Geoff Thomas: A change of tackle

Being adaptable brings results. Photo / Geoff Thomas

On some days the fish just seem to want to commit suicide; at other times they prove frustrating in the extreme.

What worked one day will draw a blank the following day, or a spot fires so well that before going back you make rash promises and give away fish in advance. Fatal mistake. Never take the fish for granted.

Fishing is a bit like betting on the horses - you tend to recall only the good days. But there are some things you can do to change your luck - which in fact is rarely luck because in fishing you make your own luck.

A case in point. A party of Auckland fishermen were having difficulty finding snapper, and after trying several spots they decided to have a last attempt at on the reef inside the Rangitoto Lighthouse.

They had been fishing in the Rakino Channel with the standard running rig - a ball sinker above a swivel, with a one-metre trace and a couple of hooks on the end. This is a popular set-up for fishing channels where the current runs strongly, and the only variations are in the weight of sinker and length of trace: the deeper the water and the faster the current the heavier the sinker and consequently the stronger the line used. Balancing the line strength with the weight used is important. The other rule of thumb is the stronger the current the longer the trace.

But the standard rig proved unsuccessful in the shallow water over the reef, in spite of a good berley trail which quickly attracted small fish to the back of the boat. Theoretically there would be larger fish hanging back. So they switched to another simple terminal rig, dispensing with a swivel and trace in favour of a small (half-ounce) ball sinker sliding directly onto the hook, which was tied to the main line. They immediately started catching snapper.

On another evening just off Takapuna, a similar change ensured fish were hooked. At low tide, small snapper were eager to grab the baits. So the bait was changed from pilchards, which were being sucked off the hook immediately, to chunks of tougher squid. But as the tide started running and the current quickened, the bites slowed. More line was put out but the increasing distance and line angle made hooking the fish a problem.

The solution was simple, and obvious to many experienced fishermen: the sinkers were changed to heavier balls and the bites increased. But as the current ran more strongly it became hard keeping the baits on the bottom without resorting to large, unwieldy weights. Time to go home.

There are always two reasons snapper bites suddenly stop: either the bait has gone, or the bait is not on the bottom. A simple check involves letting out more line; if still no bites eventuate then wind in and check the bait.

Another example of changing rigs to adapt to conditions illustrates the importance of keeping an open mind and being prepared to try something different. On this occasion, the scene was another of the most popular spots for Auckland fishermen, the Motuihe Channel. It coincided with the largest tides for seven years, so there was a fierce current running.

The sinker used was a pyramid rather than a ball (it holds on the bottom rather than rolling along it) and a two-metre trace worked fine until the increasing tidal flow started lifting it off the bottom.

The main line of 10-kilo breaking strain was changed to 15kg line, and a second sinker added. This held on the bottom, but the trace was being swirled up off the bottom and bites stopped. The solution was to add a small ball sinker on to the trace where it could slide down against the hooks. Immediately this rig was dropped the bites started again.

The current continued to build and it reached a point where it was again impossible to keep the terminal gear on the bottom. There are two solutions at this point: move the boat out of the channel to the wide, open spaces where the flow is not condensed between islands; or try the free-spooling, self-hooking approach. This involves letting out the line until it reaches the bottom then, instead of putting the reel in gear which will result in the current lifting the terminal tackle, simply thumb the spool and continue to let line slip out slowly. This allows the sinker and bait to roll along the bottom away from the boat. When a fish takes it will simply be felt as a drawing away, in which case the reel is flicked into gear and line wound in until the weight of the fish is felt.

It is important to use recurve hooks and the fish will hook themselves. It will reach a point where the line is too far out to be effective, so it has to be wound in and the process repeated. Then as the tide eases, the whole process is reversed with weights removed and line weight reduced.

Success in these situations is all about thinking about what is going on where the fish are, and varying the approach.