Crivit Bottom/Feeder Fishing Reel Combo 300-6 - Manual (Page 2)

With this kind of fishing that is the most known
one at the seas, mackerel, herring, codling and
other marine fish species are caught.
The equipment
Basic requirement is a strong rod with a
casting weight of 150-300 gram. A large, sta-
tionary reel that is suitable for fishing in salt
water is also necessary. The line should have
a diameter of at least 0.5mm and a lifting capa-
city of at least 25 pounds.
The rod must be considerably longer than the
leader. With a shorter rod it would not be pos-
sible to heave the mackerels with one tug over
the rail. They could strike against the ship’s
side or shake themselves free. Rods of 2.40 to
2.70 m have proved their worth.
The baits
A mackerel leader that is one to two metres
long and provided with several hooks is used
as bait.
The standard mackerel leader is 1.75 m long
and has up to 6 hooks.
Lures are tied to these hooks, mostly coloured
feathers but also tin foils, tinsel or plastic imita-
tions of crabs, fish and octopuses.
The form of the lure does not play an important
role. In a shoal, fish react on everything that
has the size of their prey.
The leader has a loop on both ends. With one
of these loops, it is attached to the karabiner of
the main line, with the other, the weight, a
casting sinker or jigger is affixed.
Fishing
When the boat has reached a promising area,
it is stopped and one can start fishing.
The bail arm is thrown and the line with the
mackerel leader and the casting weight is cast
by means of a forearm cast.
The cutters are often completely occupied,
thus mutual consideration is essential. One
endangers others and oneself by overhead
casts, a too low weight drives the mackerel lea-
der in the lines of the fishing mates.
One lets the line run from the reel until the
casting weight has contact with the bottom.
Then, the bail arm is closed and the weight is
winded up approximately 1 m.
In order that the lure becomes alive, the tip of
the rod is slightly lifted and lowered. If no fish
bites within one minute, one winds the line up
2-3 m for trying the same in a new water depth.
This procedure is repeated so many times until
the casting weight has reached the surface
again. Then, it is cast again.
As the boat is drifting during fishing, that
means not anchored, one fishes new areas
again and again.
If a fish bites, this makes itself felt by a heavy
jerk. Experienced fishermen do, however, not
pull a single fish out of the water but wait until
more fish have bitten on the remaining free
hooks. Only then do they take in the line.
In doing so it is important, to count the crank
revolutions. With this trick, one can determine
the water depth in which the shoal is.
The mackerel is not drilled. For this, it is to light
in comparison to the line strength. The hooked
mackerel is not brought into the boat with a lan-
ding aid, either; it is simply lifted out of the
water. The strong rod and the strong line make
this possible.
After the unhooking and feeding of the fish, the
return stop of the reel is turned off and the lure
is let into the water by turning the crank bak-
kwards, that means not cast.
The number of crank revolutions corresponds
to that with which we have earlier fetched the
fish out of the water. In doing so, the lure rea-
ches the depth where the mackerels are.
Already on the boat, the fish are professionally
gutted and cleaned. One should pay attention
that there are no blood spots on the clothes
afterwards. Fish blood can only be removed
very hard.
After the fish are cleaned, they are stored in
the brought along ice box. Freezer packs in the
ice boxes have not proved their worth – parti-
cularly on hot summer days. Better is dry ice,
that keeps the fish fresh for about 24 hours.
When fishing with the mackerel rod, also cod-
ling, coalfish, garpike, horse mackerel and pol-
lack are caught, especially if a jigger is used as
the casting weight.
When unhooking the horse mackerel, one
must be especially careful. The fish has large,
sharp back spines which can easily hurt you.
At the end, a special characteristic of the mak-
kerel should be mentioned: as member of the
family of the bonitos, mackerels have a blood
heat that is only a little bit higher than that of
the surrounding water. That is one reason for
their unbelievable temperament.
The mackerel has a size of 30-35 cm and
weighs 400 to 500 gram. The hitherto heaviest
exemplar was caught by an American, weight:
3.397 gram. The German record mackerel,
however, put only 1.476 gram on the scales.
Jigging with the sea rod
After possible loose line has been reeled, one
can start with the jig movement. One accelera-
tes the movement when lifting the rod tip and
decelerates the movement when dropping the
tip.
As loose line is reeled with every jig move-
ment, one leads the jigger across the bottom
until the line runs almost parallel to the boat
body.
Then, the jigger is carefully reeled for a new
cast. In jigging aground, the lure/hook must not
drift under the boat as it could otherwise get
caught with the equipment of the fishermen on
the other side of the boat.
The bite of a fish – also in great depths – can
be felt by a clear resistance. A knocking in the
rod indicates that it is no hanger (jigger getting
stuck at the bottom).
The reel brake must be adjusted in such a way
that the fish can swim away with a tractive
force that lies below the tear strength of the
line.
The fish is drilled to the surface by pum-
ping (lifting of the rod and reeling of the
line when at the same time lowering
the rod tip). The rod tip is lowe-
red so far that the distance to
the water surface is approxi-
mately 1m.
Smaller fish that are hooked
well are fetched on board with
an even sweep over the rail. For
bigger fish, your neighbour must
help you with landing equipment.
Heavier fish must not be lifted
over the water surface, as there is the danger
of tearing the line or unhooking.
Undersized fish are carefully unhooked and
gently thrown back into the sea. Sized fish are
stunned; only then are they unhooked and
stabbed.
Sea rod “wind and drifting direction“
Lure weight
approx. 100g
Lure weight
approx. 200g
Fishing with the sea/boat rod
Casting of the mak-
kerel system with the
forearm cast
Swinging forward
Swinging backward
When the line is swinging
forward for the second
time, release it
Jigging with the sea/boat rod aground
Sailor’s knot
(for mackerel
leader)
“Jigging” in
free water