Live bait needle

[DavePE]

Hi Gents,


Going to be spending a week in St Francis in September and I'm going to try for some Leerie, Grunter and Kob in the Kromme River. I'm going to try using the regular sand/mud prawn and pencil bait but would also like to try using some live bait. Does anyone know where I could get a live bait needle from? Something similar to what's being used in the below link:


http://www.downriggershop.com.au/how-to-rig-bait.html


If anyone has any other suggestions or advice on using live bait it would be most welcome.


Thanks.

[pieta]

It has been years since I used a livebait needle. Any tackle shop should have them. You can also makeone yourself. We use to use a bicycle speek to make them. You hamer the one end flat and drill a litle hole in to thred the line. The other end gets sharpend. Hope you find one.

[khaliq]

I make my own needles with ordinary fishing wire #8 and #10. Cut to the required length and make the eye (closed or open) with my spit ring pliers. Just make sure the tag does not jut out to prevent injury to the live baits eye.


Also very handy for threading line through bungs, skirts etc

[Lofty]

for Leeries in a river I just use a circle hook through the mullets' top jaw on a running trace and light sinker or floated,because Leeries usually attacks and swallows from the front with the added benefit that it's easier on the fishs' mouth with circles and thus easier to release again...grunter same thing,but small circle through the folded last segment of the prawns' tail with the point of the circle facing upwards...the same method will work for Kob aswell... I seldom use needles in rivers,unless I need to cast the live-bait quite a distance...

[DavePE]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice guys. Appreciated.

[DavePE]

Another question. Do you need an additional license for using a cast net?

[REEFMAN]

Yes you do. On your existing license there are different categories that you can include on your license... Cast Net, collecting inverts, bait license, crayfish license etc etc. So if it's not selected and paid for on your existing license, you will need to buy one.

[Rory mundy]

those needles grannies use to make dollies work

[Cam Mundy]

for Leeries in a river I just use a circle hook through the mullets' top jaw on a running trace and light sinker or floated,because Leeries usually attacks and swallows from the front with the added benefit that it's easier on the fishs' mouth with circles and thus easier to release again...grunter same thing,but small circle through the folded last segment of the prawns' tail with the point of the circle facing upwards...the same method will work for Kob aswell... I seldom use needles in rivers,unless I need to cast the live-bait quite a distance...

Have you tried bridling them? Keeps bait alive for ages and looks very natural in the water.

[Lofty]

(Quote:Cam Mundy)
Have you tried bridling them? Keeps bait alive for ages and looks very natural in the water.
I know about that method but have never tried it,plainly because I don't know how to tie the bridle... I asked about it once and was shown what the tied bridle looks like on a mullet,but wasn't shown how to tie it...I just know dacron or perhaps thick braid is used...

[Cam Mundy]

(Quote:Cam Mundy)
Have you tried bridling them? Keeps bait alive for ages and looks very natural in the water.
I know about that method but have never tried it,plainly because I don't know how to tie the bridle... I asked about it once and was shown what the tied bridle looks like on a mullet,but wasn't shown how to tie it...I just know dacron or perhaps thick braid is used...

It's easy take a bit of braid I generally use 30lb but what ever you have handy is fine double it and tie a knot so you have a loop about 4 long or so you use this to hitch onto the circle hook. Double a piece of trace wire make sure it's long enough to pass through the top of the baits eye through the membrane and out the top of the eye on the other side of th baits head. You'll use the wire to then draw the braid loop though the head to loop back onto the circle hook and viola done. The bait should hang an inch or two from the hook.

I try keep a bait rigged like this at all times on the boat in case we see a sail I can pitch it two I leave it rigged in the live bait tank the whole day and it's stays happy and healthy till I need it.

I hope that makes sense I can try do some photos if you need me to.

[khaliq]

Another bridle method is to use two thin cable ties looped together; one around the hook and one through the eye socket. Use good quality cable ties, not the cheap ones that don't zip well.