Fishing for Grunter (Circle Hooks)

H

Houtarm

Moderator
Hi Everyone,

I've been fishing for grunter lately in the Breede, and although I have had some success, I still struggle most of the time. I do get a "run" most times I fish for them, but very often the fish spits the hook without getting a hookup.

Questions:

1) When using circles, should you fish with a loose drag and let the fish run a while before tightening, or should you fish with a stiffer drag and hook the fish when it takes the bait? I have gotten conflicting advice on this.

2) Some people prefer mono when fishing for grunter, so far I have used very light braid. Which is best?

3) Do you hook prawns through the whole body (from the anal opening) or just through the tail?

4) I have had more success on wind still times. Any advice on fishing for grunter when it is very windy (as it usually is).

Any other tips regarding hooking up with a grunter will be greatly appreciated.

_seal1_
 
D

DJP

Sealiner
I have spent quite a bit of time site fishing for grunters, first on prawn and then on fly... you learn a lot whilst watching them feed...

1. loose drag, but not to loose i.e. the current must not pul line of the reel.
2. Mono... and I think this is where your problem lies, a snell knot doesn't work that well with braid. I use 5-8lb flourocarbon when targeting them, in breed you could go a bit stronger say 10lb (4.5kg).
3. in the tail, second segment from the from the back. This is quite NB as it keeps the hook open and prawn straight.
4. fish close to the reed lines, don't be afraid to fish shallow.

Hook size is NB, you can use no.4 thin wire circles (even smaller, I used no.6 mustard carp hooks for site fishing, because you are sight fishing the hookup is fast and you seldom gut hook them, and if you do just cut the hook off, they are so small the fish won't even know they are there).
You want to use a mono trace length of at least a meter.
If there is little current and you are fishing shallow use a small split shot in stead of a running sinker trace.
 
H

Houtarm

Moderator
Thanks a lot DJP.

I do use a short mono leader and a flouro hook line with the braid, but my feeling is the grunter feels something quicker when using braid. So I think I'll switch to mono mainline, as it has more "give".

I know grunters feed very shallow, have caught my biggest in water shallower than my knee. But it seems they also move into channels during certain times. Could be tide, time or weather dependent?



Thanks for the tips about hook size. I have been using small carp hooks as well at times, but some people have told me to use 1/0 or 2/0 in order to get better hookups.
 
A

Arno Nel

Sealiner
If they run with the bait, tighten up the spool slightly and lift the rod tip, do not strike, this should assist with the hook set.

You can use braid but I suggest you use a 1m flouro trace and fishing in shallow water fish weightless. Option 1, leader straight onto braid with fg knot or use a swivel for a little bit of weight
 
B

Blikkiesvis

Sealiner
Hi Guys

Don't get me started on Grunters... Those little fkrs are the most pedantic over sensitive fussy eaters you can get!

It boggles my mind how you can catch them on lure... Seriously! I mean you can throw a live prawn at them with a tiny hook and a 6lb fluro line with no weight resistance at all and they will just swim past... But doggy walk a red headed Zara Spook (Or what ever) over them and they gulp it up??? WTF!?

As you can gather, they are my BOSS. Hulle sit my lelik ore aan... partykeer.

I have got lucky though a couple of times...

If the wind and current allows it I try and fish "weightless". Mainline is braid (6-15lbs) with a 3 meter leader of 15-20lbs. I then tie a very small power swiwel onto the leader and use a hook snoot of about 60cm 10-15lbs fluro. Its very simple and you can even leave the swiwel if you like.

The hook is also a long discussion but I find that I get more hookups with the smaller J hooks. I like using the small black Daichis no 2 & 4.

The prawn is hooked through its "horingtjie" most of the time. But I aslo like the tail method.

If the wind and current is too strong I like to add a bit of weght to my bait with small ball sinkers up to 1/2oz.
 
H

Houtarm

Moderator
Thanks guys.

I always use a light fluoro leader when fishing with the braid for them. I think using mono mainline will help with a little "give" so the grunter doesn't feel a tug as soon as with braid.

Have gotten a few good tips so far, and the general consensus seems to be fish with drag loose, and tighten after a short while when the grunter takes.

Any opinions on grunter feeding pattern when the wind is howling? I've been unlucky weather wise and I struggle to get pulls when it's windy.
 
D

DJP

Sealiner
The hooks I use are Mustad no. 4 Ref:10019NPBLN and Gamakatsu no.2 LS-3313F.
The are both supper strong small hooks and I have found that they are just the right weight for the pink prawns I use, if you use mud prawn which are a bit bigger you can scale up no no. 2 Mustad. Use one rod with J hook and the other circles and see what happens. If you fish in the smaller fish i.e. stumpies and barble eat your bait more often, that's where I'll use a circle or bigger hooks, just because the barble will swallow those small hooks every time.

On the weather, as per normal southern wind normally means fishing is poor for the rest I have found that it actually betters the fishing. The wind normally makes these mud lines in the water and the fish often stick to these, it's just important to think what is happening to you bait down there, if the boat is moving to much it might mean that your bait is being dragged around or not sitting on the bottom where the fish are feeding. From shore the wind creates a lot of drift, same outcome, thus use a bit heavier weight and maybe shorten the trace length etc. we could probably. learn a lot from the carp guys when it comes to presentation of baits for grunter. Best conditions for me is overcast with a light drizzle and no wind... then the grunters go crazy :)

Things to consider are that flouro is much stiffer and heavier than mono, thus it sinks and doesn't allow as much movement as mono. I have used two setups a Lexus with Shimano size 500 grinder an 5lb double x mono and a Berkley cherry wood with Shimano size 1000 grinder and 5lb fireline. The braid I use with a Berkley vanish leader of 10lbs. I have caught double as much fish on the mono setup, but in breede I won't fish with such a small reels since the big grunter odd other fish will spool you. The braid floats so the current has more affect on it compared to the really thin mono, this also affects your presentation, sometimes it's advantages, like when there is a bit of weed etc on the bottom, but other times it tends to drag the bait a bit more which isn't good.
 
H

Henlie

New member
If you want to hook a big grunter..catch yourself a klipvissie at the slip. It also prevends the peckers from stripping your bait in 10 seconds.((r(e(ling
 
H

Houtarm

Moderator
Henlie wrote:
If you want to hook a big grunter..catch yourself a klipvissie at the slip. It also prevends the peckers from stripping your bait in 10 seconds.((r(e(ling
Click to expand...

Tried a klippe this weekend, no luck. How do you hook it? Through the tail?

Caught a small grunter and small steenies on mudprawn but the big boys evaded me again unfortunately :?
 
P

PIRATEofSTRUISBAAI

Sealiner
Hi Houtarm. I've had the same idea of braid being to direct and grunter possibly feeling it a bit as main line. Since that I used that setup of braid, very few grunter came my way. Now I rather use a bit of braid as backing and then the majority will be main thin line. Then again maybe I've just had losta "Off" days with the grunter.I am feeling rather excited for the next hunt soon...
 
H

Houtarm

Moderator
Only from the shore.

Bought a Sienna 2500 and filled it with 4kg mono, will be my grunter reel from now on.

Ja Pirate, I'm always on the river the day after the grunter were biting like mad :?
 
F

flippy

Sealiner
in the eastern cape targeting grunter the bail is left open for when the fish goes on a run.. try not fishing a closed bail

also can't help but think its the reels drag thats not smooth enough.. what reel you using and does it have felt washers if so the teflon is to waterproof the drag washer not for lubrication.. last trip to agulhas i dropped a lot of fish then stripped reels drag that has carbon and found original grease gunked up.. removed it and cleaned all the metal washers and fresh cals grease on drag washers as well as where drag stack is seated in of reel.. completely clean and line peels off smoother than first
 
H

Houtarm

Moderator
flippy wrote:
in the eastern cape targeting grunter the bail is left open for when the fish goes on a run.. try not fishing a closed bail

also can't help but think its the reels drag thats not smooth enough.. what reel you using and does it have felt washers if so the teflon is to waterproof the drag washer not for lubrication.. last trip to agulhas i dropped a lot of fish then stripped reels drag that has carbon and found original grease gunked up.. removed it and cleaned all the metal washers and fresh cals grease on drag washers as well as where drag stack is seated in of reel.. completely clean and line peels off smoother than first
Click to expand...

Was using a Laguna with the braid, definitely not the smoothest drag. Bought a Sienna now to fish with mono and the drag feels way smoother.
 
F

flippy

Sealiner
pity the Fin Nor bahamas etc no longer available as they budget priced with ultra smooth drag

also found the Rampage at ganis for budget price http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=106410&forum_id=1

nothing wrong with Sienna and loved mine after many years service including a grunter at Agulhas.. lost it in P.E lol
 
G

grootvis

Sealiner
A big mistake a lot of guys make...."gunter are fussy".....

They not.....they just like any other fish.....hungry at times. ..sometimes not.
One of the most effective baits for gunter is pike and Sardine...whole/half. 4-5/0 circle....

Everyone is of the opinion they fussy and therefore use smaller hooks etc. That's why you miss a lot of the takes. When a gunter homes in on a bait he doesn't mess around... this is all based on experience. If they that finicky then why do they come up and smash top water lures...using prawns....4/0 or 5/0 circle through the body...I actually can't remember when last I used a prawn...just whole sardine or half.....the head the best part.

Good luck!!
 
B

Blikkiesvis

Sealiner
Howzit Donovan!

How do you hook the sardine, how do you present it? I remember you writing something about catching Grunters in Kleinbrak (I think) with pilchard, using Circle hooks.

I'm thinking... cut the sardine in half and then hook the one half through the top lip and the other through the tail.

Have you used this method in the Breede? Don't the peckers go crazy?
 
B

Blikkiesvis

Sealiner
Years back when we fished in Wilderness lagoon I was catching the one stumpnose after another and my dad caught Steenbras with almost every cast. I couldn't understand it.

We were using sand prawns and my dad said I must use only the head of the prawn and would you believe it, Steenrbas!

I tried this with Grunter in the Breede earlier this year using mudprawn and it worked. Don't know if I was just lucky but the smaller fish were going crazy and out of desperation I broke of a big prawns head an made my cast... BOOM, I was in!

(It only worked once though...)
 
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