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Live Bait Fishing
By Nickfish
Live baiting has to be one the most effective ways to catch fish and you can catch anything from bream all the way up to 20kg+ mackerel. There are a lot of different techniques, hook types and more to look at to get the best results from live baiting, so let’s look at some of the techniques and gear that have worked for both myself and others.
Your rod size will vary depending on the fish you’re targeting, the same as your braid and reel size, however there's different types of reels that will change the way that you use live bait and increase your hook rate up. The beloved spin reel, eggbeater if you will, is considered the easiest and most widely used reel across the world. However, it’s a variation of this reel that can improve the way that live bait is used.
The baitfeeder is a spinning reel that has been adapted specifically for bait fishing, making it a lot easier to feed the bait to the fish and allow them to run with reduced resistance. This is very important when targeting fish like barra, that suck in the bait, allowing them to inhale it fully with minimal resistance. Likewise, species like mulloway, that play with and run with the bait several times, are more easily targeted with a baitfeeder reel.
The reel generally has a rear drag that can be set loosely, allowing minimal resistance, then, when a fish has eaten the bait, all that is needed is to wind and the front fighting drag will click into action and set the hook into the fish. The Okuma Coronado CDX range is my personal favourite among the baitfeeder reels, and it is available in two sizes, a CDX-55 and CDX-65, with 12.7kg and 15kg of drag respectively. This is heaps of drag for stopping nearly anything that comes your way.
The other type of reel that is popular for bait fishing is the baitcaster. I much prefer these over the baitfeeder reels personally, because they are more versatile in the north where I fish, however they both do the trick. A baitcaster is also effective for live baiting as instead of having a bail arm it has a thumb bar, which allows you to flick the free spool on and off which is effective for free spooling baits. All you need to do is push this down and that puts the reel into free spool, then a crank of the handle engages the reel once again and the drag comes into play.
I’m loving the Okuma Komodo range as these reels are built to handle big fish and the KDS-364 model for example, has 11kg of drag and a 6.4:1 gear ratio, which is perfect for live bait fishing, with that 6.4:1 gear ratio coming in handy when picking up any slack line. This reel is matched with an Okuma Komodo rod and this combo is brilliant as it's practically bullet proof and will stop some monster fish.
Hooks also play a big part in live baiting, especially when it comes down to the nitty gritty that will make the difference as to whether you get the perfect hook set in the corner of the mouth or the hook ends up down in the gut. There are different hook types that are commonly used for live baiting, including live bait, O’Shaughnessy, circle, and a few others. There are even different types of hook points, that will make a difference in your hook rate.
Even something as simple as the eye of the hook can make a difference. There are two common types of eyes on hooks, bent and straight. The straight eyes are on hooks like circle hooks and will often give you the best hook up in the corner of the mouth. At times a bent eyed, non-circle hook can be best, especially when fish like barramundi are being really finicky and hard to hook, however the downside is that you may gut hook fish if you’re slow on the hook set.
Hook points are important because they manage penetration and how well the hook will hold when fish are thrashing around. The best hook point I find is a needle hook point. These have a small, tapered end and are designed to penetrate with ease, so they will do minimal damage to the fish because they will make a small hole, which also makes it more secure in the fish's mouth. Spear point hooks are also commonly used and are very similar to the needle point but with one difference, they’re extremely easy to sharpen with a hook sharpener. These are just two hook point options, out of the wide variety, however these are the most common and the ones that I find are the most effective.
Now hooks are reels aside, how do you actually get said live bait? Unlike dead bait, you can't pull up at a random servo and grab some, you've got to catch it yourself. A drag net or cast net are two options for gathering live bait. A cast net is my preferred way to catch bait. There are three types of cast nets: top pocket, drawstring and bottom pocket. A top pocket is designed to catch prawns, as the name suggests it has a pocket in the top to catch the prawns that flick up into the top of the net. This net is good for prawns, however not much use for catching other types of bait.
A draw string net is really good for quickly getting your bait in the bucket, as you simply drop the net back open so the bait will fall out. Another good thing about these nets is that they're really good at keeping soft baits like herring alive for a lot longer. There are downsides that I find to these nets as they are not good for use on beaches, and they are not as good for catching prawns. My personal favourite net is the bottom pocket. This net is good at catching prawns and fish baits, which makes it the perfect bait collecting net. Depending on where you are and the type of bait you are chasing, every net serves its purpose.
Throwing a cast net will take a level of practice and will require some time to get it right. There are a heap of methods that can be used but I find these two are the best. The first way to throw a net is over the shoulder. Put the rope in your non-dominant hand, then loop it up until the net is about a metre above your feet, then hold the sinker and take it over your shoulder. Grab the inside row of sinkers and put it on your thumb. Grab the same row of sinker and bundle it up into your other hand and then cast the net. Make sure to swing more with your dominant hand.
My favourite way to throw a net is to loop it up in your dominant hand. Then bundle it up and put it in your hand. Then do the same but put it in your other hand and once you've done this, you’re ready to cast. Be sure to let go with your dominant hand first and keep your arm straight.
A drag net is another option, although I prefer the cast net for a variety of reasons, especially in the north. The major problem is the limited areas where it is safe to use a drag net and especially as where you want to chase bait, is where crocs like to lurk… as well as bull sharks and at times box jellyfish. A strong current is also an issue. If you can find an area that you can use a drag net, it is quite simple to use. It takes two people to use, with one in the water and one on the bank and both people will need to be walking while keeping a shape in the net. When you start to feel bumps in the net the person in water will then loop around back onto the land, where each end of the net is retrieved and whatever was captured will come onto the land, ready for collection.
You can use live bait anywhere you want, remembering to check local regulations, however I have found there are a few spots that will catch more fish than others. Pressure points are a really good option for live baiting. A pressure point is where a mangrove line or sand or rock bar is sticking out and creating an eddy that holds bait. Where there is bait, there's often fish. My favourite spots though are drains and creek mouths. On the dropping tide you will literally catch anything from bream, all the way up to monstrous barra while fishing these areas. These are just two locations though, in literally thousands of spots that you can fish live bait. Just remember to check out local regulations, to make sure that what you are using for bait is legal size and within your allowable limits.
This is just a rough outline on how to use live bait to get you started and there's a lot more to it. It's a good way for beginners to start to get into catching larger fish and a bit of introduction in terms of where to cast those lures when you start lure fishing. For more tips and tricks check out my YouTube Channel NickFish_Tv.
Cheers, Nickfish
Gearing Up:
Okuma Coronado CDX Baitfeeder Reels
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Reels
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Rods