TheStu

heard on the news theres been a fare few cases off ross river virus kickin around so it prob pays to soak yourself in aerogaurd at moment

just thought ide let people know that there are masses of mozzies at north haven and st kilda so make sure u dont leave home without insect spray as i got eaten alive yesterday morning at nth haven

The longliners all use Circles nowdays. I dont think there are too many using standard J hooks. The drag of the 5klm line as used down here in the gulf would be the same as a 1 - 3 kg drag setting on your rod. Just enough to keep the tangles away but enough to pull the hook out of the gullet of the fish into the corner of the mouth. As for what bait they use, well it depends on who and where I suppose. Have not been out on a longliner here in S.A yet. Be a great experience. I like that fact that with a circle when your on - your on. With a J it can fall out 10 seconds into it and you dont know why.Circle hooks are the go, but like normal hooks you need to match the hook to the bait. Once you get this sorted (by that I mean buying lots more hooks!) then its the rigging. Look online there are so many different websites and a lot of them have Factual basis not just gut instinct. The link below is based on research done in N.Z with the Snapper fishery and shows results that make you sit up and notice. This is not the first publication on the result there are lots more.http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=7688&forum_id=10&jump_to=155695Mods if I was not supposed to link the topic my apologies, please remove and I will know for next time.

I find that it also comes down to baits as well. Are they alive or dead?If they are big live baits like whole 30cm mackerel I will run a foot length of 50 - 60lb leader with a simple loop to loop connection at the end and connect the loop to the dropper loop on the main line. Another loop on the bottom to change your lead to the weight required as the tide works, slows and stops. A Circle Hook needs to have a gap between it and the bait if the baits are big. If the hook is buried in the bait then when the fish hits and runs off all your doing is pulling the bait out of its mouth as there is no pivot point for the hook to work on the jaw. Look at how a bait is bridle rigged for gamefish and you will get the picture.I find that if I leave the reel in gear with around 2 - 3 kg of drag sitting in the rod holder when the larger fish come in and hit it they take off straight away and start pulling drag, rod bends over and the circle lodges in the corner of the jaw 95% of the time. I have still gill and gut hooked fish on circles. I like the loop to loop connection from mainline to hook so when I hook and land the fish you undo the loop to loop and put on a fresh trace with a new hook in a minute and baited in two then back into the action.If your fishing smaller baits again the principle is the same which is keep the hook point clear of bait. Just pin the bait through the corner of the fillet from the tail section however I do have a lighter drag setting because I am usually fishing with the lighter gear.The Ezi running rig is good for lighter inshore areas with less current and you want to adjust your weight. Keep a short leader on it around a foot and a half to two foot to keep the tangles down. I still prefer using the single patternoster but if the current gets to light I just take the sinker off and put the hook there instead. Easy.Cheers

hi guys i was out in the boat on sun morning fished about 30k out and the swell picked up so decided to try a spot about 10k from the stkilda ramp,after fishing for about 2 hours we seen a boats signal a flare there was probably 20 boats all within 1 kilometer of eachother!!! it probably took us a min or so to notice and started talking about it and made up our minds in a flash to head over,when we got to the boat the guy said he has lost all his electrics and asked to use our radio which was no probs we let the coast guard know and they said they would be on the way.... so we waited the whole time with the bloke which was no problem at all we would help any1 and expect the same.what im trying to say is from what we seen not 1 person even looked like moving to go and have a look at this person in distress i know one or 2 of u reading this was probably out that way and seen it pls in futre people show a little bit more care for others and think twice if thwe shoe was on the other foot!!! if sum1 is in trouble just go that little bit out of your way to make sure people are safe on the water later guys