Tatics for estuarine Cob ?

[Scythe]

Hey gents,

Not really the right forum for it I know, but hope to glean some information from you lots anyways.

My *** father whom I will be visiting while in Stillbaai is into baitfishing, while I will be chucking big sempers on a sinker in search of my Leviathan ... he will be chucking bait (not that he has any sort of real experience in it or anything)

What should he be using as bait to get into a nice Cob ? Any other tips on rig setup & general tactics you might have would be appreciated.

( would hate to catch a massive Cob on fly and not get him into a fish too )

[Korrie]

Sardine and squid cocktail or prawns.

[Chucky07]

Fresh Pilchard, Chokka. Wrap a piece of foam inside the bait so it floats just off the bottom. The fresher the bait the better.

[kyle-J]

Live mullet on a running trace! sit back and have a few cold ones!

[pieterkriel]

Hey gents,

Not really the right forum for it I know, but hope to glean some information from you lots anyways.

My *** father whom I will be visiting while in Stillbaai is into baitfishing, while I will be chucking big sempers on a sinker in search of my Leviathan ... he will be chucking bait (not that he has any sort of real experience in it or anything)

What should he be using as bait to get into a nice Cob ? Any other tips on rig setup & general tactics you might have would be appreciated.

( would hate to catch a massive Cob on fly and not get him into a fish too )

You are right not the right place for the question, however I know there is a lot of salties on this forum that pulls out the long catapults occasionally

From my baity days I remember the following for successful Cob catching I used to use choka/squid which I would cut to triangular shapes about twice the length of the hook used normally 1/0 or 2/0 then I used a mullet to tenderize the stuff and at the bottom flat side I would cut little tentacle like strips into the triangle then put the hook through from the tip of triangle once or twice so the tentacle side hangs over the hook bend then tie up with elastic thread to form what would look like a mini squid on the hook.

This I would fish about 50cm above the sinker (preferably a sinker that will keep the setup static in the sandy bottom. I would also sometimes when the sand sharks was a problem put a piece of polystyrene onto the hook before I would build the little squid, to get it to drift above the bottom.

But here is the disclaimer, my information is old and I was by no means an excellent baity in the salt, but it did bring me the odd Cob.

[rory]

Live mullet on a running trace! sit back and have a few cold ones!

I agree with Kyle, live bait is the best bait. If you catch a shad or 2, cut the head and belly off in one piece, or just the head, super bait. Keep the fillets for supper. Ooops - please make sure the shad season is open at the time.

[Korrie]

Sitting next to the water with a friend, having a line out for cob, must rank as one of the best ways to solve all the world's problems. Or your own problems. .

I recall a couple of nights with a friend or two, sitting next to the water, all warmly dressed, discussing lots of issues, or some times just sitting there saying nothing at all. staring at the rod tip, waiting for the repetitive dipping of the front 3 or for 4 guides. Signalling an inquisitive fish.

[MarkK]

In the river at Stilbaai you won't find anything better than a live mullet. Try to get some bait in the 15cm size range and keep them alive in a bait bucket. Pretty much anything other than live bait will be attacked by small fish or crabs. Traditionally, a whole, skinned octopus leg also works, but I can't bring myself to kill an octopus for bait anymore. (Fly fishing has made me soft...)

[jock0]

... then I used a mullet to tenderize the stuff...

Must have been a big bull nosed mullet? I bet when you hit your finger with it it became a bast@rd mullet

Live shad gets my vote, but I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination. As Rory has mentioned makes sure the seasons open and you obey the size limits.

If you need mullet get a cast net and I'll teach you to cast it reasonably well in an hour or two no problem. As for keeping your bait alive I used a 60 litre container from makro (silver, wheels, lid and handles) and a portable aerator that runs on two D cell batteries a couple of weeks ago. El-Cheapo batteries lasted 4 days running roughly 8 hours a day. By changing about 20 litres of water twice a day I managed to keep roughly 30 hand size bait in perfect condition. They were carried around the bush, bounced around on the boat, 40 degree plus temps etc and the aerators kept them going strong.

[petercoetzee]

whats the biggest Kob any of the posters has caught on fly? just out of interest....