Whats a good rock fishing rig?

[Guest mike2153]

Hi guys, i recently bught myself a 13ft 6 alvey and spooled it with 9kg mono. What im after now is a good all round rig to use with it.

Ive been rock fishing before with little sucess really and just seem to get snagged.

I tried a new rig the other day which seemed to work alright but got no fish on it.

It was a large foam float swivel then 300mm leader with a a medium ball sinker straight on top of a gang hook with a pillie on it. Then the idea by that is i can adjust the leader length by just feeding more line out.

Im trying to target Salmon, Bonito and Taior. Also what are some good spots that consistently produce fish that you dont have to cast 2 miles out as im pretty new with the alvey i can cast pretty far with it but think with more practive it can go further.

Also when rock fishing where do i want to be? closer into the rocks or out as far as i can? Sometimes it can be quite hard to tell where you are in the water whether i am still over the rocks or over sand etc.

Any help would be great. I do go fishing at Avoca sometimes but never seem to catch anything apart from the odd rock cod.

[fisholb 58]

Mate...the best rig i use when targeting the pelagics like salmon bonito tailor kingys...pilchardon float...i use 30lb leader/trace around 1m...2x3/0 suicide hooks...whole pilchard...put the 1st hook at the back of the head...2nd hook around the dorsal fin...half hitch the tail...i use a large torpedo float with a no 5 ball sinker...i use a float stopper to adjust the drop up to 2 rod length...the distance to cast depends on the swell...the bigger the further you cast...rocks spots i go to...avoca/terrigal north...or hill60/bass pt south ...i use an alvey 650bcxl/jw tailir taker rod...goodluck...

[Guest mike2153]

do you have the sinker running on the leader? so it sits striaght on the hook?

[fisholb 58]

The sinker is on the mainline under the float then the stopper...the rig will be 2x3/0 hooks snelled to the leader then connect leader with mainline with swivel...before you tie mainline to swivel insert stopper float sinker then use uni knot to mainline to swivel...goodluck...

[rockfisherman 0]

Hi mate

There's 2 rigs I will suggest, the first is a paternoster rig with 2 hooks and your sinker hanging about a metre below your bottom hook. Using bits of pilchard,fresh peeled prawn and small-medium sized hook this will be your best chance for a variety of species like bream, snapper, oz salmon, silver trevally, wrasse and a few others.

Rig 2 involves triple ganged hooks and whole pilchard on a float in the wash which is where the action happens.

In regards to casting distance, I'd vary it because unless you know the environment intimately it's hard to gauge exactly where sand, rock and weed are, so a couple of casts right out and then work your way in.

Fishingphase

[LungFai 0]

do you have the sinker running on the leader? so it sits striaght on the hook?

If you are float fishing the sinker is best used above the swivel that you are using to attach the leader to the main line, it sits after the swivel under the float. This gives the bait more freedom to jerk about with the swell/wash which entices a take and when they do take there is a little give for the fish to mouth the bait before the float puts on tension.

Leader can be any length you desire, but the common length is roughly 1 meter. Float stop once again is up to you but the common length is 1 meter.

Sinker on the hook is usually done when bottom bashing and you don't want to mess about with rigging

[zook2001 0]

If you're going after snapper people usually cast out as far possible but otherwise anywhere past your rod tip is good,you just need to experiment. Fishing in close rather than a float you can just let the bait drift around and slowly wind it in to stop it snagging, a bit of leads optional and i normally let it ride down to the hook with a swivel above.

[jot 34]

when bottom fishing I use a spoon sinker which planes off the bottom better as long as you're not already snagged. also use a slightly lighter trace for the sinker which is running on main line above another swivel which is attaches the main line and shorter than sinker trace , trace to hook.

[Novicefisherman 4]

Get a few metals and lures and cast out with a slow retrieve.

[Guest mike2153]

Ill try all those and see how i go lol i like the float because it seems to kep me off the snags. now i just need to find a rod holder for the alvey and throw some metals around with the veratis

[fisholb 58]

Remember to tie a rope on your rod if u gonna leave it on d holder on d rocks... lost a penn combo recently off avoca...a massive wave took it while i was taking a leak...forgot to tie it...wont happen again...

[Guest mike2153]

yea that sucks nothing wprse than loosing gear i lost a spin rod off the kayak one day was my favorite rod to.

[SMn 0]

How did you go with Alvey mate? Any luck with the suggested rigs? Off the rocks I use the same float setup Fisholb and Fishingphase described, sunrise and sunset are good times to have a bait in the water and it's vital to always put safety 1st...

[Guest mike2153]

I tried the following rig, gang hooked pillie, ball sinker on top of hook, with about 60cm leader then swivel, then a just a shorrt length of mainline to another swivel to stop line twist then a torpedo float and then adjusted the distance between the float and hook just by feeding more line out once casted. didnt get anything except one rock cod at avoca so nothing really, Thinking of giving some of the northern beaches a go this weekend if i can manage to find a nice gutter within casting distance. But i might try a paternoster rig if i can work out how to tie it, or try just a ganged pillie/squid with a short leader then sinker. I love the alvey its a great rod except i think i put the line on the wrong way round. when the bait is in the water the line going onto the reel goes onto the opposite side of the reel to the rod if that makes sence. It winds on clockwise of course but yea i think i did it wrong.

[fisholb 58]

mate...just go on youtube...plenty of vids on how to tie a paternoster...when using the alvey...you must use your fingers when reeling in your line...ie...guide your mainline back to the spool...if you dont...you will have a birdsnest after a couple of cast...its better to go beach fishing in the colder months...if you are after the pelagics...salmon andtailor are very on the beaches during winter...i use 30lb leader to reduce bite offs off the beaches...20/30lb mainline...goodluck

[fisholb 58]

try newport/whale/narrabeen beach in the afternoon...get there before sunset...you will catch something there definitely...worst case...you will catch a cold...lol

[SMn 0]

Sounds like you've got the line on right, with an Alvey you hold the rod left handed and wind with the right hand if you're right handed, which would mean winding in a clockwise direction. Check out this website for more info

http://www.surfcasters.iinet.net.au/UsingAlveyReels.html

Also: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=HE-IU8T8H2I&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHE-IU8T8H2I this is the Alvey dvd that shows you how rig up and cast.

If your using a float the sinker shouldn't be free running to the hooks, so it shouldn't be able to touch the hooks. Swivel at the top then float and sinker, another swivel and about 60cm trace line then a gang of hooks or a double or a single hook.

They take a bit of getting used to but you get over the learning part they are unbelievable to use. Avoca is one of my local spots and this rig is successful off the rocks, however, just starting out I would give the beach ago. Nice big open spot to practise casting and you can really let rip. For beach fishing a float is not required just have a swivel up top, 30cm of line with a sinker (bean or ball) running on it, another swivel, 30 - 60cm of trace line and a set of gangs 2/0 with a whole pillie.

Keep on asking questions and look on the web for info, that's what I did... I now have 7 Alveys and use nothing else. There's something special about using their technique for fishing, I wouldn't use any other reel, even for high speed retrive I have the 650gbrc model...

[Guest mike2153]

Yea no worries thanks for the help guys ill give Newport and whale a go Saturday arvo ill go to Newport first and see if I can see any gutters if not ill try whale. Are these beaches easy to fish? As in you don't need to cast out a kilometre to hit a gutter? What baits tend to e best here I'm really targeting flathead salmon and tailor

[LungFai 0]

Flatties, Tailor, Salmon..........Pillies will be sufficient or strips if you have those.

As for your float rig,

This is what i use when fishing off the rocks for KingFish.

For Pillies i change the ballon to a float and stopper and the single hook to either ganged hooks or a two hook rig.

Thought a picture would be easier to.......picture

[SMn 0]

Flatties will take a ganged pillie, so will salmon and tailor. I usually use salted pillies as they stay on the hooks longer, just as good as any other type of pillie, have caught excellent fish on them.

[fisholb 58]

+1 for d pilly...use half for single hook...whole for ganged or 2-hook rig...goodluck...dont need to cast very far at newport or whale...caught salmon tailor out there in around 20m or less...also trev n bream...

[Guest mike2153]

Yea i usually use salted pillies if i can get to the bait shop near mine. Heaps better for staying on the rig. Thanks for the help guys ill be sure to post up some photos of the beach im at and whatever if anything i catch lol