Do I need a new rod for a small bullie?

[shamus]

I have a light action estuary rod... I think it says 4-6kg (maybe lbs, not sure). Is this too light to catch a small bullie on?

[Angus]

Nope.

As long as your reel and line are up to the task.

Angus

[shamus]

I think the reel can only handle 6kg line too.... Would that be enough if I had a decent leader and rtace?

[Schultzy]

Shamus, You should have no problems if your drag is set properly and your line is in good nick.

Remember to use small hooks with light tackle, 3/0 suicides are big enough for the average 85cm bullies.

Match your bait to the hooks though. Don't try to fish a kilo slab of flesh on a pair of 3/0s.

Most important thing to do is have fun!

[Schultzy]

Shamus,

Here's a pic of Longtail Tony playing a shark on a $15 Shakespeare telescopic rod, little threadline reel and 4kg mono line.

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

[Schultzy]

Yes he did land it on his bass gear.

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

[Angus]

Yeah Schultzy thats a good point regarding bait size. When i first started sharks i used to use chunks of meat far to big for the hooks.

Sharks (Especially those shy of a meter) will not snob a nicely presented bait fish even as small as 3-4cm. Troy and I were getting hook up after hook up for example on tiny bait fish at Kookaburra.

And dont worry about the 6lb. If you play it you will be fine. To be honest the bullies under a meter dont give a huge ammount of grunt (there is the odd exception). I have honestly had harder hitting and more drag pulling catties take my bait up that way

Angus

[werewolf]

6 kg I think he said! Yeah thats stacks.

Neil: Did you put any of those two tags into the shark? We have caught ones with multiple tags in them before. I thought if they had one allready in them, you could just have their details updated.

PS - Tony must have been fighting that shark for a while, since he had time to change his shirt and all:whistle:

[shamus]

I just checked and the rod is 4-6kg and reel can handle 12lb line. I've got an older (and cheaper) rod that is rated 2-6kg and reel can handle 15lb. I think I might rig it up as the shark rod...

[Fisher_90]

Mate if the older/cheaper reel is still in good nick and the drag is working well, Put it on the 4-6Kg Rod. It would work alot better. I would reccomend around 15lb line for around 1 metre bull sharks.

[Oztrav]

no werewolf he was fighting it for so long that he had to take his jacket off lol

[werewolf]

haha or that Oztrav. Mmm I was just taking a closer look at the pic and noticed that he is holding the bitie end by a pectoral. Has anyone else tried handling them that way? I find the little buggers squirm around a lot, so I go for a firm grip behind the head.

[shamus]

if i was looking to get a new rod would a 6-10kg be OK or should I go heavier if it will be a dedicated shark rod?

[Schultzy]

Matt have a closer look, he didn't change his shirt, just took off his coat and bunged on a hat, see the collar in the first pic. Dark coats look like c%#p in photos.

We double tagged a lot of sharks in the river as part of a tag shedding study. If one tag falls out you still get some history upon recapture.

Sharks are notorious for tag shedding with some estimates of 30 to 50% per annum in bullies.

We also tagged about 100 sharks with roto tags through the first dorsal fin. That type of tag has a good track record for remaining in place in school and gummy sharks down south, up to 30 years.

Are you reporting the captures of those tagged sharks? There is a phone number onthe tags.

[ellicat]

shamus, 6-10kg rod will be more than enough for the reported size of bullies you'll be getting in the river.

[Schultzy]

Matt, regarding holding them by the pectoral. If you grip them too tightly behind the head while they are squirming around it can damage the skin around the gill openings (rubs off the denticles and they then act like grinding paste).

Grabbing the base of the pectoral close t the body is an easy way to keep the sharp end pointing in the right direction.

[Schultzy]

Shamus,

A 6kg outfit for in the river would be plenty. Some rods rated 6-10 are more like 10kg outfits others are more like 4-5. Depends on the brand.

Maybe try your existing rod on a few fish or fish with some of the other guys and try theirs before you lash out on a new outfit.

A lot of the lads I fish with are using 4-6kg outfits on river sharks.

[shamus]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170141517448

I just bought these 2 cheapies off ebay..... hope they're not too poor quality

[pcsolutionman]

mate what reel do you plan to match those with? you do realise they are baitcaster rods?

Lee

[shamus]

I'll wait until I get them then figure out the reel thing.... and no, I didn;t realise they were baitcasters.. DOH! (maybe I should read the heading next time)I suppose baitcaster reels are expensive too...

Post edited by: shamus, at: 2007/08/24 08:40

Post edited by: shamus, at: 2007/08/24 08:41

[Feral]

They

ll generally work alright with spinning reels, purists will froth at the mouth, but work ok for me. Trigger might get in the way a bit, but usually dont.

[pcsolutionman]

no biggie dude, not alot of money wasted anyhow, yeh a decent baitcaster isnt cheap and unlike spinniing reels you cant really get away with a cheapy, around $200 is a strarting point

Lee

[shamus]

if they work with a spinning reel then that'll be ok. As for the trigger getting in the way, I can always grind it off or something...

[Oceandonkey]

dude i have one of these on a 8-10kg rod

/>http://www.daiwafishing.com.au/index.cfm?section=OurProducts&sub=RoundStyle&product=MillionaireProteus

and its great for $99, its got a pretty loud drag as well, click it on and set the drag really low when fighting smaller fish for added effect

[Feral]

You probably could get away with a cheap ebay baitcaster for that size rod, the cheap ones are hard to finese the drag at low settings, (they tend to be on or off) with that size rod, you'd have a fair amount of drag on anyway.

[Schultzy]

Shamus, Just sent you a PM.

[shamus]

thanks shultzy... if one of the cheapy ebay reels don;t work out I'll try one of them...

[Cowfish13]

You could alo try an Abu Ambasadeur 6600. They cost around $150-160 and will never let you down. Very strong and they have a good rachet as well. And they have a line guide as well.

[faulked]

i reacon more than new gear a good set of crimping pliers some wire a range of hooks to suit different baits make sure your wire is longer than the sharks your targetting or use a heavy leader to stop the tails slicing you off eventhe cheapest kids rods wil stop the little sharks but wire is all that stops their teeth

[werewolf]

Neil, cheers for the info RE handling sharks. If holding them by a pec is kinder to the sharks (for releasing purposes) and safer for me (for keeping all my fingers) I will be sure to give it a go next time.

As for the double tagged shark we got.:blush: We def recorded the details with the intent of following up on it, but I'm not sure if anyone ever did. I'll get in touch with Killemaul (who caught the shark) and TerryH, who was trying to catch seamonsters:whistle: and see if they know more. I'm not sure which one of us now kept the details.

cheers

wwolf

[Feral]

DPI&F have a bit of a page on shark fishing, they have some good basic safety suggestions.

[Schultzy]

Matt,

When going for the grab on the pectoral make sure you go from behind. They have a nasty habit of swinging their heads sideways and snapping at the wrong moment.

Have received a few love bites from them over the years, luckily all from little sharks. :blush:

Grip the fin right up against the flank of the shark.

This works very well on small sharks, up to about 1.3m.

The bigger blokes' fins start to get a little too large to get your hand around securely.

[Feral]

DPI page on shark fishing safety

/>http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/xchg/dpi/hs.xsl/28_3140_ENA_HTML.htm