Live bait

[obone]

I have finally got the hand of my cast net and I can throw a decent circle, so this morning i went out for a shot at some live bait. I got plenty of prawns, but not to many big ones like Kiara was catching, more like the ones you get in your fried rice . And i caught a few of these, which i thought were poddy mullet.

How would you guys rig those little mullet up as livies, like the hook through the snout or behind the dorsal fin? I caught some that were around 10cm so i'll use those bigger ones rather than the one in the photo cause i think thats a bit small.

I also caught about 20 of the things in the next photo? What are they? I only kept one to put on here and threw the rest back, cause they looked like juvenile fish of some sort. Leave them for another day! They seemed to be swimming in schools (or is it shoals?), becuase with most casts I wouldn't catch any of them, then I would get a net of 10 of them next throw.

Cheers, Joel

[img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/DSC07634_AFO.jpg

[obone]

juvenile [img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/DSC07635_AFO.jpg

[obone]

and again [img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/DSC07636_AFO.jpg

[Oceandonkey]

I got one of these as well in the river, put him on a hook through the top of his back 30 minutes later nothing took it and he was still kicking hard so i let him go and he swam of fine, they are a durable fish ill tell you that.

[ellicat]

Baby boney bream.

The mullet looks a good bait size for flattie, bream, cod,.... or many other species really.

Where to hook them depends on the size of hook. Heavier hooks I would go through the back. Lighter hook - through the lip. That's just my opinion though, and is not a universal rule of mine. Depends on the way the bait fish is built.

Cheers

[Brian D]

Mate those prawns you speak about are most likely School Prawns and are better for bait then the big buggers. They keep better live too.

[jeff f]

the little clear fish isn't a juvenile of any species guys. it's a pain in the ass called a glass perch and they are a bitch to get out of the net, if you hit a whole school of them you'll be there for an hour to get rid of them. they only grow to 50mm

[obone]

Yeh jeff they are annoying! they get their gills stuck real good in the net.

I have just been out for about an hour and a half with those live mullet. rigged them up with the hook through the back and sent them to the bottom but nothing. I anchored first just up from carington rocks but then drifted downstream around figtree pocket.

Would you guys put the livies just under the surface or on the bottom or somewhere inbetween?

Joel

[obone]

Brian D wrote:

Mate those prawns you speak about are most likely School Prawns and are better for bait then the big buggers. They keep better live too.

But how do you rig them brian? do you go like up through the tail then feed it onto the hook? or just go through the side of them?

Joel

[werewolf]

Obone

I haven't used live prawns much but when I do I pin them sideways through the tail taking care to avoid the intestine running through their length.

With the live mullet, the one in a hand is a touch small, but I've caught bullies on ones only a little larger, pinned 2/3 down the back with a single hook and anchored to the bottom on a decent lenght of trace. If you have better size livies (say 30 - 40 cm) try fishing them under a float and counter weight it with a small sinker such that the fish isn't pushed to the surface by the current and it can actually pull the float under and swim around for a short time. Bities love this but its tricky hooking them with the big livies. If you figure out a good technique to do so let me know!

I take it you are fishing for bullies/salmon if you are in the fig tree pocket area???

cheersB)

[Brian D]

Cheers wolf - yeap just pin them through the last tail section. They'll kick and flip which will attrack fish.

[obone]

Yeh thanks for that werewolf theres some good tips there about the float and stuff.

And yes i am targeting bullies/salmon but have yet to catch either I am ashamed to say. It's really getting on my nerves now. My hope is that summer will bring better luck, as I really havent fished \"hard\" for bullies/salmon yet, and this summer is time.

Cheers, Joel

[AlsHilux]

you can do it dude, it's just all about getting the right bait and presenting it the right way. I reckon our stretch of the river is pretty healthy with bullies. I'm gonna try for another one over the next few days if I can get time... going out for a bait run now to the river, see what's about with this high tide.

[Brian D]

Obone don't dismiss the winter Jew run. Same sort of live bait (mullet and prawns) but lighten up the leader to best quality fluro carbon, around the 40lb and make sure your main line is in good condition.

[werewolf]

Obone if you can readily get a good supply of livies you won't go wrong with the bullies at least come summer. I've yet to crack a salmon but I've never messed around keeping my live prawns off the bottom and away from the crabs.

ChillyD - how far up the river do you reckon the school jew come?

[obone]

Jews hey? very interesting. I'd be keen to hook up one of those, but you never really hear about people catching them do you? Well not that i have read so far.

I have been trying to catch another cod along the bank where I caught one a coplue of months ago but nothing so far.

And for the bullies, do you fellas rekon that plastic coated wire is overkill and that, that may be why they arn't biting? Might try some 80lb leader I have instead.

And Als, for bait do you just go down to the fig tree boat ramp and throw your cast net?

Cheers, Joel

[ellicat]

jeff f wrote:

the little clear fish isn't a juvenile of any species guys. it's a pain in the ass called a glass perch and they are a bitch to get out of the net, if you hit a whole school of them you'll be there for an hour to get rid of them. they only grow to 50mm

Bugger!.. They look like a baby boney. Learn something new every day.

I've got quite a few in the shrimp trap in Yabba creek before and thought they'd look good in the fish tank until the big fish ate them. they don't keep well out of their natural environs though. DOA:(

[werewolf]

Obone, your coated wire is a necessity for the bullies. Any little bullie will make mince of 80 pound mono (as I found with my failed circle hook experiment) plus if targeting the rarer big girls in the upper end you will need to consider used 150 lb plus wire. For the run of the mill bullies 50 pound is ample, but use at least a metre or you will get regular \"rub-offs\" from their tails (I was a slow learner...)

[obone]

cheers for that werewolf, yeh I am using 200lb wire so i guess thats sweet .

And whats the go with the circle hooks? I have heard heaps about them, in the hints and tips section and from you guys etc. Do they just give a better hook-up rate then regular hooks or what?

Cheers, Joel

[werewolf]

mmm i have only used cirles a little bit with sharks with mixed success. The first shark I hook was exactly in the corner of the jaw as expected (using 80 pound mono hardened game leader). The next hookup 10 min later bit me through in about 5 seconds... I went to wire and J's for the rest of that trip after that:( On another occasion I had a hookup and forgot that you don't strike with circles and yeah didn't stay connected.

Circles also tend to be rather thick gauge (some brands might be better than the ones I used) and I would rather have a thinner gauge wire for pentration with sharking as they tend to be tricky to set a hook in properly. Mustard penetrators are good for this reason but as a trade off they tend to be a bit weak... I used big reds/hoodlums/big guns for bigger baits.

[ellicat]

I use 8/0 circles on 2 foot of wire and then 2m or so of 80lb mono leader. 100% strike rate so far. Catches over the last few years have been - big toads, sharks, rays, flathead, and a turtle.

So I like em:)

[obone]

Well it looks like i'm off to buy some circle hooks then!

Should I get offset or non-offset?

Cheers, http://Joel

[werewolf]

Thats interesting to hear ellicat. I haven't heard too many peeps praising them for sharking, but most people won't stray from what they are comfortable with!

How do you fish them? Ie reel in gear/not in gear, do you stike etc.

cheers!

[ellicat]

Werewolf,

O'Head in freespool with clicker on so it doesn't freespool:blink: . When it goes for a run I engage the drag and let the rod, reel and hooks do the rest. Then it's pump and wind...dadada

As I read the threads on people trying to catch sharks up the river etc I read a lot about people missing on the strike etc or other reasons that the fish wasn't hooked. Maybe a circle hook could change that;) Maybe not, but I like 'em and they work for me.

Cheers.

[obone]

Yeh from what I have read that is the real bonus, that you don't have to strike the fish. And because if you are doing somthing else you sometimes miss the strike, the fact that you don't stike with circles means a far higher hook-up rate.

I can't wait to have a go!

Joel

[werewolf]

thanks elli, yeah i might give em a crack again next summer. Mainly I was only using small circles in small baits but haven't tried any decent sized ones. I would love to find some 10/0 circles and nut out how to get decent hookups on 30-40 cm boney bream:(

[Feral]

You can get circle tuna hooks in 10/0, I think I've got some 10/0 and 12/0's in the shed for next summer!

[werewolf]

woohoo!!!!

I can't wait until the shark reports come flooding in come Spring. We are starting to attract a cult following of shark fanatics on here! It should be an awesome season!