Galjoen Gurus
- Thread starter Zane
- Start date
All great posts guys, I've fished CP area pretty regularly for the last 4 years in all sorts of conditions and have a smashes on days where I thought not much was going to go on and conversly buggerall on what looked like perfect days and as a result I'm a firm believer that some days the fish are just scarce of non exsistant ,maybe feeding a few km up or down the coast at a new hole that's opened up.
I do how ever have 2 things I try mix up a bit on days when the action is very slow. 1 length of hook and sinker traces. I usually start off with a 20-25cm hook trace and a slightly shorted sinker trace but will go as far as a 40cm hook trace if nothing is happening and I've had a few days where that has changed things in my favour.
The other thing I do is mix up my sinker weight, going lighter and allowing my bait to wash around a bit more actively or on days when the under current is pretty hectic go heavier allowing my bait to settle in one spot for a longer period.
No guaranteed to catch fish by doing this but definitely helped me out on a few occasions when there was a major blanking on the horizon.
I do how ever have 2 things I try mix up a bit on days when the action is very slow. 1 length of hook and sinker traces. I usually start off with a 20-25cm hook trace and a slightly shorted sinker trace but will go as far as a 40cm hook trace if nothing is happening and I've had a few days where that has changed things in my favour.
The other thing I do is mix up my sinker weight, going lighter and allowing my bait to wash around a bit more actively or on days when the under current is pretty hectic go heavier allowing my bait to settle in one spot for a longer period.
No guaranteed to catch fish by doing this but definitely helped me out on a few occasions when there was a major blanking on the horizon.
Seeing this topic is related to Galies..
Here's a number of rules I apply.
1: Never fish too long in one hole.. If after 5-8 throws no fish move to another spot. Sometimes you'll find only a few fish feeding on a reef(small)...With Galies you gotta stay on the move.
2: The myth that Gallies feed only on a rising tide is bull...Any working water high or low will produce(Bait depend at most times.
3: Never fish with 1 type of bait..Gallies are also uitsoekerig( I stick with 3 baits mostly..Mussel incl black, Prawn, Reds(preferebly sand)..Fresh or stink...
4: watch your casts..Most time people cast over the fish... like to cast in the front(towards me) of a reef as food washed loos will wash towards you. Gallies swim over a reef and back again to deepish water to find food.
My $
Here's a number of rules I apply.
1: Never fish too long in one hole.. If after 5-8 throws no fish move to another spot. Sometimes you'll find only a few fish feeding on a reef(small)...With Galies you gotta stay on the move.
2: The myth that Gallies feed only on a rising tide is bull...Any working water high or low will produce(Bait depend at most times.
3: Never fish with 1 type of bait..Gallies are also uitsoekerig( I stick with 3 baits mostly..Mussel incl black, Prawn, Reds(preferebly sand)..Fresh or stink...
4: watch your casts..Most time people cast over the fish... like to cast in the front(towards me) of a reef as food washed loos will wash towards you. Gallies swim over a reef and back again to deepish water to find food.
My $
Cuban Cigar
Sealiner
stinkmossel wrote:
Great info all around !
I have to also agree on the water temp issue - from Falsebay all the way to Blombos, my own catch records of the last 13 years, very clearly show that I have a much better catch rate with the gallies, when the water temp rises above 12 deg and up to 16 deg, than when it is lower, with a substantial drop when water goes below 10 deg.
I write down the water temp on my ORI tag cards and when I now look at the total results, it is very clear to see that all other factors like baro, wave height and wave action, wind strength and direction, moon phase etc taken into consideration, the end result of water temp in the higher range, spells good fishing !
Cheers
Great info all around !
I have to also agree on the water temp issue - from Falsebay all the way to Blombos, my own catch records of the last 13 years, very clearly show that I have a much better catch rate with the gallies, when the water temp rises above 12 deg and up to 16 deg, than when it is lower, with a substantial drop when water goes below 10 deg.
I write down the water temp on my ORI tag cards and when I now look at the total results, it is very clear to see that all other factors like baro, wave height and wave action, wind strength and direction, moon phase etc taken into consideration, the end result of water temp in the higher range, spells good fishing !
Cheers
Awesome information guys.....Zane does this all make better sense and give you insight as to how these fish behave.
Can we know start a similar thread about women (LOL)
.When do hey bite the best
.Does baro pressure effect their mood
.Moon fazes.
.What bait works better........
Can we know start a similar thread about women (LOL)
.When do hey bite the best
.Does baro pressure effect their mood
.Moon fazes.
.What bait works better........
Zane wrote:
Sometimes, notwithstanding the fact that the weather is still foul, the main part of a cold front has already moved on thereby causing a rise in the barometric pressure. That is probably why the fishing conditions improve.
Nowadays I find myself relying more and more on what I see (pressure wise) on Windfinder before planning an outing.
On the udder hand Darren, if I get an opportunity, I go fishing. They still remain enigmatic creatures...always full of surprises.
Sometimes, notwithstanding the fact that the weather is still foul, the main part of a cold front has already moved on thereby causing a rise in the barometric pressure. That is probably why the fishing conditions improve.
Nowadays I find myself relying more and more on what I see (pressure wise) on Windfinder before planning an outing.
On the udder hand Darren, if I get an opportunity, I go fishing. They still remain enigmatic creatures...always full of surprises.
stinkmossel
Sealiner
for the new guys, its probably easier to keep it as simple as possible ne.
the basics...
most poeple forget the most important thing in a good gallie fisherman's arsenal...
and that is water reading.
im talking fishing off beaches etc, about identifying holes and banks,(newly opened).
i guarentee any aspiring galjoen fisherman, learn how to read the water, and you will start catching more fish more regularly...
later on you can look at a stretch of beach and literally read it like a book.for example:
swell coming in,(size etc)
breaking over and against some reefs.(that will create a nice wash and a rip in stronger water.
which way is the rip running? the rip will be a cleaner patch of water with hardly any sand in it.(it basically flows like a river)
normally the direction of the pull in the water changes from high tide to low tide.
that WILL determine where (against which bank/reef), your fish will hang out.
how deep is the gully, ?(is it a high tide hole or a low tide spot.
is there still sand in the gully.
NB-how long has the hole been open.
etc etc.
all that comes together with one thing only...time spent at the water.
and again, that is the fun part...
the rest of it is fairly straight forward.
doesnt matter what bait you are using. if there is gallies in the area, and they are feeding, then they will nibble at your bait. if they like it, they will take it..
if they dont like it, the wil bump and nibble the bait, and move off.
so, if you are not getting any bites, it doesnt mean that your bait is wrong. it just means that you are fishing in the wrong areas. which comes back to water reading/predicting.
the basics...
most poeple forget the most important thing in a good gallie fisherman's arsenal...
and that is water reading.
im talking fishing off beaches etc, about identifying holes and banks,(newly opened).
i guarentee any aspiring galjoen fisherman, learn how to read the water, and you will start catching more fish more regularly...
later on you can look at a stretch of beach and literally read it like a book.for example:
swell coming in,(size etc)
breaking over and against some reefs.(that will create a nice wash and a rip in stronger water.
which way is the rip running? the rip will be a cleaner patch of water with hardly any sand in it.(it basically flows like a river)
normally the direction of the pull in the water changes from high tide to low tide.
that WILL determine where (against which bank/reef), your fish will hang out.
how deep is the gully, ?(is it a high tide hole or a low tide spot.
is there still sand in the gully.
NB-how long has the hole been open.
etc etc.
all that comes together with one thing only...time spent at the water.
and again, that is the fun part...
the rest of it is fairly straight forward.
doesnt matter what bait you are using. if there is gallies in the area, and they are feeding, then they will nibble at your bait. if they like it, they will take it..
if they dont like it, the wil bump and nibble the bait, and move off.
so, if you are not getting any bites, it doesnt mean that your bait is wrong. it just means that you are fishing in the wrong areas. which comes back to water reading/predicting.
stinkmossel wrote:
Excellent! you absolutely right, I think we take for granted that we can read the water, but not others starting out, it is actually the Foundation of all this info!
Excellent! you absolutely right, I think we take for granted that we can read the water, but not others starting out, it is actually the Foundation of all this info!
Lekker info guys.......really informative and interesting.
I have also done a lot of spearfishing (mostly Stilbaai). This has taught me a lot by seeing how things work below the water level. Its quite amazing to swim over a stretch of reef (200m long) and find nothing.....then all of a sudden you get one spot that is just teaming with fish (for no apparent reason....that I can see)
We also find most of our BIG Galjoen and musselcracker swimming on the land side of big exposed rock or rock formations where the see has carved a hole. When I cast I always try and get as close to the back of a rock that is exposed in my fishing zone.
I have also done a lot of spearfishing (mostly Stilbaai). This has taught me a lot by seeing how things work below the water level. Its quite amazing to swim over a stretch of reef (200m long) and find nothing.....then all of a sudden you get one spot that is just teaming with fish (for no apparent reason....that I can see)
We also find most of our BIG Galjoen and musselcracker swimming on the land side of big exposed rock or rock formations where the see has carved a hole. When I cast I always try and get as close to the back of a rock that is exposed in my fishing zone.