Hey guys,

I've been getting a lot of snags and losing a fair amount of sinkers, hooks and swivels.
I recently had an idea to use 3 way swivels to have my sinker run from the bottom ring, hook from the middle ring and tied from the top ring. Is there a way to tie a "softer" knot for the sinker so that if it becomes the reason to get the rig stuck, it will break before anything else that is tied?
I've been using the uni knot for pretty much everything.

Happy for any advice really, cheers

Fish Addict wrote: Just use a lighter breaking strain line to attach the sinker.

Makes sense. Cheers.

Another question I have is do I need to add mono to the end of my braid main line? A guy I know mentioned adding a meter or so of mono to the end of my braid before putting on a rig.

Circle hooks and don't strike, let the fish hook itself.

MB wrote: If this is boat fishing, then a lighter sinker or even no sinker at all in addition to the good advice given above.

This would be me fishing off the rocks/beach/wharf/jetty. Can't really afford a boat or a charter trip in this economy

I'm thinking of using circle hooks with a float rig also, or would J hooks and striking be better?

Circle hook or J hook? An endless discussion! With a float rig, you should know when you get a bite straight away, so I'd go J hook, but if you find you are gut hooking undersize fish, I'd switch to a circle hook. 

Bait cotton - just wrap a few times and then end wrap around the shank. Don't put too much on - they don't seem to like it. Just enough to keep it on til they bite.

Pillies are mushy if you re-freeze. Oncers. Just take (or thaw) what you are going to use.

Alan

Gaz1 you may find this of interest.

http://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=salting+bait+for+fishing&mid=F2CA1B9B657DEC31055EF2CA1B9B657DEC31055E&FORM=VIRE " rel="nofollow - https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=salting+bait+for+fishing&mid=F2CA1B9B657DEC31055EF2CA1B9B657DEC31055E&FORM=VIRE 

I get them free frozen  and bolt for home  before they get a chance to thaw even a wee bit .  Thaw them slowly ( like not in the sun in the back of the boat on way to ramp )  and then use . Left over pillies are berley as re-freezing them is almost as good as mincing them.

 When I lived Nelson way I used to get whole frozen raw prawns ( big ones ) either cut or snap the body off the tail whilst still frozen  and keep the tails for me and use the body as bait . The snapper seemed to like them 

 I also bought Sanmar  free flow frozen , same deal as the pillies when it comes to refreezing  just not so bad .

 When I used pillies ( or sardines ) if they are a bit dodgy I used a sliding keeper hook  .   A 5 inch  pillie  on a 4 or 5/0  circle main hook  threaded thru the body  twice  then the keeper hook ( 3/0  J hook ) once thru the  tail  and then 1/2 hitch the leader round both the keeper shank and the tail .

Dont forget if you choose to fish unweighted baits fresh is great as frozen baits float , unfrozen will sink down naturally. Dont forget to berley.

I'll be honest, I'm definitely not going to google that 😂

So curiosity got the best of me and I googled it + fishing. Very interesting concept, I'm unsure of how well it would do off the rocks though lol

Good luck.

Was anyone else catching off the wharf?

Alan

Pcj wrote: try the end of queens wharf where the cloud is,plenty people fish of there so no issue fishing

If the Wilson carpark wasn't going to cost $6 for half an hour, I would probably give that a go.
Maybe I'll give it a try if the Mrs can do a drop off/pick up some time. How deep is the water there?

On another note, are there any resources available to find out how deep water is at high/low tide at certain wharves/jettys/beaches in Auckland/NZ?

The fishing where you were the other day may well have been tough going - you only saw 1 decent fish caught. Normally if there were plenty around, some more would have been snagged, so don't get too discouraged.  You can always ask the likes of someone who caught something, what technique/bait they are using. Then there is the bite time. I couldn't tell you how that works in Akl regarding harbours and tides, moon etc. But the locals will chip in.

Sometimes, when the bite is on, your line struggles to hit  the bottom. When the bite is off, there may be plenty of fish around - but good luck trying to catch something. That is fishing.  I have sat over top of fish (on my sounder, in the boat) and not got a bite. You know they are down there. But can come home with zero.

The sprats are going to be a challenge with the bait. Something a bit tougher - as suggested by MB may help.

Good luck

Alan 

The marine environment is dynamic, so there are no hard and fast rules which is what makes fishing so fascinating and occasionally, frustrating. Sometimes snapper will literally be chomping on the burley bag. Other times, they are more cautious and hang well back. 

Luck? It plays a part for sure, but what we try to do is reduce our reliance on luck.

I believe that light attracts small critters which attract baitfish which in turn attract bigger predators. Light can be good, but I wouldn't mind fishing in total darkness either. Fish have a great sense of smell.

Just shows you never know until you try.

Trevally are one of our favourite eating fish. Don't let anyone put you off, although admittedly, the blood line (red meat) doesn't freeze very well, so I remove it if freezing trevally fillets. Doesn't sound like that's going to be an issue for you right now