Setup for livies???

[geoff72]

Would just like to know what peoples different set ups for livies(poddy mullet) are.
i have seen many different ones, things like sinker size,depending on tide flow, best hook size and how do you rig it, running sinker, do you use a swivel?
Just looking at trying to improve my catches so would be interesting to get different ideas.
cheers all

geoff

[trueblue]

what are you fishing for?

[yellahunter]

I am interested in this one too,
i was just about to post a thread when i saw geoffs question,

i know i will be targeting jacks/trevally around the gold coast canals and bridges.
i have just purchased a cast net again and wondered what the most successful rig is for doing this style of fishingl. I will be land based if that helps,

any info on the rigs even down to hook type and size is much appreciated.

thanks guys.

[kingkev]

I have found that if you are fishing in a bit of flow then hook-lipping the mullet seems to be the way to go. Otherwise threw the top just behind the head. I make sure that the the tip of the hook is facing the head as apposed to going through from left to right.

I fish the rock walls off Townsville a bit and I prefer the paternoster set up. This keeps the livie off the bottom and because I use 2 hooks on the rig I set one at least 1 m from the sinker (off the ground)

This seems to work for Barra who swallow the lot. Grabbers like trevs and Mangrove jack tend to pull the bait off the hook a lot when I have a livie attached to the top fin area.........maybe just my poor fishing skills. I am still trying to work out whether most fish attack live head on , swallow the lot or tail first.

Good luck

[Noelm]

Jacks and Jews can be fished with a float to keep the bait just off the bottom, and if you are in a strong tidal flow, just hooked through the top lip and a sinker to suit flow, then just drop it over the side and feed it back to the "secret spot" a couple of guys I know use a really big weight and it stays under neath the boat but they feed the bait back for a couple of hundred metres, works a treat for big jews in rivers.

[the gecko]

I always use a gamma circle hook 2/0 in the rivers. I find pinning the livie just forward of the dorsal fin works best. Make sure you pin him under the lateral line, or youll kill him if you pin him too high in the spine. Ive lost a couple by lip hooking them too, they get off too easy. Leader of 20 - 40 lbs, depending on conditions and target fish size. No swivel for me, but sometimes I set the sinker above the leader knot and it gives about 3ft of trace enough room to move about in the current.

Tip 1-Sinker size needs to be whatever you need to feel the bottom in the current, so I use a quick change running sinker clip. It lets me change sinker size often without rerigging, and this has been a godsend. I used to be too lazy to rerig and change sinkers, so I had a few baits not holding bottom, hence no hits.

Sometimes I float them under a balloon with no sinker, if it looks like surface action is about.

tip 2 - Sometimes I cut the tip off the tail, to make them look more injured and swim up off the bottom, or down from the surface. Cut the top tip off the tail to give him more power to swim up off the bottom.

I park upstream and I feed line to it, so it bounces along the river bottom to the target zone. I usually fish one rod at a time, but if its slow, I will run 2 rods and set both baitrunner reels to free run. Unfortunately, I get less hookups when the reel goes zzzz tho.

I use the same rigs and settings when I use a fleshbait as well. Ive also bought an ammonia reducer to keep them alive longer. I read about this in the livebait thread last week, so I'll let you know if it works.

cheers
Andrew

[ffejsmada]

Gecko,

I've never heard of pinning the livie "under the lateral line" as you have stated.

The hook normally goes between the lateral line and the spine.