Any luck with spoons?

[CandleWorks]

Hi Guys

I am new to lure fishing and tried my luck this weekend at Ganzekraal / Grotto Bay area. Mainly with paddle tails of various colours.

High wind and rough seas made the water pretty murky but there were lots of birds hitting the water and even bait fish washed up on the beach.

Of course I thought my luck have turned, but not a single bite.

Been thinking that a nice shiny spoon may have been a better idea.

Anybody have experience with spoons in that area? Will be going back in a month of 2.

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

SE made the water upwell on west coast, thats why the bait and birds were against the side, if the water was cold already you were wasting your time..melkbos probably not the best place to throw a spoon..Pick a species first and chase that till you worked it out then expand..

 

[CandleWorks]

Thank you for the feedback.

May I ask what specie you would recommend to target as a beginner and lures to try?

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Elf/shad would be the best bet and a 1.5 oz tin abu is the best spoon, along with a 1.5 oz tin keel spinner..Not sussed on west coast spots, seen masses of katonkel and bait against the side there, but that was as an upwell occured and generally the water is too cold for your target species to be hanging around. Muizenburg corner/baileys the closest spot that I can think of that guys spin for elf at?

 

[CandleWorks]

I will focus on shad next summer then and maybe on the Muizenberg side before then.

Opinion on trying for kob along West Coast sand beaches? With swim bait / dropshot?

Thanks again for advice

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Work out when the cob are there and you'll get more lucky, throwing a lure in front a fish in the wrong spot, will get you better results anytime than throwing a lure in front of no fish, at the "right spot"..

 

[Walt]

Dr halibut hoffman wrote:

SE made the water upwell on west coast, thats why the bait and birds were against the side, if the water was cold already you were wasting your time..melkbos probably not the best place to throw a spoon..Pick a species first and chase that till you worked it out then expand..

I agree with the proficient Dr Halibut.
IMHO,Use of spoons,spinners,etc is more conducive to warmer ocean water such as East Coast;

Colder water such as on West Coast,normally doesn't yield fish via spoons,unless its perhaps Langebaan Lagoon when Elf sometimes put in an appearance. Cheers

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

In the old days the west coast was full of jumbo elf and leervis..times have changed!

 

[Kenty]

Throwing spoon for Kob is NOT for the feint haerted OR those that just want to catch for catching sake ....throwing spoon for kob is a mindset...patience and conditions...

Conditions being your MOST important...I follow the Kobfather and his crew and they fish all n sundry down CT way...they catch kob on a regular basis , yes , be it on bait ...BUT..kob are kob...whether they here on my east coast OR there in CT surrounds...

Its all about working out the code for THAT certain area/spot you want to go throw....too many youngsters today hop skip n jump all over the coast line and bemoan the fact ...aaaahh NO FISH/Kob...

I say ..pick 3 or 4 spots you think look good and should yield kob..THEN ..WORK those spots out...

Tide..moon...water temp ...weather patterns etc etc...take notes ...barometric pressure ...ALL that is conducive to fishing optimumly...and not just moer n soek as I like to call it...

Ther is no short cut OR some magic spoon that will "attract" the kobbies...its ALL about working out the kobbies way and what they prefer as far as conditions are concerned...

For my bit of coast which is all of 70 odd kay long...these are the 5 conditions that have produced for me kob on spoon over the past 20 odd years...

Water temp at least at 19
Clear clean water
Rising baro topping out at 1021hpk
slight west wind coming off of a low pressure
outgoing tide with 3 hours to low and of course this must all coincide with that last dark before first light...

These are just a few of my findings ...once you find your working conditions ...you WILL produce and of course you need to put the time in...

Then we get to the actual spoon..line ..reel and rod...BUT thats for another time...

 

[CandleWorks]

Thank you the reply.

Sounds like great advice. Can't wait for the next post.

I have 2 spots I want to figure out. Have seen pictures of kob being caught there.

 

[Kenty]

..All good...

See now , youve seen that kob come out there ...what you want to do is scope the spot out on a spring low tide when the water is not too big or surging...THEN..look at the structure , see where the pinnacles are , how the reef is lying ...even on a really calm day take a pair of goggles and go swim the area and have a look at what you cannot see from the surface or from the beach...make a mental note and then when you back on dry land draw a map of what you saw...

Next , you want to start throwing , start using a lightish shallow swimming spoon and prefarably an old cheapie to start with...

Remember ...kob are sight predators and lateral line second...so your spoon must shine...it can never be too shiny!!!..

Soon you will find your attack zone at the spot and you will then also work out whether its better on a low outgoing or incoming to high...

Also kobbies like a rising barometer , normally...

 

[Kenty]

Here is a map of one of my 3 top spots where I throw for kobbies...

Took me about 9 months here to crack the code and since then ...should the conditions present themselves ..I WILL get a kobbie...

 

[Kenty]

..Joh my boet ...IF this is the spot you looking at...just from this sat pic and what i can make out...you have spots within spots whithin spots here to work...IF I was there I would work this spot flat out...also depends how far you stay from this area....

 

[CandleWorks]

That is the spot I am talking about.

It 40min drive and a bit if a walk, but not bad.

Only problem as kelp on the sides. Near the rocks.

I will start my map as soon as possible

 

[Kenty]

Damn...a 40min drive...thats some ways...I thought at least you lived closer...anyhow...maybe make a day of it ...scope the area out proper and then watch what weather conditions do what ...

Ja..forgot about kelp..that will make nonsense with your spoon...BUT..do a good recce and check it out proper...

 

[CandleWorks]

I have rigged a paddle tail so it does not snag in the kelp and it works well.

Going to give that a try also.

Its 40 min to any fishing spot from where I live...

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Work out what conditions the cob like, what water temps they follow, and look for what creates those conditions, what winds must blow from where, for how long etc, what colour water etc..