Fishing Victoria Forum

Hey all

The kayak I just purchased comes with a live well, and this summer I though i'd take advantage of it and grab some fresh and live baits and get after some reds.
I was wondering what the best method for getting yakkas/tommy ruff/small sambos from a kayak around the top end of PPB? I was thinking sabiki rigs or very light paternosters with little bits of squid, pilly or whitebait on them.
If I spot a bait ball coming through on the sounder, will I get the bait i'm after? or is there something else I need to look for?

cheers

croe04 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 10:39 am

I was wondering what the best method for getting yakkas/tommy ruff/small sambos from a kayak around the top end of PPB? I was thinking sabiki rigs or very light paternosters with little bits of squid, pilly or whitebait on them.

cheers

try both - I've only chased live baits up north of Sydney to tow around for pelagics and have always done so with Sabikis
a lot of time just on the fly as you come across bait-
not always easy I might add

we don't use a live well but just a bait tube
fairly easy to tow and hold 4 or 5 Yakkas or Slimmies

what is your plan with you livies - troll - balloon or anchor

cheaterparts wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 11:47 am

croe04 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 10:39 am

I was wondering what the best method for getting yakkas/tommy ruff/small sambos from a kayak around the top end of PPB? I was thinking sabiki rigs or very light paternosters with little bits of squid, pilly or whitebait on them.

cheers

try both - I've only chased live baits up north of Sydney to tow around for pelagics and have always done so with Sabikis
a lot of time just on the fly as you come across bait-
not always easy I might add

we don't use a live well but just a bait tube

IMG_0864.JPG

IMG_0865.JPG

fairly easy to tow and hold 4 or 5 Yakkas or Slimmies

what is your plan with you livies - troll - balloon or anchor

I was thinking of anchoring on some structure or a drop off and throwing plastics around while the live bait's in. i'm a bit of an amateur but with some tips and a bit of practice I think i'll figure it out.

Sabiki rigs with pilchard are pretty good for yakkas and slimeys if they’re around, salmon would probably go them too but I’m not sure how to reliably catch small ones. I have no idea where specifically you’d find those species up the top end of the bay.

Squid are probably easier to find, any reefy/weedy area should hold them and they make really good if somewhat fragile baits.

croe04 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 11:59 am

[
I was thinking of anchoring on some structure or a drop off and throwing plastics around while the live bait's in. i'm a bit of an amateur but with some tips and a bit of practice I think i'll figure it out.

first thing to think of is the livie will probably swim around and tangle up if you use a sinker to pin it down and good luck trying it were there are squid grounds
squid love livies that cant get away

cheaterparts wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 5:52 pm

croe04 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 11:59 am

[
I was thinking of anchoring on some structure or a drop off and throwing plastics around while the live bait's in. i'm a bit of an amateur but with some tips and a bit of practice I think i'll figure it out.

first thing to think of is the livie will probably swim around and tangle up if you use a sinker to pin it down and good luck trying it were there are squid grounds
squid love livies that cant get away

Good point, thinking about it now trying livebaits will probably be a bit of a logistics nightmare. I'll probably stick to deadbaits for a while until I know what I'm doing. Cheers for the help

Even have a crack at live baiting smaller squid, can pick them up at any reedy area in altona, and if they die before you deploy them fresh squid is a killer bait anyway. I haven’t tried live baiting as I don’t have a live well, but if I’m fishing an arvo for snapper we usually try to pick up squid for bait and the table while we wait for the light to fade

croe04 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 10:39 am

Hey all

The kayak I just purchased comes with a live well, and this summer I though i'd take advantage of it and grab some fresh and live baits and get after some reds.

cheers

Sorry croe, was going to post on here.

In SA, we don't have yakkas, but we do have Slimmies, Tommies & Gar, which we catch for bait (and table food too )

When I'm bait collecting for Snapper Bait while fishing for Snapper, it is basically a short burst in the beginning, then pack that up and concentrate on the Snapper. It can get distracting and you can miss runs while holding the bait rod, so I get what I need then stop. Also running two styles of fishing on a boat can get hectic and messy, so I'd say the same for Kayaks.

This bait compliments any bait that I have brought. And usually the bait is cut into cutlets rather than fillets (personal preference).

Now, the bait collecting is surface fishing and the burley is on the surface and drifts back and down, which brings the Slimmies, Tommies & Gar to the back of the boat, so no need for big casts.

The Burley is only simple pellets. I know bread crumbs do the trick, and some may have their own recipes but I find pellets stored in a container on the boat ready to use whenever suits me. I put the pellets in a basic burley cage that I have modified with two half cut buoys screw to the ends to make it float.



The rig is a simple gar rig that I use with out a float and just flick it out and it drifts down slightly. A long shank hook tied to each end of some line, then a loop tied close to one hook, so one short and one long with a split shot on the long length. Simple




On a separate note, PVC tubes make great burley pots, especially for bottom fishing. A lead weight in it helps sink it.



Now , , , , on live baiting for Snapper. I have done it about two dozen times, to the amusement of some. My reckoning is that the larger Reds would go for them and the pickers would leave them alone. Wrong, never never have I caught a Snapper on a live bait. Others may have, I haven't heard of any. It makes sense though, when you think about it, Snapper are more scavengers than predators. So live baits more so with Kingies.


Cheers, Bugatti

On a separate note.

The two half buoys (or any polystyrene buoy) I "skin" over. What I do is dampen (not dripping) a cloth with General Purpose Thinners, then rub it neatly all over the buoy. What this does is "dissolves" the polystyrene, only the surface and it drys quickish. It gives it a "skin" of a hard kind of glossy surface. This makes it more durable and helps it stay cleaner and whiter. Really more of an aesthetic thing than anything
Just little quirky whimsical tips




Cheers, Bugatti

4liters wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 1:05 pm

Sabiki rigs with pilchard are pretty good for yakkas and slimeys if they’re around, salmon would probably go them too but I’m not sure how to reliably catch small ones. I have no idea where specifically you’d find those species up the top end of the bay.

Squid are probably easier to find, any reefy/weedy area should hold them and they make really good if somewhat fragile baits.

Of course, that's a two hook sabiki, baited with pilchards to comply with fishing regs. Any more hooks is a no-no.