Re: whiting rig for st leonards ???????
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:07 pm
I fish WPB mainly, but I cant see it being much different. I just use paternoster rigs (A lot of people use a running sinker however) with sz6 long shank hooks, or 1/0 black magic KL circles. Pippies/mussels seem to do more damage than anything else, but a lot of people swear by squid, especially freshly caught, and cut into thin strips and tenderised. I berley fairly regularly. I buy 2x 20kg of chook pellets at a time and put them in a 20ltr drum. I carry approx 5kg on the boat at all times and about 5ltrs of tuna oil. Its a fine line between berleying them up, and ending up with a school of leatherjackets under the boat which ruins ur chances. 2-4kg of pippies in a bag out trip isnt out of the question.
I move every 20 mins or so, until I find a school, once they are on, you can catch a lot quite quickly. I berley to keep them around, but if the leather jackets school up, ur stuffed. It sometimes works casting 10-15mtrs out the back over the LJs, and you can get the whiting that way, otherwise, if the leatheries turn up you have to move. If you drop ur baits down and u get instant tiny nibbles, followed by no bait left, chances are its leather jackets and move on.
I like to try and stick to 4-7mtrs of water, but try out deep in the channels around the turn of the tide, as you can get some horse whiting out there, dont be afraid of using bigger sinkers, if they stay on the bite, I have gone up to 20oz sinkers just to hold bottom, (we got 36x 43-46cm ting a couple of months ago) when you start catching, note what point in the tide it is, as chances the fish are there at the same point in the tide each time (bagged out at the same spot, at the same point in the tide 3 times in a row, went there at a diff tide and caught nothing.) - This mainly applies to WPB.
When you move, you dont need to move far. 50 - 100 mtrs is enough. I try and few different spots, in a few depths at each of the "usual haunts" before trying a different area. eg: 5-6 spots along the spit, 5-6 spots on tyabb bank, 5-6 spots on THB, etc ,etc. If you keep moving, you will eventually find them. Also, try and time your trip to co-incide with the wind running the same direction as the tide or it is really hard.
I only started fishing for ting in WPB about 2 years ago, but have fished 1-3 times a week solid chasing them since then and its taken me this long to nut them out, so if I can help out then great (Y) 12 months ago I was lucky to come home with a fish, nowadays we bag out pretty regularly. (40 fish between 2 of us, plus a haul of flatties, pinkies and gummies, and bait fish) Pay attention to the details, keep a fishing diary, and dont give up. Once you start to work it out it will all be worth while.
I move every 20 mins or so, until I find a school, once they are on, you can catch a lot quite quickly. I berley to keep them around, but if the leather jackets school up, ur stuffed. It sometimes works casting 10-15mtrs out the back over the LJs, and you can get the whiting that way, otherwise, if the leatheries turn up you have to move. If you drop ur baits down and u get instant tiny nibbles, followed by no bait left, chances are its leather jackets and move on.
I like to try and stick to 4-7mtrs of water, but try out deep in the channels around the turn of the tide, as you can get some horse whiting out there, dont be afraid of using bigger sinkers, if they stay on the bite, I have gone up to 20oz sinkers just to hold bottom, (we got 36x 43-46cm ting a couple of months ago) when you start catching, note what point in the tide it is, as chances the fish are there at the same point in the tide each time (bagged out at the same spot, at the same point in the tide 3 times in a row, went there at a diff tide and caught nothing.) - This mainly applies to WPB.
When you move, you dont need to move far. 50 - 100 mtrs is enough. I try and few different spots, in a few depths at each of the "usual haunts" before trying a different area. eg: 5-6 spots along the spit, 5-6 spots on tyabb bank, 5-6 spots on THB, etc ,etc. If you keep moving, you will eventually find them. Also, try and time your trip to co-incide with the wind running the same direction as the tide or it is really hard.
I only started fishing for ting in WPB about 2 years ago, but have fished 1-3 times a week solid chasing them since then and its taken me this long to nut them out, so if I can help out then great (Y) 12 months ago I was lucky to come home with a fish, nowadays we bag out pretty regularly. (40 fish between 2 of us, plus a haul of flatties, pinkies and gummies, and bait fish) Pay attention to the details, keep a fishing diary, and dont give up. Once you start to work it out it will all be worth while.