The Art of Sliding

Transcription

The Art of Sliding

The Art of Sliding (Sliding for Sharks, Flatfish, Inedibles and Big edibles)
Intro
At the outset, let's just clarify that in all forms of angling, there will be some things that work for you and some that don't. There are no
hard and fast rules when it comes to fishing. With that in mind, this article is designed as a Basic Guide to those who wish to learn more
about the art of sliding a big bait.
With the drastic drop in catches over the last few decades and the depletion of our resources, anglers, being an innovative bunch, thought
out the box and came up with different ideas in order to increase their chances of catching fish. One of them was the Sliding technique.
Possibly one of the greatest changes to take place in our sport since the invention of Graphite rods, sliding is an expensive facet of angling.
Top end Tackle and Equipment must be used. Skimping on any aspect of the technique will result in disappointment.
Concept
Prior to the advent of sliding, one had to cast a big bait out as far as one could, in order to target the bigger fish in deeper waters.
The innovation of Sliding, now allows one to get large baits out much further. How? Instead of casting a big bait as we used to, we now
throw only a streamlined heavy sinker as far as possible, then with the use of a non-return slide, we can attach a large bait to a trace and
'slide' it out until it reaches the sinker. With the improved technology of the modern day multipliers and HMG rods, we are now capable of
placing a bait out where we could only dream of doing before. The records over the last 6-7 years alone will bear testimony to the fact that
Sliding has had a massive impact on the size of fish that an average angler is now capable of landing.
Don't get me wrong! Sliding is reasonably easy to do, once you know how; however, this technique is by no means easy to master. It takes
a lot of preparation, lots of skill and sometimes – depending on the conditions – a great deal of perseverance.
It demands:
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Top quality tackle, including line, leaders and all terminals
Perfect knots and preparation
The ability to load a strong, powerful rod in the cast
The knowledge of reading the sea and knowing where to put your bait.
An intimate knowledge of the drag functions of a reel and how to use it to your advantage in fighting a fish.
Fitness, Courage, patience and perseverance in landing the fish of your dreams!
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This is what you'll need:
- Rod:
A 13-14ft rod capable of throwing 8 to 10 oz sinkers, with enough rigidity or stiffness to be able to pressure a large weight.
Examples are the Assassin HMG blade, Pentagon Shark Extreme range and the Bazooka Heavy HMG. There are many other rods that are
suitable, most notably the Purglas 1 piece rods that many Cape anglers use. However, these are a problem to transport and with the extreme
technology of the modern day 3 piece rods, it seems pointless for the traveling angler to have to go this route.
It is also interesting to note that it was Assassin who pioneered the 3-piece HMG rods in South Africa, as well as designed the Flip-up
guide and Trigger winch, all of which are now standard on most top end rods.
- Reel:
A quality reel that can hold at least 500m of Braid backing with about 150-250m of 0.55 nylon on top. The reel should have a strong,
smooth drag system and quality Anti-reverse components.
Examples of capable reels are Shimano Trindad 30 and 40, Daiwa Saltiga 50, Daiwa Saltist 50, Torium 30.
- Braid:
A big Fish taking off on it's first run will often take more line than you would be able to fit on a reel if you were using mono alone. Enter
the braid backing. Good quality, low diameter braid is important, as this allows you much more line on the reel than the equivalent
breaking strain mono. The use of braided superlines is one of the technological breakthrough's that has allowed the art of sliding to become
a reality. On a normal size multiplier (Shimano 30; Daiwa 50), one is now capable of spooling 500m of braid on as backing, covered by
150-250m of Mono topshot.
The best braid is undoubtedly Berkley Whiplash Pro 50 lb, which has a claimed diameter of 0.17mm. This brand has landed many tons of
fish in the past few years.
Other good braids are Power Pro, Tuffline XP and Suffix Performance Braid, all of which are slightly thicker than the Whiplash.
- Main Line:
A good quality monofilament is essential, preferably one with good abrasion resistance. Minimum diameter should be 0.50mm, preferably
0.55mm.
Double X and Kingfisher Giant Abrasion are examples of good quality mainlines. Fishing with a High Viz coloured line helps with being
able to see your line more clearly, especially at night and where there are several anglers around you.
- Leaders:
A leader of at least 1mm diameter is advised for Shore angling. The leader should be about 9m long. Fishing off rocky points would
require a minimum leader of 1.2mm, increasing right up to 1.6mm and 1.8mm. At the end of the leader it is advisable to tie a length of 1m
of 175lb Carbon coated steel, onto which the Stopper Ring is attached. The reason for this is that a Shark's skin is sometimes very coarse
and rough, and during a lengthy fight, the nylon will become abraded. The steel prevents this from happening. Good quality leaders are the
Kingfisher brand of leaders up to 1mm and Suffix Zippy in the 1mm and 1.2mm range. In the larger sizes, 1.2mm and upwards, Shogun
make a good value leader, but the best is the Berkley Big Game leader range.
Joining large size leaders to mainline has provided a specific problem - the knot made at the join is rather a bulky one, which clatters
through the rod guides on casting. Many anglers have moved over to the Wind-on type leader, which is connected to the mainline by a
very slim Modified Cats Paw knot, which can easily be casted without fear of breaking the guides. The commercially available wind-ons
are usually not very good quality and don't meet the Rock and Surf casting characteristics necessary for South African conditions - most
guys now make their own Wind-on's in order to be sure of quality.
Other anglers also use the Tapered leaders from T-Line. These also make the knot manageable, but the jury is still out as to their strength
and durability. A prominent TV angler uses them quite extensively and has made some great catches on them.
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- Sinkers:
A Wire grapnel sinker is essential, because in order to slide a Big bait out, one needs to have a fixed point at the end of your line - this
allows your mainline to become tightened, which allows the slide to move down the mainline smoothly. The biggest failure of the sliding
technique is when anglers do not allow their sinkers to settle adequately. It is critical to the success of a slide that the mainline remains
under tension throughout the procedure. A loose mainline will result in the bait not reaching the end point, and when a fish picks it up, the
slack line will result in a burn off.
Sinkers should be in the 8oz range for medium size baits, and in the 9-10oz range where a bigger bait is used, or when there is a strong
sidewash, current or surge.
Sinkers should have 2mm steel grapnels - guard against using the 1.6mm grapnels, as these bend too easily allowing the sinker to become
dislodged.
The sinker is tied to the Stopper ring using a diameter mono that is slightly less than your mainline. Should you not be able to dislodge
your sinker on retrieval, the sinker line will break, and you won't lose your entire trace or fish. Another good idea to prevent losing your
entire trace is to tie an overhand knot in your sinker line. This weakens the line by about 40% and under pressure, the line will break at this
point.
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The Blackfin DVD team worked out an interesting fact about the Grapnel sinkers and demonstrated it in one of their videos. The longer the
boom of the Sinker, the quicker, and better the Sinker buries itself in sand. What this essentially means that off beaches, one should use a
long boom sinker.
This is a pic comparing the different lengths of boom on Grapnels. If you look carefully, the middle sinker has 1.6mm grapnels, which is
not ideal.
These Grapnels have not been activated yet - they are still in the unbent phase - suitable for transporting.
How to bend the Grapnels in order to activate them for maximum grip:
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Often one would want to have a practice cast to wet and stretch your line on reaching your destination, before putting your definitive cast
in. What to do then would be to unclip the Grapnels as in the pic below...
When connecting the main steel to the Stopper Ring, I prefer to bypass the swivel, as this just adds another part to the setup that can fail. I
would rather have the Swivel fail on the sinker side rather than on the Trace/fish side!
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With larger leaders, it becomes increasingly difficult to tie reliable knots to the Stopper Ring.
A thimble helps the process...
Once connected to the Stopper Ring swivel, the sinker is clipped to the Stopper Ring as shown and ready to cast. If you forget to clip your
sinker, then it's Bye-bye sinker! ;-)
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- Slide trace:
The quality of the Non-return clip is of utmost importance – most of the commercially made slides are not up to scratch as the spring steel
used is not strong enough, and bend under heavy pressure. These were primarily designed for edible fishing and are not suitable for
Inedibles. Several anglers manufacture their own Slides, these are usually high quality and are sold in reputable specialist Tackle stores. As
in all facets of fishing, the old addage of "goedkoop is duurkoop" certainly is true here. It is important that the Slide trace has quality
proper Power swivels and not Barrel swivels. These will fail under pressure.
Weighted slides are now the most common slide to use, since it helps the bait move in the right direction. The non-weighted slides will
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always run a greater risk of being tangled round the mainline.
This how the Non-return slide is designed to function:
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Trace and Hooks
Attached to the Non return Slide is a length of 200lb Carbon Coated steel, to which 2 hooks are attached - the distance between the hooks
is decided on the size of bait you intend using. Normally, we use 10/0 Daiichi Hooks, but there is something to be said for fishing with
circle hooks - the Mustad Z-circles are a good option. Other good brands include the Mustad Kendal Rounds, Gamakatsu 10/0's and the
VMC Circle hooks.
- Trace Length
Another important factor in Slide Trace construction is the length of the trace.
Long traces, up to 1m, are suitable for use when sliding straight off high rocky points into deep water (like many of the Transkei deep
water points).
But the mistake many anglers make when fishing beaches however, is that they make their traces too long.
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When sliding off beaches, especially in the KZN North Coast, one almost invariably has to slide through fairly shallow water where
sandbanks are almost always present. A long trace will drag on the sea bottom and this will certainly prevent your bait from reaching it's
destination. For beaches then, a length of 50cm is preferred. Shorter than 50cm and you run the risk of your bait tangling in your mainline
through wave action.
- Rigging the bait:
Baiting up is the business end of successfully hooking and landing big fish. One should always try make the bait appear natural, or lifelike
in the water. The bait should be streamlined, with the smallest diameter of the bait facing upwards, and the largest diameter facing
downwards. This allows the bait to move through the water with the least resistance.
The top hook, being the weight-bearing hook, should be hooked through the top and bottom jaws of the bait, thus making the fish ‘swim
forwards’ in the water, never hook your bait on tail up, one never sees a fish swimming backwards! Where the bait hasn't got jaws or
skeleton to hook into, a cable tie helps to secure the top hook.
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When using live bait, rig it up exactly the same way except that the top hook (weight-bearing hook), must be hooked through the top or
bottom jaw, so the fish can still open its mouth to breath and stay alive longer.
After lining up the hooks next to your bait, make a mark on the bait where the eye of the 2nd hook should finish. Now turn the 2nd hook
upside down and insert it at the mark as shown below. Starting at no. 1, it ends at no. 4, and then is pinned with a Toothpick through the
eye of the hook.
Now the weight bearing hook can be set through both jaws.
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Very often, a toothpick won't fit through the eye of the hook - these pretty little numbers come in handy!
- Baits:
This obviously depends on where you're fishing and what species you are targeting. For Sharks and
Inedibles, in general, the preferred baits are Mackerel, dead or live shad (in season of course),
Bonnies (Eastern Little Tuna) , Sarda-Sarda, Yellowtail, sardines in the sardine season, whole
Chokka and Octopus. Chokka works extremely well in clean, warmer water. Another method of
spicing your bait up is to use a squid skirt above the Top hook. The metal Couta dusters with glitter
in them - Pink and Silver work very well. The plastic Yamashita skirts in Pink are also a very
effective attractant. The skirt gives the bait more movement in the water and a little colour, which
in clean water can be seen from far away. Blackfin sharks are suckers for a Silver Couta duster in
clean water. Combo baits are very effective... a bit of imagination can go a long way to making an
effective bait. Eg: A small whole Mackerel with a whole Sardine split, flapped open and tied on the
side with bait cotton, belly up, can provide excellent results. More scent in the water using blood
always works. More on baits later...
- Getting the bait out there:
Casting prowess is of utmost importance.
Putting your sinker exactly where you want it is 50% of the battle won! Fishing deeper points, casting distance is not as critical, but off
beaches and flatter profile terrain, distance is crucial. It is almost always the further casts that get the pulls in this aspect of fishing. Off flat
beaches, there are almost always sandbanks ahead of you. It is pointless to cast directly onto a near shallow sandbank. Therefore, wading is
often necessary. On some beaches, one can wade out almost 100m and more to reach a sandbank, and then cast from there into the deeper
water. This often means that you would be casting in chest deep water! This is a skill that needs to be developed and practised. The best
way of practising this, is to stand on your knees and cast - this will teach you how to vary the level of your drop and use upper body
strength to cast with, because very often, you won't have a firm footing underneath you when wading.
Getting the bait out:
To propel the bait out to your sinker is the tricky part. First test that your sinker is settled. What most guys do, is cast their sinker out, then
leave it there while you prepare your bait. Once you're satisfied that the sinker is settled, keep the line tight, then unclick the cast lever on
your reel, pull the rod tip back over your head to behind you, grab your mainline and click your cast lever back on. Reel in the tension
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again so that the line is tight once again. Clip your bait onto the line while dipping your rod flat in front of you. Then when you're ready to
release the bait, pull your rod tip back up to the vertical quite violently, while letting go the bait. This propels the bait down the mainline
towards the surf. At the same time, start reeling quickly just to maintain the tight tension on the line. When the bait hits the water, start
shaking the tip of the rod vigorously - vigorously means that while you're shaking, your eyeballs can hardly focus! You'll find that the Bait
will skip across the water. When a wave approaches, pull the rod to the vertical to keep tight tension on the line and stop shaking - it's
important that when a wave strikes your bait, there should be no slack in the mainline - this will prevent a wave wrapping your Slide trace
around the mainline. As the wave strikes the bait, the non return element of the slide will function - stopping the bait from going back up
the line, and if your line is tight enough, there won't be any wrapping.
Once the wave has passed, continue shaking vigorously as long as you can see your bait. Once it disappears, it has gone into deeper water,
then the shaking should change to long sweeps of the rod, from near vertical to horizontally in front of you. By now, you'll be pretty
knackered, so to take the strain off your arms and upper body, turn your back to the sea and put your rod over one of your shoulders, using
your shoulder as a pivot point, pull the rod butt down and then up to the horizontal again. Continue doing this in long slow sweeps for
about 5 minutes. Your bait should then reach it's destination. Sometimes, you will feel a 'clunk' as the bait reaches the Stopper ring.Now it's
time to put your rod into a pension pipe if you're lazy, and release the drag on the reel, so that you can pull line off the reel with 2 fingers.
Click the ratchet on, and now the waiting begins... take the chance to rehydrate yourself and have something to eat, because once you're on,
there will be no time or sense for that! Also familiarize yourself as to where your Hook remover, camera, Tape measure and line glove are.
You don't want to be scratching around frantically looking for these while your fish is slowly suffocating on dry land!
How to clip your Slide onto your mainline
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Now see how easy it is with the SHAKE DOWN SLIDE!
- Hooking the fish on a slide:
Once your ratchet goes off, this is where many an over impulsive angler will lose a hookup. The secret here is not to strike at all! When
you feel the fish take off with the bait, allow the fish time to swallow the bait properly and move off with your bait. Simply allow it to take
line, while slowly dropping your rod tip. Start reeling in gently until you are sure that the clip is at the slide ring. Once you feel pressure on
your line again, then lift the rod tip in order to set the hook. If you strike hard and your clip is not at the Stopper ring, you will get burnt
off! Do this gently, allow the fish to take the bait all the way to the Stopper ring and you won’t get burnt off.
- Getting burnt off:
Many fish are lost this way. The reason this happens is that the fish picks the bait up before it reaches the end of your line. This happens
most often when fishing in a current. When fishing in a current, I am pretty sure that 8 times out of 10, the bait does not reach the Stopper
ring. The current causes a bow in your line and the bait does not slide out all the way. To help prevent this, once you've cast your sinker
out, take note of which way the surge or current is flowing. When you're ready to slide, pull your line as tight as possible and walk at least
20-30 metres up current before you slide your bait. Sliding with the current will help your bait reach the sinker.
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Let's just clarify what knots to use and where...
Joining Braid backing to Nylon topshot/mainline
2 options:
* Braid stitch loop in braid, Bimini in mainline, joined by a Cats Paw Knot.
* Bimini braid, bimini mainline, joined by a Cats Paw.
Nylon mainline to Ordinary leader
* Bimini mainline to Double Fig 8
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Nylon mainline to Wind-on leader
* Bimini in mainline joined to Wind-on with the Modified CatsPaw knot.
Leader to 1m 175lb Carbon coated steel
* Albright knot, or
* Double Fig 8, or
* Power swivel
Slide trace connections
Bottom hook
* Flemish eye with wraps
* Flemish eye with crimp
* Fig 8
Weight bearing hook
* Snell knot in wire
Steel to Slide
* Flemish eye with wraps]
* Flemish eye with crimps
* Fig 8
* Swivel loop with wraps
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The Art of Sliding

Transcription

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