Rock fishing
Encyclopedia
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
from rocky outcrops into the sea. It is a popular pastime in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It can be a dangerous pastime and claims many lives each year, although this may improve as more fisherman wear life jackets.
Dangers
According to Surf Life Saving Australia's 2009 Coastal Report, there were 94 drownings on the coast of Australia, for the year to July 2009. Of those deaths 12 were related to fishing. The Randwick Council area in Sydney NSW, is the National black spot for rock fishing deaths, with 10 in the past 5 years.Techniques
Bait fish
Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...
, such as perch and bluegill, in summer and autumn (the fall).
Using an umbrella rig is a method of trolling. Typically, an umbrella rig consists of four plastic neon green lures
Fishing lure
A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...
with a lead dragging behind. An additional lure is attached to the lead. Only the lure behind the lead will have hooks attached because this lure can appear to a stalking fish as the wounded or sick laggard in a school, making it a more likely target.
Another method of rock fishing is using bait fish
Bait fish
Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...
. The bait fish may be bought from a store, or the angler can catch them himself. Bait fish can be used either whole or cut up into pieces. The size and type of bait fish used will vary depending what species is being targeted.
Techniques in Britain
Rock Angling as the name suggests usually entails the angler fishing from a rock ledge or outcrop on the shore. This will usually allow the angler access to deeper water than from the beach, which usually means more fish. Fishing from rock ledges and outcrops can be very dangerous and should never be done alone, as anglers each year are swept off rocks by the power of the sea and some of these are swept to their deaths. An angler rock fishing will usually use a rod of between 10 and 11 feet when fishing from rocks although the full Beach Casters of 12 to 14 feet may be used when distance casting is required or a stiff rod is required due to rough ground. It is usual that only short casting is required from rocks to catch fish as they tend to be close in trying to feed of crabs and other animals. Again the angler may use a fixed spool reel or a multiplier reel loaded with line from as little as 8 pound (float fishing) to 30 pounds over rough ground. When fishing from rocks several different methods can be used such as bait fishing, spinning/plugging and float fishing. Bait fishing will be much the same as from the beach but the most common bait would now be peeler crab and hard back crab. Spinning/plugging involves casting an artificial lure or plug and retrieving it to induce a fish to 'take' attack the lure or plug. Whilst float fishing is simply suspending a bait usually a rag worm, sand eel of prawn below a float. The species of fish targeted will be the same as from the beach but will include species such as Ballan Wrasse.Species varie from coast to coast, but the main species from rock marks are conger eels, various species of ray, tope, cod, bass and bullhuss.
A rotten bottom system is commonly used among professional anglers looking to cut down on tackle losses due to rocky snags.