I desperately need help with fishing!!

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smile0784
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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by smile0784 » Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:44 pm

Just stick to the one spot and try different baits and times

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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by Jasonfish1234 » Sat Apr 20, 2019 8:00 pm

May 4 is new moon. The fish will bait crazy.

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Sebb
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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by Sebb » Sat Apr 20, 2019 8:33 pm

Aaron has a point. Try to crack the code for one spot until you're confident. I did that with port melb, pretty much fish there a whole year until I got it figured out. The hook size, best bait, rod length, sinker size, best time and tide, how thin is the line, etc.

Even most experienced angler can have a donut day.

For me personally, if the fish is being really fussy, I'd use thinnest line possible, smallest sinker possible (even no sinker), small hook and natural bait presentation as much possible. Also, lightest rod possible for the targeted species (less resistance and able to see the bite).

I remember i went to Altona pier and there were heaps of salmon and mullet under the pier, reckon about 40 people fishing and none catching.
I dropped a white bait (no hook etc), the fish were onto it straight away. When I put it on a hook and line and sinker, they didn't even look. After few modifications, the best was hook #6 or even #8 and covered by the white bait (you know how small white bait is, the one for garfish) and 4lg fluorocarbon line. I started catching fish after fish of around 30cm'ish salmon.
But this trick doesn't always work and not in all places.

Sometimes you need big'ish sinker to cast and to fish in strong current/wind.

Try to fish where the high tide is close to sunset/sunrise. Diff spot diff tide time.

I'm might fish Sandringham tomorrow afternoon til sunset.
Last edited by Sebb on Sat Apr 20, 2019 10:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by rb85 » Sat Apr 20, 2019 8:52 pm

frozenpod wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:41 pm
Aaron75 wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:34 pm
frozenpod wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:11 pm
Fishing is easy, fish are dumb the trick is being in the right place at the right time. This is much harder landbased.

For landbased fishing the 10% rule applies, expect to catch fish 10% of the time.

Use bait instead of lures as bait out fishes lures, except for squid where jigs out fish bait.

Fish change of tides high tides for piers and low tides for beaches and rocks. If you can line up a ride change with sunset or sun rise that is ideal.
I am strictly land based - if I only caught fish 10% of the time I'd give up and find a new hobby.

Bait works better than lures if you know there are fish in front of you. If the fish are somewhere else, you can find them with lures but you wont find them with bait - that's probably why you donut 90% of the time.

Fishing PPB piers I've found sunrise/sunset to be far more important than tides, especially as you get further away from the rip.
Lol I think I am probably one of the 10% of fishermen that catch 90% of the fish.

One dud trip from the last 50 or so in the last couple of years.


The above 10% rule for landbased fishing is pretty accurate for the average fish and would certainly be a great starting place for someone who can't catch a fish.
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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by j_pap » Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:19 pm

croe04 wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:04 pm
Hi all

I've been fishing saltwater for quite a long time, almost always with my dad. He's the one who got me into fishing, and despite only catching about 4 saltwater fish in the 10 years of fishing I have done, I still love it to bits. But despite my 10 years of effort I cannot catch a fish to save my life, and my desire to actually catch something for once has gone through the roof. I really really need some help, although I do feel like a nuisance making one of your typical 'please help i'm terrible at fishing' posts. I've looked at heaps of threads on this website, and none of the tips that they give have given me success. I usually fish anywhere from Port Melbourne down to Sandringham, and despite a lot of people saying that there are great spots around I've still come up with no results. I've fished Sandringham Anchorage, Half moon bay, Brighton Pier, St Kilda Pier, Station Pier, Princess pier and Docklands, all with no more than bites. I've used softplastics, hardbodies and bait but none have produced for me. At this point, I'll catch anything that swims.

I'll usually use paddle tail or curly tail soft plastic, dragging it along the bottom for flatties or giving it the two jerks off the bottom for pinkies and bream. I use pro-cure squid scent on my plastics as well, but i still get nothing.

In terms of bait ill usually put a third of a pilchard on a 2/0 suicide hook on a paternoster or running sinker rig, or squid strips on a number 1 or 2 baitholder. I also have hooks as small as size 8, but I seldom use them.

If anyone could give me any good spots, lures, baits or techniques for anywhere in the aforementioned area it would be a god send. I'm a completely landbased fisherman, the only times i've fished off a boat is when a friend took me out.

It's also strange that despite my saltwater failures i'm actually pretty ok at fishing freshwater. I've been able to get quite a few trout and perch over the years. Saltwater fish must be more clever.

Cheers,

croe04
For flatties with the placcy’s, first couple of hours of incoming
tide, try this at st kilda or brighton you’re bound to get some, anytime of day, im an ametuer and it works for me

j_pap

Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by j_pap » Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:26 pm

frozenpod wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:41 pm
Aaron75 wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:34 pm
frozenpod wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:11 pm
Fishing is easy, fish are dumb the trick is being in the right place at the right time. This is much harder landbased.

For landbased fishing the 10% rule applies, expect to catch fish 10% of the time.

Use bait instead of lures as bait out fishes lures, except for squid where jigs out fish bait.

Fish change of tides high tides for piers and low tides for beaches and rocks. If you can line up a ride change with sunset or sun rise that is ideal.
I am strictly land based - if I only caught fish 10% of the time I'd give up and find a new hobby.

Bait works better than lures if you know there are fish in front of you. If the fish are somewhere else, you can find them with lures but you wont find them with bait - that's probably why you donut 90% of the time.

Fishing PPB piers I've found sunrise/sunset to be far more important than tides, especially as you get further away from the rip.
Lol I think I am probably one of the 10% of fishermen that catch 90% of the fish.

One dud trip from the last 50 or so in the last couple of years.


The above 10% rule for landbased fishing is pretty accurate for the average fish and would certainly be a great starting place for someone who can't catch a fish.
:rofl:

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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by e.welch » Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:37 am

croe04 wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:04 pm
Hi all

I've been fishing saltwater for quite a long time, almost always with my dad. He's the one who got me into fishing, and despite only catching about 4 saltwater fish in the 10 years of fishing I have done, I still love it to bits. But despite my 10 years of effort I cannot catch a fish to save my life, and my desire to actually catch something for once has gone through the roof. I really really need some help, although I do feel like a nuisance making one of your typical 'please help i'm terrible at fishing' posts. I've looked at heaps of threads on this website, and none of the tips that they give have given me success. I usually fish anywhere from Port Melbourne down to Sandringham, and despite a lot of people saying that there are great spots around I've still come up with no results. I've fished Sandringham Anchorage, Half moon bay, Brighton Pier, St Kilda Pier, Station Pier, Princess pier and Docklands, all with no more than bites. I've used softplastics, hardbodies and bait but none have produced for me. At this point, I'll catch anything that swims.

I'll usually use paddle tail or curly tail soft plastic, dragging it along the bottom for flatties or giving it the two jerks off the bottom for pinkies and bream. I use pro-cure squid scent on my plastics as well, but i still get nothing.

In terms of bait ill usually put a third of a pilchard on a 2/0 suicide hook on a paternoster or running sinker rig, or squid strips on a number 1 or 2 baitholder. I also have hooks as small as size 8, but I seldom use them.

If anyone could give me any good spots, lures, baits or techniques for anywhere in the aforementioned area it would be a god send. I'm a completely landbased fisherman, the only times i've fished off a boat is when a friend took me out.

It's also strange that despite my saltwater failures i'm actually pretty ok at fishing freshwater. I've been able to get quite a few trout and perch over the years. Saltwater fish must be more clever.

Cheers,

croe04
if your ever Frankston or Mornington i would be glad to help you and show you a little but because im only thirteen i have to catch the bus or my mum works in Mornington so i can get her to drop me of before work i know more about mornington than anywhere else m first tip is fish of the small jetty for whiting with pipis flathead just throw around a soft plastic snapper will probs take anything of mornington and squid black 1.8 squid jig is best but any color will work

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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by DougieK » Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:45 pm

Some basic advice for all anglers.

Use small hooks most of the time. If you are getting bites and no hookups your hook is probaably too big or the point and barb are hidden in the bait.

Use the freshest possible bait(s). I like fresh squid for almost everything.

Use the lightest possible sinker to achieve your casting range and keep the bait on the bottom. The less resistance on the take the less likely a fish will be put off

Fish tide changes at dawn or dusk. High tide at dawn is my favorite time to fish, however it's not always possible. In less tide flow areas I prefer dawn or dusk as a priority, in higher flow areas such as Sorrento it's almost impossible to fish while the tide is running so a tide change is the priority.

Fish reefy, broken, or weedy ground. Unless you're at a Surf beach or fishing specifically for flathead, flat sandy bottoms are a good place to avoid casting. Try and get your baits on a bit of sand near some reef / weed / pylon etc

If you decide to get into lure fishing start with squid or salmon and go from there, but that's an entirely different story.
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Re: I desperately need help with fishing!!

Post by Bugatti » Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:12 pm

DougieK wrote:
Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:45 pm
Some basic advice for all anglers.

Use small hooks most of the time. If you are getting bites and no hookups your hook is probaably too big or the point and barb are hidden in the bait.

Use the freshest possible bait(s). I like fresh squid for almost everything.

Use the lightest possible sinker to achieve your casting range and keep the bait on the bottom. The less resistance on the take the less likely a fish will be put off

Fish tide changes at dawn or dusk. High tide at dawn is my favorite time to fish, however it's not always possible. In less tide flow areas I prefer dawn or dusk as a priority, in higher flow areas such as Sorrento it's almost impossible to fish while the tide is running so a tide change is the priority.

Fish reefy, broken, or weedy ground. Unless you're at a Surf beach or fishing specifically for flathead, flat sandy bottoms are a good place to avoid casting. Try and get your baits on a bit of sand near some reef / weed / pylon etc

If you decide to get into lure fishing start with squid or salmon and go from there, but that's an entirely different story.

Dougie, very well put.

Every word is spot on. Keeping it basic and then comes the building from your/his own experiences. Also adding with what some members have said, one or a couple of spots and only a couple of specie of fish, to get to know how to fish AND how to fish those spots. Then, after a few attempts and improvements, you get better and better AND branch out to more spots and more specie of fish.

Cheers, Buggie

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