Tips for Longlining.......
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=114026
Printed Date: 28 May 2026 at 6:22am
Topic: Tips for Longlining.......
Posted By: Snappa Geoff
Subject: Tips for Longlining.......
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2015 at 9:54pm
Hi all, with plenty of interest and great ideas on the last post on longlines thought I'd share a few of my tips and knowledge from 25 years of longlining before i took up boat fishing. Firstly the crimp section on most lines are far to close together to fish properly. I discovered crimping your own line with 5-10 metre gaps between crimps the catch rate went way up.You cover more seabed with your hooks and a fish fighting and shaking to get off is a good distance from the next hook allowing that one to fish as well. I never used Tianawa Jap setline hooks. Because of there small size and amount of bite offs. Mustard make a longline hook with a long shank call an Easybaiter. I ran 12/0's. Never get bite offs and always hooked in Jaw. A secret using these, cut a big long skinny bait 60-70 cm long and just hang it through hook once. The fish picks up the long bait starts running with it trying to swallow along the 10 metre run between crimps hits one its all over! hook sets. Another hint is threading a clear plastic tube over trace line to prevent tangles, so trace sits good. Way back 20 or so years ago i was the first in N.Z to do this and use to make and send hundreds of traces out to people with kontikis and boat longlines. I had lengths of wood with kontiki manufacturer on it to get the right length for traceboard. These days all the firms have the tubing option. Bait something tuff, Freshly filleted kahawai not bled, or large fresh arrow squid were my favourites. I had some amazing catches using these methods from shore with my kites, and on one occasion had to take a trailor down to beach to take the fish home! From memory got 14 Snapper and 7 over 20 lbs from a 25 hook set. Now some of you will think release them but unfortunately big fish being dragged in from 1-2 k's out, don't survive once released. Have put back many and have seen others release them but next morning always dead on beach getting eaten by seagulls. They all went to good homes!! Other photo is the biggest Snap i ever got using same methods on a longline. Its the sort of size I'm after on me boat to give the measure comp a bit of a shakeup!! Cheers. 
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Replies:
Posted By: CanadianJohn
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2015 at 10:08pm
| good stuff there geoff! |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2015 at 10:31pm
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Some good stuff Geoff! I was talking about longlines today and how to hook the baits up. Understanding how those longline hooks work is an important thing to understand if using cicrcle hooks for line fishing. I like the idea of the crimps further apart, great idea. ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2015 at 10:56pm
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as normal, some excellent fish Geoff, interesting on released snapper, my theory as well, the amount of stress can not be seen... interesting the hooks and the gap between hooks, friend liked to put a saltwater fly on every second hook but kept the hooks close 1 or 2 mtrs apart, more than often he had fish on the fly with no bait, i certainly would prefer your way. ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: Snappa Geoff
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 5:10am
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Lethal wrote:Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 10:42am
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How about the rules pertaining to long lining.....just to clarify things a little. You obviously can only take your limit, but for how many people on board? If you have four people on board, can you take 4 limits? Can you set longlines multiple times in one day? You need a float with name and phone number in it, is it compulsory to have a float at both ends of the longline? ( not a problem if setting in 15m of water, but I imagine a pain in the ass if dropping a dan-line for puka in 250m!) One time we used a long line it was really basic, the guy just had a nylon rope mainline, and simply tied 2 foot long 50lb traces to the backbone every five metres or so. Worked fine, got eight or so nice snapper, no problems at all. Can't remember if he had two floats or one, I suspect just the one, as he was a keen KISS believer. ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 12:56pm
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i get the impression Capt A we are crossing horns here some place, from the shore: first is the Kontiki longline one person 25 hooks allowable catch is 7 snapper and what ever other species, if you have one or two other people helping out can they take their Quota of 7 each? from a boat: the rules state 1 longline per person with a total of 2 for 2 people and only 2 regardless of anymore on board, what it doesn't say is how many fish can be kept if there are more than 2 people on board this would be near impossible to police, situation is 2 longlines 50 hooks 4 fishing-people on board allowable catch is 7 by how many? is it 4 or is it 2people only? if you say for instants your 2 longlines produces 50 fish are you allowed to take a total of 14 for the 2 gays that own the longlines or 4 lots of 7fish because you all had a hand in retrieving the longlines??? ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: dalgo
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 1:37pm
1. For a boat, no different from rod fishing, 4 people = 4 limits. Although the rules do actually say the limit is 'per person' this is generally applied as a group limit. 2. Yes you can set multiple times. 3. No you don't need a float at both ends. The rules state that any surface float has to be marked with surname and initials, but doesn't specify how many floats. My opinion anyway.
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 1:55pm
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A couple comments Sure larger than the 2. 2 m between hooks will cover greater area with better results....and yeah bit more applicable for shore based long lines... But longer lays means more interference/ restrictions of others around u....and as far as boat based goes, its NOT about the BIG catch.. its about getting a feed when fishing is hard, and or prospecting areas see if its working yet. With all due respect.. My old man put tubes over traces on his kontiki....he died over 40yrs ago and the kontiki was before the plastic bag fad starting in the early... back then was a couple galved down pipes( anyone rem when they where still around) rigged up into a catamaran configuration and a square sail rigging... and again he set his hooks closer but positioned into his target area....those days no 4x4s or bikes to haul big catches back. Oh and go to bait back then was mullet and trev, sometimes squid, but that was expensive. As to rules.. there is reality. the limit is say 7 per ppl... 3 ppl on board.. chances are they have dropped a couple fishing lines and already have a couple in the bin. Does that mean the 2 pulling the line up, the 3rd will it on their bum? or maybe clean hooks as they come in or manoeuvre the boat or unhook the catch ? So one of the 3 has 2 in the bin.. he can have 5 off the LL....the other 2 can have total 14.....end of the day in practical terms it still comes down to 7 per person for each that has dropped a line in the water. As applies to land based.. its just not clear... |
Posted By: Snappa Geoff
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 2:22pm
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Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 3:47pm
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i dont think its exceeding the Limit Geoff its more like what you read into it, say 3 people arrive with a set line, one proceeds to feed out the Kontiki tower one other helps feed the line and another clips on the traces, have we now not got the same situation as a person diving or dredging for scallops? boatman/diver/observer 3 times the limit can be taken in this situation, yes i dont know if it is written any were that this is true or false??? so Geoff you may have been ok if others had give you a hand and they were reward with fish reducing your take home catch was back to legal, or they had come home with you and removed X amount when you had finished cleaning up.. ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: Clutch
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 4:26pm
Remember SG your Snapper limit is over and above you 20 fin fish limit. well that's how i read it.
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Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 4:33pm
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Yes, snapper are not included in the general finfish bag, so kahawai, Tarakihi etc are not included, so you can have your seven snapper, as well as up to twenty other finfish. Pretty generous bags really. And I know, that is not including kingfish and hapuku, you can add that mixed five fish bag as well..... ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 4:35pm
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The finfish limit IS on top of the snapper limit. I am 100% sure that if you have 2 people working in setting and retrieving the longline then both people are allowed to take their limit. ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 4:37pm
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If there are four folks on the boat Smudge? What then? ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: AndreA
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 6:21pm
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You can take the limit on the amount of people on board from my personal experience.Had a morning out fishing with just long lines 3 people on board kept 20 snapper & a couple gurnard came back the the ramp was checked over by MPI officers all good as far as they were concerned. They checked all the gear counted the hooks(one of the officers did abit of longlining himself & was impressed with the paul Barnes hooks I use). Checked all over the boat to see if there were any hidden fish great to see them doing a through job. ------------- f*#k it all & f*#king no regrets |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2015 at 7:36pm
that is what i mean Capt A 4 people on a boat can take their limit regardless of how they catch them, its not correct legally you are supposedly keep each angler catch apart, they never in force it but it is in the rule book... now 4 people on a beach is a totally different kettle of fish, you only have one means of catching fish and a machine which depending on how its rigged might need 4 people to set and pull in, is the owner or group of owners allowed to take more than allocated depending on which coast of coarse, how many allocations of fish can it be doubled or tripled or even more if all had a hand in it???? ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |