Billfish Challenge??

[Midnight]

Gday,
Any reports from the weekends MBBC Billfish Challenge? I missed it due to being called out for 4 days at work!>:(

I hope it was all good for those involved.

Cheers,

Myles

[reel scream]

Just spoke to Troy (oogle74). He fished with Sea Dog and they came second with 2 blacks tagged i think. Another mate said he went 5 2 0. Sounds a bit quiet.

Cheers Scott

[kokomo]

yeah heard there were heaps of bites but not many hook ups..

any idea why?

[business class]

Blunt Hooks:P . I think it might have to do with the size of the fish maybe:-/ as they have been preety small this year and i think they just don't know how to feed properly, because most of the fish above 25 to 30 have no drama's of hooking up! Well thats my excuse anyway and i'm sticking with it too;D .

Cheers
Matty

[Seadog 2]

G'day all,
We got 2nd with 2 Black's about 25 & 40kg, Witchdotor won with 2 sails & Reel Magic got 3rd with 2 blacks also. Awesome comp we had a ball & be back next year. Thanks to my crew Troy & Matt. Also 1 of the Bills was Matt's first & one he won't forget.
Cheers Daryl

[fisho ricko]

Good work Daryl.... don't forget to say you caught the First Marlin of the comp, and were champion male angler too mate.

Cheers

Rick

[chris_s]

Well i guess your arms must be sore.....not from the fishing but from the amount of prizes you guys carried out yesterday. Good on ya's it was great to see.
Congrats to the Seadog crew.

[Midnight]

Sounds like some fun was had!
I am still gutted about missing it, even if things were a bit slow, it would have been alot of fun to be involved.

Well done boys, see you all there next year for sure!

Cheers,
Myles

[business class]

G'day all,
We got 2nd with 2 Black's about 25 & 40kg, Witchdotor won with 2 sails & Reel Magic got 3rd with 2 blacks also. Awesome comp we had a ball & be back next year. Thanks to my crew Troy & Matt. Also 1 of the Bills was Matt's first & one he won't forget.
Cheers Daryl


Well done sounds like it was a decent weekend.... Fished the Light masters the previous weekend only to be blown out, saturday called off and then not turn a reel. Well done again to matt as well for his first billy.

Cheers
Matty

[Frank OO]

Blunt Hookshttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/tongue.gif . I think it might have to do with the size of the fish maybehttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/undecided.gif as they have been preety small this year and i think they just don't know how to feed properly, because most of the fish above 25 to 30 have no drama's of hooking up! Well thats my excuse anyway and i'm sticking with it toohttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/grin.gif .

This was the first Bill fish competition I have entered thanks to Chris_S and also the first time I have fished with cotton.

I wonder if 8kg line would limit the amount of pressure you can place on the fish and would this stop the hooks from penetrating.

I was amazed when I lost my fish after having him on for a few minutes as it seemed like a pretty good hookup.

Anyway I will continue to play with cotton until I perfect the skill. I might even ask Troy although he would never let me forget it.

Frank OO

[dww13]

I dont think it is the " cotton" line class that is teh problem. 8kg has more then enough pressure to sink hooks. Using fine gauge hooks will aid the hook up percentage greatly, however lure fishing is still lure fishing. You may go 5 from 5 one day then spend teh next two or three days dumbfounded at the poor hook up rates. The little fish can be very aagile and even the slightest bit of slack line will see them throw the hooks. The line may feel tight on the rod however quite often its the belly in the line that is taking the drag and the fish can get around in front and get some slack. If the fish arnt feeding right on the day the hook up rates on lures can come screeming down. Baits and circle hooks or sl12's on gar have much much better hookup rates, however they may take a little more angler skill to convert the shot to a hook up after a bit of perserverance you wont be sorry.

Thats my take on it anyways.

Frankoo by far the most consistant hook up rate on lures we have found for teh light tackle is either twin sl12's on a shackle rig or the new dojo hooks on same set up. The dojo's are going really well, however after most fish the long needle points are in need of work.

Dont be afraid to go hard and fish with at least 2.8kg drag on 8. Much less drag and you will just be fighting the stretch in the mono. Plenty of drag means little belly and no belly means your direct on the fish and you can put much more hurt on them that way and nock the fight over quick.

Daniel

[Frank OO]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the information and advice. I will perservere and let you know how I go. ( If the wind dies down)

Frank OO

[ooglie74]

Daniel was on fishing on Pacemaker during the comp.
His usual boat is The Phantom,a 51ft riviera.

For the record my lures had sl12s on them and 3 of the 4 shots where on these hooks for 2 tagged marlin.
The other was on light gauge mustards that didnt stick.
Thesl12s are gold,a shot normally is a hookup.

Cheers Troy

[sleepygreg]

We always run between 6 and 7lb drag at strike on our reels when using 8kg. Ideal is 6.5lb.......measure it several times on each reel...dont just take the first reading. The blacks that were out there were small and fiesty, we had two lures come back to the boat when we pulled them in with traces that looked like they had been taken to with a rasp.........and the reel didnt turn. The one i hooked up on had previously been billing the crap out of the shotgun, then moved to take my long corner, and then another billie hit the shotgun at the same time. Awesome sight to watch it all happening.....double hookups with three on board sure are interesting.

Greg