Wrong tackle can cost you the fight and a fry
TOMORROW we witness the opening of the voluntary three-month closed season for squid fishery.
This fleet is made up of about 115 boats and directly employs close to 1 500 people.
The foreign fishing fleet is also very active off our coast and it appears they have legally issued permits to operate in our waters.
There appears to be no job creation here for our hungry local fishermen. Surely provision should be made to use local crew at least?
A love of angling often begins in childhood and even the youngest anglers can stand proudly beside the legends of the angling world.
One such fellow is six-year-old Stephen Swanepoel, who landed a sizeable white musselcracker of 73cm and weighing about 8.9kg.
The smile in today’s picture says it all and so an angler for life is made. And delivering fry for the table will also boost this little man’s self-esteem.
The fish was caught at Maitlands using red bait on a 1/0 hook.
Equipment is always under the fish’s scrutiny and inferior tackle will not suffice with these brutes.
Often big fish are lost due to tackle choice, especially when fishing for species that require light selection. Remember the fish are watching you!
Stephen used an 11’6’’ (the standard imperial lengths used today for rod identification) rod spooled with braid on a Shimano Calcutta 400 reel. This is equipment fit for the task as cracker present a serious duel.
Species selection is always an important consideration and there is no real all-round single setup. You often see anglers carrying a selection of rods. When certain fish bite, the rigs are changed to suit circumstances.
Hook selection is another interesting topic.
Stephen was lucky here as the cracker can bite small hooks off!
This weekend’s weather is relatively windless, with a light westerly wind prevailing during the day and turning easterly during the night, with stronger afternoon winds for Sunday.
High tide is at 9.17am tomorrow and the moon phase is 45% waxing crescent.