how much lead is too much

[krazyfisher]

when bottom bouncing I use a twisted dropper rig with snapper leads on the bottom a number 4 in small tides and a number 8 in big tides last trip I was using a 12 and could not get to the bottom tried two number 8's still no bottom at what stage do you give up or any tips to get to the bottom
thanks

[westie]

Mate that sounds like to much hard work with all that lead and by the time you hookup you will want some good tackle and man power to work that for and hour or so.

I would advise shift out of the main stream.

What depth are you working.
I use 2-4's mostly and lighter if I can get away with it on the twisted dropper rig, in upto 40m+ drops slow and natural. on 8-10kg

[Kiktz]

Mate when you can not get down with 2 x 8's start trolling

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

In my opinion you use what ever it takes to get to the bottom. If that's where the fish are then that's where you've gotta be. Just so long as your gear is up to it. Ask around, there are plenty of blokes who use bigger than a couple of 8's to hit paydirt.

Cheers
Dave

[whichway]

Krazyfisher

I may have beaten you to this one. ;D ;D ;D

Try this:

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/yabb2/YaBB.cgi?num=1122207539/5#5

Bottom Bashing - Is too much lead ever too much? :)


So I bought the sea anchor, and it was much better ;)

Whichway

[gawby]

Common sense should tell you that if you have to put a boat anchor on to get your bait down you are fishing in the wrong spot.
Graeme

[Dodge41]

Dave I have a mate who fishes in the run at the pin when everyone packs it in, he justs adds lead until it stays down. Its a terrible way to fish but he has the fish to prove its worth while.
I prefer to look elsewhere when its like that, as theres no enjoyment.
Cheers Richo

[banshee]

For bottom bashing water up to 120 feet I don't like to go over six ounces,for deeper water using a deck winch I start at a pound and a half and will go to two and a quater pound if I can't drop it back quickly,for real deep water I have a few two and a quater pound sinkers with holes drilled through the bottom so I can cable tie another to it.

[Kiktz]

Hey Banshee,

I bet you have strong arms after using that type of weight for a few hours.
Man I have used pound leads before in 60m's and what a work out.

[krazyfisher]

some more info
fishing in 30-40ft of water on reef that goes from 100ft to 30 ft and 6mtrs of tidal run
the problem is the fish are there

[gawby]

Krazy,
What about 2 hrs each side of the tide. This should be when the water runs at it slowest.
Graeme

[banshee]

G'day Kiktz,the winches are Alvey Reefmasters mounted into the gunnel so you don't realy feel the weight,they are prety good up to the two and a quaters but it does turn into hard work if you chain them together.
Krazy,I'd have to agree with Gawby and fish it around slack water,there's got to be some serious turbulance down there with six metres of run hiting a seventy foot obstruction.

[Cheech]

Would a downrigger suit? I have been reading one of the other threads on making one in the tackle section. Never used one myself, but plan on giving it a go.

Cheech

[bidkev]

Depends what you're after. I fish some of the strongest runs, both in the bay and at the pin. I use up to two pound of lead on king tides but I use 24kg rods and Penn 245LD reels. Yesterday my floaters were doing just that........ the tide was that strong and floating or freelining was out of the question, they just sat on the surface. I don't catch the "littlies" 'cause when it's running *that* strong they will conserve their energy for slack water, but the big vermin(shark etc) and the like will stay on the chew.

It's not pleasant fishing like that, but it allows me to fish when I want when others may just pack up and go home.

You have to ask yourself, "is it worth it?" for example, I knew yesterday, that if I didn't get to fish tempest then the bay fishing would be limited to slack water because of the tide......I still went, with no high hopes, little chance of *real* success, but I got some 'down time" and sometimes that's all you can ask for. If I waited for the right moon, weather etc, I'd probably get to go less than a quarter of the time I go now.

What tickles me is when I see guys fishing at the X marker off crusoe. You can drive past and you can see their weights and baits sitting on the surface and they're just merrily chatting away in their boats without the slightest idea why they ain't catching ;D They may cop lucky and pull the odd tailor and think everything's fine. I just don't understand why they can't see from the angle of their line, that they're not bottom bashing, as they think they are. :-?

One way of reducing your weight by about half when over mud or sand is to use anchor weights. Cast uptide, allow a bow in your line and the anchor will dig in. Bites will still transmit due to the line being tensioned by the current.

cheers

kev

[webby]

Hi Try a rig like this, I use it or a D.r. in strong current channels and it gets results.
And your bait can float freely or you can let out more line, yes on hookup u have the extra weight to content with, but its worth it when you no the fish are there.
regards

[2DKnBJ]

Depends on what you are fishing for.If you are chasing fish on the bottom you need enough lead to get the bait down.When i fish my usual spot down the pin i always use enough lead to keep the bait on the bottom even if i do look a bit stupid.But i don't look stupid when i am constantly catching bream around the 38-45cm mark.Best to date is 52 cm
Cheers Dazza

[krazyfisher]

webby
thats the go I will give it a try
thanks

[Bowser]

Krazy, are you fishing on the anchor or drifting? If drifting do you know what speed you are drifting at and what type of fish are you after? That is some reef coming out of 100 feet to 30. Is it a small pinicle or a large reef area?

[straddie]

I use a similar rig (but with very different dropper and trace dimensions) to that in current areas as well Webby. But I have found that having a running dropper can work against the main line knot and weaken it and unless you are using big baits the main line is more likely to bow than feed out as you would expect.

IMO so long as your gear can handle it and you can still land the fish, there is no such thing as too much weight if thats whats needed to get the hook to the target. That said I prefer to fish with little or no weight whenever I can.

[krazyfisher]

bowser
anchored
at a guess when drifting around 3-4kns
trout and lipper
and they are small reefs

[webby]

The rig i showed, can be used even in very light weight fishing, yes its a bit more stuffing around setting up the rig, but it allows the bait to move freely and the fish doent not tech any weight, compared to a running sinker type rig.
Leaders and and droppers line class can be any thing to your discression, the drawing was just to show the actually set up of the rig, i find brass ring better, as it allows the line to move through it more freely especially deeper water.
regards

[damons33]

its what the locals call a "myora rig" webby and usually the leader is over 10 feet long.
the weight is dropped to the bottom and then the bait is released to arc down in a strong tidal flow- something i don't use as i fish outside of the bay, like you now it seems webby? gee i like to know these pearly grounds your hunting......... maybe we could do some swapping?