Page 41 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Hot winter action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park
* from P40
When I go with my
ing the fish to feel less resistance when it picks up the bait and runs.
to play them carefully and occasionally chase them holding your rod up over the mangroves.
for the fish to spot your hook and line to your pellet.
So, there you go.
sons, I always take two rods each – one for fishing actively with pellets or lures and the other as a set rod with pilchard on it.
Choose a deep bank close to shore at Big Boys Pond for your chance to catch big- ger fish that patrol the warmer water close to shore.
Tight drags with this sized leader will just result in bust-offs.
Try not to wear bright-coloured cloth- ing and wear colours that will be more cam- ouflaged with the back- ground.
These practices and tackle certainly helped my son and I each land a handful of nice fish recently and we can’t wait to go again.
Set rod set-up
For less experienced anglers and for more in- surance on landing fish, you can go up to 10lb.
Don’t stand right on the edge of the ponds, stand back a bit to avoid spooking the fish.
Remember though, listen to the likes of Dave, James and War- wick and you’ll catch more fish.
For the set rod, I put it in a rod holder with a bell and have pilchard bait set out only 1.5m or so from the shore on a steep bank.
Do not cast your bait out more than 1.5m from shore or you will end up with more bream and other assorted fish.
Again, use a quality fluorocarbon leader, and avoid mono leader as it is easier to see and tends to float much more and thus is easier to see on the surface.
For your best chance of more numbers, fish Barra Creek which has more fish up to an aver- age of about 70-80cm.
The park will make a great place to go fishing with a friend or family these school holidays and winter.
For this rod you don’t need anything too fan- cy – it can be an old fibreglass bait rod or brand-new graphite rod.
Casting rod set up
However, it should be strong enough to handle fish to a metre or more but not so stiff in the tip that it has no give when the fish picks the pilchard and runs.
The principle is that big fish will still take small lures and even small baits at times, and this was the case at the Barra Fishing Park.
My son recently took over using my Orbi- tor, while I quickly re- rigged his leader after a bust-off, and he loved the smoothness of the drag and control the oversized power knob gave him so much that he didn’t want to give it back.
If you catch a cou- ple of smaller fish, try switching to Big Boys Pond.
Cheers, and until next time I hope to hear from you on my Ontour Fish- ing Australia Facebook and Instagram pages.
There’s an old saying in the fishing fraternity that elephants still eat peanuts.
In terms of rods, we have been using 4-7kg rods and reels about 2000-size, and the Alvey Orbitor 60.
It’s a good option to have a set rod in Big Boys Pond.
Don’t forget to book in advance under the new COVID-19 rules.
So, leave the heavy-duty reef rods at home.
The pellets provided might be small but it’s stock diet so the fish will gulp them down.
I use medium-action rods in the 5-10kg cat- egory, and they fit the bill perfectly.
However, present these pellets on the hook poorly, with thick whipper-snipper like line or a floating leader and forget it.
Not that I could blame him.
In terms of reel, I use a 4000-size or the new Alvey Orbitor SR100 filled with quality 15- 20lb Platypus P8 braid and connect a 3m-long leader of the new Plat- ypus Stealth fluorocar- bon in 20lb.
These fish are smart even though they ha- ven’t seen humans in months.
Hooks are supplied at the shop and are tiny size 10 Mustad bronze French hooks.
Look for areas around mangroves for concentrates of fish in Barra Creek.
Hook-up!
This is incredibly thin leader for its strength and holds up well to abrasion.
Ensure your hook is sitting flush against the flat base of the size 10 brown hook.
At the business end I use size 3/0 Mustad wide gap hooks, which based on Dave’s advice for best hook-up, we hook through near the tail of pilchard with the point exposed.
Better still watch their mouth open, close around your pellet, then dive under, your line go tight and you’re on.
If the bronze paint starts to wear on your hook, replace it as it needs to be camou- flaged.
Set rod tactics
But once again, tack- le choice is critical to success.
When you spot a fish, toss two to three pel- lets in and try to land your pellet with your well-presented hook among them.
Bring your own rod holders and set your rod back from the edge so it doesn’t throw a shadow on the water.
We have been using 6lb Platypus P8 quality braid with a 3m trace of superfine 8lb Platypus Stealth leader.
Choose a spot with a bit of ripple on the wa- ter to make it harder
Lie your rod horizon- tal in the holder allow-
When you hook an 80cm fish on this stuff though you really need
Huge bream frequent the waters of the park.
www.bnb shing.com.au
Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 41
It’s so cool to watch them with polarised glasses on – they will swim up and under your pellet, examine it, even nudge it and swim away.
Casting rod tactics
Magic!
Choose areas around mangrove trees and toss a few pellets in and around leaves in the water.