Geoff Thomas: Help fish get hooked

The way the sinker is attached to the terminal rig will make all the difference. Photo / Geoff Thomas

When a rod in a rod-holder on a beach, wharf or in a boat suddenly bends over and the line goes tight it always makes the heart beat just a little bit quicker.

But whether casting from a wharf or dropping a bait into a fast current for snapper, the way the sinker is attached to the terminal rig can make all the difference. It can mean catching a limit-bag of fish or just a couple.

It is a common complaint that while bites can be felt, the fish "were impossible to hook". This is because the fish are not feeding strongly but are picking at the bait, and when they feel the resistance of the sinker as they tug they simply let it go.

The answer is a sliding sinker, so when a fish pulls at the bait the bait can move with it, pulling line through the sinker. It doesn't require a lot of free line and there is usually enough belly in the line to allow the fish time to swallow the bait as it swims away slowly.

This may sound simple and in theory it is. But when fishing in a current such as that encountered in the Rangitoto Channel, or any harbour channel, the dynamics are changing continually.

The depth varies and the strength of the current changes as the tide rises and falls. Where bites had been steady but died away the odds are the current has increased and the terminal bits are no longer on the bottom. So more weight needs to be added.

Most anglers fish with what is called a running rig, where the sinker sits above the swivel connecting the main line to the trace and the line runs through a hole in the middle of the sinker.

This is fine, except when the weight needs to be adjusted to counter rising (or falling) currents, and the line has to be cut and retied as sinkers are changed. The converse applies as currents ease, as too much weight is just as much of a handicap.

One solution is to use sinkers which have a clip swivel embedded in the top, and these can be clipped on as needed and the line can run through the swivel. Another solution is to use triangle-shaped weights, which have the advantage over ball sinkers of sitting squarely on the seabed, rather than rolling along it.

The hole runs from the top to the base and a simple way of adding a clip swivel is to attach a bridle of line, which runs through the hole and is tied off. A clip swivel is used in reverse fashion by attaching the swivel end to the main line so it can slide up and down, and the clip hangs down and can be attached to the bridle in the sinker. This way more sinkers can be added or taken away as needed, without having to cut the line every time.

When used in conjunction with recurve hooks this system works well in harbours such as the Waitemata and in the channels, with a trace which can be anything from half a metre to several metres depending on personal taste.

The fish will basically hook themselves, and two hooks snooded or tied with the longline knot on the end, spaced about 8cm apart, can be used with two separate baits so if one bait is lost there is still another doing the job.

The same principles apply to surfcasting from the shore or a wharf. If the sinker is rigged so the line can slide freely through it the fish will not be deterred by the weight and can hook themselves on a recurve hook.

The whole point is to make it easy for the fish to become hooked, so baits should be small cubes of something tough, such as squid or fresh mullet, without long tails which give the snapper purchase to pull the bait off. The hook point should always protrude so it can do its job.

The other important point is to not strike at every nibble, which just pulls the bait away from the fish. Give it time to chew and swallow the bait, so wait till the rod bends before winding and lifting it.

Too often people fish in the same fashion they always have, and it is probably the same employed by their parents. Then they wonder why they are not enjoying much success and bemoan "the good old days".

The fact is that there are more snapper around than there were 10 years ago and it is just a question of being adaptable and changing to the conditions. Those prepared to try a different approach will bring home the dinner.