Plastics in the Bay... 'feeling' the bottom?

[Damned67]

Ok, so I 'cut my teeth' fishing with soft plastics chasing Flathead in the shallows out of Tingalpa Creek, so in only a metre or two of water where it's easy to 'feel' the plastic contacting the bottom.

Lately, I've really tried to focus on fishing plastics out at Harry's, and with some success. Yesterday's trip resulted in a 60cm snapper. A quick trip late last Friday secured a squire in the 43-45cm range (didn't measure it properly), and from a trip the weekend before I came home with a 52, a 56 and a 74cm snapper, so I've been doing OK.
That said, this is still all a learning curve.
I'm generally in about 20m of water, and either cast ahead of the drift (and assume that the plastic hits the bottom before I pass over it or thereabouts) or I freespool to the bottom and watch for a change in sink rate. I'm guessing with the combination of current and braid, that when I hit the bottom I still lose line, albeit at a much slower rate?
The thing is, I can't really 'feel' that I'm on the bottom. Jigging the lure when I think I'm on the bottom doesn't feel any different in the line to when I'm in the mid to lower sections of the water column.
In that depth, and using jigheads in the 1/4-3/8oz range, should I be able to feel the lure contacting the bottom, or just assume that it's there?
If I should be able to feel it, what am I doing wrong and what should I be changing?

Like I said, I'm still learning here.

Cheers!

[wags on the water]

You could purchase some of the coloured line (ten metres per colour) then go from there. If you are drifting over anything but sand, you don't want to feel the bottom or you'll be leaving the jigheads on the bottom. Slack line is usually an indicator of being on the bottom. Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[Scalem]

Lately I have been paying attention to the balance of the jighead being used. What do I mean? Best example is to show you a TT 1 ounce ( which I powdercoated in silver to keep its shine - but that's another story) and then show you a deepwater jighead to compare. Notice the position of the towing eye? If you ran a line through the eye you will see the TT will maintain a balanced, level positioning, but the deepwater will tip toward the rear, which keeps the head of the jighead up. Obviously the Jighead keeping its head up will be more suited to dead sticking your plastic along the bottom, or ripping up when you are chasing Kingfish - or so is my theory if the weather ever lets up over a weekend for me to give them a go!! But the 3rd image are two round head jigheads with forward towing points( what's left of them) after dancing with 83, 83.5 and 79cm Snapps in the bay.

But it's not always getting the plastic to the bottom that will give you results. I was demonstrating one such technique I often use, last time with Matt Chew fishing on the same side of the boat. I rip the slack line off the water within 3 or 4 seconds of the plastic hitting the surface . When the fish struck Matt immediately offered to start the engine - I wasn't going to stop this one in a hurry. It's still out there some place, east side of Mud.





Scalem

[netmaker]

imo would go to a heavier jig head until you could feel bottom and work your way back lighter.
cheers
davo

[Horse]

Its just experience really. There is no magic formula that I have found. Wind, Tide and water depth all play their part. If I can let out 3 or 4 rod lengths and then get to feel bottom as the slack takes up then I know I am in the strike zone. Snapps will often be feeding well off the bottom.