Jigging Sydney- 04/08/2008

I thought it was going to be a fine day for fishing. Weather report predicted that particular Sunday to be Sunny and warm, light wind and not much swell. Sounds perfect isn't it after 11days straight of rain? How wrong can the weather report get and how naive I was to believe in weather reports.The swell and wind was so bad that many of us were already sick by the time we left the bay.

It has been a long time since I last saw Chika, had a good chat with him and once again it was like taking lessons from a master. He was telling me about his trip to Fraser Island for Long-tail tuna using light tackle. Hopefully I'll make a trip there myself someday. Another angler Tak, knows a lot about jigging and stuff, sadly I didn't have a chance to take a pic with him. Next trip......



Had a feeling it would be a good day for fishing, when on the way to the first patch of reef one of the angler caught a 4.5kg stripy/striped tuna while trolling. I should bring my gear for trolling, it seems like I'm missing out heaps.


Jigging was good today, tons of fish from illegal sized rats to legal size keepers. But jackets were everywhere and I lost a total of 6 jigs. Damn jackets, wonder if tackle shops in NSW are breeding them.

At the end of the day I only manage 1 keeper weighing in at 5.5kg out of 4 hookups.
I was using a Saltiga Z4500 with Catalina 6/7 rod until I got reefed. So I switched to my Biomaster and Jigwrex setup since its already rigged up. Caught the keeper on the Jigwrex setup and since I seldom use the jigwrex, I decided to push it to the max. Turned out the PE4 Jigwrex handled the Kingie real well, only complain is it lacks the butt power to turn the fish's head. But, considering the price, Jigwrex really felt quite good to use, soft and parabolic.

Photo was taken after I woke up, still feeling a little groggy. The next time I definitely would bring wind proof jacket and have a good night's sleep. Although the fishing was good, the wind and swell made the day's fishing a tough one.

Anyway, Willie caught a 70+cm king ( his PB)and 2 other just legal ones. We do have a picture of it but.... it was taken at home waiting to be gutted so I left it out of this post. Think he might kill me for this.... Still well done Mr Wee!!!

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.

Sydney Jigging

The first jigging trip for 2008 went ok. Caught 1 Kingfish weighing in at approx 9kg. According to Jim the captain our trip was the first trip that managed to land keeper size fish. All of the 7 anglers (except 1 managed) to land a decent Kingie and some even manageg to bring up Flutemouths ( AKA trumpet Fish). The only angler that scored zero must have angered Poseidon or something. During one particular drift when 4 angler managed to get a hook up, he got no hits and instead got bitten off by Leather Jackets. The following drift 3 anglers managed to get hook ups while he could only watch. When we chanced upon a school of Dolphin Fish AKA MAHI-MAHI, he caught nothing too! I don't believe in Fishing Luck but.... What can I say.

Anyway, the Mahis were caught on jigging rigs without jigs. We simply attached bait to them and cast it out. What a sight when all jigging rods were used as casting rods.

My kingie!


Kelvin with his first Kingie.
Kelvin with his Flutemouth. Kelvin with both his and my fish.

Tackles used:
Daiwa Catalina Stick 6/7s
Daiwa Saltiga Z4500
50 lbs Tuff line
80 lbs Fisherman Leader