Tailor Dawn Or Dusk

[jethro279]

Hey guys, just wondering what your opinions are on the best time to try for some tailor

[Cameron Sims]

i find that night is better as they prefer night to feed
cameron

[Horse]

I like dawn for spinning and dusk/night if fishing baits

[nigelr]

Both are good if the fish are about. Night time has produced the most consistant catches of large fish for me, although my PB (10lb) was caught about 6.30 am in May last year, a time when I would normally have finished fishing and be on my way home.
Cheers.

[deepfried]

Both for me. I have picked up fish over 4kg at dawn and dusk. I fish dusk mostly because i am not an early riser and can fit it into the weekly routine. Night time with baits is good for the green backs as well.

[pommy]

G'day folks!

Anyone local to Ballina want to show me how it's done with baits?

Have had fish to 2.5kg off the point and boulders on bait and 2.5 on poppers. but nothing bigger.

Havn't fished at night before much at all.

Regards, Rob.

[Hi tide]

yeah dusk and dawn does it for me on the pillies.
I know night works well hearing the exploits of friends but never had the opportunity yet.

[deepfried]

Be patient Rob. The big fellas arent far away.

[Bazzawookooka]

Hi,

Anyone have an opinion about the use of salted pillies as opposed to fresh (frozen) ones???

Steve

[bondy99]

I'll be waiting for them too.

Dawn just after sunrise I use raider lure 55 to 75mg with a stinger and sometimes pillies if they are not thick and then at dusk onwards yep, pillies only as metal lures require a light source to reflect.

Also, if you like to do what I've seen some asians do. i.e. use a float with a size 8 sinker immediately below the float and swivel + 40cm lead with size 4 4/0 ganged hooks.

I've seen them ebing caught at night and you can see the float action if you place a cylume stick above the float at nignt.

These are the tailor I caught on Sunday 9th May

[bondy99]

Hi,

Anyone have an opinion about the use of salted pillies as opposed to fresh (frozen) ones???

Steve

G'day Steve,

I've used salted pillies in the past. they do work when the tailor are thick and the pillies stay on the hook longer than the frozen fresh types. i had to repack them in salt every second day and place in paper and in fridge.

I cannot guarantee they will work all the time.

Peter

[nigelr]

Try large strip flesh baits of mullet, tailor, bonito, mac tuna, 1/2 a large slimey etc.
The larger fish are pretty darn savage and love flesh baits.
A strip to suit a 3 hook rig of 2 x 6/0 gangs with a 7/0 in the middle, especially at night, enjoy!
PS forgot to mention, large strips of squid to suit the above rig are also a fantastic tailor bait, and may also score you a school jew if they are about.
Cheers.

[bondy99]

Try large strip flesh baits of mullet, tailor, bonito, mac tuna, 1/2 a large slimey etc.
The larger fish are pretty darn savage and love flesh baits.
A strip to suit a 3 hook rig of 2 x 6/0 gangs with a 7/0 in the middle, especially at night, enjoy!

Good idea, I'll be cast netting for mullet later this evening.

Shark to be had too maybe.

Peter

[Slider]

Bondy, tailor will definitely take metals after dark and I've spun up plenty over the years along with golden trevs and tarpon out of the surf on Teewah Beach. They use sound and lateral line to detect the metal landing on the water surface and moving from there. Calm conditions and full moon are advantageous though not essential.

I have caught many tailor over 10lb between 9am and 3pm on Sliders, but the dawn or dusk is usually, but not always, when tailor will chew hardest. Depends on whether is a new or full moon, the water being fished and whether suitable for high or low tides and nearby boat and vehicle traffic during the day.

As a rule, metals will far out perform baits during daylight hours and vice verse at night.

Lindsay

[bondy99]

G'day Lindsay.

I'll take your word for it, however I have had no success at night on lures .

Plenty during the day, and yes the variables of wind. tide and moon phases is to be taken into account but there has always been exceptions to the rule.

Peter

[hooknose]

Hey Lindsay,
Have the bait crew(Drew,Cedrick etc) had any action up your way prior to last week. Have not had news of their activities(or yours) for quite a while.
Cheers Stevo !!

[Bazzawookooka]

Good evening all,

I've finally gotten round to getting a Bribie beach permit again and was thinking about running down the outside a ways in search of some tailor this weekend.

Any news or experience with fishing that part of the world?

At this stage I'm open to heading out for a dawn or a dusk patrol so I'm happy to take any advice or suggestions.

Btw - can't believe the weather today, and by the look of things tomorrow will be even better - if only there wasn't bills to pay I'd be out there till my clothes fell off my back.

Anyway, thanks in advance, and thanks for the replies regarding salting - very helpful.

Cheers,

Steve

[bondy99]

G'day Steve,

Good luck with them, I heard tailor are coming on at Caberita, there should be some greenbacks making their way up.

I'm definitely going to buy a second hand 4WD for beach work, dont want a new one.

What tyres are good for beach and general road wear?

Cheers.

Peter

[Bazzawookooka]

Peter,

Don't do much beach work - in fact can't remember the last time I've been off the black-top.

My pajero is on its second set of standard bridgestone dueller H/L and I can't fault them on the road as far as road noise, grip and wear (~60K).

I'm sure there are hard-core 4wd people all over the country cringing at the thought, but as I said, I'm not really all that often on the beach.

Not sure if it does but hope this helps.

Cheers,

Steve

[bondy99]

No worries Steve, its all good,

Good luck with tailor hunting

Peter

[RobGoesFish]

Go night time if you can mate.

[Crisp Bee]

The most success for me has been in the early evening, and at first light on the sunshine coast. But i have caught heaps on fraser in the late morning.
I prefer good flesh bait at night, a Slab of fresh mullet, or whole poddy mullet, butterflied if dead. However a few mangled pillies in the gutter can act as berley early in the evening.

[bondy99]

There was bugger all caught on the spit area on Thursday night and only a dozen tailor caught on the sand pumping jetty same night from the period of 4.00pm to 3.30am then I went home with 2 bream.

[yellowbeard]

I've been religiously attacking tailor and bream for about a year now on the beach. I've found that although the dawn service is a big part of the religious experience, for me it's not necessarily when you catch the most tailor. Often they come on a little later -- could depend on the tide, whether or not there's red weed floating aroung (which they hate getting in their gills [apparently]), the current, if there's bait fish around -- whatever. But one thing I've noticed about the early birders is that they'll often leave an hour after dawn if they don't catch anything -- and I stay and come home with the fish.

[Slider]

Stevo, not really much of anything being caught off this beach on lure or bait. I think I've caught one chopper since xmas and the bait guys that leave 3 or 4 rods in rod holders all night are only finding 1 or 2 choppers at best. Heard of numbers of tailor being caught one night north of Teewah a couple of weeks ago that were all 3kg, but size and quantity haven't been verified.
Has been a lot of complaints about the lack of tailor here the last 2 - 3 years and the lack of fish generally - largely because there is a general lack of fish.

Good to see the netters are on the beach at last - wouldn't want any cats getting hungry.

[hooknose]

Cheers Linds, you will have to come down this way and give it a burl mate, there has been a few round the Goldy and northern NSW on bait and lure, tides are looking good for Wednesday onwards through the weekend.
Cheers Steve R !!

[bondy99]

I'll be fishing Monday arvo from 3.00pm to get my spot and stay until 2.00am or stay until 6.00am

Bream and hopefully tailor to be had.

Peter

[PNG1M]

It's definately afternoon/evening for me on a rising tide.

I've caught hundreds of tailor in the past and I reckon 98% of them have been caught late arvo. The rising tide seems to be preferable.

Maybe that 98% is due to the fact that I'm not an early riser & prefer the evening shift.

When targeting tailor I fish with two rods, in rod holders a few metres apart.
I usually hold one rod & keep an eye on the other.

I have a hole dug in the sand up the beach near my gear and if/when I get tailor I bleed them immediately & leave'em head first in the hole.

I whack the fillets off before leaving the beach then I skin'em when I get home.

I carry a thin chopping board in my tackle bag & when the filleting time comes I scrape up a bit of a sand castle & press the board firmly onto it - makes an improvised table.

I like to carry some frozen WA pillies with me in a small esky. By the time I'm ready to fillet the tailor the pillies are mostly finished. So the fillets have room in the esky for the trip home.

Too easy...