OK,I said there was a secret but there are a "couple" of things you can do to improve your picky metro whiting results.This method mainly applies to the scenario where you are in 10-20 metres and are losing baits or parts of the bait"usually" the black part of the cockle.First off don't use braid,it does help you to feel bites but imo it also allows picky fish to detect you.I also like to use a nibble tip rod for the same reason,the fish can have a couple of picks then slowly load up the rod without feeling resistance.I also like to use the lightest possible sinker "too light to actually anchor your bait in one position"this is because when you feel the slightest of picks you need to let out 1 metre or so of line to allow the rig to drift back with the current"the same way a loose bit of bait would if in a current"sometimes you might have to do this 4 or five times.I always use chemically sharpened hooks in size 6 and Daichi 2451 would be my favorite "they will increase you hookup rate by about 15% over old school hooks and last but certainly not least you should use berley,on most occasions i use fresh squashed pillies in a pot on the bottom although "up nth" crab scraps can be just as good.One thing that i'm pretty anal about is don't let the pot just sit on the bottom imo it has to be tied off perfectly so that the pot bounces on the bottom with the movement of the boat,during a session i might retie the pot half a dozen times.This is because when the pot bounces it lets out berley in waves which encourages the fish to compete "if the pot just sits on or off the bottom the berley just trickles out in a stream that can be picked off at the fishes leisure"it also sends out puffs of sand as it bounces, imo whiting can stimulated by visual cues....much like us ,which is also the reason i sometimes use a well beaten squid bait on the top hook if they are in that mood.I hope all that helps 4thelove "but just remember" you can't always believe everything you read on the net :evil: cheers brenton
