I have fished rock and surf all my life,please cou

[Moyeni]

I have fished rock and surf all my life,please could someone give me advise on the distances one should use when trawling?

On the weekend I fished the Couta Classic for the first time,what I did is I used three rods and bait used was a wala-wala,mackerel/sardine and a live mozzie. On the wala-wala my distance was about 35m(at 7m I put a down rigger of 5o/z ball sinker).The mackerel/sardine my distance was about 30m(at 5m I put a down rigger of 4o/z ball sinker).In the center my distance was about 20m(at 3m I put a down rigger of 3o/z ball sinker).

Please tell me I am not mad.....

But where am I going wrong?

Regards
Frikkie...

 

[nicos]

Hi Frikkie,

Fished with Benniejordaan who is also a Fynnlands member, and I am not going to pretend I am an expert.

We came 5th (yes, I am going to repeat this till next year cause it soumds great).

First thing, you don't need to fish far from the boat. Remember that your boat is the biggest fish attractor out there, for couta you can fish everything within 15 to 20 meters furthest. So stagger in the wash and on wards.

Second, you are doing the right thing downrigging your baits, only the very big couta will eat on the surface, so that walla up there is cool.

Third, 5 ounce sinker is fine, I never go more thant 4oz (no downrigger), also have one on 2oz.

4th, fish the 18m to 24m line as a rule of thumb (the prize fish we landed was in 9m but we lost a good one at around 20m)

5th, work the lines! Change your leader, duster, bait etc every 15 to 30 minutes for each line, you are fishing a comp so don't sit back.

6th, stick to your game plan.

7. Fish the couta reefs, they are well known and they produce.

 

I have lent my boat to the KZN Spearfishing team for the nationals next week, and when they scouted today they went to stud.. and got a croc couta and a wahoo. They are here, just few and far.

 

./n

 

[benniejordaan]

Tunny, Dorado and most fish in fact I seem to get very close to the boat. I seem to have a spot at about 15-20m behind the boat that always gets snatched first. Some guys like the china position but for me it's that 15-20m position just behind the boat under the prop wash.

 

[dugongboy]

Viper (Mamba) wrote:

I have fished rock and surf all my life,please could someone give me advise on the distances one should use when trawling?

On the weekend I fished the Couta Classic for the first time,what I did is I used three rods and bait used was a wala-wala,mackerel/sardine and a live mozzie. On the wala-wala my distance was about 35m(at 7m I put a down rigger of 5o/z ball sinker).The mackerel/sardine my distance was about 30m(at 5m I put a down rigger of 4o/z ball sinker).In the center my distance was about 20m(at 3m I put a down rigger of 3o/z ball sinker).

Please tell me I am not mad.....

But where am I going wrong?

Regards
Frikkie...

Mamba, you did nothing wrong - the fishing was just shit!!!!

I spoke to a mate of mine last night, who I regard as one of the most experienced Durban ski boaters around (30 years experience) and they never had a pull!! 

Don't worry about the distance behind the boat (within reason) - worry about the depth and the depth of your baits. It is difficult to judge using a poor mans downrigger but aim at getting one bait in the bottom third of the water column one in the top third and one on the surface.

 

[Moyeni]

Thanks guys for your advice on trawling,just one question to Nicos what you mean by using 4oz but(no downrigger)? Where would one put out the 4oz?

 

[benniejordaan]

Dugonboy is right! Persistence is what produces fish! The more time you spend on the water the more "quality" fish you will get. Especially when targeting specific species like couta.

 

[nicos]

Viper (Mamba) wrote:

Thanks guys for your advice on trawling,just one question to Nicos what you mean by using 4oz but(no downrigger)? Where would one put out the 4oz?

LOL - I wasn't very clear, if you look at the time I posted that it was after a night out with ShagnRelease

What I meant is when NOT using a downrigger, I would use a 4oz sinker, but at Couta trolling speeds that probably only gets you down to about 8m or 10m with a regular sized live bait with 20m to 25m of line out (I am making an educated guess here) - of course it all depende on the bait, the current and so on.

 

[Eric Cotton]

nicos wrote:

Hi Frikkie,

Fished with Benniejordaan who is also a Fynnlands member, and I am not going to pretend I am an expert.

 

@ nicos in my eyes coming 5th out of 430 boat dose make you guys some expert.

Alreday got my EYES on you guys, will be like a sponge and suck all the info I can find on the experts.

 

[nicos]

Eric Cotton wrote:

nicos wrote:

Hi Frikkie,

Fished with Benniejordaan who is also a Fynnlands member, and I am not going to pretend I am an expert.

 

@ nicos in my eyes coming 5th out of 430 boat dose make you guys some expert.

Alreday got my EYES on you guys, will be like a sponge and suck all the info I can find on the experts.

Make you a deal Eric, I'll take you Couta fishing, you take me for snoek - how does that sound?

 

[Eric Cotton]

 

[Eric Cotton]

@ nicos you got yourself a deal.
Battled getting snoek today and saw some nice couta being caught.

 

[shagnrelease]

nicos wrote:

Viper (Mamba) wrote:

Thanks guys for your advice on trawling,just one question to Nicos what you mean by using 4oz but(no downrigger)? Where would one put out the 4oz?

LOL - I wasn't very clear, if you look at the time I posted that it was after a night out with ShagnRelease

What I meant is when NOT using a downrigger, I would use a 4oz sinker, but at Couta trolling speeds that probably only gets you down to about 8m or 10m with a regular sized live bait with 20m to 25m of line out (I am making an educated guess here) - of course it all depende on the bait, the current and so on.

must admit it came out pretty clear considering!! good night out mate, definatly do it again!!! Thanks and chat soon!