Little_Flatty Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Hi raiders, After many years of fishing SPs I have recently started doing a bit more bait fishing again. This has seen me fishing off wharves a bit more often and whilst I have managed to always find fish, I actually haven't been able to land any of them! For me, this is extremely unusual because when I fish SPs, I am normally on flats and as a result, any time I hook a fish, there is a 90% chance I will land it. The story has been the same over the past few trips. I'd have something take my bait (I tend to be fishing unweighted pilchard cubes on small circle hooks), I'd feel a few head shakes and then the fish will pull the line under the wharf and then the leader will go ping. The first time I had 3lb flurocarbon still on my rod from SP fishing on the flats - so that was my own fault - but the subsequent times I have been using 12lb flurocarbon with the same result. Examination of the leader afterwards found it to be very frayed, and it was brand new at the start of the session. In every single case there hasn't been a huge amount of force - the drag wasn't exactly going off. The fight starts off feeling like something small and then I feel like there is a little bit of weight to it. I thought the first couple of fish might have been keeper size flatties (as I felt pulsing headshakes upon hookup). I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what to do next. Things I have thought of were: - Upping the leader to 20lb or heavier - Fishing with a longer rod (e.g. 10ft light surf rod) which will help me keep the fish further away from the wharf from the outset (presently I'm fishing with a 7ft SP rod) - Being a bit more forceful in the latter stages of the fight if I'm worried the fish is near structure. Any ideas? I'm starting to go a little spare as I'm not used to losing fish like this (although I will say it's a problem I would have only dreamed of having when I was younger). Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterfisho7 Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 This has happen to me also as I fish ferry wharfs also and kings I have found hard to stop after long fights they also heard for under the wharf I have found just keep the pressure on them rod up and skull them out is the best way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Could be kings, trevally or even possibly good size bream. Somewhere there will be a happy medium where the strength of your leader will still encourage bites. Trial and error is the only way to sort that out and if you're using braid make sure you're joining your leader with an FG knot for 100% strength. Definitely give your heavier, longer rod a go and adapt your rod work to suit a straight up and down fight. By this I mean don't lift the rod too high when pumping and winding. If you keep it low the bend in your rod will be in the lower section where all the strength is and go hard right from the start. Don't give the fish a chance to get its head and do your best to keep it coming towards you at all times. If that doesn't work, get some video footage of it and you'll laugh about it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I would change the hook from the circle to "normal" and set the hook into the fish myself - before the fish sets the hook itself somewhere under structure. And also would make sure that the rod, mainline/leader ratings and drag setting provide sufficient resistance/pressure to reduce the time under the structure for most of the targeted species to minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolongeramember Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 In that situation fishing so close to the structure, I would use normal hooks and the instant you strike and pin the fish start pulling/ winding to get the fish away from danger. Don’t wait until the fish starts pulling or flapping around before you do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connico Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 heavy action rods with alot of pulling power with a high drag setting.... Otherwise do we the Iso guys do... tempt the fish away from the jetty with burley... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Thanks for all the tips everyone. I will try them all. Looks like I do need to up the leader, go harder and the softly-softly light tackle tactic probably needs to stay on the flats. It just so happens that I have recently learned to tie FG knots and have a tool for it, which will help with using heavier leader. I also happen to now own an ISO berley scoop so I can get that berley further out. As to ditching the circle hooks, I think that might have helped me on the weekend, as that hookup was in close quarters. Much appreciated all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 If you hookup close to the wharf, it starts out small, you feel pulsing headshakes on hookup, and it heads straight underneath the wharf - then I’d be thinking eel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I tried fluorocarbon once, and found that it broke or frayed at less than the stated line strength, so have not used it since. Keep using my straight through mono. If you are fishing at night, you can increase the line strength, as it won't make much difference to the bites, but will give you added line strength. A longer rod may give you more advantage in keeping fish out from structure, but in close situations around pylons, it will not be too much more of an advantage. If I use a leader, which I do in some situations, I use Toughened Monofilament. It will give you a bit more abrasion resistance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolongeramember Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 19 minutes ago, Yowie said: I tried fluorocarbon once, and found that it broke or frayed at less than the stated line strength, so have not used it since. Keep using my straight through mono. If you are fishing at night, you can increase the line strength, as it won't make much difference to the bites, but will give you added line strength. A longer rod may give you more advantage in keeping fish out from structure, but in close situations around pylons, it will not be too much more of an advantage. If I use a leader, which I do in some situations, I use Toughened Monofilament. It will give you a bit more abrasion resistance. You must have come across something that was not quite right. Fluoro should perform better than “everyday” mono in my experience. Don’t use cheap stuff. Get quality and you will find it out performs mono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 13 hours ago, Hateanchors said: You must have come across something that was not quite right. Fluoro should perform better than “everyday” mono in my experience. Don’t use cheap stuff. Get quality and you will find it out performs mono. It was not cheap stuff, may have been incorrectly labelled with the B/S. For mono, I usually use Sufix brand for the rods, and a German brand (cannot remember the name just now) for hand lines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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