Fishing FAQs

What is a Paternoster ?

A paternoster is any style of hook rig where the leader is tied to a fixed lead, the hooks then are on droppers above the lead. Usually one to three hooks are used on a paternoster rig depending on the species you are after. The droppers can be either blood loops tied directly in the leader or more often a stop knot, bead, swivel, bead, stop knot arrangement is used. Why not have a look at Paternoster Rig for more info.

Why use a Shock Leader ?

A shock leader is a length of strong line designed to absorb the stress during casting. If you try to cast a lead using light line you are liable to crack off, and the lead will go in any direction. A fishing lead may kill someone if it hits them !

For safety, you should use a shock leader of atleast 5kg for each ounce of lead you are casting. The shock leader must be long enough to have at least six full turns around the reel, and continue from reel to the lead. Another great source of information is on Leaders & Traces.

How do techniques like Pendulumn Casting get more power ?

Think of a rod as an elastic band. If you stretch an elastic band at first it is flexible, but a point is reached where the band can no longer stretch. Any further movement at one end of the band must cause the other end of the band to move, otherwise it will break. The elastic is now 'locked' solid. In terms of casting, a normal overhead cast first has to bend the rod before the lead can be accelerated. A lot of casting energy is lost in this initial bending, so the cast is inefficient.

Powerful casting styles (pendulumn etc) aim to bend the rod until it is locked before the overhead part of the cast is reached, in this way all of the power of the cast is used to accelerate the lead, and casting distance is much increased. Why not also have a look at Surf Fishing for more information on casting.

Is night fishing better than daytime ?

Usually the answer to this is yes. There are a few exceptions, but most predatory fish are far more active at night. Of course other factors such as the colour of the water have an effect, fish can be caught more readily in coloured water in daytime compared to clear water. Some species are only worth fishing for after dark, shore caught rays are rare in daylight. Other fish follow the rising plankton as the sun sets and feed far higher in the water as the sun sets.

Do luminous attractors work ?

I have experimented and used a standard "Starlite" measuring 37mm x 4.5 mm § when night fishing over the past few years. I have been attaching a one inch length of luminous tube to the hook trace next to the bait. I shine my headlamp onto this tube for a few seconds before casting to increase the light given off by the tube. I have found that I am getting better catches on the baits with the tube, and now incorporate luminous attractors into most of my rigs for night fishing. Experimentation is the key, and if your not having much success, try it without !!

How long can a bait be left in the water ?

Baits can be left in the water far far longer than most people think and still be effective. This statement needs some clarification. The type of bait and its size has a bearing on the length of time the bait is effective, as well as the activity of bait robbers such as crabs, shrimp, leatherjackets or small fish. A single bloodworm cannot be fished as long as a whole fish bait.

I have found that when fishing into deep water with large fish baits from shore rock marks, fish can be caught on baits that have been in the water over an hour ! This has even occurred in a tide run of a couple of knots which would have washed a lot of the scent from the bait. I am not saying that all baits should be left out this long, but there are cases when this can be a useful technique.

I use this method only when I am fishing extremely rough ground from which is is almost impossible to retrieve gear even when using a rotten bottom. The answer is to use a large bait on a pulley rig and leave it out until you get a bite. Obviously you may have to experiment to see how active bait robbers are on a particular mark to determine how long a bait remains intact.

It also helps if you are fishing two rods, one can be left with a large bait, the other can be checked more regularly at say 20 minute intervals.

What sort of rod do I need for Shore Fishing ?

There is no single rod that covers every aspect of shore fishing. Below are listed typical rods, and their uses, and hopefully you can decide which suit your fishing needs.

Standard Beachcasting.
This is the most common beach rod. Overall length of 11 - 14 feet, in two sections. These sections may be equal, or are a longer tip of about 8 feet and a shorter butt. Rods with more than two sections are not usually recommended. Most modern rods are of a fast or very fast taper, this means that the butt of the rod is stiff, with the tip more flexible. The majority of beach rods are designed to cast 5 ounces. Rods that claim to cast 8 ounces are rarely happy with that amount of weight.

Overhead Rod.
The difference between a rod foe egg-beater style reels as opposed to an Overhead Rod (for spinning/overhead reels) is the placement and number of eyes that these rods have. The more eyes a rod has, the better and faster the line is able to feed through, allowing for increased casting distance. With spinning reels, it also reduces the likelyhood of a backlash creating a bird's nest.

Other rods.
Ugly Sticks and Powertips range from 5 - 7 feet in lengh, and are excellent to use on jetties and boats. I have a Shimano Calcutta CT400, with a Silstar PT-561CAH Power Tip Rod. I would have to say, that this setup is my best setup for boating and jetty fishing.

Why do some rods have a longer tip and a shorter butt ?

Most rods which come in two equal sections have the position of the joint decided without any reference to the rod's action. Modern beachcasters have an action which can be thought of as three separate zones.

The tip, zone 1, is mainly concerned with bite detection, and has little role to play in casting apart from smoothing the turn-over of the lead. This is usually the top 18 inches of the rod.

The middle, or zone 2, is where the power of a cast is stored and then released. This extends from the end of zone 1 to about 6-18 inches above the upper hand grip.

The butt, or zone 3, is usually a very stiff. The aim of the butt is to transfer the power generated by your arms and body into stored energy in zone 2 during the cast. A rod joined in two equal sections would have the spigot somewhere in the middle of zone 2. This is not ideal since any joint disturbs the natural action of the blank. A long tip, short butt rod is designed with the joint at the junction of zones 2 and 3. Since the butt is very stiff anyway, the extra thickness of the rod at the joint does not alter the action of the rod.

What sort of Rod do I need for Boat Fishing ?

As stated above for shore fishing, no single rod can cover every aspect of boat fishing. Conventional Boat Rods are usually 6.5 - 7.5 feet long and are often in two pieces - a short butt and long tip joined at the reel seat. Older rods were made with wooden butts, though these are becomming less common. Carbon or glass- fibre is usually used nowadays.

Boat rods can be classed into three groups, those being baitcasting, spinning or trolling rods. Generally speaking, the best for all three is either an ugly stick or a powertip. These rods are designed for their lightweight, and more importantly strength.

The best way to decide which of these rods suit your needs most is to ask anglers and charter skippers in the areas you wish to fish.

What sort of Reel do I use for Boat Fishing ?

The majority of reels used in boat fishing are overheads. Fixed spool reels are only used for very light tackle fishing.

The size of reel is decided by the type and class of rod you are using. Also the size of the reel is dependant on the species and size of fish you intend on catching. ABU 7000 size reels are the most popular for the larger variety of fish. It is possible to use smaller reels, such as the 6000's, but the gears are not as tough as the larger reels such as 7000's. Also there is a danger of bursting the spool on the smaller reels due to the increased pressure that a large fish may put on the line when being wound onto the spool.

General boat reels will need to hold about 300 metres of line matched to the class of the rod. It is possible to use a heavier line than the rod is rated, but beware of overloading the gears. Most multipliers have a clutch controlled by a star wheel. There will also be a separate lever to disengage the gears completely. Avoid reels with plastic spools for boat fishing.

For heavy duty work, such as shark or common ray fishing, strong reels such as Penn Senators, Daiwa Sealines are recommended. These reels are mainly used is sizes 6/0 for 50lb class and 9/0 for 80lb class, though some anglers use these reels with 30 and 50 pound line respectivly for increased capacity. These reels have very strong gears and with care will easily last a lifetime.

How do the Numbers for Hook Sizes work ?

Hooks are numbered from 32 to 1, with size 32 being the smallest, and 1 the largest. Then the numbering goes from 1/O upwards, the greater the number before the "O" the larger the hook. The "/O" stands for ocean. Most sea fishing uses hooks between 10 for mullet and garfish to 12/O for sharks. A 6/O hook is pronounced as a "six Oh".

Be wary that some different manufacturers use the same number scale, but a 2/0 of the same pattern from different manufacturers may differ in size.

Flourescent lines are very popular; Does Line colour matter ?

Personally I prefer to use clear line, but there are times when coloured lines are useful. If you fish an area with very coloured water, then line colour makes little difference, especially in visibility of about 12 inches.

If the water you fish is crystal clear then the line colour can make a great difference to catches. When fishing in clear water, I would not recommend using flourescent line as it is so visible. At least I would ensure that all hook traces and leaders are clear.

Some beach anglers prefer the bright lines as they can see the line easily, especially when night fishing. If you want to use these lines, then use a clear shock leader, so the line near the bait is not visible.

One occasion where brightly coloured lines are very useful is when practice casting over grass. If a flourescent yellow or orange shock leader is used, it is very easy to find any crack-offs.

Another factor is that any colour is a dye added to the nylon monofilament and as such must alter the specification of the line slightly. This means that the performance of the same brand of line in different colours may vary slightly.

Is frozen bait any good ?

This all depends on the type of bait, and the quality of the freezing. Blast frozen baits such as mackerel, and squid are excellent, and are only bettered by bait caught on the same day. Look for brand names on the bait packets. Beware of un-named packets, these are usually frozen by the shop and are not blast frozen.

The bait you freeze yourself at home may be O.K. for boat fishing and as groundbait, but is not as tough as blast frozen baits for casting. Remember that domestic freezers are only designed to freeze a few pounds of produce at a time. The blocks of small squid are also excellent. Blast freezing is not so important with squid.