SHORE GAME FISHING A BASIC GUIDE TO TACKLE, LURES AND FISH SPECIES Shore Game angling is fast growing in momentum because it’s one of the most exciting forms of fishing you can take part in. It’s also one of the very few facets of angling that can be done at the drop of the hat by anyone. All you need is a basic tackle setup and you are ready to go fishing. When it comes to catching fish however, there is quite a learning curve required to achieve success regularly. I have written this basic guide to try and help anglers cut the learning curve down considerably and grow the sport of Shore Game angling so that more and more anglers can share this passion of mine. THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB Rods 11ft rods have come to be recognised as the perfect length. They offer good long distance casting performance but, are also light enough to let you work action into lures and continue casting all day long. There are many different brands on the market but, I use an Assassin AMIA. My personal preference is for a slow action 2 piece rod which will land you more fish. Slow action rods act as shock absorbers when using braided fishing line and stop hooks from tearing out of fish’s mouth, especially on species like Tailor. I prefer a 2 piece as opposed to 3 piece as they require less checking. Assassin Shore Game rods like the hugely popular and successful Amia series and budget friendly Assassin SPIN rod have slow actions and will land you more fish. Reels A good quality spinning reel is needed when it comes to reels for Shore Game angling and this is due mainly to the fact that they can handle very thin braided lines and should have retrieve ratios of at least 6 to 1 which is highly important as very fast retrieve are needed for some species . This means they can be fished without getting wind knots all the times. Most reels in our market today are made for nylon and don’t work well with very thin braided lines and this causes huge problems and constant wind knots, so make sure you ask your tackle dealer if the reel you are choosing is made for braid. Generally a reel of the equivalent size of a Shimano 5000 is best suited for the job. Braid For most Shore Game fishing a good quality casting braid in 20lb to 30lb breaking strain will be perfect. I personally prefer braids made in Japan as they are the leaders in braided fishing lines and I find them to be both thin and strong. Japanese braids also give the least problems when it comes to wind knots. Most American braids are very thick in comparison. Don’t be fooled by what some of them say on the packaging as far as diameters are concerned and rather ask an experienced fishing tackle salesman to help you choose. I would also urge you to avoid the “cheapy” type fused braids as the just don’t last and are rather wirey. You need a to fit 300m onto your reel as you never know what you might hook into. This will be rated as a size 2 Japanese braid which is 0.24mm in diameter. I personally use the range of JDB braids. JDB is very good and reasonably priced too. These braids have correctly stated diameters making it easy to judge how much braid your reel will take. Terminal Tackle and Equipment You Need In Your Kit Fluorocarbon Leader: 0.50mm to 0.55mm (30 to 40lb) Japanese Power Swivels: Sizes 4, 5, 6 (I mostly use size 6). These are stainless steel and very strong Finger Glove: For protecting your finger when casting (I use the Assassin casting glove ).This will become very important as when fishing for long periods your skin becomes very soft and braid cuts can put a stop to your fishing very quickly. Fishing Gloves: Gloves with cut off fingers are very good to have and make handling fish like GT’s a breeze. Remember many fish have sharp spikes and scoots on the tails which can cause considerable injury and ruin your trip. Rather be safe than sorry. Titanium Wire: 35lb to 45lb. This is used when “toothy” fish are present and should be kept in your tackle bag at all times just in case . Hyper Wire Split Rings: Sizes 3,4,5 will cover 99% of your needs (I only use CID Hyper wire split rings). Standard split rings open and are too big for their strength . Hooks: Rock Point Soi Eye ring hooks and/or Daiichi DH 55 are the best hooks to use. The Rock Point have extremely high corrosion resistance and are nice and shiny for surface lures and spoons. Daiichi DH 55 have a short shank and wide gap making them great for plugs and wider lures. They also very popular on Iron Candy spoons as they don’t come out easily. Spare trebles for CID Slimbaits, Shiversticks in sizes 2 and 4 will come in handy as trebles tend to lose their points quickly when pulled through the sand. Rock Point Japan has some great trebles. Braid Scissors: A good pair of braid scissors is a must. Split Ring Pliers: Another tool you must have with you, as you will be changing lures and rigging new hooks often. Rock Boots: Lots of Shore Game angling takes place off rocky points so a pair of good quality fishing boots is needed. I use Rock Grippa white boots which are work very well. They are soft and have webbing to get on and off easily and have Nitrile in them which make them grip better than normal gum boots onto the rocks. Back Pack: Lastly, you need a good quality back pack with decent zips and preferably rod holders on too. This should be large enough to fit all of the above kit in and allows you to walk and fish at the same time comfortably. THE RIGHT LURES FOR SUCCESS The following list is the lures that are most commonly used for Shore Game fishing and in fact the ones that I use personally with great success. They are all found in a variety of colours but, I have listed the ones that I believe work the best. All the colours catch fish but certain colours work better on the day so it’s good to keep a few colours of each lure of possible. Iron Candy Couta Casting size 1 and 2: Glow, Green Glow, Chart Glow, Pink Glow, Red eye, Chart Flash and Orange glow Iron Candy Bullet Foil size 2 Green Glow, Pink Glow, Chart Glow, Pearl Flash, Hot Orange, Red Eye Chart Flash GT Ice-Cream Plugs Needle Nose 1.5 oz: Squid, Pearl White, Shad Green, Pink, Fluoro Yellow GT Ice-Cream Plugs Flat Face Needle Nose 1.5 oz White, Chartreuse, Pink CID Slimbait 175: Green Mackerel, Red Eye Sardine, Chartreuse CID ShiverStick 125: Clear Blue, Glow and Sardine MOST POPULAR TARGET FISH SPECIES AND MY 3 FIRST CHOICES TO CATCH THEM The below table is a very basic guide to what lures would be a good in order of 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice when targeting Mackeral, Trevally (secondary species), big tailor, Mulloway, and most prized Giant Trevally known as a GT.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:10:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015