Brainwashed by pirks

[Mike.Haley]

Has every angler in the northeast been brainwashed into using pirks when fishing from a boat? It drives me mad when you book a trip on a charter boat and every time its the same. Nothing but pirks. Can anybody ever use a different method of fishing such as a flying collar rig or some other method. It is only in the north east you get pirks and nothing else. why cant people start using different methods of fishing and target other spiecies of fish like pollack and rays. we dont catch them off the north east coast because we never use anything other than a pirk which will only target cod and ling. Come on everyone, make an effort to change and maybe we will see something other than cod and ling ( or the lack of ) comming over the sides of the boats.

[Edited on 30/5/2006 by Mike.Haley]

 

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

I don\'t use pirks much Mike ,but they have their uses mate .

 

[jason]

Can not agree more. Was out with PhilT on Saturday and although the fishing was not great - pirks were ignored we then swapped to jellies/shads/twintails had a few takes with the only fish a 7lb cod falling to my tiger twin tail wound up 12 turns then dropped back to the bottom. We could only fish this way as the 4 of us on the boat were aware of all the others lines etc so resulted in less tangles. Tried on a charter boat but constantly got dropped on by other anglers so went back to pirks. I find the style of fishing more rewarding and enjoyable than plain pirking.
Jason

 

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

I know what you mean Jason ,not the sort of fishing you could do on a charter unless everyone is of the same mind .

 

[Charlton]

totally agree Mike, north east anglers mind set has got to change. many who go out with Dave Builth out of Amble use different tactics and it certainly pays dividends.

 

[johnf]

I\'m far from being an experienced boat fisherman, but is it not horses for courses. Great experiment for the guys with their own boats and regular fishing buddies where you limit the numbers fishing. But 11 blokes on a charter with pirks and 1 with a 15\' flowing trace . You know who the most unpopular person on the boat will be !. From some of the recent posted photos, pirking looks like it still works.

 

[KeithB]

He got 10 that day mainly on pirks, I only got 3 using bait on flowing traces.

 

[davem2005]

My last two trips out of whitby have been to try different methods and for diffrent species. We have been doing well on shads there and have even tried anchoring and bait fishing for thornbacks.

It soon became apparent that we knew nothing of how to fish for thornies but have been given good advice as to how to target them from another forum and hopefully we will have some sucess on our next atempt. We know they are there as they have been caught in nets just yards from where we are fishing. They are also catching turbot in the nets at whitby so them and bass are targets for our next trip.

I have being going out with a charter skipper from whitby who also agrees that pirks and drifting are not the be all and end of of fishing and is happy to experiment. If anyone fancies a midweek evening trip while the nights are long (or even a full day)I would be happy to arrange one on a no pirks basis

What we have been doing is a morning of anchoring and uptiding followed by an afternoon of wrecks. Also the tope should arrive in about a month and this is also on the agenda.

If you are serious about trying alternate methods let me know and I will see what I can arrange.

Cheers
dave

 

[jason]

Dave
I certainly would be up for a midweek evening trip or any trip for that matter that tries something different.
Your last few trips sound just the ticket as I enjoy a challenge.
Regards
Jason

 

[colossus]

Agree with a lot of this. Think it depends on the day. I\'m not a very experienced boat angler but am trying to do more. Been out twice this month. 1st time used daylights, muppets, pirks and flying collars with long traces. Caught a lot of fish, lost count, most returned, all but one on the long trace. I did shorten it a lot after first few drops all tangled with other anglers. 2nd trip tried same things but only about half a dozen fish this time all on pirks or daylights and none on the long trace. Out again on Friday with a group of novices from work. They won\'t mind if I tangle with them a few times. I think it\'s difficult to experiment on a charter boat when it\'s full. 12 lines on a smallish boat are bound to get tangled and I feel a bit self conscious about using long traces.

 

[jason]

you do not need to fish a long flowing trace on the collar fish the hopper rig as shown here

http://www.seafishinginfo.co.uk/

click on tips then traces. You can either slowly jig this or wind in more the traditional style of redgilling. The takes you get are outstanding the 7lb cod at the weekend took a good bit of line off me on the initial take. Great fun.

 

[IanW]

I bought a load of these kinds of lures ages ago, but never really read up on how to use them properly.

Got a comp on sunday, weather permitting, which is heaviest fish based so I think I may well give it a go.

Fortunately there\'ll probably only be three on the boat so tangles shouldn\'t be a problem.

Thanks for that link Jason

 

[PhilT]

Have to agree about needing to experiment with tactics. Would like to try anchoring & going for conger etc but I haven\'t the heart to make Ian haul in what would be the best part of 500ft of warp!

 

[marksworld]

i take it pirks are another name for jiggers, correct me if i\'m wrong. years ago i would either use jiggers or a trace with 4 or 5 feathers or multi coloured muppets baited up with fresh bait my prefrence being musell dropped over the side letting weight hit the bottom then reeling in a foot or two.
i think each to there own though


cheers
mark

 

[colossus]

Thanks Jason. I\'ll give that a try tomorrow. Looks like we\'ll catch the sun tomorrow if nothing else.

Very interesting site. Given me a few ideas of more money to spend :casstet:

[Edited on 1/6/2006 by colossus]

 

[davem2005]

The boats I have been out on from whitby use shads on a 3 foot trace attached to a boom/weight and there did not seem to be any significant problem with tangles. I think that on the drift everyones line streams out a different amount and so keeps the traces apart.

Also its not as if you never get jiggers tangled together.

Had an intresting trip last weekend for tope. They were chasing the baits up on the retrieve and hitting them in the mid to top water redgill fashion. One even grabbed a mackrel as it left the water and gave us a bit of a shock to say the least. Hopefully we caught it on video so I can put it online, but I have not seen the video yet to check. Finished the weekend with 9 tope landed and 25 lost! More practice required so I am going back this weekend

Jason...you have a pm

Dave

 

[Mike.Haley]

Thanks for all the feedback lads. Pirking is not the be all and end all of sea fishing in the north east. Yes, it does catch fish, but not all types and if we are to catch different species then we must try different methods and yes it is hard when you are on a charter with 11 blokes using pirks. All i am saying is \" if you get the chance to try something different, then do so \" you may be suprised at the results.

 

[MT]

can you catch rays off the north east coast and whers the tope?

 

[Norman]

Very interesting thread , thanks mike ............

I think it`s all a mixture, there seems no set winner in the lures V pirks debate.

Some days pirks ARE the be all and end all (although I prefer lures)

Some days pirks are impossible - like in a fast drift over a wreck as they snag so much easier.

To get the best result be prepared by having all at hand and be prepared to try everything. (who said fishing was a laid back leisure sport ?)

In general pirks are best in cleaner stiller water (by still I mean top of or bottom of tide) when they can be \"seen\" or \"felt\" by the fish ,
Lures are for cleaner water when sight is everything
Bait is for unclear water when the \"Smell\" is required to attract.

but of course a) this is only my view and b) even if it were totally correct , it doesn`t always work

Thought for this weekend sat 3rd and Sunday 4th June 2006
1. water been steady flatish for a week
2. sun shining
3. should be some mackerel around

ideas
5 mile wrecks look for mackerel
5 mile wrecks use hokkais baited with squid and rag
7 mile wrecks use pirks baited with mackerel
7 mile wrecks at low water try long traces with mackerel fillets for ling
7 mile wrecks if all else fails use daylightes baited with everything available

fish shop on way home , pick up fish !