Sounds to me as if you're making the same mistake most of us did when first starting out. ie: trying to use too heavy gear to catch the big fish!Always fish as "light" as possible, and keep it as simple as possible!Use the lightest line which will enable you to catch the desired species. You dont need 20lb line to catch a whiting, and if you choose to use it, your catch rate will decline.....Whiting weigh 2lb, and they will not be fooled by that heavy tackle presented to them.Use the lightest weight which will hold your bait down in the position you cast it.Use the least amount of knots and joins in your rig.Use the smallest hook size suitable for the species.Choose fresh bait which is local to the area, and take a little care placing it on the hook, so that it looks natural and sways in the current.Keep your line tight so that you can feel those small nibbles as the fish test the offering prior to swallowing.Get some berley in to the water to create a smell, to attract the fish to the area, and to get them feeding, as your little piece of bait is gonna be difficult for them to find by itself.Following this, it's a game of quiet and patience.You do not need state of the art gear, as plenty of fish have been caught on handlines, and you dont need deep water to catch fish.From there the learning curve starts, where it's up to you to do your research, finding out what fish inhabit the area, what time of year they are around, what are the best times of day, tides, moon phases and weather conditions to fish....we're all working on that one, and we all have our own ideas!A little tip! Every local jetty has a resident "jetty rat!" He's a little old guy who doesn't walk to the very end of the jetty, but will plonk himself down closer to the shoreline in the shallows. He'll have his hat pulled down over his ears, and he'll keep to himself, but if you watch him, you'll see him quietly adding fish after fish to his bucket, creating little fuss or attention to himself.He's the guy who's been fishing the area for donkey's years, and he's the one to go to for advice! Whatever he's doing, copy it, and when you see him pack up to go home, peak time will be over, and you may as well pack up and leave yourself!If that guy on the footbridge is catching fish and you're not, then he's doing something different to you! Be polite, let him know that you're new to the game, and ask his advice.....if there's one thing fishermen love, it's the chance to brag, and show others how good they are! ;)If you're using gents, stick about half a dozen on a very light gauge hook, and pin them at the thin tail end not the thick head end (they'll stay alive longer and wiggle around in the water).If you're using worms, get a nice length to fill the hook.Always keep the barb of the hook exposed with bait fishing, and ensure your hooks are sharp. If it's old or blunt, sharpen it or replace it, coz that point has to get through a hard and bony mouth, or you'll have no chance.If you dont catch a fish, you've still had a day out, you've done some fatherly bonding with the boys, and they'll still appreciate fish and chips on the way home! Try again next week!
I'm no expert on the topic by any means but this works for me with gents.With gents I usually put on about 6 to a size 8 long shank hook when targeting mullet, salmon trout and tommies. Quite often I'll have a size 4 long shank rigged and can't be bothered setting up a smaller rig that usually works fine too, I've caught quite a few bream with that setup and bait.Go as light as you can with tackle, rod n reel, float works well with the above, think I snatched a few whiting on that kinda rig too but bungum worms with no float seems to do well whiting in the Onk, I don't recall but think whiting eat from the bottom, giving the bait a little movement every now and then will help.The other guys on here will be able to help out with more specifics about rods, reels and tackle.1 last thing if you're targeting mullet, chuck out a handful of bread in small pieces and you'll see what happens the mullet go nuts then just chuck your bait in their path.
great day for bird watching but crap day for fishing, one gar, two tommies and one squid. the water went cloudy and that was the end of our fishing, i also wonder if the divers with their anto shark equiptment cares offish as well
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