Over the last few years, slide baiting has become a popular technique for anglers targeting large game from the beaches and rocks. This technique basically allows you to deploy a large bait further from shore than previously possible. You don’t cast the bait, only the sinker. After you have cast the sinker, you attach the slide bait rig with bait attached and float it out using the current, or a gentle lifting of the rod tip. After numerous large Spanish mackerel to over 40kg were caught with this technique at Fraser Island, more anglers have been keen to try this exciting form of fishing.
The sinker commonly used is a grapnel (sometimes referred to as an anchor sinker) which has forward facing wire arms which help it bed down and hold into the sand or debris on the bottom. Many of these sinkers have the arms fixed in place but some have a release system where the arms fold back when extra pressure is applied. This is usually when the angler lifts the rod abruptly to wind in or a fish grabs the bait and goes for a run. Once the sinker has hit the bottom you need to do small lifts with the rod tip (without retrieving line), tightening and relaxing the line to get the sinker to bed into the sand.
Once your slide bait rig is set up with the bait, you attach it to this taut main line and put it into the water where the wave action and decline of the line angle will coax it to gradually make its way out to the sinker. This approach allows you to cover a broad area of water and permits you to deploy a large (often live) bait out as far as you can cast the grapnel sinker.
For large baits, live bait sliders are ideal. Casting only the sinker and not the weight of the bait will greatly increase the distance out that the bait can be fished. Additionally, live offerings will be a lot healthier as they aren’t subjected to the forces involved during the cast, or from plummeting into the water. Slide bait rigs have accounted for some pretty spectacular fish in the few years that they have been fished in Australian waters and are fast becoming an essential piece of any serious beach or rock fisher’s arsenal.
There are numerous types of slide bait rigs on the market, some locally-made and others imported. They can be made with hi-tensile wire ranging from 1.2mm to 2.2mm in diameter. Locally, anglers fishing the surf and rocks commonly use the 1.6mm and 1.8mm rigs. If larger sharks are your target, 2.0mm and 2.2mm would be your best choice. The smaller rigs are used for lighter lines or where the target species is not likely to be large.
Most slide bait rigs are of the non-return variety, which means they are shaped so that a bait can only go down the line. If a live bait turns and swims towards shore, the rig slightly kinks the line and limits the bait’s transit shorewards.
Slide baiting is very popular in New Zealand and South Africa, and there are specific rods made for this form of fishing, with tapers designed to increase casting distances with large sinkers. Their length increases the angle in relation to the water which aids in getting baits out more efficiently. Many hard-core anglers use overhead reels for this type of fishing but large spinning reels and Alveys will suffice.
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Monofilament is reputed to give the slide bait rig a smoother transition down the line, so many anglers solely run mono on their reels. However, for increased capacity, some anglers predominately load their reels with braid and just use mono for the final
Baits are generally left out in the water for a long period, especially large live offerings. A solid strike of the rod will lift the sinker from the sand when you want to wind in. Once retrieved, your rig will look somewhat like this, the same as it does
For setting up your basic rig for fishing the SEQ surf you will need a 1.6mm or 1.8mm slide bait rig, some 20-40lb mono or fluoro, some 60-80lb mono or fluoro, some live bait hooks and a grapnel sinker. Quality scissors or mono shears will also be useful.
For the attaching the sinker you will generally use slightly lighter line than your main line. This will break first if the sinker becomes snagged, so you won’t lose the entire rig and hooked fish. Generally the length between the sinker and the swivel wi
Attach the main line or leader to the solid ring with a sliding uni or a blood knot. It is important that this part of rig is the correct way around, as the slider needs to rest against this solid ring once the bait is fully deployed. The sinker is now re
The rig you use for your bait can vary. If you’re targeting mulloway, snapper and the like, a mono leader will suffice. I usually attach two or three hooks to the leader using a simple snell. How large the hooks are and the distance they are spaced apart
Attach the hook rig leader to the swivel on the slide bait rig. I generally keep this leader less than 1m long in turbulent waters as it decreases tangling with the main line. However, in stronger currents and when using larger live baits, a longer leader
Once you’ve cast out your sinker and it has bedded in the sand and silt, the next step is to attach the slide bait rig to the main line. The rig needs to be put on so that the arm of the rig is facing towards the sinker and the spiral portion is facing to
Repeat this process five or six times or until the main line is running straight through the wire spiral as shown. Close the clip, making sure that the lumo bead is still in position directly under the spiral. This is to ensure that the clip does not open
This is how your grapnel sinker will sit once it is set on a sandy bottom. Light lifting of the rod tip, and turbulence on the bottom, will help it to sink into the sandy bottom. A good purchase will allow you to keep the main line tight, which will aid t
