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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.

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"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
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