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Floating baits

Posted by GaryK <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=GaryK' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 9/12/2014, 3:09 am

The use of floats on hook traces seems to be largely a Hawkes Bay thing. It started with plastic bubbles in an effort to lift baits off the bottom and away from pesky paddle crabs. Now it has evolved into an art form using bright coloured, uv coloured, fluorescent and luminescent floats. These days it is more about activating the bait to attract fish. It is well documented that a moving bait attracts fish so floats big enough to get a bait moving in the surge are used and colours and other finishes are used to attract attention to the baits.

The snapper don't know where the car park is!
Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.

Re: Floating baits

Posted by jaypeegee <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=jaypeegee' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 9/12/2014, 10:18 am, in reply to "Floating baits"

LOL for trying to float a bait away from a paddle crab.

Floating baits are fun esp when fishing two rods.
Up down rig - Long trace - Whole pillie and a shank-to-line stiffener/support to keep it straight

Some big takes that way over sand and stone bottoms.

Re: Floating baits

Posted by racepics <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=racepics' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 9/12/2014, 4:01 pm, in reply to "Floating baits"

There is a rumour that all the brightly coloured floats and bling are actually designed to catch the fishermen rather than the fish

Its pretty hard to run any sort of scientific analysis on whether or not the fish prefer it, especially here in HB.
You would need a constant supply of ready fish, which we don't have.
What we do often have is a massive supply of paddle crabs, and metre long floating traces tend to slow them down a bit. They will still eventually grab your bait, but you might get 20min of fishing time before they do, instead of 30 seconds

http://www.paniasurfcasting.org
http://www.surfcaster.co.nz

Re: Floating baits

If you have lots of crabs then you must have fish that eat them.
So would something like the below make use of the surplus of crabs and at least mitigate their nuisance value a little?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx_DeTOPW_Q

Re: Floating baits

Posted by racepics <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=racepics' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 10/12/2014, 3:49 am, in reply to "Re: Floating baits"

We 'occasionally' have fish that eat them, the odd snapper and lemons

The balance is all out of whack though. There are far more crabs than there are fish to eat them (due to over-harvesting of fish)
We do (or at least I do) use the crabs for bait as well, but crabs will quite happily eat their mates, so floats are still required even when presenting crab baits. And if you're having to use a float, it may as well be a bright blingy one right?

http://www.paniasurfcasting.org
http://www.surfcaster.co.nz

Re: Floating baits

Posted by Rex HB <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Rex+HB' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 10/12/2014, 6:59 am, in reply to "Re: Floating baits"

Some people swear by colourful floats and bling, others like stealthy black or clear floats. They all work from time to time. Why? Thats something you'd have to ask the Kahawai and other fish about. If crabs are boldly swimming up a meter to nick your bait then there are probably no fish there anyway. You'd be better to just move on elsewhere.

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