Fishing frenzy

[dezza68]

I might have to give my gear a rethink after seeing this setup
https://youtu.be/rQCBQ9P3RQs
Now thats what I call a reel.

[dezza68]

I've given the heavy heavy gear a rest after a small car boot incident down the prom last week.
This week I have mostly been float fishing snaggy ground. Have done pretty well on the trevally the past couple of weeks but the same cant be said on the snapper. I have been trying to deep spin for them but the tackle losses have been horrendous.
I thought I would give the float a go instead. Have tried in flat calm and only the tiny ones were biting. I tried again later in the week and was getting bites but no hook ups. I changed up to a whole pillie on a pennel rig about 2ft off the bottom and started doing better. Much more positive bites but the amount of wind bow in the line still made the hookups difficult. Managed to land two around the 25cm mark.
Had an evening session on Flinders pier with a more favourable wind and landed 6 up to 30cm but........the one that got away spat the hooks on the surface after a great scrap and would have been a decent school sized snapper.
Have now upgraded the catana 902 to an 11ft daiwa aird and looking to get a reel with a 6:1 retrieve ratio to help take up the slack and improve the hookup ratio. Also got myself a go pro to take some pics and video, dont like getting the phone out as it will end up in the water.

[4liters]

Would circle hooks be of use until you get the new reel sorted?

[dezza68]

Would circle hooks be of use until you get the new reel sorted?

Im trying hit the bites quickly as im fishing light gear in heavy ground. I'll give the circles a go but my feeling is they only work where you have some resistance for the fish to pull against which positions the hook. Im only fishing a 6kg trace so have been using long shank hooks to protect the line.

[4liters]

I've never used them under a float before but if you use good sharp ones the resistance from the float might be enough to get a hook up. If you try them I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

[mazman]

I've never used them under a float before but if you use good sharp ones the resistance from the float might be enough to get a hook up. If you try them I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

If you use a buoyant enough float it should work

[dezza68]

Its all trial and error, will let you know how I go. Cheers

[dezza68]

It is sometimes funny how things work out. Im running short of useable rods at the moment after trashing 3 in the space of a week. One was brand new!. I took my sons 8ft kmart special and a 10 year old reel with 6lb line on it out for a short float fishing session. I didnt have long and with wind and the tides being wrong I just hit Flinders pier.
I only realised the mainline was 6lb when I had to take my glasses off to tie the knots.
I caught some leather jackets and puffer fish when the trevs turned up. Managed a couple of small ones around the 25 cm mark which were great fun on the little outfit.
I had a good bite which I connected with and at first it felt like another small trev. It then made for the pilings and I had to hang over the edge with the rod in one hand to stop it busting me off. I turned it and then it went the other way straight away from the pier. I couldnt believe how strongly this thing ran. It took 40 to 50m of line and almost made it into the boat moorings. Fantastic scrap. I hoisted the fish in and was shocked how small it was, just connected the camera onto the tv and it looks like its only 40cm. Looking forward to catching a big one now.

[dezza68]

Time has been a bit limited recently but had some freetime today. Great day for fishing in 30 knots of wind. None of my normal spots were fishable so went onto Flinders pier to see if it was worthwhile. Amazingly there was a couple of guys on the end. I'd been trout fishing last time out so I just used the same light outfit with a thin freshwater float. I soon worked out that a 6lb leader didnt work after the first few fish bit me off or snapped me up in the piles. Changed up to a 12lb hook length and it was game on. Managed over 30 trevally including my pb of 42cm, 3 pinky snapper around 25cm and a handul of wrasse and grass whiting.
Ended up being my best session in ages in what looked like crappy conditions. Have to say the trevally go like trains on trout gear, never had a rainbow pull like they do.

[poodoo]

Out of interest what bait are you using for the trevs and how deep is your hook set from the float? I only use floats for gar fishing so its interesting to see how you have it set up.