How to hook them

[bike_grinch]

Firstly, I'll start by thanking in advance anyone who chips in with a clue :)

Was out with the youngest in my inflatable on the Gourges R (Sydney) on Sunday for a couple of hours near Garrison Point (sandy and wide - known for flatties, bream and whiting. We were using handlines with running sinker rigs down to frozen prawns.

Had no trouble getting bites - used the whole packet of bait! But the blighters just took two bites and took the bait clean off the hook. Tried using size 2 whiting hooks, and 1/0 suicides after a while.

I was just wondering whether I'd missed something about actually getting the fish to hang on so I could land them?

[bo_sawyer]

Hey bike_grinch

maybe the quality of the bait is ur problem. I know some Servo's i've bought bait from look like they've been in the freezer for a long time. Bad quality prawns will come off the hook very easily. And when your fishin try and keep them out of the sun + heat, this will make them a lot firmer on ur hook.

Hope this helps mate

Cheers.

[bike_grinch]

Come to think of it, the prawns were a bit old.

Thanks

[bo_sawyer]

no worries mate. Tieing a small loop over the tail will also work wonders in keeping your bait on the hook. half hitch loop i think its called. :-/

[bike_grinch]

Actually that last quarter inch was the only bit left after the bites. I got the hitch right, just couldn't get the fish right...

[Fishin_Dan]

MAte they will be tiny bream (And the likes)... They just pick at the bait, and don't really do much else...

You would be much better off there pumping live yabbies & using them either live, or very freshly dead. You could also try catching a few little bait fish (mullet, etc) and using them as livies. You will do much better fishing that way...

If you want the simplicity of dead baits though, squid will stay on your hook longer, and be less easy for the pickers to take it all...

[fish2eat]

Yep, I agree with Fishin_Dan......they were not flatties that were taking the bait. You will need more thought and preparation o catch decent fish.

[al-straddie]

Hi bike-grinch, #

One of the more effective set-ups I've come across is 2 ganged 1/0 hooks, fishing with white bait. #;)

Hook the back hook down the tail, so the top hook comes out thru the eye. Use a running sinker above this, as light as you can get away with for current/water depth. Cast/throw out, and let it sink to the bottom. Once there jig it erreticaly back towards you.

This won't always stop the pickers, but with the bait always on the move, they'll tend to be more aggressive, and grabb it. #Any self respecting flatty can't help itself. and with the gangs Ive rarely been bitten off. :) :)

cheers......... 8-)

ps. as stated above, find the freshist bait you can.

[4x4frog]

Hi bike-grinch,
I had a similar problem fishing at Caluondra a few years back with my 2 boys. We'd cast and they were betting eaten off very quickly. I changed down a hook size or two and switched to tru-turn hooks.
The first couple of hook-ups were actually toad-fish(puffer-fish) so we shifted spots and kept the t/t hooks and ended up with a few small bream, all released but at least the boys got the feel of catching something.

[sf17fisherman]

it all depends on how your putting the prawn on the hook and what hook your useing

when i do do the bait thing with the missus and son we use either a #6 or #4 longshank hook and tread the prawn on from the tail to the head makeing sure it lays straght on the hook thus looking nautral

worth thing about prawns however is that you will get a ton of small pickers and only a hand full of bigger fish ;)