Sabiki Rigs
When I am not fishing for big snapper, most of the time I am fishing for trevally, mullet, tailor and salmon.One of the best ways of catching these species is to use a Sabiki rig. A Sabiki rig is a basic paternoster rig with a team of attractor flies and sometimes a sliding lumo bead.
It is a truly deadly way to catch small to medium sized fish.
Most Sabikis are made in Japan or China and the Japanese first devised the rig. When used in conjunction with a spring or cage berley sinker, it may lead to impressive results. Sabikis will anything from catch garfish, which grow up to 500 grams to big trumpeter and hapuka which may grow to 50 kgs or more.
Wasabi Sabikis are made by the Black Magic fishing company and only come in small sizes. They contain top quality hooks, which are extremely sharp when out of the pack. Wasabis are suited for smaller species such as garfish, mackerel, mullet and small trevally. You should try a spring or cage berley sinker in conjunction with the rig - or you could use it under a pencil or quill float in a berley trail. If the fish are not taking the Sabiki rig, try adding some bait, such as small prawn pieces or whitebait.
Surecatch Sabiki are my favourite rigs. They have a massive range of Sabikis in top colour patterns and they use top quality chemically sharpened hooks and lumo heads and beads on most of their rigs. When using these rigs I have caught trevally, salmon, mullet, flathead, leather jackets, cod, couta, snook, tailor, mackerel, small gummy sharks and elephant sharks.
Steve Starling Sabikis also have a range of three different patterns. They will catch all estuary species including mullet, salmon, trevally and mackerel.
Black Magic Sabikis are the "big daddies". They produce a wide range which are good targetting garfish through to massive trevalla, trumpeter or hapuka. Also available in this range are "in between" sizes which are great for surf fishing for Australian salmon and flathead. These sabikis can be useful with the larger sizes such as groper when used as a daisy chain teaser, which may be either cast or trolled in front of your chosen lure. For an added effect, try using a long strip of bait pinned through the hook once only.
An almost certain way to improve your catch with these is to try bobbing your rod tip slightly. This will attract the fish to bite. Sabikis have other great advantages such as being good for children to use as you don't have to keep constantly baiting hooks. They are also great value as they are as cheap as a packet of good quality hooks.
When using Sabikis, remember that 6 hooks are legal in Japan etc but in Tasmania, only 5 are allowed. So, either cut one off or better still cut the rig in half and rig up two lines. They are also a top way of catching lots of fish quickly and are very popular with sport and game fishermen when chasing live and cut baits for game fish.
If you would like some more information about these rigs for use either in the estuary or off shore, contact me through the Editor.
Tight Lines
Damon Sherriff.
