ShimsMan

Hey Poppa,I've used droppers with pre snelled hooks before like you mentioned and I can see how you could think they're less sensitive; when you thread the loops together they can still slide on each other a bit and the rig might feel a little less rigid, (never noticed it too much myself) but the main reason i cut the loops is so that I can use the hooks that I want.By cutting the loops, you do get choice in hooks and (maybe) more sensitivity; but as a tradeoff the hooks do sit a little closer to the main line instead of sticking out due to the stiffness of the dropper loop.The rigs stay free of major tangles so it works out pretty well all round I guess!You have a good eye for detail Poppa, keep experimenting and be sure to let us know if you discover some nifty tricks!

Great Right up Shimsman! Very good basic guide for the majority of people who go land based fishing.1 thing I would like to add is that, in shallow water/Calm Beaches no sinker is required. A burley spring full of burley used as casting weight which gets dragged every 10 or 15 seconds is killer on whiting, Mullet and Tommies!

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

It is a great write up shimsman with some great info there and the style of live bait rig can be different to what others use and is always good to have another person point of view to try on the day . Dont worry about the negative people on here as they are all talk and no fish . I too ask myself what has your background got to do with any thing ? Some people hey . I have posted up on here a few how to videos but unfortunately there are a few c@#$heads that spoil it for the rest . Persevere and conquer , look forward to some more hints and tips from your self as a second point of view never hurts and we are always learning ?

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

heya squid flaps' date='Cutting one end of the dropper only wastes about 4-5mm of the line and doubles the length of the dropper; it's just a way to make the droppers longer without resorting to 3 way swivels.Here's a pic to clarify:[img']http://i.imgur.com/Xf7c4gv.gif[/img]I agree that most will do fine on light mono for rigs, but I sometimes go for whiting and spooky gar over sandy bottom so using fluoro helps in those situations; I think it's a worthy investment as I use pretty modest rod and reel combos, so I have a little money left over for good line.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

heya squid flaps' date='Cutting one end of the dropper only wastes about 4-5mm of the line and doubles the length of the dropper; it's just a way to make the droppers longer without resorting to 3 way swivels.Here's a pic to clarify:[img']http://i.imgur.com/Xf7c4gv.gif[/img]I agree that most will do fine on light mono for rigs, but I sometimes go for whiting and spooky gar over sandy bottom so using fluoro helps in those situations; I think it's a worthy investment as I use pretty modest rod and reel combos, so I have a little money left over for good line.

heya squid flaps' date='Cutting one end of the dropper only wastes about 4-5mm of the line and doubles the length of the dropper; it's just a way to make the droppers longer without resorting to 3 way swivels.Here's a pic to clarify:[img']http://i.imgur.com/Xf7c4gv.gif[/img]I agree that most will do fine on light mono for rigs, but I sometimes go for whiting and spooky gar over sandy bottom so using fluoro helps in those situations; I think it's a worthy investment as I use pretty modest rod and reel combos, so I have a little money left over for good line.

Didn't realize this was a dating site? Shims has gone to a lot of effort to provide some great info that I'm sure many will find helpful. He puts in a bit of effort around the site trying to make it a better place than what it already is.Kudos and many thanx to all who add great value like this. :clap:Top effort Shims

that's excellent Shimsy nice work like Bjorn, I too fish differently I rarely use a double hook set up these days just personal preference though will definitely help the novice and even some more experienced fisherman with those tips well done cheers 4THA

Great write up ShimsMan.This will definitely help out those who may be new to the game. I use slightly different rigs so I'm going to give your rigs a go.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.

Hey everyone,Thought we could do with some more good info threads on S&H, so it's time to post one! I'll be focusing on smaller, tastier, land based species: Tommies, Mullet, Salmon Trout and Garfish mainly. This is a guide for Land based fishing from wharves, jetties and breakwalls etc. and is mostly for the newbies, but hopefully some of our forum members can get something out of it too!Let's get it started!It all starts with the rigs, it pays to keep things simple but versatile if possible, So I use 2 hook paternoster rigs; made from quality terminal tackle:Attention to detail helps a lot in rigging for smaller or spooky species in clear water, in this case; good quality fluorocarbon and very sharp hooks are the main areas I spend money on. I use mono for main line and terminate it with a small snap swivel so rigs can be changed without any tying.To make my rigs, I tie a surgeon's loop in the line and 2 dropper loops using a dropper loop pegboard (pictured in the video.)The rig is a regular double paternoster except that I cut one of the “legs” off each dropper so that it's no longer a loop, then tie on the hooks with a blood knot.At the sinker end I leave about 50cm and tie on a snap swivel so that sinkers can be changed as needed. When you're fishing over rough ground, you can take the sinker off and use a clip on float; but I fish the bottom for these species 95% of the time, so the float is an afterthought.The sinkers pictured are 1/4oz(7g), 3/8oz(10.5g) and 3/4oz(21g) with 3/8 being the most often used; I wouldn't recommend anything heavier than 3/4oz, as this style of fishing seldom requires much of a cast, if at all. Hooks are Daiichi suicide size 10, short shank; any smaller and you're going to end up with more gut-hooked fish!http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sLQH_N3BM Bait is maggots most of the time for me, I've noticed long life ones are often a bit more lively and worth the extra dollar or so over the bran packaged ones. with the maggots, I thread on enough so that I can only see the barb of the hook, they last ages this way and you can fish for longer without re-baiting.Worms are a bit too expensive for me and I personally only use them when chasing whiting, though you can harvest your own if you're time rich and can get the technique down.Pilchards are a great universal bait, but as far as smaller species go, I use fresh frozen (not brined) pilchard cubes unweighted on a fluoro trace and 4/0 suicide hook for Salmon Trout and it works very well for me.Mince is a great bait for mullet, regular beef mince thickened very slightly with wheat bran or breadcrumbs and some curry powder, garlic, aniseed or 5 spice mix added in works well; squash it into a ball shape on the hook and gently cast or drop it in and you're good to go.Lots of other baits can be used for these species: cockles, prawn, squid etc but these are my “go to” baits and they get me good results.Burley is a must for these smaller species and can make the difference between going hungry and home made fish 'n' chips on most days. A mix of pellets and small burley log in a plastic burley bucket just below the surface of the water works very well for me and the fish normally show up within the hour, depending on the tide. Arguably the best burley I've used is from Arthur at betta price tackle, so that's where I get mine!First thing I do when I get to a jetty, breakwall etc is always to get the burley bucket in the water and tied off; then set up and get some bait in the water within about 15 metres downdrift of the burley bucket. Most of the time I'm aiming for tommies, sometimes gar if there's weedbeds around; occasionally I'll drift out the unweighted pilchard cube for salmon trout instead of the maggots. Tommies are my main target a lot of the time as they're not size restricted, so they're great for use as bait and burley and make good live baits.As soon as the first usable fish is pulled up, it goes either on a squid jag or is used as a livebait (depending on what jetty I'm at.)Tommies make decent livebaits but squid love them, so if I'm at a squidding jetty it goes onto the squid jig instead. I rig my livebaits using this technique:4/0 hooks are used and the mouth hook is only threaded on the line instead of tied, the end hook snelled; this ensures that the fish can swim freely and can be adjusted for any size fish. until recently I was using a single lip hook, but I missed out on a lot of good Snook as a result (they seem to love striking at the belly of livebaits instead of the head.)For chasing landbased snapper or big salmon, I kill the first fish and use it whole on a pulley rig with the same 2 hook config as above, using up to 6/0 circle hooks if the bait is big enough.So that's my usual game plan for a day's fishing. I hope there were some helpful bits in there!Thanks for reading,Shimsman.