Live Baiting for Pelagics

[Paulo]

With a preference for chasing pelagics offshore, I find live baiting generally the most productive method of catching these fish. While tuna and mackerel will respond to fast retrieved metal slugs or plastics on the surface, these lures aren’t so successful when the fish aren’t feeding up above. Similarly hard body lures account for a good many fish but in general, I find trolling these lures a bit more hit and miss and whole lot more work on the paddle or pedals. I would generally use hard bodies for an extended trip (2+ kms) between waypoints or trolling to and from the beach. Once I hit the mark or find fish I would generally switch to live baiting in the hope of attracting slightly larger fish than those responding to lures and plastics.

One of the most popular ways to attract pelagic fish is by offering them the fish they are there to eat. On the east coast the predominant live bait used is either yakkas (Yellowtail Scad) or slimy mackerel.

Yellow Tail Scad (Yakka)

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Slimy Makerel

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I don’t know about other areas of the country but this method of presentation should work on similar sized baits where ever you are. Other live baits such as tailor, pike and bonito can also be caught\jigged and used as bait. Over the summer and for a good part of winter large numbers of these fish school up on the inshore reefs in Southern Qld and NNSW. Catching them and keeping them alive for up to six or seven hours is the first step towards catching an ocean speedster.
There are many methods of catching, keeping and presenting these baits, I am only presenting one technique and acknowledge this is not the most common method used, but find it quick to learn and easy to do.

Tackling Up
Following is the kit I use to live bait for pelagics

Live bait tackle

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Sabiki Rig (Hook size 7)
10cm cable ties (ends trimmed to a point for easy insertion)
1oz snapper lead
scissors
Size 6\0 Owner SSW In-Line Circle hook
Size 6\0 Gamakatsu S11 Saltwater Fly J hook

[Paulo]

Bait tube

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Finding the bait
Live bait grounds are marked on many fishing location maps and are not often in the same spot as the well know reef for fishing. In general if you’re heading to a known reef or structure and the bait schools aren’t there then its most likely not going to produce on the day. That’s fishing.
Though not essential I find using a sounder and gps greatly enhances your chances of finding and staying on top of bait schools. On clear days it’s possible to see the livies schooled up under your boat but I prefer to take the guesswork out of finding the bait. Balled up bait is generally a sign that they are being harassed by larger fish. Of course, even better than a sounder is a flock of mutton birds bombing the water or even just sitting on the surface like this lot.

Mutton Birds

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Find the ball and you’re off to a good start.

On my Hummingbird 343C a large bait school appears as a vertical ball in the water column with the centre of the ball showing red (most tightly packed bait) and changing through yellow, green and blue as the ball becomes less tightly packed away from the centre. The larger red spots at the edges of the ball are predators feeding. In the pic below the larger predators were big bonito.

Bait ball

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When you find the bait its best to add a mark to the gps or at least take a visual mark if land is in sight. It’s amazing how fast you drift off the bait in the wind and current. Use the ‘Man Overboard’ feature, if your GPS has one, as an easy way to navigate back to the ball without adding a mark.

Catching the Bait
The most common method of jigging bait is to use a purpose built sabiki jig. As shown above they consist of a length of line with six dropper hooks attached at intervals of approx 25cm along the line. Each hook is generally dressed with a glow bead and some sort of skirt made from reflective plastic material. They come in many hook sizes but I tend to have most success with a size 6 or 7 hook setup. You can pick them up at any tackle store for anywhere between $2 and $10. I find the cheapies work well. As the last thing you want is to be hauling six thrashing livies into your crotch, I generally cut each rig in half leaving three hooks in each rig. Even three livies going off will tie your rig into a ball in the blink of an eye, rendering it useless.

Make a loop in the bottom of the jig and attach it to a 1oz sinker. Upsize if the current is strong. I use a snapper lead and thread the loop through the sinkers eyelet and back over the sinker to allow the lead to be easily attached\detached as the situation requires. Often when the bait are jig shy, detaching the lead and allowing the jig to descend un-weighted to the ball can be the difference between catching bait and not. Burleigh is another option to tempt shy bait to bite.
Attach the top end to your jigging rod line. I generally carry a cheap 6’ telescopic rod (or a small cheap children’s rod that breaks into two) and a small spin reel like the Daiwa Sweepfire 2500 shown, spooled with 8lb mono.

[Paulo]

Bait Rod

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I have used my trolling rods in the past but find having something I can throw in the hull once I’m done and having my troll rod setup and ready to go for the bait gives me more time with bait in the water.
When you’re over the top of the ball, fee spool until the sinker hits the bottom. Close the bail arm, turn the handle once or twice and move your arm up and down in a slowish, jigging motion eight or ten times. No luck? Wind the handle a couple more turns and jig again.
Once you’re on, wind to the surface with speed, disengage the hooks and slip the bait into the bait tube floating beside you.

Live bait in bait tube

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There are a number of tutorials on the internet showing how to make bait tubes out of pvc pipe. I would generally gather up to five baits in my 75cm tube and have no trouble keeping them alive for hours.
Before filling the tube I bridle up the first livie and send it out while gathering the remainder of the bait

Presenting the Bait
There are many ways to present the bait. They can be pinned directly through the nose but I find this tends to shorten their lifespan in the water. If the bite is hot then pinning is the quickest and easiest method. Perhaps the most popular method for bridling is the rubber band inserted through the livies eye socket using a bait needle. As this is covered extensively on the web I won’t go into this method here. I often use small cable ties to bridle the bait. It’s the same principle as the rubber band but I find it quicker and easier even if it’s perhaps a little less flexible on the bait.

When handling livies I always use a piece of clean, wet rag or a glove to hold them. This prevents any oils or sunscreen on my hands transferring to the bait and stops me removing their scales or protective coating. I also find when wrapped in the rag they tend not to freak out as much making the whole bridling process easier and less likely to kill the bait before it hits the water or you ending up with a hook in you somewhere. Fish in rag in one hand and trimmed cable tie in the other find the soft pocket at the front of the eye socket and force the tie through and close the loop not tightening it all the way down yet. Thread the point of the hook through the loop and position so the gape is facing upwards and pointing in the direction it will be towed. Tighten the tie down so the hook is held snugly against the livies head but not so tight that you pull the cable tie through the socket or kill the bait. Too loose and the bait may get off.

Bridled Slimy Mackerel

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[Paulo]

I use a variety of reels for live baiting but have recently upgraded to a Daiwa Catalina 4500H and am yet to boat a decent fish on it. I have it spooled with 30lb braid and 2m of 40lb leader. I prefer to use the Hobie rod riser tubes in the rear rod holders of my Hobie Revolution. They keep the reels well up out of the salt and I find it a good height to reach round and grab when the ratchet begins to scream.

Daiwa Catalina Z4500H

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I generally use a 6\0 hook attached to the leader line using a Palomar knot and prefer Owner SSW In-Line Circles and Gamakatsu Saltwater Fly SL12 as a ‘J’ option. Both are shown above.
I simply free spool and pedal away 60-100m or so. With the desired length of line out the back close the bail arm and loosen off the drag to as light as possible so the bait isn’t regularly taking line as you troll. If using an overhead reel you can generally free spool and put the clicker on. The desired effect is to present the bait with as little resistance as possible allowing the predator to swallow the fish whole without the drag pulling the bait back out before its had a chance to swallow.

There are many ways to present the bait at the level in the water column you desire. Break away sinkers, downriggers for trolling the bait down low and balloons and foam floats for keeping the bait in the upper part of the water column are just a few. Each of these methods can be researched on the internet forums. For simplicity when I’m running two live baits I leave the one approximately 100m out the back free swimming and one in close to the kayak down at the desired depth using a break away sinker. Weighing down the bait and using your sounder allows you to lower the bait to the desired depth usually just above a bait ball or right down close to the bottom. Running a downrigger takes a bit of practice and I’d recommend just running the one line until you get the hang of it.

Free swimming bridled slimy

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Catching a Fish
Position your baits above a bait ball and either slow troll or wait. When there is something large taking a close look at your livie, it will freak out and go for a short run peeling a little line. This is often a good indication the bait is about to be taken and its then that I turn the rudder into the fish and take the rod from the holder. Getting the rod out of the holder before the fish has struck is preferable but not always possible. That’s another reason I prefer the drag to be as light as possible when the fish engages. To much drag can make it impossible to extract the rod or worse still rip the rod holder\riser from the kayak.

Live baiting for pelagics is likely one of the most extreme forms of the sport. Some days there are football fields of bait but not a predator insight, other days there seems to be little bait but the fish are biting. Many hours and kilometers on the water go unrewarded but when the rewards come they are sizeable, the battle can be long and drawn out or short, sharp and heart breaking. That’s fishing!

[paulBUTTS]

Gday Paulo

Mate thanks for sharing your techniques on live baiting. I have only just started taking out my big gear (7.5ft 15kg rod fitted with a TLD30 spooled with 15kg mono) in the hope of getting onto some good size Kingfish and Tuna but I’ve had no luck as yet. Do you ever use a two hook rig?

I have all of my rigs (from snelled bait rigs to single/double hook live bait rigs) pre tied and stored in one of those soft plastic wallets so I’m not trying to tie these rigs on the water and it saves time as well. I may have gone a little too heavy with my trace though as I’m using 100kg Jinkai and 50kg trace on others. In your opinion should I scale down?


Butts...

[Paulo]

Hi Paul
I havent used a two hook rig before other than once I snelled a floating stinger hook off the main one. It caught the fish but Im not sure the second hook played a part. Definitely worth a go though. I prefer to bridle so as to not damage the fish other than poking a cable tie through its eye socket.
They tend to live longer when there isnt a hook sticking in them. I gues it goes back to how hot the bite is on the day.
In general I dont chase kings but on the odd occassion have had 100lb leader sheared off. Thats more to do with the structure than the fish. I try to go as light as possible regardless of the type of fishing.
I rarely fish with more than 40-60lb fluro leader unless the fish and structure warrant it. I carry a few heavier rigs in my plastics wallet and only pulll them out when the situation warrants it. For the most part you will land all but the biggest tuna, cobia, etc on the lighter leader. You lose a fish because the weakest link in the tackle chain gives way. Knots, leader, even you after a long fight. Make your kayak the weakest link by adjusting your drag and equipment so it is towed and your knots, etc dont give way etc.

I started out with a TLD25 and a 24kg stick but found the lack of give in the rod and the weight of the reel a burden with a decent fish on. With the inability to apply a lot of drag or stick to the fish from a seated position, I found lightening up my tackle allowed the rod to do its work and allow me to actually fight the fish instead of a broom stick. Also IMO the drag created by the kayak aids in the fight of the fish and therefore reducing the pressure on me and allowing me to go lighter than if I was in a standup position on a stinker.
This year I switched to 2 piece jig sticks and Daiwas jig reels and the difference in weight has also made a difference in a drawn out battle. They hold less line than the big reels but its been my experience you dont need a great deal of line even on the biggest fish. By tightening the drag a little and being towed you tend to lose less line than in a big stationary stinker and you also have the hobie pedals to chase the fish down hands free throughout the fight.

[Graeme.Hird]

Thanks very much for the tutorial Paul. Time for me to buy some cable ties, methinks.

Cheers,
Graeme

[JoshHolmes]

Excellent write up Paul. For some reason I've neglected poking my nose into this section, but now I'm glad I did. I'm too lazy to put in the effort involved in livebaiting for the most part, but I have to agree - in times of no surface activity especially, livebaits will generally always outfish the lures.

But when there is surface activity, well, that narrows the disparity quite a bit, as you know.

[Holger]

Good write up- thank's for that.