many frustrations and obstacles to deal with.

[tomca]

The only time I use a balloon is to hold my livies up for a stray mackeral or cobia, and thats not in the river (usually) :whistle:

[Simon Harmon]

Hey boys,

Definitely put all your baits on the bottom. Big, fresh dead mullet or livies. Its pretty hard to use a balloon in the river land-based. The idea of a balloon is to let the wind catch it, which will then take the bait out into the wind current. The bigger the balloon, the faster the bait goes out. In areas where the current runs, bottles filled with water work much better, as they float just below the surface, and are not affected by wind.

Cheers

[Fishguts]

yeh man as simon said,baits down and depending where ur fishing id use eel (and im pretty sure they cant be bought) bcoz mullet disapper from peckers real fast,BUT at the same time mullet is a great bait,it just seems to survive longer in certain areas.When im fishing estuaries i use a tld25 and i just make a trace the biggest length i can thats castable and if the current is to strong and u have multiple lines out i just wack a 14oz snapper lead on it.never failed for me

matt

[raven]

Is this what we're talking about when we say eel...?

Caught this on Sunday night whilst targetting Bullies in upper Pine...

[Schilling]

Try the fish markets @ Darra..... They have heaps of random stuff! Plenty of eels and cheap too!!!

[Mr FeLiX]

Try the fish markets @ Darra..... They have heaps of random stuff! Plenty of eels and cheap too!!!

Would that be the one with the big prawn on the sign out front? I've seen Eel in there a few times, wasn't cheap but at $20 plus a kilo

I'll be happier to head to the dam with a handline and pluck a few out. :laugh:

[Simon Harmon]

Hey Fishguts,

With the mullet, if you strap the hook to the outside of the bait and don't pierce the skin at all, they should last a fair bit longer than usual.

Cheers,

Simon

[raven]

I also got a tip to use a darning needle and some dental floss as a means of stitching the bait to the hook - works a treat

[fishingfon]

Was it a common pike of fresh water eel

[MoparKevUk]

Some out there and random comments coming in.....All Good!

Tried my shark rig out down Bulimba Creek (end of Doughboy Parade, Hemmant) last Saturday arvo. First mistake; That area is covered in power lines and so I was loath to try any hard launches on me 9ft pole for fear of carbonising meself! Still managed some side casts with half a mullet nearly to the other bank. After 3hrs of not much action the rod was getting a good tug and a bit of whizz on the baitrunner, but sizing up the conditions I'd vote Catty! The origianal half mullet (tail end) was more or less untouched after the 3hrs. The other half of the brace of mullet was in me crab pot the next day, but that's another no-win story! Now back in the freezer awaiting deployment at Wavebreak this weekend at night on the shark rod. Who's betting a HubCap!!!!!

Tomca! I await the call! (mobile number PM'd!)