In the Know .... 5 tips for taking better fishing selfies with your mobile phone with Robbie Alexander

This is a must watch video for anyone who finds taking selfies with that big bream a challenge

Robbie has a great series of videos on YouTube. Be sure to click the link below to visit his channel "robbiefishing", and don't forget to subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8gVxFjiIsuB1I2I9g3zF0w

You can also visit Robbie's Facebook page "Robbie Alexander Photography and Fishing" by clicking the link below: https://www.facebook.com/RobbieAlexanderfishphoto/
  

Back to Basics - Bream off the Rocks

By Ricky “Sticky” Farrell

 

Introduction

With the cold winter months hitting there is no need to put away the fishing gear and hibernate like a bear. Indeed, it is during these colder months of the year when I embark on my favourite kind of fishing: Rock fishing.

As the title of this article states, I will be discussing how I like to get back to basics when targeting bream from the rocks. I will discuss: Areas I like to fish from the rocks; Tides; Rod and reel, and line; Tackle; Berley; Bait; and The hook-up.

The author Ricky "Sticky" Farrell with a nice bream. Winter months are a great time to get back to basics and fish for bream off the rocks

Areas I like to fish from the rocks

When scouting a location to fish from the rocks I look for cuts, channels and coves, with a mix of rock, weed and sandy bottom all in one area. Also a spot that has white water created from the waves surging on the rocks is a must, as this is where the fish will look for cover and any dislodged food. But with all this in mind I make sure the spot I fish is safe. No fish is worth your life!

Rock fishing for bream is great fun but can be very dangerous, make sure the spot you fish is safe

 

Tides

Depending on the area you fish some spots will fish better on high tide or low tide. This just comes down to trial and error, so it's worth trying both tides. In my area of Port Stephens (NSW, Australia) I find the last two hours of the run up to high tide and first two hours of run out to low tide are very effective times to fish for bream.

Rod, Reel, and Line

A medium-heavy rod anywhere from 10ft to 12ft, preferably with a soft-tip but plenty of power in the butt-half, is ideal for rock fishing. Personally, I use a 10.6ft rod like a Wilson Shore Line or Wilson Live Fibre rod. I combine this with an Alvey 455B XL Blackfish reel, but a size 4000 to 6000 spin reel will also work fine. At the end of the day its best to use what feels most comfortable for you for fishing.

When fishing from the rocks strong sturdy gear is essential

10lb to 15lb line is ideal when rock fishing for bream. My choice is 15lb Schneider Klear line monofilament line. I find this line to be reliable and durable with low memory, with consistent breaking strain, that makes for high knot strength and abrasion resistance. I find that not only is it good for bream, but it also gives me more chance to land other species such as drummer, snapper or grouper which regularly happen to lurk when you have been chucking berley. Indeed, you never know what's gunner turn up in a berley trail!

Tackle

Hooks anywhere from size 4 to a size 1/0 are ideal for bream. I regularly use a size 2 suicide hook, but long shank, bait holder or kirby kendal style hooks will also do the trick.
For weight I use size 1 Jarvis Walker ball sinkers. I find one sinker is usually enough. However, if there is a particularly heavy swell I'll use two sinkers.
There are many rigs you can use for bait fishing for bream, but my favourite is a basic running sinker rig. To rig this up, all I do is thread the ball sinker(s) through the line, and tie the line to my hook using a simple Uni knot. The end result will have the sinkers resting on top of the hook. The benefit of this rig set up is that a fish can attack a bait, and run away with it without feeling much resistance before I set the hook.

Keep it simple. You don't need expensive terminal tackle or elaborate rigs when fishing for bream off the rocks.

Berley

When I find the spot I'm going to fish, the first thing I do is make a berley mix. I put two loaves of bread in bucket and add water to create a fine soup. The soup consistency is important as it acts as an attractant and not food. During a single session I usually take at least five loaves of cheap bread as i like to get a good heavy berley trail going.
I chuck three big hand fulls of berley into the water before I've done anything else. Then I find that while rigging my rod up this gives the berley time to work and bring the fish in. While I'm fishing I chuck in a hand full of berley every few cast to keep the fish around.

Berley made of bread is a powerful attractant. It is an essential component when fishing from the rocks

Sticky's hot tip: It doesn't hurt to ask your local bakery for some old bread to use for berley. It can be a lot cheaper.

Bait

I like to use cooked prawns - yes, the ones in the deli section of Coles and Woolworth supermarkets - for bait when bream fishing from the rocks. Not only do bream love them, but they also catch many other species such as drummer, snapper, grouper, leather jacket & luderick. In fact, there's not many fish out there that won't eat a prawn!

When rigging my bait I only want enough bait to cover my hook. Therefore, I'll chop the bigger cooked prawns in to 3 sections (head, body & tail) or the smaller prawns in half. I find using these smaller sizes makes it easier for the fish to take the bait down in one go, instead of just picking at it.

Prawns make good bait. Bream love them!

Sticky's hot tip: Green prawns, cunjevoi, crabs, pipis, mullet strips, bontio or tuna strips or cubes and also pillchard choped in cubes are other baits that also work well for bream from the ocean rocks

Technique

I cast out letting the bait hit the bottom, then I let it sit for a minute. If I don't get a bite I'll give the bait a lift up off the bottom to try to attract a fishes attention. I repeat the lift and pause process, always staying tight with the line. When the bait gets too close to the rocks I'll reel it in so it doesn't get snagged.

Once I hook a fish I like to play it by letting it take line. However, the trick here is to keep enough tension on the line to prevent it from snagging, or without pulling the hook from the fishes mouth, or snapping the line. But in saying all that, sometimes you just need to lock up when fishing heavy structure.

Wrap-up

If you haven’t given rock fishing for bream a crack, give it a go, it’s inexpensive, great fun, and you will find some big fish. If you are already doing this style of fishing I hope there’s a tip or two here that helps you hook into a few more.

Cheers.... Sticky

About Sticky

Ricky "Sticky" Farrell is a mad fisho who has been fishing the area of Port Stephens, NSW, Australia for the last 20 years. He is the creator of Sticky Fishy Fishing. You can check Sticky out on his social media platforms by clicking the links below:

Sticky's Facebook page

Sticky's YouTube Channel

Sticky's Instagram page

Life Hacks - Arc Light

With Sean "Bear" Forward

As a fly tier myself and someone who’s vision isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I was always on the lookout for a way to make things easier. The trouble with most traditional light sources is that cast in a single direction and with our flies and vices being 3D can mean we are competing with shadows at different times.

The challenge has always been to get a light that can cover all angles and not be too bulky. As such, the arc light was born.

The spark for the arc light came from a modelling forum via Pinterest. The biggest issue to me was to be able to make it portable to put it away, light way easy to set up, but most of all it must be effective.

In the end I used light ali flat bar and fixed it to ali angle all screwed into a spare bit of pine I had. The light and power source were purchased from eBay meaning the whole kit cost less than $30.00. For a full breakdown, check out my YouTube video: 

Well, I hope you got at least something out of this and feel free to share more with us by emailing them to me at bear@roaminangler.com.au. You can also catch me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/BreamOnFly/ Tight lines and more soon.

Fish Identified! - Welcome to the Family Sparidae

The Sparidae are a family of fish belonging to the order of Perciformes. They are commonly named Breams, Porgies, Seabreams and Snappers.

There are 38 genera of Sparidae comprising of 154 species. They are distributed in tropical and temperate Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. 11 species occur in Australian waters, with Yellow bream (Acanthopagrus australis), Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) and Silver seabream (Pagrus auratus) regarded as important commercial, sport and recreational species.

Sparids are characterised by a dorsal fin usually having 10-13 spines; soft rays 10-15. Three spines in anal fin; soft rays 8-14. Maxilla hidden by a sheath when mouth is closed. Branchiostegal rays 6. Vertebrae 24 (10 + 14). To about 1.2 m maximum length. Carnivores of hard-shelled benthic invertebrates. Many species have been found to be hermaphroditic; some have male and female gonads simultaneously; others change sex as they get larger.

A diagram of a fish belonging to the family Sparidae

Sparids inhabit chiefly marine waters, and very rarely inhabit fresh- and brackish water. They are usually most common along the shore from shallow water (including estuaries), to deeper water as demersal inhabitants of the continental shelf and slope.

This information was sourced from http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/search.php

Product Review: Z-Man 2.5” Grub vs Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub Soft Plastic

By Darren Lord

Introduction

I started chasing black bream in southern Tasmania one year ago. Having never caught bream on lure I sort advice from the local tackle store on what to use. Z-Man grub 2.5” in motor oil was the go to and highly recommended. Once I worked out how to use them I caught my first bream... The addiction had started.... a few months later is when the Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub was introduced to me.

Over the last 12 months I’ve been using Z-Man 2.5” Grub and Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub soft plastics side by side and comparing my results. In this review, I’ll go over what I think are the pros and cons of each and their unique features.
At the end of this review, you’ll be able to judge for yourself which of these two soft plastics are suited to you for maximizing your results.

The Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub in Mutant Oil colour (Left) and the Z-Man 2.5” Grub in Motor Oil colour (Right)

Here are the core categories I’ll be considering:

• Durability: How easily is it damaged? How easily does it degrade, dry out or lose its shape? How many fish per bait can be caught?
• Utility: How well it stays on the jig head, swims/twitches
• Packaging: Does the packaging make for easy resealing and storage once opened, and how well are the baits protected?
• Range and Value: Do they have an extensive colour range? What is the most value for your money?
• Availability: Are they easy to purchase or do you need to do something special (i.e. widely available in shops or do you have to visit a website)

Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub

There is a vast array of soft plastics on the market, some good and some bad. Therefore, I was a bit sceptical of the Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub at first. Nevertheless, I gave it a try.

The Cast King 2.5” Thug Grub in Mutant Oil colour

Pros:

• Damage is minimal; however, like a lot of plastics they do leach colours into others if mixed together, and like most soft plastics they don’t do well in the heat/sun. 
• I have caught upwards of 15-20 fish in a session on the same plastic. 
• Stays on the jig head, only sliding down when hit by fish. Much less frustrating! 
• Has a vibrating ball at the end of tail, with the action becoming more exaggerated when used with very light jig head (1/28 hidden weight). 
• Individual plastics are stored in a hard clam type plastic case in the packet that is easy to open/close and reduces bent tails.

Cons:

• Limited colour range. 
• Online sales only

Z-Man 2.5” Grub

The Z-Man 2.5” Grub has been around for a very long time. As I wrote at the beginning of my review, these were the first soft plastics I used for bream.

The Z-Man 2.5” Grub in Motor Oil colour

Pros:

• It has a lot more colours to choose from.
• It is available in most tackle stores and online shops.
• Is often cheaper in the Online/BCF/ANACONDA sales etc.

Cons:

• Manages to catch only several fish from one plastic.
• Starts sliding down the jig head after about a dozen casts, then keep happening most casts thereafter.
• Seems to be made of lighter plastic and does not cast as far or sink as good as the Cast King.
• Comes in a tray type plastic in the packet that can often leave bent tails.

Overall Conclusion

Here’s my favourite for each of the five core categories discussed above:

• Durability: Cast King
• Utility: Cast King
• Packaging: Cast King
• Range and Value: Z-Man
• Availability: Z-Man

It should be noted that both these products are excellent soft plastics, and both catch fish. Overall, however, I prefer the Cast King Thug Grub because I found that they are more durable, don’t slide off the jig head as easy, come better packaged, and catch more bream per bait.

I recommend if you use the Z-man 2.5” grub, do yourself a favour and check out the Cast King Thug Grub in mutant oil. You will not be disappointed!

In the video below, Darren Lord, shows the Cast King Thug Grub in action:

Click Here To Visit the Cast King Facebook page: CastKing-Australia

Note: Darren’s background behind using the cast king soft plastics is that he won a competition to compete for a pro staff position with 16 other anglers from Australia. He was sent some plastics to get him started. However, Darren is not a pro staff member for cast King nor is he pitching anything for them. His opinions on both products are made purely from using them day in day out and his passion for passing helpful info onto other keen anglers.

Life Hacks - Rapala Sling Bags

With Sean 'Bear' Forward

For years I played around with different bags, trays and all variations thereof. I was lucky enough to spend a few years on staff At Bluewater Myaree and took great joy is checking out everything I could. That’s when I came across the Rapala Sling Bags!

The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that the sling bag stays on the back and out of the way when fly casting. When it’s needed, you sling the bag around to you front and have it open like a table. Brilliant!

  Rapala Sling Bags stay on your back and opens like a table. Brilliant!

With velcro straps sewn into the spine 
of the bag I can strap the rod to the bag before
I open it and have my hands free to do the work

Good start purchased and added to the kit. One issue to resolve. You’re out in the middle of the bay and need to change a leader or fly. Got the right bag, but how to manage a 9’ rod that likes to be in the way. You need both hands free, but how. I’ve got to credit my wife for the last piece of the puzzle…… Velcro straps. Sewn into the spine of the bag I can strap the rod to the bag before I open it and have my hands free to do the work. This was such a big deal for me, less stress when fishing means more enjoyment all round. 

Well, I hope you got at least something out of this and feel free to share more with us by emailing them to me at bear@roaminangler.com.au. You can also catch me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/BreamOnFly/ 

Tight lines and more soon.

Click Here: To visit the Rapala website to view more information about the Sling Bag