There had been some good reports of Hairtail coming from Cowan Creek in northern Sydney over the past few weeks so Mark and Andrew hitched up the boat and took an early Tuesday afternoon.
Jerusalem Bay is a picturesque appendage to the Cowan Creek System with deep, clear rocky shorelines and bays with very little current. The bay can also hold a lot of bait so sees a lot of fish activity at times. The best method for catching Hairtail is to fish a tide rising to its peak just after dusk with pilchards on ganged hooks. We thought the Tru-Turn Gangs would be perfect for the task so we packed a range of them and a block of good quality bait.
Jerusalem Bay is a great place to target Hairtail.
The Tru-Turn gang hooks are cone cut permasteel 711’s joined with rolling swivels, they’re super strong and super sharp! The high quality rolling swivels they are linked with allow the Tru-Turn cam action to work, making the hook strike back into the mouth of the fish and secure a strong hold, even on a tentative bite.
There is a great range of Tru-Turn Gangs available
We made some interesting discoveries about the way to catch these fish throughout the night. They don’t attack and eat the bait even though they look like they would be mad slashers. They are a subtle biter and you need a really sharp hook to get them to hook up. They tend to grab the bait and hang onto it before trying to eat it. |
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It would also seem that hook size is as important as the sharpness of the point. At first Mark was using 3/0 gangs while Andrew had 4/0’s on. After Mark had landed six and Andrew only one Andrew swapped to the smaller gang hooks and quickly started catching more fish. The 3/0’s were just the right size to set on the edge of the bait, on top of the backbone.
This small change in hook size made a great difference to the numbers of fish we were catching however there was another reason we caught a lot so easily. The smaller gape 3/0 gang hooks set on the edge of the bait allowed the Tru-Turn cam action to work, when the Hairtail bite the bait the point comes out of the flesh of the bait, swings around and grabs hold in the mouth.
Almost all the fish we caught were hooked on the middle hook, a sign not only that Hairtail grab the bait in the middle, but also that the Tru-Turn cam action hooks were doing their job. The extra length of the gangs made up with the swivels also allows for a better hook coverage in the bait and thus more chance of hooking fish.
Another Hairtail caught on the middle hook The most consistent results came from using the smaller gape 3/0 gang hook set on the edge of a well defrosted pilchard and lowering the bait gently to the depth at which you got the last hit. At first it’s a good idea to set baits around the boat at different depths but when you start getting bites keep baits set at that approximate depth. An easy way to know how deep you have your bait set is to use a multi coloured line, such as the Tuna Terror braid that is marked every metre and changes colour every ten metres. At the end of a great night practising (I mean PRACTISING) catch and release of Hairtail we called it a day with a good feed of Hairtail. Tru-Turn gangs are a great way to catch Hairtail but they will also catch a host of other species. There is a size to suit fish from flathead to salmon and snapper in southern waters and mackerel to big reef species in northern waters. Give them a go next time you head out to catch a feed! |
