Home | Blogs and Opinion | Mike's Diary Archive 2005 | Noise when angling and rigging for whiting

email Email to a friend
print Print version

Noise when angling and rigging for whiting

Mike Thrussell 18 October, 2005 04:40:00

IN THE KNOW ABOUT NOISE
How do fish perceive a boat anchored in the water, and does it put them off feeding close to the boat? That was a question thrown my way on boat trip off Aberystwyth recently.

Uptide casting was invented to put the bait outside the so-called scare area of the boats hull. In shallow water, the noise created by water on the hull might be a factor in making fish spooky, but in average depths over 25-feet I think it's more the fact that the baits get spread widely increasing the scent trail and encouraging more fish in to that specific area to feed that increases the catches.

Bass working a shallow reef will hit trolled sandeels within 15-metres of the boats stern while underway. No sign of fear there! I've also watched bass and mullet feeding right underneath the hull when the motor has been running when in marinas and tied up to the pontoon. Mackerel also take feathers quite happily just 20-feet underneath a boat with the motor running while drifting. Tope are another fish that hit baits right underneath the hull in shallow water.

uptiding.jpg
Reduce noise are baits by uptiding
When fishing abroad, big predators like blue marlin, dorado and even yellowfin tuna will hit trolled lures literally within 15-feet of the stern, the lure dancing in the first wave just rear of the boat. I've discussed this with foreign skippers and they reckon the whole reasoning behind trolling lures is that the boat represents the main shoal of fish and the lures running rearwards are the weakest in the shoal and struggling to keep up. No predator can resist an easy meal. This follows my own bass trolling findings where I always run a longer range bait deeper and often find that the biggest fish will fall to this lure.

Fish learn, of that there is no doubt, and given the amount of craft at sea nowadays it's inevitable that fish learn to live with boat activity and get used to feeding in close to proximity to boats. In shallow water under 20-feet, then I'd think before stomping about on deck and making noise. Once the water gets deeper, then the fish feel more secure and don't give a blind bit of notice to boats casual noise and even anchors and leads hitting bottom. If anything it's an added attractant.

TIPS AND TRICKS
If you're worried about reflection of light when using shiny surfaced clear monofilament line for hook traces, try running the trace line through a fly line cleaning pad on the grey non foam side.

Just one pull through is enough to take the shine off the mono and reduces light reflection if you're fishing in shallow seas and very clear water for fish like bass, mullet etc, that spook easily. Don't pull the line through too fast though. Just a steady even and slow pull is enough and will not damage the line. Pull too fast and on lighter breaking strains potential heat build up could feasibly weaken it.

RIGGING FOR WHITING TACTICS

whiting2.jpg
Pin whiting
Whiting like a bait that moves a little in the tide, fluttering up and down on and off the seabed, especially on deeper water beaches. They are less likely to take baits anchored hard on the seabed and fished mostly static. To capitalise on this there are a few things you need to incorporate in to your two-hook and three-hook whiting rigs to maximise your catches.

Many anglers swap over to heavier 25 to 30lb hook snood line thinking they need line this heavy to withstand the whiting's sharp needle teeth. Problem is though that this heavy line restricts the movement of the bait a little and will see a drop in whiting bites. Try switching over to 20lb fluorocarbon lines. Fluoro carbon is stiffer than normal mono and in the finer diameters is less likely to tangle.

When securing snood swivels between beads and rig crimps when making your traces, make sure you leave a gap of 2cms between the beads for the swivel to move up and down in. Some anglers build their whiting rigs with 4cm gaps to maximise movement. This helps the bait move that bit more in the tide.

Whiting over a pound are not that common and a two-pound fish a specimen so go for lightweight fine wire hooks like the Mustad Match Aberdeen or Sea Match Blue pattern. Sizes 2 or 1 are ideal. The lightweight hook again encourages maximum movement in the bait.

Don't make your baits too big. Whiting are greedy fish, but like to take a bait in and swallow in one go. They'll move rather than spend time whittling a bait down to size. A small lugworm maybe 5cms long with the tail nipped off and mounted head down on the hook, then tipped off with a sliver of mackerel or squid around 2cms long is ample for average fish.