Greetings all,

I have a theory that I believe is quite unique that can be backed up by what I know to be irrefutable evidence.

You see I’ve been studying fish now for over 40 years and there is one commonality that I have witnessed during that time that cannot be disputed. Rest assured, there can be no counter arguments or counter claims. I have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that will take the sting and mystery out of so-called killer shark “attacks”.

Sit back and relax, take a deep breath as this astounding observation and revelation may shock you…

Guess what? After years of intense study, it is my belief and understanding that neither fish or sharks were blessed with an opposable thumb and forefinger. In fact, they don’t have hands (or arms) at all – amazing!

Unless they’re sold in supermarkets, fish fingers just don’t exist.

What the?


So that being the case the real question to ask yourself is (drum role please) “how do they pick things up?”

Ahhhh…with their mouths of course!

Fish use their mouths to test just about anything that takes their fancy and a popular misconception is that everything they pick up they intend to eat.

That is so wrong!

In fact nine times out of ten a fish will pick something up with its mouth and then unceremoniously spit it straight out. This is similar to how human beings pick up things with their hands and then discard them. Interestingly a newborn child will also display this trait. Ask any new mother and they will tell you that everything has a tendency to be picked up and tested in a new born’s mouth.

There are two morals to this story.

Firstly for fishermen it is important to consider the attractiveness and even downright curious nature of what we present to the fish to encourage it to sample the bait or lure in its mouth.

The other moral is that the shark has been blamed for “attacking” people and for being a real “man eater” whilst the truth is that they are not swimming around the ocean looking for people to eat. Think for a moment – how many people have actually been eaten whole by a shark? You would be hard pressed to think of a single incident and with the numbers of sharks killed and ripped open if it was the case there would be whole human carcasses flopping out of their entrails on docks across the world. It’s simply not the case.

Ask yourself how many people have been “attacked” and spat out and it’s quite obvious that the vast majority have.

And I believe it’s all because of the simple fact that poor old sharks don’t have hands…

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

Greetings all,

It was yet another rock fishing tragedy last week at NSW’s Catherine Hill Bay with five people being swept to their deaths off Flat Rock. This is a narrow piece of rock area that juts out to sea for about 700 metres and is therefore exposed to elements from all sides.

I can’t say that I’ve visited this spot but apparently a life ring was deployed at the scene.

I’ve blogged before about the dangers of rockfishing and have even compared shark attacks statistics with deaths from the sport – see Real Fishos Fear Rocks not Sharks. Apparently the incident at Flat Rock was the ninth reported there in less than two years. My heart goes out to the families involved and regardless of your point of view about the suitability of the conditions and the choice the victims made that day to fish there it remains an absolute tragedy.

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So the question to ask is how do we stop the next rock fishing incident? Check out this bloke who defends his actions because he has fished the spot since the age of 12…

As one unedited fisho on YouTube put it…

“risking ur life for a piddley little luderick…? MATE WE BAG OUT ON THEM UP TO 45CM IN THE RIVER…. Thats crazy. I can see another vietnamese fisherman from my area losing his life chasing a chopper tailor in rubber thongs? after watching such clips.”

Anyway, back to some positive news – so called Angel Rings (see www.angelrings.com.au) have been installed at popular rock fishing spots along the coast of NSW and these have been a great innovation and a wonderful initiative to try and make the sport safer.

Rock cleats have been popular amongst rock fisherman for some time. These give the fisherman better grip on moss and weed covered rock and also a bit more balance when struck by swell. I would never advocate fencing off the Australian coastline to protect people from themselves but the suggestion to introduce compulsory life jackets for rock fisherman in my mind is worthwhile considering.

Boaties have been wearing life jackets when navigating dangerous bar crossings for years and I don’t believe that it would be a huge impost to rock fisherman to do the same. Respect for the sea and ocean should be one of the first lessons any rock fisherman learns. I’m sure they could be worn in such a way as to offer little impediment to fishing activities.

I’m pretty sure that these people lost at Catherine Hill Bay may have stood a better chance if they were equipped with a personal flotation device. It may even save the so called experts who have fished spots since the age of 12!

Thoughts?

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

Greetings all,

Well it seems such a long time since I posted a story about fishing so I thought I’d dust off one of my old chestnuts to share with you all.

This is going to shock a lot of you – so prepare yourself for this bombshell I’m about to drop.

Before I tell you this well kept secret about fish, I’ll tell you the story about a guy working a buzz saw in a wood-chip mill who inadvertently sliced off all of his fingers whilst guiding the timber through. He rushed off to the doctor who asked him why he didn’t bring his fingers with him so he could sew them back on. “I couldn’t pick them up” he replied.

So here it is… the big one…

Fish don’t have hands.

There, I’ve said it. That is one of the biggest lessons a fisherman can ever learn. Trust me on this one.

Anyone who has had children knows that when their babies are young they test everything with their mouth and believe it or not fish are the same. And just like young kids and babies, not everything they pick up in their mouth is eaten. In a sense it is just tasted, tested and discarded. Although fish don’t have hands and fingers to pick things up they are nonetheless curious creatures like you and me and will pick things up with their mouths.

So what has this got to do with beads, braid and baited hooks.

Whilst bobbing up and down some ten mile offshore one day with a fishing club that had an average age of membership of 75 years I noticed that the two old blokes who caught the most fish week in, week out had a couple of things in common.

Sure, each of them used fresh bait but so did a lot of other guys on the boat. Their gear was similar to everyone else except for the fact that they used beads just above their hooks. That’s right – beads. I remember reading old books about catching whiting from the beach and using a red rubber tube just above the hook to attract them. Fish don’t have hands and fingers so they see the tube or the beads and are tempted to find out what the hell is going on with them. And that’s when they are hooked!

By the way, one of the other reasons these two old blokes caught more than their fair share of fish was the fact that they lifted and dropped their baits up and down with their rods. They were the first to explain to me that people fishing on bow or starboard positions on a boat often caught more fish because of the natural pitching and rolling of the boat lifting their baits up and down.

Anyway, I hope you found that little discourse of interest and that next time you’re out on the water you try the same method.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

Greetings all,

This week, guest blogger Greg Booth shares a poignant story of shattered angling pride as he is out-fished and maybe even a little out-drank by his lady fishing companion Jess….

Beginners luck or am I really just that bad?

Jess with a healthy Gold Coast Pin Flathead

Decided to take out the boat today to introduce Jess to fishing. Up until today she had never held a rod in her hands (concentrate boys!!) so I thought we might head out to the Pin area and tickle up a trusty flathead. So it was at the more reasonable time of 930am that we hit the water and set a course bearing to flathead county!

Jess seemed to be an almost natural at this fishing caper as no sooner had we dropped anchor she announced ‘I think I will have a beer’! And the sun was nowhere near over the yard arm yet.

Anyway so I put on a trusty 3 inch grub in pumpkin seed colour, I mean seriously what flathead does not like them and with a 5 second lesson in how to cast and retrieve I left her to her own devices. It was only 1 cast later that Jess’s rod buckled over and she announced ‘What the’? She was on to her first fish, so giving guidance on how to play the fish like a pro whilst appearing to remain calm and in control for the spectator fleet, up came a little flathead of about 28cm.

We had the obligatory ‘look what I caught photo’s’ and these were promptly sms’ed too all and sundry when I politely reminded the pro angler that the fish was still flapping around on the deck and it was hers to deal with. Anyway, like the true deckie I can later confirm I was to become I unhooked the little devil, gave him a few words of encouragement and sent him back to the depths.

A few more casts around the area and again the pros rod buckles over and this one is taking line. Oh man I thought, why wasn’t I on that side of the boat? Another short struggle later I am ordered to get the net to land a good size keeper of 46cm.

Mmmmmm this was starting to look a little embarrassing!

So I pondered for a short while about my technique and was a reading too much into it? Should I just be dangling my rod tip in the water making ‘pretty patterns’ with it and every now and then winding in and casting out again as that is what seems to be working! No sooner had I revised my technique and the pros rod in doubled over in pain again and this time some serious line is disappearing as the rod is getting dragged from port to starboard, from stern to bow. At this point I thought ‘is it wrong of me to secretly hope the next catch would be a shovel nose or ray’?

But my dreams were soon dashed as a monster croc surfaces next to the boat, takes one look at, well not me and then darts back for the sea floor. The fish was fought with some serious lift and wind technique complete with bent knees to absorbs the runs and before much more ado a 58cm flathead was in the net.


You guessed it, more pics, more sms……

I was burning up inside by this point as I hadn’t even landed 1 fish yet, so it was a change of hook, change of plastic ‘Hey Jess, what are you using’ and back in with some serious casting action. Instantly I was rewarded for my game tactics and I proudly fought and worked an 18cm bream all the way to the boat like a real fisherman. ‘Did you see that, that’s how you fight a fish I proclaimed!

A mutual decision was then made by me, that we were not leaving this location till I boat a keeper. So onwards we fished, me with all the passion and enthusiasm I could muster and Jess, well like any girl who has now had a few beers.

Success!! I was on and it was man versus fish with the machine in the middle! Pictures were still fresh in my mind about the shark ravaged jack and others so I turned that egg beater like I was making, well scrambled eggs and up to the surface popped a healthy 47cm flathead. My turn to call for the net I thought, and Jess decided that before she obliged, she would cast her line out again just in case. Not wanting to lose my trophy (read only) lizard I left him swimming in the water till the net lady (whoops, sorry pro) arrived and in the meantime my fish had swam a few laps of the motor leg and was now scratching itself on the transducer bracket. If I was to lose my moment of glory there was going to be some serious smacks!

Net was fetched, fish was safely boated and smiles all round! Pictures taken, but no sms for me as I am currently sporting a 2000 model Nokia 8210 on my hip and pretty sure the grey scale screen could not capture the moment in all its glory. Well that, and it doesn’t even have a camera.

Stumps were called and it was time to find my friend’s houseboat for some relaxing beers and a spa before heading home. We had a great afternoon on the rums chatting around the spa on the top deck of what looked like an over-sized shoebox before heading home.

A great day out, good times, good company, and good fun!

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Well better luck with the flatties next time Greg but it sounded like you and Jess had an alright day just the same.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

Shortfin Mako Shark - not so prevalent in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic Oceans

Greetings all,

Whilst the Environment Minister Mr Peter Garrett is not handing out free roof insulation he is on to more pressing issues – like redrafting legislation that would have seen the end of recreational mako shark fishing throughout the country at the end of January. Angry anglers from around the nation put together a petition signed by over 5000 people seeking to have the proposed ban lifted. Thankfully common sense – an often missing element in Australian politics – seems to have won through and legislation will be introduced to see keen Australian fisherman legally still chasing the marvelous Mako shark after January 31st 2010.

For the record the longfin mako, shortfin mako and porbeagle sharks were to be included on the endangered species list and fishing banned for these species as from January 29, 2010. Many boaties have invested plenty in fishing tackle and vessels to be able to catch these species and of course charter boat operators were concerned for their livelihoods. Others contemplated the ban spreading to other recreational targeted fish such as coral trout and giant trevally to name a couple and tackle stores around the country were left very concerned indeed.

That being said – why is the mako shark being added to this list?

Well apparently the mako’s problem is not associated with Australian waters but their numbers have dwindled in the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The United Nations sponsored Convention on Migratory Species is listing several sharks, including short-finned makos, for complete protection and Australia is a signatory to an international treaty and “is prohibited to “kill, injure or take” members of a listed migratory species in Commonwealth waters.”

The funny thing is the local population of mako’s have nothing to do with northern waters. Biologically the ban makes no sense whatsoever because there is no sharing of populations between the impacted areas. Furthermore, the mako’s are not under threat in Australian waters at all and are a popular tag and release species. In fact, the Fishing and Reef Tour Specialists are off to the southern coast of NSW to target this species in an overnight adventure in June of this year which could have been called off if this nonsensical ban continued.

Bans are already in place for other sharks such as the great white and the grey nurse.

Next week I will run through the life cycle of the mako shark.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

PS. For the latest update on the mako fishing ban see;

http://skippermeggs.com/blog/index.php/mako-shark-ban-confusion-can-you-target-take-or-tag/

Greetings all,

I’ve just come back from fishing down at Lambeth Park along the Georges River in south western Sydney after chasing some bream. I managed a couple of small fish but didn’t get anything  of any size and I burleyed the water with a mixture of bread, prawn heads, oyster shells, sand and salt water for a few hours all to no avail.

Whilst I was there I did notice that there was a lot of activity at certain times with fish jumping out of the water left right and centre so I thought a good topic for discussion would be to try and explain why fish jump. When you think about it all manner of fish jump out of water – everything from your humble goldfish in your freshwater tank to whales. There’s not too many whales in the Georges River and thankfully no goldfish either but still the likes of mullet and bream put on a show from time time jumping out of the water when you least expect it. So why is this so?

Ok, there are several schools of thought….

Some marine biologists believe that some species of fish jump out of the water to help them loosen their eggs prior to spawning (eg the salmon) or to get rid of certain parasites like sea lice or suckers like remoras. Another popular belief is that jumping out of the water and crashing back down is a great way for a fish to scratch itself! Some fish eg Coral Trout rush out of the water as part of their mateship and courtship ritual and some scientists even believe that such behaviour in larger fish may be due to the assertion of dominance amongst a school to attract a mate.

A popular reason for jumping fish is that some fish feed on insects that lie on top of of the water and when they see them they jump out of the water to catch them. This theory obviously has some merit as there a number of fish including trout that feed in this manner.

Of course some fish jump to move away from predators and this is a common sight when you are fishing offshore with both prey and predators jumping in and out of the water in a battle for survival.

But for me there is one major reason why certain fish jump out of water – it’s because they can! The higher up the food chain you go the ability for creatures to run around and have fun and expel excess energy by exertion through running, jumping or playing is commonplace. I firmly believe that most of the fish I see in the Georges River jumping are simply enjoying themselves being a fish.

In some places in the world jumping fish can be quite dangerous. Remember there was a fatality a few years back when a woman was struck by a stingray when it jumped out of the water and struck her whilst she was on a boat that was powering through the water in the Florida Keys.

The final reason as to why a fish would jump is so that it can get away from a disturbance in the water. When the population of fish is so dense that it is impossible for them to make headway jumping seems an easier alternative. Some leaping fish are serial pests and lets hope we never experience a carp invasion in the Georges River like the one below in Illinois….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8OmEr7VqI

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Skipper Meggs crew in Lifou with the Pacific Dawn in the background

Greetings all,

Well what a couple of weeks it has been – with Skipper Meggs and his family celebrating his daughter’s 21st birthday on the high seas with the sensational P&O team and the Pacific Dawn. For those of you that have never been on a cruise I can thoroughly recommend it – the staff are absolutely fantastic and there is just too much to do on and off the ship to possibly fit everything in. My special thanks go out to people like Cheryl on the front desk, Madlene in the casino bar, croupiers Joah, Bunny, Gerald and Preciville and of course our cleaner Roy.

We did have a bit of a false start and lost a day of the trip which meant that we bypassed Luganville which was unfortunate because I had a mate who ran a plantation across from there on Aore Island and I was looking forward to that port of call. Anyway there is a different reason for this post…

Many years ago I read a book called “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston and I always remember the opening where he paints a picture of a guy on a plane throwing up in a brown paper bag. He describes in detail how a disease can travel around the globe quite easily if the germ associated with it spreads through a plane full of people simply by having them breathe it in. An airborne virus could have tragic results.

So what has this to do with The Pacific Dawn?


Well the ship has been made infamous in the past with its connection to Swine Flu and I’m not making any accusations that there is still evidence of any continued epidemic on board. What I will say is that all three people in my cabin and several others in nearby ones were all struck down by a mystery bug that caused vomiting, diarrhea and flu like symptoms (sore throat, cold, runny nose etc). None of our crew took advantage of a rumored $500+ doctor visit and diagnosis and the illness took place on the second or third last day of the trip. The staff explained to us that it was just sea sickness but clearly this wasn’t the case. I for one love the sea and the rocking of the boat actually sends me to sleep. I didn’t even notice any movement of the ship whilst I was sick because I was too worried about throwing up again! Both my mother (a veteran of many cruises without any hint of sea sickness) and I fell ill last Thursday night vomiting and going to the toilet every hour. My wife fell ill the following night.

I mus be one of the very few people in the world to have spent 10 days on a cruise and actually lose weight!

To further prove the point that it couldn’t have been sea sickness I got a call from my son last Sunday claiming he had “Land sickness” with the exact same symptoms as us. A few days later his prospective in-laws fell ill as well.

The dynamics of the cruise are thus; roughly 2000 passengers and 700 staff visiting 4 ports of call across a ten day cruise. The cleaning staff are fantastic. It was said that one guy’s cleaner was so good that when he went to the toilet in the middle of the night he came back and his bed was made! The cruises turnaround pretty quickly – they come into port one day and are gone the next. The cabins aren’t tiny but it’s not as if you can open a port hole to let some air in either. I’m not sure I’d like to be amongst the bunch of people staying in our cabin for the next trip and I wonder about the history of our room before we got on board.

Anyway, like I said – we did have a ball! I was upset that I couldn’t get to eat the chili mud crab at the Steak House because of my wife and I’s illness. I would have no hesitation in recommending the cruise and the Pacific Dawn to everyone and the proof of this is the answer to the question would I ever go again?

Too right I would!

If you’ve had a similar experience on the Pacific Dawn or any other cruise liner let me know by sending through your comments below.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Snapper leads are for fishing not for throwing!

Greetings!

I’ve just returned from a week’s holiday at one of southern NSW’s prettiest towns – Sussex Inlet. The weather was not kind to us but with great company and the help of four local drinking establishments we all managed to have a fantastic trip.

There was one minor moment for some concern.

Whilst we were putting the boat in a certain height disadvantaged individual who I never care to meet again started rabbiting on about how I owe him a beer because he spent all day “fixing up the boat ramp”.  Most people just say hi, how you going? Now I’m the type of guy who doesn’t need to be told who I need to owe a beer to because it’s always self evident. There was no sign on this ramp that said “Must buy small man syndrome individual beer for making himself feel important”.

There are a couple of points to be made here. Those of you who have been to Sussex Inlet would attest to the fact that there are no shortage of boat ramps in and around the town. There is also nothing wrong with the ramp in question that needed to be fixed. This bloke just came along and put down a load of bricks at the end of the ramp for his own use. Our boat and trailer didn’t come close to needing any of it to launch and retrieve the boat safely.

Just as abhorent was the next statement to come out of this blokes mouth that he had spent the last two days finding the best fishing spots in Sussex Inlet and that if our boat was to come within 150m of him he would start to throw snapper leads at us. Can you believe that?

Not only was this guy the saviour of the ramp his boat was one huge fish magnet!


He then described how people use to throw snapper leads at him – this I could understand. Unfortunately mine were back at the unit.

Stupidity is obviously inherited as his son aboard the vessel pointed to the water and declared a 55cm flathead was lying below. Clearly he was his father’s son and not afraid to spin a story.

I’m not prone to violence and I did bite my tongue and walk away. The fact was we weren’t going fishing that night anyway – we just wanted to put the boat in and tie it to our jetty. All this took place in five minutes of us arriving at the ramp.

As the week went on we did get a few laughs out of the thought of tossing snapper leads at passing boats but clearly there was something dangerously wrong with this individual to even think about putting the safety of people on the water at risk in this manner, let alone thinking he had the right to all the fish in Sussex Inlet within a 150m radius of his boat.

As a postscript to this story justice did seem to prevail. It blew a gale, the heavens opened up and God put on a thunder and lightning show like you wouldn’t believe whilst our new friend (the one who I and apparently everyone in Sussex Inlet still owes a beer to) was on the water.

The lesson here is clear. Always be kind and considerate to your fellow fishermen and boaties. You don’t have to be an idiot at the ramp. All you need to do is to say hi, smile and get on your way.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Pilchards and Squid are reasonable bait when livies aren't available

Ok, today we continue the second half of our feature on fishing the Far North Qld reefs.

Of course as in any situation fish you are keen to keep should be placed on ice as soon as possible.

Smaller fish, and believe me in far north Queensland you may be surprised on what constitutes smaller fish, may come
to the surface too quick and may have an enlarged swim bladder. You should put a small hole in the swim bladder before returning the fish to the deep. Without this operation and with the swim bladder extended the fish is easy prey for any bird or shark because the swollen bladder acts as a balloon and keeps the fish afloat preventing it from descending to the deep.

A gentle prick either through its mouth or through the vent of the fish is all that is needed for the fish to swim back to safety. The swim bladder will repair itself in quick time with little damage to the fish.


If you are fishing amongst the coral there will be those moments when you are snagged on the bottom. An advantage of
fishing with a handline is that it makes it very simple to retrieve your hook, line and sinker without too much hassle.

Ok, first what not to do…. don’t yank your line upwards or wrap it around a bollard or strain and pull as hard as you can as this will only serve to set the hook.

If you feel that you have caught the earth the best method of retrieval when handlining is to loosen the line a little and then give a forceful downward tap a few times. This will cause your sinker to work its way towards the hook and the tapping motion will work the hook away from whatever it has taken hold of.

Try it. It does take a little time to get use to but it will save you a fortune in hooks and a heap of time in having to re-rig.

Before embarking on the trip my advice would also be to invest in a Queensland Fisheries sticker and make sure that you have that handy when you go fishing. You will be amazed at some of the size limits of the fish that can be taken in these waters. For example a coral trout needs to be 45cm long and a red emporer needs to 60cm long.

Without the sticker depicting legal fish lengths you could run the risk of keeping under sized fish.

Until next week!

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

An inner tube takes the pain out of retrieves and lets you feel the bite

Fishing the FNQ Reefs Part 1

One of the biggest mistakes southern fishermen make in far north Qld is that they fish way too light for the area and they also insist on using rod and reels to catch bottom fish because that’s the way they do it at home.

Of course you can use the rods and reels for casting poppers and for trolling but when it comes to hauling in fish from the deep and enclosed reef sections you can’t go pass that tool of the trade that most fishermen started off with – the humble handline.

Not that I’m talking about any old handline! It is best to fish with 80lb nylon, no trace and a bean sinker straight on top of a 9/0 hook and there’s some tricks to learn even after that.

The first has to do with etiquette on the deck.

Whilst fishing with a handline you should leave the spool on the deck of the boat and when you wind the line in this should fall at your feet.

You shouldn’t bother to wind the line back onto the spool until after the day’s fishing.

This has two impacts; it allows you to retrieve line quickly and it also saves you from losing your spool overboard if it is taken by a huge fish.

The next thing to remember is how to let the line out of the boat once you have it loose on the deck. The trick here is to throw the baited hook, line and sinker over the side and every 10 metres stop the line so that that the sinker can catch up to the hook.

If you don’t do this you will find that the sinker can run up the line creating twists and tangles.

So how should the hook itself be baited? I can assure you a couple of things. Big hooks require a substantial amount of bait. I would recommend that you first put on a whole squid and then on top of that half a pilchard or fish pieces to the bottom half of the hook.

The fish that you are trying to catch have very large mouths and are looking for a decent feed so it’s important to oblige them if possible.

As for the technique to use to hook the fish this is the most difficult part of the exercise but you can practice whilst on board.

When your bait hits the bottom of the ocean you may find that familiar tap tap tap on the end. My advice is to at first give a little bit of line and then with a substantial horizontal pull of line set the hook and continue to arm over arm bring in the fish.

This is why it is important to fish with handlines as opposed to a fishing rod.

The first one metre of fight is the most important.

The fish that you are going for live on the bottom of the coral reefs and are protected from predators in caves and holes where sharks and other enemies are unable to get them.

They take a huge risk in leaving their place of refuge to take the bait and you must win the battle in the first one metre. If you are too slow trying to reel in a fish with a rod and reel you may lose this fight.

Pulling the fish in an upward manner may extract the hooks from its mouth.


The art of pulling the line in horizontally causes the line to tighten in such a way that sets the hooks.

Next the arm over arm technique where either your left or right hand is pulling in line at the rate of between 1 to 2 metres at a time is necessary for a very good reason – sharks!

A fishing rod is not very effective in these parts of the Australian coastline because predators keep an eye out for every morsel they can get and none comes as cheap as those that are caught and skull dragged to the surface using a conventional fishing rod.

That’s not to say that you won’t lose good fish to sharks if you fish with a hand line – it is still possible – but you will win more fish than you lose using this method.

Using the thick 80 pound line and catching large fish can be highly damaging to your hands and fingers and one way to overcome this is to use a finger grip that wraps around the index finger. You can make one of these out of rubber tubing and slot it over your index finger.

In this way you can still use the tip of your index finger to feel the bites but when the hard work comes and you need to haul in a huge fish the rubber ring can save severe line cuts to your hands.

Anyway until next week…

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs