Ballooning for Sharks - Please enlighten me :-)

[davek]

Amanda, what about using something like I hooked at Coburg lake, cheers davo

[SFP Chick]

being fairly new to this fishing game, I've never ballooned, but if I was to attempt it, a biodegradable balloon would have to be a priority. There's enough rubbish in our bay without adding to it imo. I can see that not having a convenient place to purchase them would be the one of the main reasons that most others haven't expressed a strong preference. I.e. more people would use them if they could get them

Very good point,

Stay tuned :a_goodjob: :a_goodjob:

[SFP Chick]

Amanda, what about using something like I hooked at Coburg lake, cheers davo

Well, funny you say that you dirty old man !!

I can get balloons in that shape. Should I ????

:rofl: :rofl:

[davek]

:lol: :lol: I don't think the sharks would mind :thumbsup: cheers davo

[rixter]

Heaps of ways of doing it as mentioned. I just use a normal balloon, as I get it back each time anyway using my own method ( I covered that in another thread mentioned above ) .

If on a beach, the wind is going to make all the difference, and you will need the wind behind you, or cast into a rip to drag it out (wade out close to it then a very light cast close to it so not to release the balloon setup).

If on a pier, you can usually find an outgoing current near a pylon (watch the water around them) , drop the balloon down near the pylon with the outgoing water, this will drag it out regardless of wind direction / Providing it isn't blowing a gale ! .

Cheers , Rick.

[SFP Chick]

Thanks rixter,

Do you use biodegradable balloons made of a natural product ?

Thanks Amanda

[rixter]

Thanks rixter,

Do you use biodegradable balloons made of a natural product ?

Thanks Amanda

No, just normal balloons, only because I get the balloons back each time these days.
If I was still using an older method where I lost the balloon each fish/cast/etc , then I would of considered using biodegradable balloons.
Shame they weren't available years back when I used to loose all my balloons.

Cheers , Rick.

[Fishsniper]

Amanda, I would be more worried about using the plastic clips because if the come off the line they look alot like bits of squid so if a fish were to swallow them then it probably cause more danger to the fish than the balloons themselves, just a thought, not trying to be negative
Cheers

[Scraglor]

Just a thought, and I have never balloon fished, so I might be totally wrong, but if you put something like a downrigger clip on your line, then you would just need to put the tag of the balloon in the tension grip bit, and it would easily come out to a strike.

Again, I have never balloon fished so might be a pointless suggestion or not even work at all

[rixter]

Just a thought, and I have never balloon fished, so I might be totally wrong, but if you put something like a downrigger clip on your line, then you would just need to put the tag of the balloon in the tension grip bit, and it would easily come out to a strike.

Again, I have never balloon fished so might be a pointless suggestion or not even work at all

Yes it does work , this is actually the newer way I have been doing it, with the keep you balloon rig included.

Blow up the balloon, tie in a knot. Tie a very short thick length of mono line to the balloon knot, tie on a swivel to the other end.
So now you have a balloon attached to a swivel with a very short leader, slide the swivel onto your main line, DO NOT tie it on.

Slide it up the main line a bit out of the way, now do the rest of your rig on the end of the main line as usual and attach a down rig clip.
Slide the swivel and balloon back down your main line and clip the tag of the balloon knot into the tension grip.

All done. When you strike, it will release the balloon, but the swivel and balloon will slide up the main line letting the bait fall to the bottom.
On retrieving your line/fish , you will still have the balloon ready to use again.

Probably the most quick effective method I've used yet, and no need for rubber bands or cotton etc.

Cheers , Rick.