I only catch small fish & Bream? What am i doing wrong?

[Bobby W]

Hey guys i fish quite frequently in the Camden River and surrounding rivers.

Im not sure if im doing something wrong but everytime i go fishing i catch aprox 20 small bream, whiting, flathead and flounder? Out of all those fish i might get 1 keeper if im lucky.

I dont have a boat and fish from the bank in different areas. And i dont know if I should change areas, baits or if this is just normal in my area.

If you guys could help me understand why my fish are always small thay would be great. 

Thankyou,

[Bob9863]

I dontcknow the river but my 1st thoughts are if your only land based then you could be fishing spots that get hammered by other land locked anglers.

But without knowing your rigs and your baits, times you fish and areas that you target it's had to be sure.

I've found if your catching lots of small fish then your usual fishing where the juvenile fish like to school up. The bigger fish usual stay away from the schools, on the edges or they hold better locations or cruise around chasing a feed.

Thats two possibilities.

[mangajack]

It sounds like you are on the start of the learning curve for your area.

Here are a couple of basics that work well here in SEQ.

Whiting like the early stages of a run in tide....they move onto a sand flat as the water covers it....20cm of water is plenty for them to be ravenously feeding there. Use the local bait for them....worms, yabbies, crabs or small live prawns.

Bream like structure with a bit of depth and plenty of current, again they are ravenous at the start of the run in usually. Bream will eat anything but offer them something they can easily swallow rather than something they have to bite chunks off. 5c to $1 size baits are good for them....pilly or mullet cubes, prawns and squid are all good options.

Flathead are ambush hunters primarily, they lay and wait for food to swim by them....that being said though they will follow a scent to a bait ok too. For me flathead are the easiest to catch in the bottom half of a run out tide. Live baits rule, lures and plastics second and dead baits 3rd. Look for drains of flats or creeks entering rivers, they will be within a five metres of those spots.

If you only catch smalls you are generally either fishing the wrong area or you are fishing the area at the wrong stage of the tide.

You can throw all of the above out the window if you are fishing a flood zone.....everything will be feasting on the last 90 minutes of the rising tide and vanish as soon as the tide turns. Flood zones up here are mangroves that only go under at about 3/4 tide...often behind the mangroves there is a clear area of sand or mud several metres wide....when that gets 25cm of water over it the place is full of big feeding fish and very easy to catch if you do not spook them. 65mm squidgy wrigglers in bloodworm colour unweighted are the gun plastic.....sit or crouch down and wait for the fish to approach you...they move quickly and absolutely smash anything resembling food. Very exciting fishing.

Good luck.

[Junky]

Just keep at it mate. You're not doing anything wrong so to speak, you just need to experiment. 

Your catching fish. That's a start. 

Start with presenting your baits in different arrangements. 

Remember, what works well today, may just get ignored tomorrow.

 

The tackle you're using plays a big part too. 

Fish as light as possible.

Start with about 8lb main line, braid or mono. 

10lb fluorocarbon leader maximum. 

 

I'd suggest a running sinker rig to start with. It's a very common rig to run. 

 

 

 

Find a sinker size that sinks to the bottom as slow as possible in the conditions you're fishing, if that makes sense. 

Don't drop an 8 ball in dead still water. 

If the water is dead still, try no sinker at all. 

 

Use fluorocarbon leader.

Instead of 1m to 2m of leader in that pic above, keep the leader length down under 1m. Around 500mm to 700mm should work well. 

 

Hook selection. 

Small hooks equates to small fish. 

A 2/O or 3/O size Mustad big red or similar for general fishing. 

Use long shank hooks for whiting. Again, larger hooks will not fit down the gob of smaller fish. Whiting inhale the bait, so you end up with a hook in the gut of undersized fish if you're using smaller hooks. 

 

If I'm predominantly catching small/undersized fish I tend to move on, or target a different area of the waterway. 

[Rebel]

All good advise above.

We all have bad  days.

Make sure you use scent. I put scent on everything, including lures.

[Bobby W]

@Rebel

Scents on dead baits?

 

[mangajack]

5 hours ago, Bobby W said:

@Rebel

Scents on dead baits?

 

Scent at any time can not hurt.

If you have a whiting patch sand bar that dries in your area, bury some fish frames or prawn and crab shells  within casting distance and fish a a metre or so down current of the scent....

This has worked for me several times in the past where the fish are scattered.

It does concentrate the smalls too unfortunately    but the bigger ones are there too.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

I would suggest changing things up, try live baits, lighter weighted baits around structure, lighter line, bigger baits, or soft plastic lures.

[Bobby W]

@AUS-BNE-FISHO @mangajack @Junky @Rebel @Bob9863

Thanks for the help Guys I have used your tips and it has been paying off the other afternoon I caught a 35cm Whiting and a 25cm Bream. Ill give you guys a bit of incite on the gear I've been using so you are able to see if it is ok and to provide more tips if needed. 

Rod: Daiwa 20 AIRD-X 702LXS

Reel: Daiwa 23 Aird LT Spinning Reel 2000

Main Line: Daiwa J-Braid Expedition 8lb

Leader:  Daiwa J-Thread Fluorocarbon 12lb

 

Bait: Ill use school prawns chopped in half for and pilchard cubes 

 

Rigs: I actually usually fish un-weighted ever since i was little, Size 0/1 Octopus hook with 30cm of leader onto a ball swivel connected to braided main line.

If there is current Ill use a paternoster rig onto a 3-way swivel with the same hook depending if im trying to catch

 

I don't fish that much with lures only on sad flats chasing flatties. i use a 65mm Bloodworm Squidgy curl tail prawn with a light weight jig 16th OZ size 0/1 hook with s-factor

Location & time: I'm not good a picking locations as im land locked and there isn't much structure ill post my river system on google maps so u guys can see. Now the times i try to go on peak High time just because it looks nice and I can see the fish hahaha. I don't have polo sonnies.

Also I heard the moon and clouds affect fish size is this true? I use Bite times to see if its good or not.

I really do appreciate all your guys help means a lot to me as no one has really taught me how to fish ahaha I have always just loved getting outside by my self and spending time near the water hoping to catch a feed for my self.

Thanks again guys

Camden Haven Area.jfif

[Bretto77]

I always found that live bait tends to sift out some smaller stuff. All the others that have made points have made valid points. The only other things that I could add is go fishing whenever you can and/or feel like it. Keep a record of things. @AUS-BNE-FISHO has been diligent with this with better tools than I had when I was his age.

[Bob9863]

Goof to see things are turning around, it's like I'm fond of saying, it's always about cracking the code.

Little changes can make a big difference.

[mangajack]

7/8ths of land based fishing is watching and taking notice....notice where currents converge, notice where food might be taken to by the current......notice the slow spots in the currents....notice the dis-colour of the water.

Fish are not dumb, they know where their food will be brought to them and they will wait for it a lot of the time.

So rather than concentrating on getting a bite, concentrate on trying to see where a fish will wait for food or why this place is better than the next. Select the place slowly, there is no rush....make the decision of where you believe the fish will be then specifically try to catch that one fish. Doing this will teach you lots more than pulling up to the bank and chucking a bait in the water.

You will be fishing for a fish that is waiting for your bait....present your bait as a drift bait like it is expecting....don't anchor the bait near him.

If you get a chance to be up high over shallow water, just watch, you will see a fathead move, then watch him some more.....every move me makes is to another spot that positions him better for a feed....take note of where he moves to and why that spot is better.

When fishing watch your line, not the rod, look for changes in the tension or tics travelling up the line. Always fish with a bit of a belly in the line to the water, don't pull the line tight to the sinker.

Try fishing sand banks with unweighted baits....yabbies and worms are king.....use the wind to help your cast and the current to deliver the bait....you already know where the fish will be.