-New ANSA rules explained - Jig School 101 - The truth on braided lines ANSA NSW Tightlines - July - Sept 2008 Contact ANSA NSW Info@angelrings.com.au Freecall 1800 079 009 PO BOX 2019 Gateshead DC 2281
Welcome To your new ANSA NSW Club Magazine. A online mag for clubs to showcase some of the things going on in your local area. Every few months we will be putting the mag online, so if you have something to add just send it to us. The mag is for fishing stories, facts and how to guides so get cracking and send us some content. Cheers The ANSA NSW Team
NSW SNAPSHOT
The Manly Warringah SFC and Australian Land Based Anglers have been replacing angel rings and installing new safety signs
JIG SCHOOL Jigging 101 Vertical jigging, deep jigging, Japanese jigging. There are are so many name variants to this technique. But there is no doubt it has gained immense popularity Within half the world, Asia, Oceania and now Europe. Jigging is one of the world's oldest lure-fishing techniques. The Japanese reinvented the technique, developed new tackles and a wide array of jigging style thus bringing the sport to a new level. One of the draw of jigging is to take advantage of tackle technology to catch big fish with light gears. Traditionally big fish are caught with heavy and bulky tackles that kills the joy because one would be struggling with heavy gears instead of enjoying the fight. Jigging is a technique whereby one will enjoy the most out of fishing; angling with light and powerful tackles. The moment a fish hits a jig, I promise you will be hooked to jigging Finding fish with today's technology is no more than looking into a screen. With the sounder we are able to locate fish and know where the hotspots are. One of the advantages of jigging is being able to go right to where the fish are and work the lure at a selected hotspot. Once the boat is over the hotspot and knowing the depth they are holding, a jig is dropped to maybe 10 or 20m below the hotspot. Working the jig at a known depth instead of jigging blindly is much more productive. Many times fish will attack jigs, not only because they attack an injured or escaping fish but also because they get agitated by the action of a jig, therefore working a jig is also an important aspect to successful jigging. Some jiggers prefer overhead (conventional reels or multiplier) while some swear by the spinner. It is all up to individual preference. For overheads a narrow spool reel is preferred as line laying will not be so much of a problem, with one problem less one can concentrate in working the jigs. Some of the popular overhead reels used are: Shimano Ocea Jigger NR Daiwa Saltiga Z Accurate Boss Magnum Some of the popular spinning reels: Shimano Stella SW or FA Shimano Twinpower Daiwa Saltiga Penn Spinfisher
A good drag system is also imperative to successfully pull in a fish, as most target fish are either bottom dwellers or pelagic. When hooked on a bottom fish we want to stop the fish from running into reefs or rocks which may result in a cut off and when hooked to a pelagic, we need the pressure to stop them. JIGGING RODS As in any other type of angling, there is no one rod that suits every occasion. The basic requirement of a good jigging rod is its weight, a lightweight setup with enable us to jig longer periods. I personally prefer parabolic rods; they are more forgiving on the angler when fighting a fish and easier to work a jig. A good jigging rod to me has to be light, parabolic action and also with lifting power. TYPE OF JIGS There are many different type of jigs available in the market. But the type of jigs used for vertical jigging are mainly the centre-balanced jig and the bottom heavy jigs. Centre-balanced jigs are designed to flutter and dart during the drop which is more likely to induce hits on the way down. The best way to present them in my opinion is the long stroke style; dropping the tip far down and lifting it high up, on the down stroke line is quickly picked up, a higher gear ratio reel is preferred for this style. This jig is mostly used when targeting pelagic fish like tuna. Some centre-balanced jigs in the market:
Bottom heavy jigs are designed to fall quickly and usually used for deep jigging and are usually heavy jigs from 14 oz up to 22 oz or even more. They are used when fish are holding the bottom and you want the jig to fall right into the hotspot before the current sweeps the jig away or the boat drifts too far from the spot. The style used for this jig is usually the fast short stroke method; this is best done with an overhead reel. This jig is mostly used when targeting fish like amberjacks, groupers and other bottom dwellers. Some bottom heavy jigs in the market:
JIG SIZE And again there are too many variants of jig, long & short, light & heavy, red, blue, hologram, night glow and the list goes on. When choosing the jig size, depth of the water and the current flow is considered. The deeper and swifter the current the heavier the jig, as jigging is pinpoint fishing; we don't want our jigs not land in the hotspot. The rule of thumb in choosing a jig size is; 100g for every 30m depth. When it comes to choosing a long or short jig, my personal favorites are long jigs; I am the big lure big fish guy!! However, the best way to determine a jig size is to find out what the fish are feeding on. For example if the baitfish are small sardines, smaller jigs will be effective and vice versa. JIG COLOR With a wide spectrum of jig colors available, it is hard to choose a jig sometimes. But a true fact is pretty jigs will catch an angler before catching fish. There are many factors in determining the right color and I have heard countless arguments on this topic. My take on this is the trial and error method. However I always start with jigs in shiny and blue hues, most of the time they work. Night glow jigs is effective in deep waters, overcast skies and at night. ASSIST HOOKS AND RIGGING A JIG Assist hooks are used for various reasons. Some says that fish usually attack their victims at the head and also the swinging red Kevlar chord used to tie assist hooks attracts fish. In my opinion, the assist hook works like a stinger hook and it also prevents jigs from snagging the bottom. Choosing the size of assist hook is simple; just make sure that the gap of the hook is wider than the jig. I like to use bigger hooks, they increase hook up rates.
LINES Braided line is a must when jigging, it not only reduces drag & stretch and allow line to slice through water easily when jigging but most important the drastic increase in line capacity. Japanese call them PE lines; PE is a unit of measurement for braided line thickness. A simple conversion is PE1 = 10lb, PE2 = 20lb and so on. Japanese PE lines are color coded in intervals of 5m or 10m, which means a color for every 5 or 10m so that one can drop the jig to the exact required depth. LEADERS Fluorocarbon leader is used for leader material in jigging. The reasons are because it is more abrasive resistant then regular mono and of course the low refractive index. When considering the length of leader, the most important aspect is the height of which one is jigging from. What we want to make sure is when a fish is within gaffing distance, there should still be a few coils of leader in the spool. You don't want braid to rub against a boat's hull at this point. The most effective and common knot used to splice braid and leader is the Midknot, this knot has 100% knot strength and no knot is form with the thick leader material so you won't have a lump in the transition from braid to leader. JIGGING STYLES There are basically 2 types of jigging style and adding other factors like speed, pause and strokes will give you a myriad of styles. I will try to explain the basic of the 2 types of jigging style. Long Stroke - Sticking the rod on a gimbal harness, hold the foregrip with arms 90° to the body and pull the rod fully towards the body at a rate of about 1.5 sec per stroke (about 2-3 revolutions of the reel per stroke). You may vary the speed accordingly. This style is best used with center-balanced jig as it is a long stroke; during the down stroke a pause is created and that will allow the jig to flutter which will also induce a hit. And also, on the up stroke a center-balanced jig will dart better than a bottom heavy jig. This style is best carried out with a spinning reel. High Pitched Short Stroke - Sticking the rod butt in the armpit, grabbing the reel with one hand and the other on the reel handle, the rod is stroked up and down in a small arc. It is one revolution of the reel per stroke. This style is best carried out with an overhead reel.
TIPS FOR THE FIRST JIGGING TRIP •
A good pair of split ring plier to change jigs quickly
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A plier pouch
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A good pair of gloves to prevent blisters.
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A small gimbal harness.
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For spinning reel users, put a slight pressure on the spool and line when dropping a jig. This way you will know if a fish hit during the drop. Same as for overhead users put slight pressure on spool.
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Pre-tie some rigs; leader to solid ring with assist hooks.
Article reproduced with permission from www.anglers-proshop.com Images courtesy of Stan Konstantaras
Braid Myths Exploded With all the new rule changes taking place around us, this has become a very good time to update the membership on what BRAID really is, breaking strain or diameter ??
ANSA NATIONAL RULE CHANGES And what they mean to us With the new rule changes in place, ANSA NSW has picked out the key changes that will affect your fishing under the ANSA rules.
Blades of Glory It pays to keep your ear to the ground.............................. On a recent bi-annual trip down Mexico way, over the border in Mallacoota we were confronted with some shut down fish that refused to play ball. Having been in February this year and come off a 50 fish a day habit, were were shattered to find the 100’s of Black Bream we normally cast lures at refused to play ball. 1 day passed, 3 days passed and then we were getting desperate. Fishing with a mate who just has to have all the latest bream gear and lure ever made, we tied on the Ecogear VX40 blades and started searching the deeper water. Even though we saw fish in the shallow margins, the just did not want to play. Out a bit deeper, find the batfish on the sounder and working the surface and cast.
CAST, SINK , RETRIEVE with a HOP, HOP and SLAM
Moral of the story is take the kitchen sink with you just in case. What has worked for years may not work all the time or else you may have to sheepishly borrow a few lures from your mates......