Float Setup For Blackie Fishing Forster

[arpie]

Hi Guys

I've had a few queries about setting up the float for blackie fishing - it is not difficult & it is a good idea to have a couple of different sizes in your tackle box!

A few terms used:

Stopper - you can buy a bunch of stoppers (rubber that slides onto the line to set the depth for the float)

- or you can use a bit of wool or thicker mono tied onto your line to do the same think, but it can chafe the line a bit if not careful - I have even used thin hat elastic & it works .... so long as it is tied on firmly enough to stop the float, yet you are able slide it up/down the line. You can fish a depth of less than a metre to more than 3 - 4 metres!! That is the trick .... to find the depth the fish are feeding!

Beads - these stop the float from hitting the stopper above and the knot on the swivel or below the sinker, thereby damaging the knot & creating a weak spot. This could cause the line to break & you lose your float, sinkers & hooks.

Trace - this is the line your hook is attached to - flouro carbon is recommended - 6 - 8lb. It can be anywhere from 15cm to 1m long! I, personally, go for shorter ones.

Sinkers - use just sufficient to weight the float down in the water, so only the top 2 - 4cm is showing (usually painted bright red or orange for easy viewing.) Removable splitshot is used for 'fine tuning' as required. We usually have a single sinker & as many split shot as required. (Try not to have more that 3 bits of lead on the line - the more weights on the line, the better the chance of the line wrapping around the weights when casting.) Add or remove shot during tide/swell changes. I prefer the main sinker to be on a length of line on its own. This way, the float (above to the first swivel) slides up the line when casting & prevents tangles. Put a stopper knot below the float - if the line breaks at the swivel, the float should stay on the line! Also, put a bead under the sinker, above the 2nd swivel, to protect the knot from chafing.

Float - anything from a quill float thru to a rockfishing float - size depends on the swell & wash in the water you are fishing. Forster Breakwall normally requires a heavier float, whereas boating in calm water you can use a much smaller float, possibly even a pencil float (bigger than a quill but much smaller than a rockfishing float.) It is easy to make your own! Give it a go. A champange or wine cork makes a nice small float - just sand to a teardrop shape. For the wall you may need 3 corks on the one float (shaped into a torpedo with sandpaper.) I have used an old knitting needle as the 'stick' & use a strong bit of wire bent to shape as the bits tied onto float, for the line run thru. When fishing shallow water, fixed floats can be used. Once you are fishing more than 1-2 rod lengths in depth, a running float is the way to go. Off the rocks, even bobby corks can be used - the brighter the better, for easy viewing especially in windy or washy conditions.

Hooks - anything from size 6-10 ... 8s are a good average size. Short shank, strong, chemically sharpened.

Line - If using mono, you should rub the line with vaseline to make it float - or else it sinks causing a belly. If a fish strikes, you will be taking up line, instead of setting the hook. Braid works a treat, as it floats anyway! With 30lb braid (with stopper knot, beads & float) to the swivel, you are unlikely to lose your float again! I then put the sinker on a short piece of 20lb line with bead to the swivel and a length of 6 - 8lb fluoro leader to the hook. I usually put another trace on the swivel below the float, so i am fishing 2 depths simultaneously. Twice as much chance of getting a fish! If new to blackie fishing, perhaps just stick with the one bottom hook!

If you snag on weed, rock or cunje, you should be able to pull your float off & only lose the hook.

See you soon, Roberta

Tip 1: if you 'weight' your floats before leaving home (test in a garbage bin or your float tube filled with water or even the swimming pool) & use a safety pin to hold the lower half of the rig to the float (swivel, line & sinker, swivel & trace with hook), you will be ready to replace it quickly if one is lost on the wall. Very frustrating if you lose a float & have to start from scratch, when there is a hot bite on! To protect your floats, cut a length of downpipe longer than your floats & cap one end permanently. The plastic cap of a spray paint can fits the other end perfectly! (Take cap with you when buying downpipe!) Very annoying when you snap a float in half!

Tip 2: test your float again when you get to salt water - it may need a fine tune up with one of the smallest splitshot sinkers! I recommend the 'removeable' ones (usually in orange containers.) The calmer the water, the less float tip you need to have sitting out of the water! Just enough for you to see it easily, given the conditions. When you toss the float into the estuary, it should take a second or 2 for it to 'settle' - ie the sinker is taking the hooks down to the predetermined depth - the float may be sitting high in the water at this point or even lying on the water. The float will then 'sit up' properly. If correctly weighted, it should then completely sink before rising again, just showing the amount of tip that you prefer.

You are now ready to fish!! Don't forget to put some weed on!! Less is Best! Don't put on a great big lump! Matchstick thickness is good.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Roberta

[Davemmm]

It also doesnt hurt to use one of those three way swivels and have two hooks hanging at different levels

Dave

[arpie]

Thanks for that Dave - forgot about that bit!

Cheers

Roberta

[Davemmm]

Its the only bit I thought I could add.

You posted one of the most comprehensive run downs of terminal setup I have seen

Well done

Dave