I am looking for some Opinion's on bait chunkin. It is rather simple and most of you think it might be a stupid question but I don't have many people that I fish with, and the people I have fished with don’t seem to have a better Technique than I do. So hopefully those of you who have some suggestions where I can improve tackle or gear wise let me know!
Typical R&R day of chunkin first I either buy fresh bait or catch it than I head to a spot spike my pole and rig up. I use either steel or mono 60lb depending on the blues. My leader is 24” long with a 6/0 mustad SS 9510XXXS Salmon hook. I change the size of the hook depending on the bait but this is my usual rig. With a fish finder and a 3oz to 5oz bank sinker. Now for my gear I usually use a 10ft Fenwick with a shimano BR 6500. Now I cast out take up some slack and set the baitrunner’s drag very loose. This way the fish never feels the line and gives me more time for a hookset. The only real big problem I have with this set up is gut hooks. I use big enough chunks so I don’t have to worry about schoolies but 2 or 3 this year swam away with a cut off hook in its gill or gut. I cut as close to the hook as I can and let them go and hope for the best. Also bluefish, I don’t keep many blues unless someone wants them so the same happens with them but unlike the schoolies they fight harder and end up bleeding to death so I keep them and give them away. I wish I could prevent this.
Thanks
Anthony
Also I know many of you will be saying use circle hooks. I tried them last year with little success I lost 10 fish to every one I brought on shore. I never set the hook I rigged the baits in different ways I always kept the tension on the line, I even tried not pumping the rod only for me to lose the fish anyway so I went back to my old style of fishing.
Suggestions ??
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