Hardb8,
Drop me a PM if ya would like to know more on my posts. You seem keen to investigate further. It would take pages to fully explain the answer, but you'll get the drift.
Cheers,
Johnny
For me ...... I use hardbodies in the mangroves as a more of a in your face presentation ....... chuck it in & pull it down - pause twitch ( you do use the same technique in dams too ) ......... Plastics offer a good way to cover more water in the dams ....... & the plastic can be fished in a multitude of ways...... without a change. Having said that ...... I usually have a rod rigged with a HB close by - situation dependant.
Chris
Ps ........ a slow sinking plastic rigged weedless & thrown into the mangroves would be deadly too IMO
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
Hardb8,
Drop me a PM if ya would like to know more on my posts. You seem keen to investigate further. It would take pages to fully explain the answer, but you'll get the drift.
Cheers,
Johnny
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
Just as a note,with one fish in particular with one of the taylor boys,at the point i think there were pelicans in the shot im not surprised they were tryin to get them to jump.Outside where they were fishing is 4 or 5 big lay down trees.I liked the tactic,but unfortunately the barra decided to come clear of the water as opposed to just lunging,which in my humble opinion makes it near on impossibe to maintain contact with the fish.It seems this season in particular the fish have a predisposition to jumping clear of the water.On the weekend i ended up retrieving with the tip a few inches in the water but still they became airborne at the slightest contact with the hook point.Dont know if its coz im fishing the hotter weather,not sure if i care,but it makes for some awesome hookups(or lack thereof).But there is a lot of spots in that dam where if you make use of making them jump tactic whereas if they stay in the water you will get just about 0 fish to the boat.I guess its just a matter of using the right technique,to suit the country you are fishing,no use freespooling if the fish is just going to bust you off in 5 seconds 50 metres away.Freespooling is a gret tool,so, long as you have a lot of vertical trees not so much laydowns,thats what iv found anyhow.
why is mouth abrasion less of a concern on wild barra? they are extremely fit and can wreak havoc on gear. i've yet to have impoundment barra destroy lures the way wild ones do...in the attached pic you can see an x-rap SXR-12 way down the big gob of a wild barra...if you look close enough you'll the front owner has been mangled and has pulled out...that lure got off lightly compared to some of the others!
Good point Chew
Just a question ......... Freespool Vs Reduced drag -------- Whats best ?
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
Freespooling is a worry if you are a novice,as you have no real influence on where the fish is heading,just hang on and hope they head for open water.Reduced drag gives you at least a bit of contact with the fish and maybe a bit of influence on where you want it to go.Not that the big buggers take a blind bit of notice
Paulo.
Hi Andrew
As I mentioned ...... I fish hard bodies in the mangroves ..... The majority of hook ups are jaw ( not deep) so the leader is not normally in the mouth ........ Plastics are more of a chance of deep hooked ...... with the leader worn by the jaw.
I also fish no where near the drag pressure on estuary fish ........ so leader wear is again reduced.
As I mentioned ... I'm yet to catch a big salty - - -
I also feel ( & its only my opinion) that Impoundment barra are more aware of their environment & know where sanctuary is to be found ...........
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
Nagg i like freespool iin standup timber as if a fish doubles back towards you round a tree i like to be able to nearly let go and use the trees as resistance till i get back direct to the fish,its just a feel thing.i only do this in the impoundments as lure losses are terrible in the salt.At mackay two years ago i ended up trolling to try and get fish away from the landslide they were holding behind but stilll ended up losing 9 lures for the sesh.They woouldnt hit trolling with the tide but against would just arc in and cut me off on the oysters.I tried the freespool method that day and donated two richos extractors to the river. I think there is a time and place for all the methods but i think its important to have a game plan should you hook up,for the given place/situation,be it getting it to jump,not jump freespool or lock up.In the heat of battle isnt the time to be deciding,sure you can modify ur plan but at least have an idea of which way to drive the boat to cut the fish off from structure etc.
Great thread, a very interesting read & learnin heaps. Thanks to all who have contributed.
Cheers,
Colo
I tend to find wild barra far more cunning and not as lazy. A little harder to coax.. but I dont really have enough experience with either so....meh
"There is certainly something in fishing that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit, a pure serenity of mind."
Chewy pretty much summed it up in his reply. I work similar to that too.
Free spooling is NOT a primary fighting method for me. Its a LAST RESORT after backing drag off and trying other things !!! I have only used it (homer was 1 example) when I am in vertical timber and I have been stitched up after a few solid runs, not snagged but woven thru trees.
Reason 1: the trees provide natural drag...so I back the drag right off. less resistance/pressure on trees and gear=less chance of bust off......downside.....they can stitch you up even more, but from my experience after the first few big runs...the runs get shorter. I found out the hard way, if you try and pull a fish back whilst around trees...you inevitably have the fish lodge its head and trebbles into the tree.....that is the ultimate baddness!!! Not to many fish are landed from that.
Reason 2: gives you time to manouver boat thru trees and follow fish.. often after you have got them away from most of the trees they head for open country.....on purpose or not, its in the fishes head what happens!!
I also use freespooling when a fish has bricked me in deeper trees. Sometimes they come out....sometimes not...50/50 call.
So what I am trying to say is I fight fish first and foremost to the level of intensity required for each situation. circumstances (and there are millions) dictate what to do from there....freespooling AT THE RIGHT TIME time is just another method, and honestly I have only done it in situations as described above on rare occasions. Phil Strader (the yank) did it perfectly at the nessessary time.
I just wanted to clear up my verion of 'free spooling'. I would hate to see someone hook a horse in open water, set the hooks then crack the freespool.....WOW that would be a spectacular mess!...might try it one day for an experiment.....see what would really happen!!!
cheers Steve