Berkley Dropshot Rod and Abu Cardinal 806 vs The Fastest Fish in the Sea!

I have had heaps of fun of late battling a variety of pelagics on reasonably light spin gear. Recently a 12 kg yellowfin tuna well and truly tested out the 7ft, 4 to 7kg Pro Tactic and Abu Cardinal 804 loaded with 10lb Stren Microfuse and 14lb Transition leader. I have been impressed with how a seemingly futile battle can eventually be won by following a certain game plan. A real test of my tactics developed this weekend when I was out off Noosa floating plastics and pillies down a berley trail for mackerel.

We had anchored on a large show of bait in 40 metres of water and the berley trail had been working for around 30 minutes. I was fishing with a 6'6 Berkley Dropshot Tournament Pro in 8 to 10kg weight. The rod was matched with an Abu Cardinal 806 which was loaded with 30 Stren Super Braid and 30lb Vanish leader material. On my third drop of a pillie on a short wire trace, a fish picked up the bait and moved off with it. I waited for weight and then struck the fish...and then all hell broke loose. A sizzling run to my left ensued before my partner pointed somewhere to my right and said "Nige, look what you've hooked!" I looked right to watch a sizeable sailfish tear the sea apart with plenty of aerial antics.

Our first reaction was along the lines of a giggle and a bet with each other about how long we would keep this beast on. The fish took a good 400 yard run from the boat and then started slugging it out. By applying pressure with a loaded rod the fishes head could be turned occassionally and I slowly worked it back towards the boat. Sporadically the fish would rise in the water and jump which took valuable energy and was a big plus for me as it seemed the hook was well stuck.

Around the 40 minute mark I started to think I might be able to win the battle and persisted with trying to slow its runs and keep turning the fishes head whenever I got the chance. I had the fish to the boat at one stage only to have it run a good 450 yards from the boat again. Rather than become impatient or panic at this stage, I started the slow pressure and head turning tactic all over again. An hour and a bit from the first jumps, the fish was alongside the boat and we were able to haul it aboard for some quick photos and a release and then some very tired high fives!

The fish was over 2 metres long and we estimated it around 50kg. The Berkley rod and reel performed admirably throughout and the line never looked like failing. The reel was one I have been using for a year now and although the spool got understandably hot a few times, the gear didnt miss a beat.

WHAT WORKED:

At the end of such a battle it pays to stop for a few minutes and ask yourself what worked to bring a big fish to the boat using light tackle.

Prior to fishing on this day, I spent an hour going through my gear and removing the 50cm of braid above my knot used on the previous fishing trip, and retying leaders. By spending time getting short lengths of frayed and weakened line out of the equation and tying some good knots you are well on the way to landing big fish. All my spools are kept well loaded with line. You never know when you are going to need that extra little bit!

By keeping reels well maintained after each visit (means spending a few minutes properly washing down to remove salt) and checking prior to heading out, you can be assured your drag systems are working smoothly when on the water.

My rigs were all pre-tied on land so that they were ready to go on the water and in good working order. Quickly tied rigs when out fishing can quickly come undone as well!

When loading up with certain breaking strain line, I occassionally test its limits before fishing. With a mate, I load up an outfit in the driveway at home and learn just how hard I can go on the gear before it fails.

Playing big fish on light tackle is a game of patience and a few little tricks. I keep my drag slightly lighter than I probably need for when fish making sudden rushes or savage head shakes. The lighter drag will allow for sudden impacts on the line that can lead to breakages when an angler is unprepared. I typically use the palm of my hand to add extra resistance to the spool and effectively add manual drag when I feel I need to slow a fish.

One of the keys to catching big fish on light tackle is to use the rod. It is very difficult to break line through a properly bent rod, so learn to use the shock absorber well. By using rod angles to continually turn the fishes head, you can tire a fish without letting it run off heaps of valuable line. Whichever direction the fish is heading, I aim to drop my rod parallel with the water and perpendicular to the direction the fish is travelling. By keeping a rod in this plane and maintaining sustained pressure, fish will slowly change direction. As they change direction, alter the rod angle and try to get the fish to change direction all over again. By continually doing this, fish will become agitated and tire more quickly.

Dont panic and dont get frustrated! By believing you can win and staying patient more battles will be won than lost. Most fish are lost when they near the boat for the first time. At this stage anglers often think the game is won, and then when fish head for the horizon again (and they nearly always do!) they get frustrated and apply too much pressure and hooks pull or line fails. If you have got the fish to the boat once, you can do it again. Be patient!

Light line angling is a lot of fun. You invariably get more bites, and when you get good at playing fish, you will go home with more in the boat. The Berkley stable of rods and reels is well equipped to tackle any light line fishing scenario. Choose the gear that is right for you and start having fun!

Happy fishing,

Nige

Breamin in Dirt Water

The recent Taree ABT Bream round proved to be additionally challenging. The spout of wet weather we have had right along our coast line resulted in high river flows through many of our east coast waterways.

Having arrived at Taree many anglers knew they were in for a tough time when greeted by views of a swollen, chocolate coloured river carrying all sorts of debris. The prefish day proved especially tough with many anglers including myself not looking like getting a bite through a full days fishing. The day on the river provided an opportunity to establish where pockets of water out of the main flow were not as affected by flood waters.

Note: Check out the water colour difference in this shot. The flooded main river is flowing past a tributary that contains water much cleaner than the flood waters. These places are a good place to start looking for feeding fish!

My tactic for the first tournament day was one that had me focussing on targeting active fish in areas where the water was not too badly discoloured. There were several back pockets and arms of the river that were somewhat out of the main flow and these areas contained water that looked like it may still hold fish prepared to feed.

One of the first lessons for the weekend was in changing the mind set. You had to believe that fish would still feed in the dirty water so as to fish purposefully and make each cast count. The next part of the equation was to find structure that would hold feeding fish. As it is with many types of fishing - when the fishing is tough, you can often still locate active fish tight against the margins of a waterway. I used this strategy and targeted the base of mangrove vegetation wherever I could find a bank with enough water around the root systems of these trees. because the water being fished in these areas is often quite shallow, the presentation employed had to be very subtle. This meant fishing very light and small offerings.

My choice of tackle for the weekend included the 1 to 3 kg Berkley Dropshot rods in 6'6 to 6'9 lengths. I matched these rods with 801 sized Abu Cardinals which were loaded to the brim with 2 lb Stren Microfuse Braid. I used 2 to 4 lb Stren flourocarbon leaders and did not fish heavier than 1/50th Oz jigheads all weekend. The finesse Nitro/Berkley jigheads in 1/50th weight and No 2 hook size were perfect for fishing a subtle presentation. My plastic of choice for the tournament was the Gulp 2 inch jiggin grub in watermelon.

The strategy for targeting fish was pretty simple. Firstly position the boat as far from the bank being fished as possible so that you can just reach the structure with a good cast. Then fire casts in to the mangroves using low trajectories. This will enable you to get right in under the low hanging branches where the fish are most likely to be holding. Having landed the cast, simple let the plastic free float to the bottom while watching the line for any suggestion of a bite. Bites on the drop will have the signature of the braid twitching once as a fish sucks in the bait. If there are no bites on the drop, wait a few seconds and then give the plastic a small lift and shake and then let it sink back to bottom. If there are no takers after the second lift, quickly retrieve the plastic and cast back in to the next likely looking spot.

Pitching light weight plastics under the mangroves branches like those shown here is a great way to catch shy and often big fish!

This technique worked well for several anglers through the weekend and team mate Russell Babekuhl using a similar approach but used cut down 6 inch Gulp sandworms to accumulate his bags of fish.

I managed to fight my way to 6th spot in the final wash up, and driving home the real lesson in my mind was that dirty water fishing can still be fruitful. By weighing up the conditions, finding some active fish and casting well presented soft plastics such as the Gulp suite of lures, fish can be tempted to a hook when many other anglers have gone in search of better looking water.

With the forecast of more months of rain ahead we all might be learning to get positive about catching fish in the dirt water,...its either that or put the rods away for a few months and that option isnt worth thinking about!

Happy fishing,

Nige