hey guys i was planning to hit up a big hole just before the bar where people have been catching big GT's queenfish monster flathead a few jewies and some tailor over time anyways im going to hit it up saturday morning with a few mates in the boat with livies and i was wondering if there was any special way to hook a livie up to have a better chance to get one of these fish ill be using soft plastics aswell but any tips would be fine
In to top jaw going from one side to the other. Doesn't stop them breathing and makes for a really natural bait. Hang on
like just threw the mouth?
top lip then bottom lip??
depends on who you ask mate, my prefered is through the shoulder of the fish, so that the hook point can't bury in the fish. others prefer under the fish near the tail. if trolling though (and i guess you're not) probably through the nose, or bridled with a rubberband is best with a stinger hook.
also try one under a float and vary the depth, for GTs usually about 1-2m off the bottom is good, sometimes though 2-4m from the surface is good... try different things.
put another on the smallest running sinker you can to make it hold bottom in the conditions. that should keep it in the bite zone. otherwise put a large sinker straight on the end of your trace and feed a swivel through the trace above it, so one hole of the swivel goes through your trace and the other has a second trace (1-2m in length) containing the livie but unweighted, lets the bait swim at any depth it wants without getting to cover easily.
for large GTs, don't be afraid to throw something large out there like a large mullet, whole large gar etc.
i'm not the best person to ask about flatties but i know if SP fishing for them (or luring at all) they like the bottom disturbed so bounce your SP along the bottom in small hops and cast to likely ambush spots remembering they like to face into the current so they can see approaching baitfish as they're ambush predators. also cast to eddies etc too, basically any structure.. helps to have a good look around at low tide, or on the sounder.
good luck mate.
what about drifting will that be the same as the trolling??
i i might actually try the floaty sounds good or ill get my mate to since hes on the hunt for a GT
Only through the top jaw but from left to right or vice versa. Lots of pelagics like to take their feed head first so it gets a pretty good hook up rate and swims very naturally.
Ockoman try these rigs out. Very easy to prep up and very effective.
"If I am going too burn time let it be holding my rod. For when it is time to lay me at rest let it be a Viking burial at it's best. Give back for what I have Taken."
I use a two hook rig. Normally two Mustad live bait hooks snelled together. One just behind the head of the mullet, and one in front of the tail. Careful not to pierce their back bone though, or they won't be 'livies' anymore.
What live bait are you going to use? Mullet is a great all-round live bait, same with herring. Pike is supposed to be great for jew, but I always seem to have them die on me, then feed the crabs. Gar I haven't used live, but they're a great dead bait for most estuarine species, from flatty to tailor to big bream.
Cheers,
Kaidon
Conservation NOT preservation!
same with the lateral line, avoid that too..Originally Posted by HeadBanger
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