Basic yt questions

[Phishphood]

After going out today I found a few questions....
How often if at all do you switch out baits? As long as they're alive still good? Will Yt or any other jack/tuna take a dead trolled bait?

Also, if you feel the bait get very skittish, like it knows there's something around what do you do? Stop, keep going, slow down, circle back etc?

When you get hit on bait (or even artificials) it should be a very clear hit right? Not just a tap or short quick pull but the rod really loading up? I've never fished a live bait as big as a mac so I'm having trouble figuring out what is bait and what would a good bite look like.

Once you're out of bait, just troll an artificial? Kroc, megabait, rapala, bighammer etc? Also, I've been trolling somewhat near kelp and or lobster buoys. Should I be heading out to open water more?

Thanks for any help guys and I'm always willing to help people get in to freediving if they ever want to see what it looks like down under. Not a pro, just a hobby.

[YakDout]

Sounds like you are fishing the right areas. If anything maybe a little more west. But fish move around and can be in different places every day. If you are trolling in freespool or very light drag (which you should be) believe me you will know when you get bit by something good. Reel wil start screaming and dumping line. If the bait is getting skittish and I think its a fish, I will sometimes put the bait in freespool and give it some more line. Thats more when im drifting vs trolling though. As the water continues to cool now the fish will start hugging the bottom more and more. Flylining is typically most effective in the warmer months. A switch to yoyo jigs and 3 way swivel with 6-8oz weight is what I go to. If youre out of bait and dont want to make more, try to mark fish off rocks and drop yoyos or megbaits down. Flatfall jigs have worked really well for me on the deepwater yellowtail. Just keep putting time on the water and you'll get yours. Dont give up.

Brandon

[Geno Machino]

Just keep at it. You were in the right areas. I saw you were where I got bit earlier. After I lost my fish I did circles and I like to peddle a bit and then glide. So stop and go technic to get the bait at different water columns. It just didn't seem like it wanted to go good today.

Geno

[kjsdad619]

Like everyone has been saying, sounds like you are in the right areas. If your bait sounds like something is around I also let out more line then engage the secondary drag..the good bite you will know..its not like a nibble the fish will take it and run with it and your reel will scream...once the fish takes it I let it run for about 8 seconds then click the drag over..I don't set the hooks with the jerking motions, it sets itself once the drag is engaged. I'm still learning everyday, and have found this website to be helpful on setups etc. Good luck!

[Harry Hill]

How are you guys pinning the mackerel for trolling? Through the nostrils or the lips?

[Deamon]

Hey FyshFuud...

Whoever goes out on a sport boat and says to themselves:

• I'm going to grab/use the weakest bait in the tank and that'll allow me to manage and have bait available later in the day?
• Let me keep this weak arse upside down swimming bait on my line because, well, it's still alive...

PLENTY of kayakers do!!!

Fish bite the hottest baits. If you KNOW fish are around, get your liveliest bait out. ALL IN!
I always get a chuckle when I see guys casting Macks...HOT BAITS equal more bites...why give them concussions?
ALWAYS have a sabiki rod ready so you can drop on a bait ball and get fresh bait in your tank...

Jim

[ctfphoto]

Originally Posted by Deamon

...why give them concussions? Jim

LMAO, nice one Jim.

[taggermike]

Good replies already. Id say in our fishery YT will not eat a dead bait. Like Deamon said, don't fish a weak bait when you've got good ones in the tank. Give yourself the best chance. That said tho, macks can stay frisky on the hook for a long time. When I'm trolling and see the rod tip twitchy steadily I know the bait is swimming. If when you wind in the bait to check for weeds or foul hooking the bait has good color and swims away strongly its good to stay on.
When i have a bait get nervous i usually take the rod out of the holder and put it in free spool. If nothing happens i put the clicker back on and keep trolling.
YT are not subtle biters and you'll know your bit cause your clicker will sound like a howler monkey.
YT can be deep or on the surface, right in the kelp or out in open water. Keep looking a moving. Mike

[taggermike]

Heres some thing well worth studying. Especially in summer surface focussed fishing birds are your greatest friends and best fish finders. Birds are out there for one purpose, to find food. They're professionals, with millions of years of evolution perfecting them. Let them work for you. Every one knows a big flock of diving birds is great but most bird behavior is much more subtle. Species, calls, flight speed, distance off the water, and direction can all give information. Even birds doing nothing or their absence from an area can be informative. A yak is so quiet I often hear birds. And that can be very informative. Terms are the best indicators. They hunt in loose flocks that spread out to cover an area. They call constantly to keep contact with surrounding terns. When one finds or sees some thing its calls change. "Im here I'm here", "I'm looking I'm looking", "I see some thing I see some thing", "Food! Food!". That's my translation any way. When one tern finds fish and makes the call it pulls in the nearest circle of birds, the next circle of birds sees those and turns, and out the call spreads. Amazing yo see one tern diving and within a minutes there's a hundred. Its a great comunal hunting technique. If you see a few turns flying slowly and usually zig zaging in an area making contact calls, even if they're not actively diving, you're in the right place. Terms are best, but gulls, pelis, shearwaters, and even comorrants all have a story to tell. I got to rambling. Im a bird watcher. Hope this helped. Mike

[Harry Hill]

Still looking for which way you guys are hooking the mackerel. Through the nostrils was how we always hooked anchovies but I've never used bait as big as mackerels, I'm thinking a 6/0 ringed circle hook for YT with a swivel and paddle slow.

[YakDout]

Used to do the nostril hook, but too many hook spins. Especially with circles. Up and out through the top jaw now. No more spun hooks.

[Geno Machino]

Originally Posted by taggermike

Heres some thing well worth studying. Especially in summer surface focussed fishing birds are your greatest friends and best fish finders. Birds are out there for one purpose, to find food. They're professionals, with millions of years of evolution perfecting them. Let them work for you. Every one knows a big flock of diving birds is great but most bird behavior is much more subtle. Species, calls, flight speed, distance off the water, and direction can all give information. Even birds doing nothing or their absence from an area can be informative. A yak is so quiet I often hear birds. And that can be very informative. Terms are the best indicators. They hunt in loose flocks that spread out to cover an area. They call constantly to keep contact with surrounding terns. When one finds or sees some thing its calls change. "Im here I'm here", "I'm looking I'm looking", "I see some thing I see some thing", "Food! Food!". That's my translation any way. When one tern finds fish and makes the call it pulls in the nearest circle of birds, the next circle of birds sees those and turns, and out the call spreads. Amazing yo see one tern diving and within a minutes there's a hundred. Its a great comunal hunting technique. If you see a few turns flying slowly and usually zig zaging in an area making contact calls, even if they're not actively diving, you're in the right place. Terms are best, but gulls, pelis, shearwaters, and even comorrants all have a story to tell. I got to rambling. Im a bird watcher. Hope this helped. Mike

I like it!

Geno

[ctfphoto]

Originally Posted by taggermike

Heres some thing well worth studying. Especially in summer surface focussed fishing birds are your greatest friends and best fish finders. Birds are out there for one purpose, to find food. They're professionals, with millions of years of evolution perfecting them. Let them work for you. Every one knows a big flock of diving birds is great but most bird behavior is much more subtle. Species, calls, flight speed, distance off the water, and direction can all give information. Even birds doing nothing or their absence from an area can be informative. A yak is so quiet I often hear birds. And that can be very informative. Terms are the best indicators. They hunt in loose flocks that spread out to cover an area. They call constantly to keep contact with surrounding terns. When one finds or sees some thing its calls change. "Im here I'm here", "I'm looking I'm looking", "I see some thing I see some thing", "Food! Food!". That's my translation any way. When one tern finds fish and makes the call it pulls in the nearest circle of birds, the next circle of birds sees those and turns, and out the call spreads. Amazing yo see one tern diving and within a minutes there's a hundred. Its a great comunal hunting technique. If you see a few turns flying slowly and usually zig zaging in an area making contact calls, even if they're not actively diving, you're in the right place. Terms are best, but gulls, pelis, shearwaters, and even comorrants all have a story to tell. I got to rambling. Im a bird watcher. Hope this helped. Mike

This times 1000 .....well written.

[taggermike]

I had the same experience yakdout had. Across the nose led to the hook turning back in to the baits' heads. And missed fish. I went to the up thru the top jaw and it was better. Now I'm rigging by baits with a bait needle. This way only a thin string is through the bait, you can use a bigger hook, the baits can move freely, the baits live longer, and very rarely (close to never) turn back in to the head. Many don't care for using Spanish macks. They have a weak mouth that tears out and putting a heavy guage hook thru them really hurts em. When rigged they do much better, live and swim well, and don't spin at faster speeds. Rigging takes a bit of practice and there are lots of tutorials on YouTube. Mike

[Harry Hill]

thanks guys, this helps me a lot. I have fished live shad hooked under the dorsal or through the tail but that won't work trolling. It's been awhile but I thought we hooked anchovies through the nose but we fished mud suckers through the upper lip. I'll watch some of the you tubes on rigging live baits. I appreciate the answers and they help.

[Goose1993]

I fish off my boat and off my kayak. For the most part, they're both very different styles.

When I buy bait on the boat, I change the bait every couple minutes. When I'm trolling off the kayak, I leave the bait on as long as it is alive. I've found that a brand new bait swims the exact same as a bait that's been on for 30 minutes if you're trolling it. This is because you're swimming the bait and the fish isn't putting in any effort. You're keeping oxygen flowing to the fish and all the fish has to do is wiggle its body, which is does naturally as it moves through the water. You'll notice the fish is dead when you start dragging it on the surface. As long as it's underwater you're good.

I hate when people say "you'll know when blah blah blah happens". But when you get hit, you'll know. It isn't like when the baitfish gets a jolt of energy and takes a little line or the slow buzzing like when you get caught in kelp. The clicker will start SCREAMING. Your heart rate will definitely increase a bit

And I normally start fishing with about 7-8 baitfish. Sometimes I get more and sometimes I get less, but that seems to be the number. I've only ran out of bait twice. One time I headed out with 7 spanish macks. The bite was hot and I landed 3 fish with those 7 baitfish. After that, I threw the surface iron and landed another one. Then I paddled into the kelp and caught 3 more baitfish. I caught one more YT with these fish for a total of 5. I was out of bait and could have trolling the rapala, but I was done and headed straight in.

The other time I ran out of bait I caught 3 YT. After a day like that, I'm satisfied and just head in. Since last a long time when slow trolling, you really will only run out of bait when it's a really good day fishing. Although if a seal makes you his unlucky target, a rapala would be good to have on hand.

[Phishphood]

Wow guys. Way to show up with the help. Thanks a lot for all the tips and hopefully other new converts will get something out of this thread too. I know nothing replaces time on the water but good to clear up a few basic questions. Thanks again and tight lines!