Completely New - Advice Please. =)

[Element4]

Hi all... This is my first post.

Just recently took up fishing after getting my hands on some gear. Quite fancied giving it a crack, getting sick of seeing work and home, so made an excuse.

I'm brand new to all of this and have absolutely no idea whatsoever. A couple people i know have showed me some basics (Not sure theyre correct after having a scout around on the forum) and really, i've had nothing explained to me properly. I have so many questions so any and all help would be fantastic!

Questions i have:

* What is a 'shock leader' and what is it for?

* I finally mastered how to put a rag worm on the hook, however, it just seems to get nibbled on and no actual bite... Am i doing anything wrong?

* I know i can use mackerel as bait, how do i put it on the hook?

* Caught 2 fish since i started out this weekend. My first i think was a 'rock Goby', fine... My second was an Eel, That swallowed the hook. Now, before anybody has a go, again, im new to this. If it aint good for my table, it goes back the way i find it... except this time. Had to do a disection job.
For future reference, How do i unhook a slipper slimey eel, and how do you unhook something thats swallowed the hook?

* I've been shown how to do a 'bloodknot' and dont quite have the hang of it... I've lost enough gear already. any other knots i can use or any advice on how to do a bloodknot properly? (Occasionally, they get random loops and kinks in them???)

* Casting... - The line whips my fingers, i know this isnt right... What am i doing wrong?

* I have a few options for fishing areas round here, from beaches, to a channel and even a dock wall when the tides out. Any advice?



sorry, i know it's a lot. Im on my own (at least it feels like it) and have no clue. Please can somebody give me some guidance so i dont get another hook in my finger or freeze my nads off for 6 hours to have all my bait nibbled away without a bite, or lose any more gear from kack knottery.

Thanks.

[scottish_and_mental]

Let's start with the shockleader !
To prevent the line snapping when casting we use 10lb of shockleader for every ounce of lead , therefore if you are using 5 ounce of lead you use a 50lb shockleader..Basically its just a beefed up bit of mainline to take all the strains of casting ..

If the worm is getting munched its either -
1. hooks are too big
2. crabs are munching it
3. small fish like black bream are munching it
4. you are leaving too much of the worm over the end and the same creatures are just pulling it off the hook !

To use mackerel take a fillet off either side and cut it into small strips or cubes and just thread the hook in and out to secure it .remove the fillet and cut it into about half inch strips accross the fillet ( shortways) or use the whole thing fo rbigger fish..

Snotty eels are a right royal pain in the grass and are prone to destroying traces and swallowing hooks ..they DO decompose after a period and normally dont bother the fish one bit .. use a damp tea towel to hold the damn things !

As for the knots , theres loads of good vids on youtube !

casting wise it sounds like you are gripping the line too much with your index finger ..just hold it bag with literally the tip of one finger and you will solve this ..

any more problems , im here all week

Steve

[Element4]

Cheers Steve!

So, how long does the shock leader need to be then?

What are beads and crimps for? Guy who 'set up' my equipment never mentioned anything about them... Are they essential?

Im using 1/0 hooks and i have the next size up with mackerel feathers on. How do you bait the feathered ones up? The feather seems to be in the way. i used sand eal as bait earlier today, watched a vid on youtube on how to put them on, but after casting, the hook just seems to tear through the bait and leave the barb exposed.

Im after catching stuff like Mackeral, Bream, Seabass etc etc... Anything for the dinner table really. Absolutely love fresh fish, And im affraid Tesco and Morrisons dont quite cut it. :)

[Spinner64]

On the unhooking of fish you can get small t-bars or disgorgers i also have a pair of long forceps which are quite good for smaller hooks. Like Steve said loads on you tube for knots but there is a section in here covering knots.

Steve

[KKK]

I would add a few things one thing is silver eels (snotty Eels) they tend to be much easyier to handle on newspaper, with mackerel or most fish baits try to make sure the hook point comes out through the skin last, this helps with the hook point not getting masked in the flesh.

[Element4]

Cheers for the advice guys... Im having difficulty with Sandeels as bait aswell. I put them on and they seem to tear... Any solutions?

[MRG2000]

Originally Posted by Element4

Cheers for the advice guys... Im having difficulty with Sandeels as bait aswell. I put them on and they seem to tear... Any solutions?

Heres a pretty good way to present sandeels ,and sandeel coctail baits ....

Various combinations of sandeel ,squid ,bluey or mackerel. All based around double sandeel on 4/0 Sakuma Manta 545 ,and 545 Manta pennel hooks to 30 lb mono



Double sandeel topped and tailed to start,one mounted on each hook ........




Based on 2 medium sandeels ,but you can start with the squid mounted to the hooks and then whip on the sandeel if you prefer to ,same goes for bluey and mackerel.

Double sandeel ,whipped on.....


you can add whole small squid or half a big one whipped on to make a nice slimline bait for casting.

[Element4]

Thats cool that is... Excellent, thanks very much. :)

[scottish_and_mental]

As Mike shows above , bait elastic - nice and cheap and a must for soft baits like sandeel and fish ie mackerel or bluey ..
ALWAYS keep your sandeels frozen in a cool box or flask and just pull one out a few minutes before baiting up .
this will keep them firmer for casting and mean a longer scent trail in the water .

As a rough guide the shockleader needs to be twice the rod length - or so when casting you have atleast 3 or 4 turns of it around the spool ..

Beads and crimps are there to hold the hooklenghts in place when using multi hook rigs - not essential for a basic rig ..The hooks on mackerel feathers are quite thick heavy wire but one solution for an easy trace is to get a set .. cut 2 or 3 of the hooks off so you are left with 2 or 3 maximum... snip off the feathers and use it with worm or your other choice of bait ..

i wouldnt suggest using newspaper to hold eels as it removes the slime which protects them and will ultimately mean their demise

smaller hooks - size 2 - presented on a light hooklength with perhaps a couple of coloured beads for daytime fishing should improve catch results mate

[scottish_and_mental]

you will also note from Mikes pics that the hook point is left unmolested and not masked - a must with any bait ..
if need be use smaller baits - even if it means using half a worm !
You can get an 'eagle claw' sea disgorger for unhooking for about a fiver on ebay - they are brill for unhooking just about anything .