Catching livebaits
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Newbies Corner
Forum Description: If you're new to fishing this is the place to ask any questions about getting started ...
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=52450
Printed Date: 13 Nov 2026 at 4:55pm
Topic: Catching livebaits
Posted By: gromph
Subject: Catching livebaits
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2010 at 1:42pm
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Hi,
i've got a small 3.6m boat and want to know the easiest way to catch some livebaits at the start of a fishing session. I have tried with a sabiki putting small bits of bait but find I end up catching mostly small snapper. Am I better off putting a sabiki under a float so I'm fishing shallow and then throwing some type of ground bait in? Cheers |
Replies:
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2010 at 2:26pm
| Definately use a ground bait and fish near the top of the water. Sometimes you need to pick up your livebaits elsewhere but give it a go where you are fishing. Piper, jack macks and smmall kahawai respond well to burley. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2010 at 3:22pm
| Try stopping the boat over the bait schools you often see on the sounder and drop Sabikis to the bottom with ~4oz sinkers on the end. Bounce it on the bottom a few times and then reel up and drop again if nothing takes it. If you catch too many small snapper etc, move on to the next school. Bait fishing like this is often at it's best at the crack of dawn in shallow bays or on the edge of channels. Catching live baits during the day in this way is usually more hit and miss. Even when snapper fishing around the channels etc an unbaited sabiki rod stuck in the rodholder will catch you a supply of live baits. For piper out of the burley trail I usually use a 3 - 4lb line with a tiny trout hook under a float. Maggots are great bait, but failing that small bits of dough or bait will usually work. |
Posted By: gromph
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2010 at 12:34pm
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Thanks alot guys - will try some of the suggestions.
Being one of the many POMs round here, I'm well used to using maggots under a float but alas no longer have any of the course fishing tackle i used to own - out of interest where can you buy maggots here?
Cheers
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Posted By: FreshOffTheBoat
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2010 at 8:10pm
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Do you guys motor up to a bay before fishing and top up your livebait tank using a combination of burley and sabikis? how long does this usually take? I was wondering similar to gromph, I just wanna catch then go target my main species..
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Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2010 at 11:25pm
| No idea where you would buy maggots try the Freshwater forum someone there will know. Livies are often caught around rocks, headlands etc. |
Posted By: JordanM
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 12:07am
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what about bait fishing LB? im down here in welly, and as you may know, where HAWDED with spotties! is there anyway to get baitfish eg, jackmack,KY,Herring...etc without hooking up spotties!? and could you use sabikis LB? or would it be more of a wharf type thing...? ------------- "size doesnt matter" tell that to the fisheries! |
Posted By: aji_tsuri
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 1:28am
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If you are keen on the maggots and aren't to fussy try producing your own.
Obtain some meat (road kill, out of date meat, discount meat, fish heads, neighbours cat, etc).
Attach very securely a piece of string or wire
Place in bucket covered loosly (you don't want birds, cats or your dog getting it, but you do want flies to have access) and make sure the string is hanging out and easily accessible
Leave until either the stench gets too bad or you can see maggots wriggling around
Now with the forementioned easily acceessible secure string (I think this a key element) lift the maggot riddled meat and hang it up with a container below to catch the maggots. They should just drop out. p.s. I've never tried this and doubt I ever will.
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Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 10:44am
Kerry if you want maggots ya just have to breed em Great for piper i used to breed them when i was younger and clean them up in bran much to my mums discust  .You dont need to go through that hassle tho just small squid is fine for piper etc. The trick with piper is to find a sheltered bay out of the wind berley up and use a pencil float and tiny hook. |
Posted By: Resacobi
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 11:16am
| Local knowledge is king for Livies. There are fantastic spots up where I fish and most people drive straight past them in a rush to get out into deeper water. Spend the time catching livies... there nearly always make the difference between good and great fishing, either as live baits or fresh dead baits. |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 11:47am
| Jordan, to get away from the spotties you need to try fishing near the top of the water using a float although if it is shallow you will still catch them. Some floating burley such as crumbled weetbix or bread should help draw them in. |
Posted By: NZ_Nitro
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 4:45pm
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how do you put a live bait on a hook?
------------- Always learning |
Posted By: gromph
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 9:49pm
Think it depends on the livebait - I'm no expert but I think with larger fish such as Khawhai you can hook them just in front of the dorsal fin and for piper hooking the just in front of the anal fin (bottom near the tail). Someone may correct me here though
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NZ_Nitro wrote:Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 9:55pm
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Sorry I dont have a pic to show you. I'll try and explain. Hooks can be straight shanked or kirbed. A kirb is where the point of the hook bends one way or the other from the shank. Grab a hook and have a look - chances are unless it's a lure hook it will be kirbed. Anyway back to the live bait. You can insert the hook just in front of the dorsal fin, dont hook it deeply you want plenty of the hook protruding and you dont want to kill the livey. If you lie the hook down towards the tail of the point of the hook will either curve in toward the live bait which you dont want or curve away from the bait exposing the point which you do want. It is the kirb of the hook that is responsible for that, if it curves in toward the bait you need to put the hook through from the other side. By putting the hook through at an angle towards the head of the bait it will further expose the point of the hook making a hook up more likely. There are other ways but with pics its all a little hard to explain. |
Posted By: gromph
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 9:55pm
Cheers Adrian, I have found (or at least my wife has) maggots in our waste bin recently having put some bloodied newspaper used for cleaning fish in the bin (which does have a lid). Don't know how the flies get in but they sure do love fish blood  I so wish I'd brought some of my course fishing tackle over from the UK - am well used to using small floats / light line / maggots etc.
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Posted By: JordanM
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 10:37pm
heres a thread from earlier this year http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=52277&PID=743049&title=hooking-up-live-bait - http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=52277&PID=743049&title=hooking-up-live-bait ------------- "size doesnt matter" tell that to the fisheries! |