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Last Updated:
December 10, 2000

 

 

From The Just Fishin’ Newsletters:

Frequently Asked Questions
On Salt Water Fishing

At Just Fishin’ it is amazing how often the same questions get asked over and over again.
This only goes to show that as new people come into the sport the same problems keep arising.

Can you recommend a good sharpener for these new chemically sharpened hooks I have just bought?
Don’t believe everything you read. Nowadays, despite the too often repeated advice in books and videos, sharpening some hooks out of the packet can actually blunt them.
Chemically and laser sharpened hooks are a case in point. These hooks are sharpened by removing metal from the point using chemicals or lasers, or both. You cannot get them sharper using a stone, you will only blunt them.

Why do my knots start slipping after a few fish, or on the next trip?
Poorly tied knots probably account for the bulk of lost fish. But following on close behind must be the knots that are not retied after catching a big fish, several fish or left tied on from the previous trip.
Even the most carefully tied knots will start to bind and bite in on itself after stress has been applied to it. Even if there has been little stress, knots will quickly deteriorate over a relatively short time, as mono tries to recover its previous shape.
All knots should be retied prior to each fishing trip, and it is good practice to retie knots that have just endured a big fish.
If you are having trouble tying good knots whip in and pick up a knot chart. Get some practice in. You should be able to tie a good secure knot, even with wet slippery hands in less than thirty seconds.

When live baiting for kingis my leader constantly twists up. I tie the balloon off to the swivel, what am I doing wrong?
It is vital that the balloon is tied to the rod end of the swivel. If you tie it to the hook end the swivel cannot swivel, and leader will quickly twist up.
The other problem is that a poor quality swivel will not swivel. When live baiting under a balloon it is imperative that good quality swivels are used.

When surf casting my sinker constantly flies off to the left or right of where I am aiming. What gives?
Assuming you are a right handed caster, a cast that swings off to the right of you aim point means your rod is overloaded, that is you are using too much weight. Remember you must take the weight of the sinker and the bait into account.
If the cast is consistently swinging off to the left you are not loading the rod enough. This maybe because of too little sinker and bait weight, or it could be that you are starting the forward casting stroke too late.
You should be able to feel the sinker and bait pulling down on the rod tip before you start the forward cast. Sometimes this can be caused by using too long a leader from the rod tip to the hook and sinker.

What sized jigs should I use?
Wish I had a dollar for each time we are asked this question. As a good guide, take your line breaking strain you are using in kilos, and add a nought. this is the jig weight in grams you should use.
For example 10 kilo line plus a nought equals a 100 gm jig, 6 kilo line equates to a 60 gm jig.


"Ever seen an envelope with a window that contained good news?"

Copyright © 1997 by Tony Bishop
© 1997
All rights reserved.
No part of any of these articles may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews and articles.

Contact Tony Bishop