Gamefishing strategy

[jaenswart]

Ok,


Normally at Vidal I do the following: I run out to my fav spot with frozen sards early early early. fish for 2 hours and ten only after it has gone a bit quite I will spend time going for live bait.


Sometimes if I haven't reach a pattern where I know where the fish is feeding etc I would pull rappies early to locate fish..but normally at Vidal I know exactly where to get them.


What is your strategy?

[nico]

It's always a difficult decision for me. If the bait was thick the day before, I will try to get livebait first, but the problem is that you end up wasting the prime gamefish time looking for bait.
 
If you have nice fresh sards and/or macks then your way described above is possibly best.
 
I don't like pulling rappies unless we are looking for new areas, searching for bonnies or targeting tuna.

[dugong]

Here in Durban I will always get livebait first, we almost always get shad or at the least mozzies in 10 - 15 mins, even if I only get 3 or 4 I will not hang around for too long - 20 mins at the most. If the fishing is slow I often put a dead sard out with two livies, this sometimes gets taken before the livebait.
Another tip: if you only have very small mozzies put 2 or 3 on one trace, pinned through the top lip on 2 or 3 seperate hooks.

[Capt. Hook]

I very seldom fish with sards, rather get my livies the day before and then go straight out with them or I may go out and pull small feathers and rappies to get bonnies which I pin immediatly, after that pull lures, then if it gets slow I will use some bottoms for live bait.

Often I just go straight out with lures, especially if the sharks are thick I then avoid them and do not fish livies at all unless I get desparate and usually I take a few as passengers from my bait well just in case, if I do not use them I just return them.

[shagnrelease]

Whats the deepest you use a live bait guys?? I have found that a good dead sard or mackie is more productive deeper?? but then I am a more arse than class game fisher????

[jaenswart]

Whats the deepest you use a live bait guys?? I have found that a good dead sard or mackie is more productive deeper?? but then I am a more arse than class game fisher????

Greg for one I never fish couta deeper than 35 meter, but mostly 16m - 18 nm and 24m - 26 m.

I have had very little success with live bait my whole life. specially at Vidal. Most days I allready have 4 or 4 couta on board and the other boats are still looking for livies.

I'm not saying they don't work, just that one is wasting prime couta time looking for livies. Couta eat between 3:30am and 6:30 am.

We have a saying that the couta not caught by 8am will not be caught. I know that is generalizing and I have gotten fish later.

The deepest I have fish livies (bonnies) was on 60m for couta with success, but maasbankers and mackerel only < 30m

[benniejordaan]

I very seldom fish with sards, rather get my livies the day before and then go straight out with them or I may go out and pull small feathers and rappies to get bonnies which I pin immediatly, after that pull lures, then if it gets slow I will use some bottoms for live bait.

Often I just go straight out with lures, especially if the sharks are thick I then avoid them and do not fish livies at all unless I get desparate and usually I take a few as passengers from my bait well just in case, if I do not use them I just return them.

Nice to see you are making use of the cage. Looks like I may need to fit a pad lock on it for the couta classic.

[Prego]

Nice to see you are making use of the cage. Looks like I may need to fit a pad lock on it for the couta classic.

 Don't forget my rental request for the classic,lol.