Help me decide what hook rigs i should use for next trip and why do you use Tuna

[y2jericho]

I basically use bloodworms/beachworms to catch bream/flathead around botany bay near sydney and been getting bites every 5 or so minutes so i guess im being sucessful even landed some 35cm bream and 40cm snapper.<br /><br />Basically i put a small weight on a size 3 or so, just so i can get some distance casting and then a swivel.. about 50cm of line and then a long shank small hook barbless used for mustering on the worms. Are there any better ways to set up my rig, I usually don't anchor as the rip tide doesn't move me back to quick i can usually last about 1 hour behind the airports runway before having to start the motor and move back in.<br /><br />Whats the largest size hook you can use for beachworms/bloodworms? <br /><br />I bought a few bags of soft plastics and i have had absolutely no luck. There supposedly supposed to be the best fake bait for flathead if you drag it along the bottom but my problem is that I don't know how to correctly rig it up.. The plastic is basically a tiny red baitfish with a floppy long thin tail.. The hook goes through the mouth and it seems to have a small weight in the form of a orange ball and then a inlet where i tie my line onto? How do i hook this rig up?<br /><br />Also i had this idea of dipping plastic lures into tuna oil before casting giving them a fishy smell? What other uses does tuna oil from the baitshops sold in bottles have?<br /><br />Thanks guys and hello from the land of Australia Where its Fishing Season All year.. What the hell is winter?

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Help me decide what hook rigs i should use for next trip and why do you use

Re: Help me decide what hook rigs i should use for next trip and why do you use

I can't answer all your questions because I don't know the species but I can help you with some info. Some things that I know are using as little weight as possible, the lightest leader you can and the smallest hook you can get away with will up the number of fish you catch when using live bait. Your leader length should vary depending upon how much action you want the bait to have. The longer the leader the more natural an action is has all else being equal. The stronger the current the less leader you want however because the current can cause you bait to have too much action meaning it will twirl in the current. Also a slip sinker rig is preferred when doing any bottom fishing as the line goes through the weight freely when the fish takes the bait giving you a few extra seconds before the fish realizes something is wrong like it will if it picks up the weight when it picks up the bait. One thing I highly recommend is the use of circle hooks. My catch ratio has gone way up and I rarely gut hook anything (the hook is usually in the side of the mouth) so release is not a problem. There are many ways to rig a bottom rig and all have a place but for the most part a basic slip rig (I modify it a little) works the best for me. Your main line runs through the center hole of an egg sinker then a bead and then is tied to a swivel. To the other end of the swivel is tied a length of mono for a leader. I then tie my hook to the end of this. My modification to this is I use a snap swivel instead of a weight running the line through the swivel end leaving the snap part free to attach to a bank type sinker. The advantage to this is I can change weights quickly as conditions dictate.<br />By plastics I assume you mean things like this Plastic Baits I fish these rigged the way you describe either swimming anywhere from almost topwater to hopped across the bottom. I vary the weight of my jig head to the depth I am wanting to fish. Sometimes a large plastic with just a hook or a very light weight so it sinks slowly tossed out and allowed to drift with slight twitches works wonders. Once again I am half a world away and your fish could be different but I bet just like any other fish that are attracted to the things these baits imitate this will catch them.