If you HAD to catch a fish

[Liquor Box]

If you HAD to catch a fish would you use dead bait, fresh bait, hard bodied lures or soft plastics? TNT is not an option:P

I am curios what you think works best- as opposed to what you enjoy most, some might prefer the action of using lures but not really catch as many as often.

Do different methods produce different sizes? for example is their a method that produces less fish but bigger ones? Is this important to you?

Thanks

[pcsolutionman]

I find live prawns the best alround bait and love the larger prawns 3-4 inches long for big whiting, the little fellers seem to leave the bigger live prawns alone.

Lee

[Feral]

Either a net or a fish trap. In a \"survival situation\" If in a tidal zone, I'd build a rock \"fish wall\" across a small creek that is dry at low tide. Then it will catch fish for you twice a day day in day out!

[Brian D]

Gezz Feral you are such a realist. OK I like the feel of HB's but like you say LB hard bodies feel great but don't always catch fish. Live bait for me is a far better option come survival needs, if for no other reason then using ferals method to catch the bait and then hand line out the livies, then sit and wait. Sure beats working your arse off with Hb's & SP's.

Post edited by: Brian D, at: 2007/06/09 08:44

[rayke1938]

Live bait every time for me after it is the fishes natural prey after all everything else is only a substitute. You also need more skills that i dont have to use the lures and plastics.

Ray

[Feral]

Oh I dunno you seem to do all right with monster bl@@dy barra on hard bodies!

[STU]

I would use plastics because thats what I have caught majority of my fish on over the years

[Plastic Man]

im with stu on this one i have caught fish on bait but i cant keep it away from the little ones i have done much better using lures

Post edited by: Plastic Man, at: 2007/06/09 08:31

[Master Sardines]

I prefer live bait too

[polyphonic]

Live yabbies have had the best strike rate for me on small fish like bream, flathead;)

Other live bait such as mullet for bigger species.

If no live bait I have found pillies to be the best dead/frozen bait.:sick:

and then HB's and plastics because their more fun and more involved than just sitting there soaking bait and this is what I use most of the time now.:silly:

Oh and have found fresh eel the best bait for sharks.:dry:

[Gazza]

I'd have to agree livies when posible but I found squid to be the most successfull bait on a wider variaty of fish and it is more durable pilies would be my next choice but keep em cold

Gaz

[James W]

if i had to catch a fish?...like if i needed to eat?....well i keep some line and hardbodies in the car at all times just in case im stranded out in the middle of woop woop...prawns or pillies wont last to long in the boot:sick: ..i like hardbodies..so im biased

[Cowfish13]

Frozen prawns can catch any thing from Whiting, Bream and Flathead to legal Snapper, Tailor and Mackerel (nearly half of our Mackerel in the bay are caught on frozen prawns. In fact, the one that won the Fish of the Month comp was caught on a dead, frozen prawn)

[Dazzamcgee]

I'm with Cowfish13..

The good old frozen prawn would do the trick..

But if I was stuck in a \"survival situation\" and had no tackle I would whip myself up a fish trap lik this one. [img size=250]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/watermain.jpg

Post edited by: Dazzamcgee, at: 2007/06/09 20:01

[James W]

is that one you prepared earlier dazza?

but seriously, is that a type of scoop net or do ya throw it to pin the fish?

[Dazzamcgee]

Yeah thats one I prepared earlier...not..

But seriously alot of indigenous culture use this type of trap...

Its use by weighting it down with rocks and bait is inserted in to the narrow end and a twine rope is attached to the other end.

The fish/crayfish enters the trap through the large end and makes its way down to the narrower end to eat the bait(the longer the trap the better) and with a bit of timing the trap is pulled, hopefully with a fish or two being caught....

[James W]

ok..thanx dazza....if i had time to burn, i would love to make somthing like that and give it a go....

[sharker]

I actually have a couple of these but they are slightly different. My mum is from Papua New Guinea and basically grew up catching fish to eat each day as you've described.

The ones I have, have small entrances on both ends so maybe more like a fish trap.

Im told that they were able to catch some fish by putting a drug in the water to make them slower and kind of stoned. I guess if you stayed in the wilderness for that long you would figure some stuff like that out?

[Hocko]

HAD to catch a fish... Live yabbies... Always a lot of action.

[Angus]

Had to catch a fish.

I dont think anyone who has been there would argue with Hinze Dam and live shrimp

Angus

[jeff f]

starving?

must catch fish!!!

use your castnet.....

[werewolf]

hope your not trying to survive in the bris river Jeff, because cast nets don't have a long life expectancy there, at least where I fish dammit:(

[Do$tylz]

have a cast under the story bridge. Threadies, prawns, mullet and bream in my net. All on a soft bed of sand. Great views too.

[Cliffy]

\"Sigh!\". Okay, so experience has taught me that squid catches stingrays and catfish real good :pinch: However, love my Kokoda's for bass, pillies work real well on tailor (and stingrays and catfish ), and I've also found that treble hooks bring in bumper catches of weed on the surf beach at Bribie after a big blow :whistle:

Post edited by: Cliffy, at: 2007/06/14 21:26