SgtBundy Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Between family obligations and last weeks 40kt nonsense I have not been out for a while so I decided to do a night trip this week before the weather came back. Had an eye on the wind, tides and surf and thought a crack on high tide while the swell was up as a chance. Didn't have a chance to get better bait so just had servo pillies and pretty much at random picked Dee Why beach as somewhere new to try. Surf was well up with big curling waves at the back and a lot of wash. Found a spot at the south end I thought looked like a hole and setup around 10pm. Immediately regretted the frozen pillies which I had even tried to defrost on the engine on the way in to no avail. They just kept breaking and not staying on. No hits all night. Moved up the beach a bit and tried another spot but no better. After high tide had come and gone I decided to go in to the harbour to try with what was left of the bait. Went to Blues Point an aimed for the big hole there but had no takers. Setup my lighter rod with unweighted pilly chunks hoping for a smaller hit but again bust, despite the odd bit of surface activity near me. One day I will figure this game out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quochuy Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I usually go two hours before till two after the top of the tide. You need a good gutter, but DY can sometime have those days where no gutter can be seen... When fishing at DY, I used to buy the frozen pillies from the Coles Express on Warringah rd near Forrestville. I never defrost my frozen pillies, I hook them frozen onto the gang of hooks and cast them as is and keep the pack in a cooler bag to keep them frozen as long as I can. This way they can be kept for more sessions if not finished and they will gradually thaw in the water but stay longer on the hook, the tailors, sambos and my first and only jewfish didn't seem to be bothered by that. I do the same when using pillies for Breams, just fillet and cubes while the bait is frozen and cast it as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 I was limited by home duties and travel time, so 10pm was about 90 minutes before the tide and the earliest I could get there, but given the lack of activity I thought it prudent to move on. The way the surf was acting I thought there might have been a gutter running along the beach, but it was hard to say - the waves were really big at the back, would go flat then surge in. It gave the impression that there was a sandbar at the back but I am not sure. Maybe it was a bit more hope that I was actually fishing a gutter. The problem I had with the frozen pillies was they would just simply snap, or the hook would take so much force to go through it would mangle it or not present right. Later in the night after they defrosted a bit they were still fairly frozen but at least malleable, so I could get them on and they would stay on. My preference would have been to fillet a mullet but I just had no opportunity to pick one up. If I had more time I might have tried to get some yakkas at Balmoral wharf but I have not had much luck with that of late either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidanhoh Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 To defrost pillies, I find that soaking them in seawater works pretty well (especially if they're already separated). Just get a bucket of water or fill the plastic bag that they come in with seawater when you first get there, and by the time you've rigged up, at least one of them should have been defrosted enough to bait up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 I had a go at that but was more interested in keeping dry so didn't do to well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Hi Sarg Have you thought about salting your own pillies. They can last for months in the fridge, not freezer, and be ready to use when the need strikes. Pool salt is cheapest at large hardware store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Yeah, I want to start preparing more bait in advance to have on hand, but I might need to find a cheap fridge as I won't be allowed to use the kitchen one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydneyfisher12 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Just hook the pillies throught the back/tail bone and they wont fall off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Yeah, try as I might I seemed to keep missing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragmeister Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) Yeah, I want to start preparing more bait in advance to have on hand, but I might need to find a cheap fridge as I won't be allowed to use the kitchen one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I have been thinking along these lines too. I have even been banned from putting bait in the beer fridge on the verandah. What I am getting today is a small chest freezer in the shed. Buy bait in advance, refreeze old bait for burley, keep extra live bait or salt for later use. My brother in law is coming over to put power to the shed... I have to do the trenching though...here goes the back again! I get what you mean with the frozen pilchards too... they can be very hard to put on hooks if they are frozen. I know people do this and I know fish are caught on a still frozen bait but I am inclined to think that a fussy fish might spit the bait out if it thinks something is wrong. Edited July 3, 2014 by fragmeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikkigilbey Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 never defrost your pillies, you want to keep them frozen for as long as possible. and really sharp hooks should solve your bait snapping issues. if its still a problem try adding salt to you old pillies they wont freeze but will stay nice and stiff and easy to bait up. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbidder Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) if you salt your pilchards properly not only do they keep for months in the fridge and are super solid on the hook but they have no smell when you leave them in the fridge... Definitely worth having a go at Edited July 11, 2014 by BLU27T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostproperty Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Try better quality hooks as well. More expensive ones will be alot sharper and much easier to put bait onto. With the pillies take a spare container as fill it with salt, chuck them in the container and shake it around with the lid on. The salt will keep them firm and thaw them out as well, makes refreezing alot better too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Yeah, I don't think those gang ones I used were particularly sharp. I will look into salting next time I have a go. Does that only work on fresh pillies that out then salt or even the frozen ones? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingnoob Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 What rig where you using - we were using a running sinker and two snelled circle hooks, one through the tail the other through the head and had a good session their. I made burley bombs as well with old bait and tuna oil, put them out about every 30-45 mins, our best night fishing there so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Was that on the same night? July 3? There was someone up the north end of the beach and one other guy with me on the south end, but it seemed pretty quiet otherwise. It was a simple running sinker with a 3-gang hook. I have some snelled hooks which are much better but I save them for mullet fillets. Last time I tried to use them on pilchards I had issues with the pilchards just breaking apart or not staying on so I went back to the gang hooks instead. Have not had a chance to do a beach session since but happy to try new things next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingnoob Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 it was the week after - pillies were frozen and had no issues with the staying on the hooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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