Berkley Electronic Fish Scale: FS50

The guys recently bought me an electronic fish scale for my birthday gift. Smart eh, buy something that you need for someone else's birthday, isn't that equivalent to buying a gift for yourself?
Anyway, the truth is it really is a great gift.

The electronic scale is around palm size and it weighs up to 22kg/50lbs in increments of 0.01 kg which is 10 grams. This should cover most bases for everyday fishing such as harbour, estuary, in -shore and etc.

With this scale, you could weigh the fish the normal way by attaching the fish to the scale's hook or you could attach a bag or container and zero the scale, allowing for multiple weighing (or when fish friendly containers are used when practising catch and release).

Besides weighing fishes, this scale could be used for setting drags.

Favourite Jigging Leader- Fisherman Shock Leader

Fisherman's Shock leader is the best shock leader I've tried so far. I used to believe in using only Fluorocarbon (FC) material leader but I found that heavier poundage FC leaders are too stiff for my liking. Fisherman's Shock leader is made from nylon which makes it easier to tie knots. It is very soft and supple and it also allows for some stretch so it helps to absorb the shock considering jigging mainlines have zero stretch. Lastly, it is surprisingly abrasion resistant considering it is so soft.

Jigging for Kingfish- Sydney

Jigging for Kingies in Sydney is very hard work but at the same time very satisfying when you manage to land a keeper. The latest size limit for Yellowtail Kingfish is 65cm and that means we often have to release some fishes. That is very frustrating when the fish you release is the only fish of the day or when fishes are 1/2cm short.

Willy's first jigging trip and he managed to land 1 kingie, measuring 65cm. He was very surprised when that "little" fish managed to pull his 4kg drag.

Kingfish being measured and it is right on the dot!

The biggest keeper of the day goes to Dave. Can't really remember the exact weight but its around the 10 kg mark. Looks heaps smaller on this photograph though, guess its the angle.

Fishes in Sydney are seldom over 12kg so the normal tackles used are PE4-5 setup and 50-100 lbs leader depending on personal preferences.

Basic Jigging Technique

Anyone can crank a reel and yank a rod with a jig on the other end, however there is so much more to jigging than just that. When I first started out I'm always searching on-line for jigging techniques. People are always talking about a "JERK" here and a "PITCH" there, but what is a jerk ( it ain't what you are thinking of right now) or a pitch?

In the simplest way possible,
JERK = lifting the rod
PITCH = 1 round on the reel's handle

Thus, 1 pitch 1 jerk = lifting the rod while turning the handle simultaneously.

Sounds easy but it isn't and it is hard to explain jigging actions in words. Luckily there are a couple of very good jigging DVDs that cover the basics of jigging techniques

The first DVD features Mr Kubo and light jigging setups.


The second DVD features Mr Kitamura , owner of the very popular jigging tackle company, CB One.

The third DVD covers numerous jigging actions such as 1 pitch 1 jerk, 1 pitch 1/4 jerk, Chaka Chaka technique etc. This DVD is part 1of 2, and there is a part 2 DVD. I've never seen part 2 but judging from the quality of the first DVD, part 2 shouldn't be too bad.

The 3 DVDS contains tons of information for anglers picking up jigging, however they are only available in Japanese.

Also, you can try searching online for more information on jigging as it is getting so popular. Jigging is fun, but personally it is also quite technical so it won't hurt learning more.