Swapping between I wonder how many fishers use the same techniques across sea fishing and freshwater angling? Or do most have two separate collections of equipment and methods? I have recently used an old lead line to troll for kahawai and have enjoyed success when the kahawai were not evident on the surface. I trialled three lines and the lead line would have had five times the success versus the surface-trolled lures when there was no bird sign evident. When the fish were schooling on the surface, both methods were equally successful. The results were similar for skipjack tuna and albacore so having the lures slightly deeper does seem worth the effort. I’ve had some bust offs so am unsure of the breaking strain of the leadline or if the age of it could be a contributing factor. Perhaps it’s time to invest in some better line.
Trial and error Another method ‘borrowed’ from the trout fishing fraternity is the use of a trout fly that imitates whitebait. The grey ghost fly has been particularly effective during the whitebait season when kahawai terrorise the whitebait schools. Having such a proven fly which so closely resembles what the
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waterline April 2021
A Flasher from Canada used for salmon fishing on the Great Lakes
kahawai are feeding on has been very successful. At times when the kahawai, trevally or mackerel are on the surface herding krill, they will not often take a bigger lure. During these times a slow trolled tiny fly that resembles krill works a treat. I am unsure of the name of the fly and have lost several so I would suggest any tiny fly would be ideal. Using such a fly to catch jack mackerel has also been used to advantage by friends, especially at night around lights. They have had some great sport fishing using fly rods casting
