Active or passive beach fishing ?

[Persues]

On Whitley beach the other night there was a lot of small stuff around and the odd decent bite, but the harder bites were tentative and tough to strike into, if that makes sense.

As an experiment I tried a technique I used to use a long time ago for clean ground: take the grip lead off, drop an ounce down to a plain 5 oz sinker and put a single clippped down paternoster trace on the business end.

Cast out as far as you can comfortably manage and then while you keep an eye on your static rod you very, very slowly wind the plain sinker rod in.

Sometimes it makes no difference at all, but now and then it encourages far more aggressive bites. I've no clue why, whether the disturbance in the water from the moving sinker generates interest from the fish, or whether a more actively moving bait prompts a 'prey drive' response of sorts.

I used to get some pretty good bass on Cambois beach many years ago using this method, often very close in as the rig came through the breakers, and it often seems to encourage the bigger whiting and cod to hit harder and faster around this time of year.

I was wondering whether any of you employ similar methods when fishing clean ground ?

 

[Mogthemackem]

It's a good method for bass as they are a predator fish. Also used this with a lot of success for flatties aswel. Never caught a cod on this method wlthough I have using lures and feathers so it ptobably would work I imagine if you pull the bait past them. Great method on lighter gear when bites are hard to come by. Enables you to cover a lot of ground aswel. Only tried it with worm baits and not with crab, razor etc as prefer it to look more natural

 

[ozzy37]

i used to fish like this when i was younger, always seemed to get more fish, probably due to covering more ground and hitting pockets of fish, coalies n flattties love movin baits

 

[Stores]

Don't own a spider, or grip lead, so my bait is, if there's enough sea on, always on the move, usually sideways along the beach but no reason why you can't give it a tug now and again (no sarcy replies, thank you). Seems a good idea to me to keep it on the move.

 

[Davey-m]

Used that method in flat seas from the 44 mark on shields in summer for flatties with success 3lb plaice many moons ago. It was the talk of Macdougals for weeks and got bigger by the day

 

[Billzo]

Don't own a spider, or grip lead, so my bait is, if there's enough sea on, always on the move, usually sideways along the beach but no reason why you can't give it a tug now and again (no sarcy replies, thank you). Seems a good idea to me to keep it on the move.

no just 8oz plain leads eh dave m8? lol

 

[Stores]

no just 8oz plain leads eh dave m8? lol

Plain 7oz ones Bill - arms aren't strong enough to cast out anything heavier and back's not broad enough to carry them lol.