Good day Guys I am new to Sealine and

[Johan Fourie]

Good day Guys

 

I am new to Sealine and posting - only 1 previous post to locate good bait and was assisted by Sealine members. Great to be part of this Sealine family. I live in Richards Bay and have caught cuta on trapstick before. I bought a lot of Rappies and Halcos from a friend who stopped ski boating - but I never really use them. The water in my area is not as clean as in Vidal or Sodies and therefore I have them on the boat - but seldom use them. I think there is more to fishing these artificials then just pulling them accross the ocean. Secondly , I would like to try this "slow trawl" technique  - I hear guys are pulling sards/mackeral/bonnies at different depths - using bottom sinkers up to 16 ounce. I have tried it but I am not very successfull - can I pull bait and Halcos at the same time? any pointers from the Experts out there?

 

[shagnrelease]

Johan, great question!! Big couta are my nemesis fish and we battle to get them!! We seem to manage with the rats but they certainly dont seem to be as fussy,we get most of our couta on the spoon or fly, and with jigs. But there are a couple of BAIT secrets out there that we dont know about, as there are some boats who consistently pull crocs!So this is a call to all those couta bashers out there, show us your ways....

 

[Johan Fourie]

Hi shagnrelease - thanks for the reply - I had a look at a previous post from you on Vidal - man, than made my mouth drool - I live so close to this place but have NEVER fished it - heard the launch is difficult - have surf license (skip out of the harbor so why fight the sand?)but have never taken the trip - maybe you can give me some pointers sometime. So now , out with the "trap sticks" to see if we can catch a old "crock with knowledge" (LOL)

 

[nicos]

Only way I know for the big ones: live bonnies.

Would love to hear what the couta experts do though.

 

[shagnrelease]

hey there, yes we enjoy vidal and get a lot of good fish out there. The launch is not to bad, its the same as any surf launch, as long as you take your time and understand the your limits as well as your boats then you will be okay. We will be there again from the 19th-30th november, so if your around we will gladly show you the launch... 

 

[shagnrelease]

hey there, yes we enjoy vidal and get a lot of good fish out there. The launch is not to bad, its the same as any surf launch, as long as you take your time and understand the your limits as well as your boats then you will be okay. We will be there again from the 19th-30th november, so if your around we will gladly show you the launch... 

 

[Johan Fourie]

I might just take you up on that will - will keep contact with you through this Site. Regards. Johan - PS - no kkrrrr of a ratchet yet? - must say, It seems no "old crocs" out there today?

 

[sparky]

hi guys , i'm certainly no expert or guru but i have caught a few fish in the 15-20kg class using the slow troll method with a whole bait. i fish from a paddle ski so imo this is the most effective method (apart from live bait) as you do not need to be moving fast & you are able to fish for longer periods. for the bigger fish use a bigger bait- big mackral, bonnies or silkys are ideal, however sards,jap mackral, ect also work. the important thing is to rig the bait so it swims upright & as naturally as possible. the easiest way to do this is to use a bait swimmer such as a mydo (see pic)rigger with 2 trebles which sit either side of the bait - the wires should ideally be different lengths so the treble on one side sits near the belly of the bait & the treble on the other side sits near the tail. with a long bait such as a silky (wolf herring), which are demon croc baits, one can use 2 trebles on either side. it is also often a good idea to downrig a bait.attaching a sinker to your leader with a rubber band does the trick. fish will often sit at a particular depth on a particular day so try cover different depths to find the fish -the idea is to put the bait as close to the fish's nose as possible. generally i find couta to swim closer to the surface early in the morning & late afternoon, and the deeper in the middle of the day when the light intensity is high. hope this helps. good luck.

 

[sparky]

mydo bait swimmer

 

[sparky]

mozam is great place for cuda

 

[Johan Fourie]

Hi Sparky - thanks for the reply. Much appreciated - just a question - what would you say your paddle speed is - 4 knots p/h - slower or faster - I ask this 'cause I am under the impression the cuta strike the bait out of aggression - when traveling to slow will the terminal tackle not put them off? I fish from the ski boat and would like to match the rowing speed you use.

 

[sparky]

hi johan, i generally paddle really slow. just tap along keeping the baits moving. not sure of speed in knots but i would say the same pace as an ordinary walk.
i'm sure the terminal tackle does deter some fish but there is no real alternative. just try keep your traces neat & one can use no.7 wire from hooks to bait swimmer & then no. 5 wire from swimmer to leader. also you can use a cuda duster to hide the bait swimmer as well as create some flash.
let me know how it goes & post some pics.

 

[On Strike]

Have had success with 1-2kg class Bonnie sent down on downrigger to run close to deep high points and bottom structures ..anything from 20 to 40m obviously dependent on where you are and what the finder shows. 

Interestingly, the bigger fish (25 to 35kg) we have boated have taken in June / July period at Zavora ... while we have had joy with 15 to 25kg class fish during December holidays at same venue.

 

 

[Johan Fourie]

Hi Fawnycat - this downrigger - is it a commercial model, something like a Scotty - or are you refering to the "bottem sinker downrigger" and how do you rig the Bonnie - same as a Mackerel - leader hook in the nose and some trebles down the side?

 

[On Strike]

Use a commerical "canon" downrigger  ...  however a bottom sinker could also do the job if the current is not running too strong. 

Live bonnie is rigged with 1 x hook through bottom lip and out through top lip to allow it to swim and with one barb of second treble on top of bonnie either behind dorsal or close to tail given that cuta are basically "slash" feeders that often strike short and end up taking the tail end of the bait off. 

Trolling is done at idle speed on one motor ... anything faster will make the bait start spinning and kill it quickly.

 

[Johan Fourie]

Thanks On Strike - appreciate the advice - will put this in practice at the 21 Specie Compo in Richards Bay - I have found some really nice Bonnies and Mackerel - slightly on the large side - but will try to rig them with a bait swimmer - maybe I can get the same action.

 

[lerouxjaco]

Hi Johan

Down riggers is a bit expensive, maybe use a 5-6oz sinker tied at your bemini twist knot with a rubber band, this will help to get your live bait a bit lower down. My personal opinion with cuta is rather look for nice structure or pinacle and drift with the current over these and work your weighted baits over these areas if nothing delivers once over these spots go back and try again. 90% of  the cutas weve caught were all on drifting. We only do slow trolling or trolling if we don't know the area and can't get into fish and early mornings. Don't overlook drifting for those cutas even with live baits. Method I use for live bait slow trolling (I don't use trebles as it is not legal in comps so I just stick with single hooks)first hook gets set in the side off the bait at any side mid way between the front and back of the dorsal fin, second hook gets set on other side between tail and back of dorsal fin. Get the ends of the (piano)wires at the mouth use bait needle make a hole through top of the mouth use a piece of copper wire through the hole and tie the two traces down at the mouth with the copper wire, tie your main line with steel leader trace onto the loops of the two trace from the hooks or use a swivel on the main line to connect to the two traces(just make sure that both hook traces are connected to the main line made that mistake before and it ain't fun) at slow troll the copper wire won't come loose and you will be pulling the fish on it's mouth which is hard and won't allow the trace to come off. For dead baits use sosatie sticks which you push through the top part of the bait from back to front cut off excess piece. This help to keep the bait up strait. Hope this info will help a bit as it works for us.

 

[lerouxjaco]

Hi On Strike

That's a beuty you got on that pic must have had some good fun landing that croc.

 

[Johan Fourie]

Hi Jaco
Thanks mate - I have a lot to try out with the 21 Species this year. When ever down in Richards Bay?, - maybe we can share some "ocean" together.

 

[lerouxjaco]

Hi Johan

Won't mind. only fished Richardsbay once my, mates doesn't like to go there don't know the water well enough, tried to convince them to do the 21 species but no luck. Got other comps running close to this one which is a pity. Going to the Inhaca challenge 14th May till 18th May hope to get some nice fish and hopefully win the comp again. Won't mind if I can give you a ring when down at Richardsbay again for some fishing don't mind to pay.