a problem

[steve]

thanks for that maybe the bubble float wasnt a good idea. its all i had besides the chunky sea floats so i thought it would be best. if i dont catch anything then i will keep trying i suppose! what size hook do you reccomend to use? iv seen people using incredibly small hooks and often they come out of the mullets mouth.

Size fourteens were mentioned. But I am not an expert.

But choose a good strong hook...If you can tie a spade hook I would recommend a B611 micro barb or a drennan chub...If not use a drennan specialist eyed hook.

All three of these types come recommended by the AA as good tow hooks :).
If you use too thick a hook wire it can hold the bread too firmly and pull it out of the fishes mouth without breaking the hook free of the bread.

Good luck and have fun

Dave

[devondave]

i am guessing where you are fishing for the mullet you can actually see the fish?
if so mix some bread with water mash it all up into the smallest finest pieces you can get (if you leave big chunks in the groundbait the fish will feed on that and move on once full) mash it finely throw loads in until you see a big white carpet on the seabed.
i normally throw in a whole loaf when i get to a spot

then just sit and watch the fish move over the bait you will see them if they are picking it up.

(whenever mullet feed they always grab the bait in the lips and rise upwards) on a local pier here you can get them to bring a macky fillet up from the bottom to the surface in 20ft of water)
also now knowing that they lift the bait watch for lift bites (if float fishing)

but if you can see the fish and its fairly clear shallow water i would say use 4lb line (i have fallen in love with the berkley vanish at the moment) a size 10 hook and a flake of bread.....no weight no nothing just the hook and the bread and let it sink slowly and naturally down as the groundbait did......keep an eye on your piece and watch them pick it up its great fishing this way.


if you have to float fish then a very light float 3bb or something and fish with 2bb 4 or 5 foot from the hook and one about 2 inches from the hook...the reason being as soon as this fish lifts the bait he lifts the weight and your float registers the lift bite much more positively and hopefully means you catch more!!!
hope all this helps steve keep me posted on how your doing i am coming down to bodmin in november and will be bringing some gear so if they are still around let me know i would love to come try for them with u!

[Old Smoothound]

Excellent post mate i learnt something from it, so will put into practice next time i go Mulleting!

Cheers
Shaun

[devondave]

thanks shaun it will only apply to the thick lip and the golden greys though....thin lip mullet tend to take the small spinners with a rag worm i told ben about the thin lip ones not sure if he ever tried spinning for them though
and as for the fish bringing macky fillets to the surface dont expect it to happen everywhere you go i only know of 3 or 4 places that it happens but if i am macky bashing i tend to jump on a fillet then kick it in (ppl think i am mad) but i have seen as many as 2 dozen bring that fillet back to the surface! it tends to be the golden greys that will do this and small thicklips i am guessing that they are not as shy as the bigger fish

Quite a few things have been said regarding line strengths in this post and based on my experience coarse fishing I would like to mention that these days the line strength is less relevant than the actual diameter of the line.

Coarse rigs tend to quote a line diameter for hook lengths instead of breaking strains, the reason for this is that different brands vary tremendously in diameter...for example.

I used to use Bayer 1.7lb hook lengths and this had a diameter of .14mm...I now use Stroft GTM which at a diameter of .08 mm has a breaking strain of 1KG (2.2lb) and at .14mm has a breaking strain of 2.2kg ( nearly 5lb ). A typical barbel or chub session would see me using Maxima 6lb for main line and a .14mm hook length...same finesse as when I was fishing for dace and roach ten years ago :). Take a look at the diameter of the line you are currently using and you may find you could fish finer without any loss of breaking strain...or fish the same diameter line with a greater margin for error...both of which should lead to more fish landed

There are lots of different brands on the market and they are not cheap (2.99 for a 25 metre spool ) but when you think that this is hopefully the only bit of tackle the fish comes into contact with and you only use around 18" per hook its money well spent. I dont think you will find these "Hi-tech mono's" in tackle shops on the sea front as they are aimed at the coarse market, however investing in a copy of coarse angler or a search of tackle shops on the net should help you find some mail order.

When you go shopping for fine lines for hook lengths dont just ask for 4lb line...ask to see the different brands and compare the diameters...you will be suprised at the differences between brands.

And finally dont use these lines for main lines, their low diameter means they dont have the same abrasion resistance as standard mono and they are not very stretchy so you will get a large amount of breakages. (And it will cost you an arm and a leg to fill a spool up)

I hope this helps some of youy catch a few more of those shy mullet :)

Dave

[devondave]

yes dave i agree 100% my only problem is i dont like to have hooklengths i like to just fish the mainline right through i have found in the past if i have hooklengths the fish either see the knot or see the swivel and spook although from what i have seen reading around on the net it seems to only be my location where the mullet are this spooky everywhere else they can catch them on much heavier tactics even ledgering! and it just does not work here

Dave,

One answer is to use the hooklength up to the two bb bulk shot at 4 ft....use a water knot to attach the hooklength and position the bulk shot up against the knot....whole thing ends up like the mother in laws hair piece ...you cant see the join :)

A swivel should not be necessary if you put the bread on flat like a coin as it will act like an anti kink vain.

dave

[devondave]

lol thanks dave i may try that although i dont think i will get out much mullet fishing this year now work is getting more and more each week!

[brixhamgazza]

Hi Steve
I used to do a lot of Mullet in Brixham.
But there were two distinct types, those in the harbour and those round the rocks.
For the harbour, pieces of ragworm or mackeral skin on coarse gear with a swimfeeder.
For the rocks i did ok with sweetcorn.
I crammed groundbait into rock crevices at low tide and then fished it up.
Lots and lots of bites, only occasional fish due their lips.
Midsummer on a still day i freelined bread or sweetcorn.
I have always fancied trying a pop up rig for mullet but never got round to it.

Hope it helps

Brixhamgazza