Newbie questions

[BigTunaL]

Still learning here and have a lot more to go. This forum has been a great and fun learning tool for me and many others, so a big thank you to all those who share their stories, tips, and experiences.
Questions:

Making bait: I cut my sabiki to 3 hooks, but I still have a heck of a time when I hook 2 or more macs and getting them into my tank. Do you guys use any dehooker or have a technique?

"Greenies" are obviously the green with stripes and Spanish are less colorful ones, correct?

Sonar: Any tips for optimal settings when targeting yellowtail?

I paddled quite a lot last week in Carlsbad and yet I was not able to go past 84' of water, how do you target deeper areas if you don't have any way points already set?


Thanks

[summers in kuwait]

But I usually run my sabiki rig with two hooks and crimp the barbs. I loose some, but they are much easier to get off now.
I don't use a dehooker, but my buddy does. Made a simple hook out of metal and makes releasing them into the bait tank much easier. Also a bait net for accessing them after is really helpful.

I don't use/have a fishfinder, but I do use navionics to help reference water depths and distance will fishing.

[Dirty Curti]

I cut mine to 3 hooks as well. No dehooker, they usually wiggle of or I will gently remove it from their lip. Since I have the Malibu Stealth I can easily drop them right in the tank in front of my lap.

You are correct with the identity of the bait.

As far as depth on your sonar do you have it set to auto depth? Where you saw me last week with the yellows was right at 105 feet of water.

Setting on your FF will depend on which one you have. On mine (Lowrance Elit 4x DSI) I am still dialing it in. With the 800Khz setting I was seeing everything but palagics. Last week I set it to 455 Khz and the detail was better and when I was hooked on one of the yellows Surfisher said he ccould see my fish under the boat at 50 feet. All I was seeing were a few dots and then some more profound dots. So This help me identify what they look like on my finder. Not the arches I was hoping to see. So it will take more time to dial it in and what all of those dots and scratches and balls mean.

[kjsdad619]

I have only had a hard time making bait once, and that was without squid. Now I use squid bits on my hooks marinated in this stuff called buttjuice made by procure and I have never had a problem since. I also use a heavy torpedo sinker, between 5-7 oz, this way the fish once on the hook doesn't go ballistic and get my line tangled. I used to use 1 oz and it was madness. I will reel them in once on and just grab them one by one and throw into the tank.

I have always had luck right next to kelp but last time saw some bait balls on FF and dropped line straight down, there was also a bunch of boils and I through my sabiki right in and just slayed the Spanish macs.

Also I caught my two YT in 150 and deeper water off of LJ, at this point I use my FF for depth and structure I still need to get them dialed in to see arches.

Hope this helps, I just learned from trail and error and this is what worked for me!

[igotpron]

Full 6 hooks on the sabiki, minimum of a 4oz weight stops almost all tangles, and I use a homemade de hooker. Unhook bait right over tank well and never touch them. Simple and fast way to dehook and you never stick your finger..

[BigTunaL]

I guess for the FF, I need to dial in better each time til I get it right. I did have 1 oz weight on my sabiki I'll try 5oz next time.
I think I saw the diy de-hooker before with the cork handle and and loop at the end.

Thank you gents.

[BigTunaL]

Originally Posted by Dirty Curti

Since I have the Malibu Stealth I can easily drop them right in the tank in front of my lap.

You are correct with the identity of the bait.

As far as depth on your sonar do you have it set to auto depth? Where you saw me last week with the yellows was right at 105 feet of water.
.

I also have a live well tank infront of me which is indeed very handy.

I do have mine set to auto depth in general use mode. I tried switching to deep mode but got too many black dots that covered most of the screen. I only have 455 settings on my unit, I do have 83/200 khz.

[onthewater]

Post one of the pictures of your fishfinder unit.

I have a DSI and if it is truly DSI, it is great for structure but really a bummer for fish.

Some units have all frequencies, but some of those DSI units only have 455 and 800 which aren't great for fish.

For fish you will want most likely 200, and 50 used to be more common.

One really cool thing I learned, (i'm always considered a newb) is the lower the frequency, the wider the cone. Hence, a lot of the offshore guys run the 50/200 side by side and some fish show up on the 50 that don't on the 200 because the cone width.

-Ryan

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by igotpron

I use a homemade de hooker. Unhook bait right over tank well and never touch them. Simple and fast way to dehook and you never stick your finger..

What does it look like?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by kjsdad619

I also use a heavy torpedo sinker, between 5-7 oz, this way the fish once on the hook doesn't go ballistic and get my line tangled. I used to use 1 oz and it was madness. I will reel them in once on and just grab them one by one and throw into the tank.

Rather than a torpedo weight, I've heard of using an iron for a sometimes interesting by-catch. I don't know if it works, but it's an interesting idea to explore.

[onthewater]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Rather than a torpedo weight, I've heard of using an iron for a sometimes interesting by-catch.

I've also heard really shiny things like a Krocadile spoon will act as an attractor as well if you go that route. But then I guess more tangles and hooks flying around

[2-Stix]

Originally Posted by onthewater

I've also heard really shiny things like a Krocadile spoon will act as an attractor as well if you go that route. But then I guess more tangles and hooks flying around

I run a 2 oz glow torpedo with a treble. It gets fish a lot. And I get chewed up by it plenty. A friend uses a swim bait.

[kayachapi]

I use Google Earth to get a general view of the bottom structure. Everyone probably knows this, but when your over your area you are planning to fish, if you keep zooming past the surface of the water until you hit the bottom you level out at the ocean floor. Use the arrow keys to explore areas for drop offs, structure, flats next to drop offs. It's like diving around on your computer and when you see an area that looks interesting, exit ground level for coordinates. "Eye alt level" at the bottom right of the screen gives a negative # for approximate depth. It helps me develop a plan for an area I've never fished before.

[MrPukaShell]

If you want a great dehooker use an old butter knife. Purley old school right there. Nothing fancy but it works great (unless you drill a hole in it for leashing purposes). Slide down until you are in the throat of the hook and flip the bait over, slides right off the hook. Don't tell your wife when all of the butter knifes are missing.

[Mahigeer]

I think putting bait on Sabiki during day light works, but you just paid a lot of money for feathers, beads, etc., did not get the benefit of it.
Just tie a bunch of hooks and use bait. It is much cheaper.

The reason that Sabiki works is because it looks like small bait or shrimp.
The bait kind of reduces the action of the fathers.

A heavy sinker 4 oz. plus reduces the tangle. I heard a pier fisherman that used 12 hooks and a pound of weight. Not practical for kayak.

Also, as soon as you feel the trembling of the fishing line, reel in the rig. The longer the rig is in the water after the first mackerel is caught, the more fish will be hooked, but also more chance of tangles.

Barbless hooks and a coat hanger wire with an "S" at the end works great as de-hooker, will make removing the fish easier.

[Sir LJ]

Originally Posted by kayachapi

I use Google Earth to get a general view of the bottom structure. Everyone probably knows this, but when your over your area you are planning to fish, if you keep zooming past the surface of the water until you hit the bottom you level out at the ocean floor. Use the arrow keys to explore areas for drop offs, structure, flats next to drop offs. It's like diving around on your computer and when you see an area that looks interesting, exit ground level for coordinates. "Eye alt level" at the bottom right of the screen gives a negative # for approximate depth. It helps me develop a plan for an area I've never fished before.

Thanks for the advice. I've tried google earth but have not been able to figure out how u guys use it. This helps a lot.
Anybody else have advice on this?

[chris138]

The higher the sonar frequency, the less it is able to penetrate deep or cluttered water. 83 or 50 kHz are essential for identifying large fish in water deeper than 100' for one of the small low powered ffs we use. You sacrifice resolution for range.

That's why you see guys cruising around w sonar that cost more than their kayak.

[DanaPT]

I use a de hooker. It's a stainless threaded j-hook that I've screwed into a thick dowel. Super easy to get the small sibikis out of a bait fish mouth.

A cork works well too but you may want to epoxy for a sure bond.

[igotpron]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

What does it look like?

I just copied this design


Just search for de hooker in Google and anyone of them should work. They work stupid easy.


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[EastLosYaker]

Back side of a butter knife is the way to go. Stole that idea from Mark Wisch