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1 BREAD AND BUTTER FISH N So I know there are plenty of you fishos out there who love to chew on some fresh fish but can t always get out in the boat or venture out on the stones to target those beautiful tasting reefies such as snapper, dhufish, kingfish, massive skippy and the like. That is where breed and butter species such as herring, garfish, sand whiting and well my favourite, king george whiting come in handy. Although, to be honest, sometimes any one of these species and sometimes all can be nearly impossible to tempt onto the hook, but with 10

2 METRO LAND BASED BY DAVE Bennett a bit of burley and a very light presentation you shall hopefully end the day with a nice feed of fresh fillets. Whether you re just keen for a feed or an afternoon s flick after work, bread and butter species may just be the thing for you. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION... Now where do you start?? My personal favourite spot is a nice calm flat protected beach area that is about knee deep for 10 or so metres and then has a slight drop off of about a metre or so with weed and sand patches. Also, a little bit of reef running parallel to the beach is a welcome attribute, as little baitfish, squid, prawns and well anything that looks edible to a fish hang out around here. Thus action creates action and the slightly larger predatory fish move on in. But this is most definitely not the only place well worth a cast, as sheltered rocky headlands, weed patches over sandy ground and the ever famous shallow reefs all fish well at any given time. It s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. So the twilight hours are definitely the premium time to be fishing. This isn t only because of the lower light conditions but also the turn of the tides generally turn as the sun rises/ sets and a whole lot of different things come into effect. That is why this is the choice fishing time, but it is not the be all and end all as plenty of fish are caught between the tides and well practically during the middle of the day. 11

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4 METRO LAND BASED BY DAVE Bennett BREAM GEAR??? So now that you know where to focus your efforts on, what gear should you take... I like to favour a very light tippy rod as to see the bites as well as feel them, although I cannot seem to move past a graphite rod for shear sensitivity. So basically, what I am trying to say is, that I use my lightest bream rod. This consists of either a 1-4kg raider or a 1-3kg Lox both 7ft and both very light. As for the reel? Well I use a Stadic in the 1000 size or a Daiwa Freams 2000 both spooled with 6 pound sunline P.E and about a rod length of 8 to 12 pound fluorocarbon leader, although quality gear is appreciated, it isn t a necessity as any reel in the 1000 to 3000 size is perfect. Couple this with a 7ft to 7.6ft rod and 6 to 10 pound braided line and you have not only an awesome bream outfit, but a herring slaying weapon. But if you are a beginner or less experienced angler it would be highly suggested that you use a rod with a fibreglass tip and monofilament line as the extra stretch is so much more forgiving to the angler and will result in far less pulled hooks. Whilst I am on the topic of what gear to bring, make sure you do bring some heavier gear, not that 24kg game outfit you use for massive tuna out wide, but something like a 6 to 12 kg 10ft rod, something that you can have all rigged up in the rod holder so that if a larger fish, be it a salmon, tailor, mulloway or even a small shark comes in to investigate what s going on, there is a nice size bait out back just in case. Although many a times I have hooked up to a nice size tailor or salmon on the bream gear and it has been quite an Although many a times I have hooked up to a nice size tailor or salmon on the bream gear and it has been quite an event

5 As far as bait goes small cubes of mulies, shelled and sliced coral prawns, small sand whiting fillets and even sliced up yellowtail filets work great, but experimenting never hurt, so it could be a small section of squid or maybe even a piece of small garfish that is the one gun bait for the day. event. So just be prepared because anything can happen, and that is the reason so many people out there love this sport. ALL RIGGED UP The 2 main rigs I use are either a fixed burley float with as small as a size 8 hook for garfish and up to about a maximum of a size 2 for everything else. The other is basically a very small running sinker (the smallest that the destination will allow) to about a size 2 hook. Now I m sure many of you out there have your secret burley but to be honest a basic burley blend mixed in a bucket with some pollard and tuna oil is great. But don t be afraid to experiment with adding chicken fat/oil and more fish frames, it might just pay off. If you are using burley do remember that you only want enough burley in the water to tempt the fish into a feeding state of mind... so basically, don t give them a full belly of burley. As far as bait goes small cubes of mulies, shelled and sliced coral prawns, small sand whiting fillets and even sliced up yellowtail filets work great, but experimenting never hurt, so it could be a small section of squid or maybe even a piece of small garfish that is the one gun bait for the day. One of the best tried and true techniques I can suggest is to use a slightly smaller sinker than necessary and even no sinker at times. Just let the bait drift around naturally instead of being anchored to the sea bed. You never know what might just be the perfect way to present the bait without exploring different methods. Anyway, best of luck with catching the next feed of fish, or just getting out for some light tackle fun. Catch ya on the water, Dave 14