Long Live Bait fishing!!!

[Snodger Sniper]

19-9-07 0700hrs
Arrived at spot X to find conditions were better than i expected - it was nice to see the weather dudes had done their homework :) With high expectations of the mornings fishing, I baited up my new 2-5kg T-Curve (9lb Trilene mono line), and sunk back into the newly padded drivers chair...

2 hours later and no bites yet....things were not looking good. Was this going to be another one of those trips where we are scraping at the bottom of the barrell for a feed? Without a bite to tell on the T-Curve, it was looking like a poor show. Then just as the sun was beginning to heat up, so did the fish activity! It was unstoppable action for the next 2 hours

Fish Sizes
10 squire ranging from 36 - 68cm (with 6 over 50cm)
1 sweetie (52cm)
1 spotty (60cm)


The big boy took 15 minutes land, nearly stripped out the gears in my little AernosXT4000. Ever since then my reel sounds a bit gravelly when I crank it so might have to re-oil it or get a new one :-/ . It might be time to upgrade to something with a smoother drag anyways ;D

All told, an amazing day! Cheers to all bait fisho's!!!

Good fishin,
SS

[roydsy]

Good report and well done. Hanging for some offshore action again.

[fish-freak]

Onya Sniper , Top Session There Mate!! Love The Hat!! Cheers Daz...

[Sea-Captain]

Go sniper! Shame about the hat!!!....Goes to show patience DOES pay off - most anglers would of left for home after about 10am...but you just have to find the fish....cheers

[jpart10]

I voted bait because i use it more often but i do use plastics as well and i dont like to compare the two i just like to use bait when i feel like using bait and plastics when i feel like using plastics.
Good report where abouts offshore were you not exact spot but which bar were you out from?
Cheers
Jpart10

[mako101]

Last time I went out around a week ago was a repeat performance for my 7 " nuclear chickens, not even a nibble, all day!, fish were showing up in great numbers on the sounder.
Caught 3 snapper all around 50 cms on dead bait and had bites all day as well.

I am starting to wonder if these plastics are a total conjob.
I`ve read that there is a technique etc etc but how much technique do you need?, it is not rocket science.

[breamnut]

no its not rocket science but there is something your doing wrong if you cant catch any!
i hate using bait and it feels way better when you catch big fish on sp's.

[bream"n"bass]

i absolutely love catching fish on sp's. i find that i always catch bigger fish on them. bait is all right when you want to just laze around but sp's keep you moving and having fun. great fish there mate, great effort for nine pound mono(I PREFER BRAID)

[Peter4]

I have just started using plastics and have had some success.

Pros - no bad smells, easy to use, don't seem to catch as much vermin, easy to source

Cons - expensive (especially jig heads), useless in weed, much harder work (rather than relaxing with a few baits floated out), not as good at night (in my opinion).

I'm still sitting on the fence.

Pete

[nigelr]

Great report and pics SS.
Wouldn't mind a pup out of that hat!
Good catch on 9lb!
I'm also on the fence, I use both, had better results with bait so far.
It's all good!
Cheers.

[onerabbit]

Well done SS,
did you take note of the position of the moon when they came on??

Muzz

[Yolo2007]

Nice feed....should keep the tribe happy for a couple of days ;-) I've tried both plastics and bait and I believe it depends on the day....Some days they love the plastics and others they love bait. I try to always be prepared for both like a good boy scout.

[Snodger Sniper]

onerabbit the moon was first quarter and was just rising as the bite started. Maybe you would be so kind as to explain to folks (and me also) what this means to a fish.;D


Cheers,
SS

[Sea-Captain]

The moons gravitational pulls on the tides, coupled with barametric pressure - seems to affect the swim bladder in fish - which in turn affect their feeding habits. Of course wind direction and the availability of bait fish also has a big influence. That is my reasoning gathered with 25 years of fishing for both sea -bourn and freshwater species such as trout. Fishing seems to inprove with the moon phases leading up to the full moon - say from first quater to within 3 days of the high moon. Cheers

[Sea-Captain]

The moons gravitational pulls on the tides, coupled with barametric pressure - seems to affect the swim bladder in fish - which in turn affect their feeding habits. Of course wind direction and the availability of bait fish also has a big influence. That is my reasoning gathered with 25 years of fishing for both sea -bourn and freshwater species such as trout. Fishing seems to inprove with the moon phases leading up to the full moon - say from first quater to within 3 days of the high moon. Cheers8-)

[Snodger Sniper]

Jpart10 you are banned so i am not telling you where i go fishing. i dont know what you were banned for, but until you are 'unbanned' (if thats possible) let's just say I normally get most of my success from fishing close to the estuaries. I normally don't go very far offshore. This is because I prefer to spend more time fishing than getting there. ;D

Good fishin to all,
Sniper

Wisdom is the ability to put the knowledge you have learned into practice.

[Snodger Sniper]

Just out of interest does anyone fish by the moon phases? For offshore fishing I prefer the first and last quarter cause there is less run and you can use lighter lead...

I have started a new thread for this topic.

[ddobson]

My spin on the whole bait to soft plastics is; Plastics work much better in the shallower water on dusk and dawn but when i went out to the bowan banks with my mate on plastics is no hits when the line is straight down and no room to jig them up and along the bottom. So go the smelly old bait out in the deep and don,t bring the smelly stuff in the shallows because the plastics work way more better in the bay where the small peckers suck your bait off and the plastics rule number one. Sorry but i will never go back to the smelly stuff in the bay unless they stop making plastics. We all have fun in our own elemant and thats what makes fishing fun. OH (go the lime tigers) sorry i slipped.

[Fisher4life]

Mate that sounds like you had a great trip, and were rewarded with a good quality feed of fish. Well done!!

I bet that big sweetie gave you a good run for your money

[Dunco]

I'd have to say there is a time and place for both.

[Sea-Captain]

I't a confidence thing! the more you use plastics the more comfortable you become - especially when 'they ' whack you hard ......nothing beats getting slammed on the plastic by a 50cm plus snapper! bait will always be better in the deep water and I agree with dobson - the shallows are great for flicking the plastics around - so go the bait and go the plastics...whatever lights your fire!!!

[shorty 01]

i use bate and sps but i voted bait

cheers davo

[Scalem]

I'm glad a heap of fishermen still think bait is better, or we would have had to reduce bag limit numbers again to compensate:P

Scalem

[BigE]

bait mate...... just do it

BigE

[larfin]

Im with big E go the bait.I have heard that soft plastics get caught in the fishes guts a bit like a plastic bag and lately a few pros have told me when they get a fish thats a bit thin and gut it there is often a lump of sp caught in its guts.Have not seen it myself yet but maybe after they have been out a bit longer we will know more
cheers
greg

[FNQCairns]

Plastics offshore are a bit lost on me, always and before the plastic spin started we just used a bait presented like todays plastics which is nothing but basic good bait presentation anyway

Oh well 1 step forward 2 steps back.

cheers fnq

[disorderly]

I think using the SP's are cheating ...honestly..I dropped a squidgey down a few months ago out the reef and hooked a trout on the drop first up...geez fishing is not meant to be that easy...so I switched back to bait and the challenge began.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/wink.gif

Scott

[indian man]

i also voted bait but im trying to get into plastics even tough they cost an arm and a leg no mess and i have seen them work

[Getout]

Im with big E go the bait.I have heard that soft plastics get caught in the fishes guts a bit like a plastic bag and lately a few pros have told me when they get a fish thats a bit thin and gut it there is often a lump of sp caught in its guts.Have not seen it myself yet but maybe after they have been out a bit longer we will know more
cheers
greg

I've been waiting for some noise about this issue. Personally, I think SPs should be bio-degradable.

[snapperbasher]

Gulps are bio degradable.

Cheers lochie

[business class]

Argh bait vs SP's. ;D i have always been a bait man untill i learn't the art of soft plastics fishing and i would have to say they both go good but plastics always help catch more fish. When people say that fish pull harder on SPs rather then bait it is false, and if they sit down and think about it the reason for it seeming like they do put up a better fight is because you are hooked direct to the fish as braid does not stretch like mono so you feel ever little bump which can be alot more fun but also your body feels it trust me. People who use them will understand. There is indeed an art in SP fishing everyone should know this, and big fish are also not always caught on the plastics but they will also take them with out thinking twice. in my opionion if you leave home with only SP's or bait as your only option you need to seek help:P as i would not waste the money heading out with out trying to cover all bases. so for me its both. and do what ever tickles your own fancy.;D

Cheers
Matty