LUDERICK
BEST BAITS:
Green weed, cabbage weed, sometimes yabbies or worms.
Here we have a fish
whose feeding habits differ greatly from other species mentioned.
A small mouthed, weed-eating fish, which must be taken with a
slender hold, on a small hook, after a very wary bite. Add to
this, they are one of the greatest light gear fighters for size,
and it can be seen that skill and thought are needed.
As the premier method
used is float fishing, and it is preferable to have your line
from rod tip to float, out of, or on top of the water, heavy lines
are out. .30 mm will do, but if your ability lets you, use .25
mm.
To enable you to regularly
change the depth of your rig ( as gear which is quickly adjustable
helps you locate the fish) your float is left running on the line,
and the depth of fishing is set, by a wool or nylon tie on the
line above it. Many anglers favour a 5 mm piece of plastic tubing
or valve rubber, through which the line is passed twice from the
same end. The free running float gives a compact rig which can
be cast well back into the tide, where the weight of the sinker
and bait will pull the line through the float until the stop is
reached. The weight then stands the float upright with the stem
above the water.
The size of the float
depends on the turbulence of water, but in calm conditions the
fine pencil type float is used. Your rig below the float is firstly
a small No. 10 swivel, which will successfully eliminate line
twist below a free running float. (Should the angler prefer a
float, fixed to the line at a given depth, the swivel must then
be placed on the line above the float.) Then a trace of .25 line
( clear if possible ) attached to which is a small No. 8 to No.
10 hook. The amount of weight used should be just sufficient to
make the trace hang straight down, weighting the float until it
is running with only 25 mm tip above the water. The lead used
is No. 00 split shot, sufficient pieces of which are clamped to
the trace until the desired effect is realized. The float must
go down with the bite, not have to be pulled down. The bottom
split shot is usually kept at least 22 cm above the hook, unless
it is desired to sink the bait quickly to dodge unwanted butterfish,
tarwhine, etc.
The best bait for the
estuary is Alga weed, sometimes called Moss or Greenweed, which
is plaited a few times around the hook shank, and trail of 15
mm is left below the hook. As this weed swells in water it pays
not to overbait. The Ulva weed (sea cabbage ) also produces some
fish in the estuary particularly if the smaller new growth leaves
are used. Sometimes Black fish will take yabbies, prawns and worms,
but this is not their regular diet, as they are a herbivorous
fish and their natural food is weed.
To keep fish active
in your area it is necessary to have a good supply of burley,
made from 1/2 loaf soaked bread, 2 handfuls of Bran and some finely
chopped moss. Mix with sand and in a running tide, select sand
with a fair deposit of mud. Feed small squeezed lumps into the
water slightly up-tide. Remember that indiscriminate use of burley
can have an undesirable effect on your fishing.
Your method of fishing
is firstly to determine the depth. When your bait touches bottom,
the float will lie sideways. Alter your float stop and start trying
with bait just clearing the bottom. If you get no result, lift
your bait up a foot and so on. At times they come on 1 metre above
the bottom.
Your rod is held up
to cushion line, but a difference occurs when winding and leaning
on the weight of the fish. Your "strike" if it could
be called that, is made with the rod laid slightly sideways against
the way the float and fish are traveling. Always allow your float
to go well down before attempting to hook the fish. Take your
time, let him bounce around for a while, keeping his weight on
your rod tip. He will tire but until he does, you will experience
a thrill in Luderick that does not always exist in other types
of fishing. To protect your light line, lift the fish from the
water with a landing net.
Luderick spots in the
estuary are fairly constant and can often be learned just by asking.
The areas to explore would be deep water banks where there would
be sunken timber, rocky reefs, sunken hulls, or similar obstructions
underwater. Around the piles of bridges and jetties is another
haunt. Along rock walls, particularly where deep water holes,
or changing wall formation have caused a tide to eddy or swirl,
can give an area to fish successfully at all stages of a tide.
The fish dislike clear
sunlit water, a cloudy day with the water slightly discoloured
brings the best fishing. The last two hours of the ebb tide and
the first hour of the flood tide, particularly if occurring around
dawn or dusk, are the conditions most sought.
