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What fishing gear you need, and when you need it

In this feature, guide Tim O’Reilly discusses a fisho for all bases. Someone who can adapt to any fishing scenario presented at the time.

This doesn’t necessarily mean a house and shed full of fishing gear or the fanciest boat in the neighbourhood. What we are talking about is someone ready and willing to catch everything from the tiniest jungle perch in a mountain stream to a yellowfin tuna out off the continental shelf.

Some people giggle at the thought of fishing requiring a decent level of fitness. Many think it’s purely the domain of beer swilling buddies shaking off the confines of their home life to enjoy the great outdoors and soak a worm. When in fact, many of the modern fishos out there are flying solo or taking on serious adventure with their buddies. Make no mistake, when fishing is taken seriously, it can definitely be considered a sport. Arduous toil if you’re into jigging or throwing big poppers around!

Ripping straight into it, the most useful equipment for a fishing generalist is included below each segment. You might only need a portion of the equipment listed, depending on budget and the size of your tackle room.

Image: Tim O’Reilly

The fly fisher

Fly fishing is a magical art form in the right hands. Rhythmic casts back and forward with a weighted line used to present small and quite delicate presentations at feeding fish. Sight casting is the epitome of this art form, when angler and fish play a craft game of cat’n’mouse. Sadly in my hands, fly casting is a bit asymmetrical. I much prefer the pragmatism of making multiple presentations at moving fish, continuously putting a presentation where it needs to be without having to
wind back in.

Even if not a purist or even a perfectionist when it comes to casting, a fishing generalist will usually have a basic working knowledge of fly fishing. Certain circumstances really lend themselves to fly fishing over all other forms, predominately when tiny, lightweight, lifelike presentations are needed. Fussy fish with good eyesight such as brown trout in the highland streams or permit on the saltwater flats need light leaders and delicate presentations to fool them into eating an artificial offering.

A fly fishing generalist will normally have some wading pants, some ruggedised footwear, clothing to suit walking in rough terrain and the determination and fitness levels required to walk kilometres through dense scrub and heartache in the hope of finding their dream fish at the top pool. Similarly, the saltwater fly fisho will have full sun protection and the ability to wade through acres of shallow water on the flats trying to fool their skittish counterparts.

Gear: Three Fly rods and reels. A Light (4-6Wt) Med (8-9Wt) & Heavy (11-12wt). Best if spools are interchangeable, so angler can swap between floating and sinking lines for each outfit.

Lure casting

Modern spin and overhead (baitcaster) outfits can cast artificial lures a long way. And accurately in the right hands. That little stick 35m away is quite reachable with todays outstanding reels. Both spin and overheads are mostly loaded with braided lines, growing thinner and stronger as time progresses. Casting distances have well and truly picked up in the last decade. This has allowed species to be targeted that might have been off the radar previously.

In the past, tuna were caught by trolling or burleying up to attract the fish close to the vessel. These days, some incredible hardware is being employed to catch giant tuna with spinning rods as long accurate casts with large spinning reels and strong-hooked stickbaits reach feeding southern bluefin schools.

Throwing all manner of hard bodied lures, soft plastics, vibes and jigs has been around for 50 years targeting all manner of inshore light tack species.

Image: Tim O’Reilly

Australian freshwater and saltwater fishing scenes have been dominated by terry-towling hatted, stubby short wearing die hards for many of a year. Tough individuals who were prepared to row, walk and hike in search of that next adventure. These days, the new fishing generalist might employ all manner of transport and gadgetry to reach their fishing holy grail. A cursory glance at the local fishing hero on you tube will prove this.

But social media legends aside, a few simple pieces of equipment and fishing paraphernalia can help a keen fisho turn into a true fishing generalist. Being at the ready for a mate’s call up or planning solo missions on Google Earth into the wilderness, backed by todays awesome technology and safety tools (e.g. EPIRB, GPS & digital maps). Recognising that small bite windows and gaps in the weather can produce outstanding results with less time taken.    

Gear: Two spinning rods (2-3 piece travel rods make cartage easier) in 20-25lb or PE1 and 30-40lb or PE 1.2-2 with the best quality spinning reels you can afford (3500-4000 for the lighter combo and 4500-5000 for medium combo). One of two overhead outfits, normally in the 4-8kg range fitted with bait caster reels (Diawa and Shimano best) and 20-30lb braided line.

Ultra light plastics and hardbodies

Particularly for the generalist fisho who loves fishing the sweet water streams, fresh water creeks and spinning the saltwater creeks and flats. Australia might be and arid, dry country but there is literally tens of thousands of rivers, creeks and streams, many with endless fishing possibilities. 

Image: Tim O’Reilly

Once again proving the fishing generalist needs a certain amount of fitness and an adventurous spirit, these techniques rely on mobility, walking or getting your tiny boat over obstacles and across shallows in almost all instances. Your best bet at getting away from the crowds these days often rests in these locations. From trout fishers casting tiny plastics in a cool water mountain stream to an avid sooty grunter angler walking through tropical jungle.

Gear: Ultra light spinning rod 2-4kg with 1000-2000 reel and 4-10lb braid

Light jigging and vibing

This style of fishing revolutionised the inshore sports fishing scene just after the soft plastics craze. In truth the fishos employing slow pitched jigging and vining are amongst those putting fish consistently in the esky.

So many bread and butter species fall to these techniques around Australia, you would need two books just to cover it.

Light inshore jigging techniques have improved spectacularly in response to the gear created for the technique. Medium spinning rods or specialised slow pitched overhead outfits make the job of line pay-out and retrieval that much easier.

Image: Tim O’Reilly

The whole water column can be covered with ease and even those fish down at 60-100m of water which can be hard to target successfully with bait are on the radar. Jigs and vibes sink quickly, making them less affected by current flow.

Gear: Slow pitched jigging overhead outfit with matching reel spooled with 40-60lb braid or a Medium spin outfit 12-20kg matched with 5000-6000 reel and 50lb braid (PE 3)

Bait, burley and livies

No matter what techniques a lure fisherman employs, it is still hard to beat the humble pilchard or squid for putting fish on the deck when fishing reefs, shoals, rocky patches, surf gutters and deep dropping. Bait consistently lands fish even when the quarry are a little fussy.

A true fishing generalist will happily switch between artificial and bait when the circumstances call for it. A live bait slung out to a fussy predator or one which is fixated on the real thing can be hard to refuse. Capturing the live bait can be a very skilful process in itself and a crucial part of the fishing journey. Just ask the guys catching slimies to target striped marlin on the NSW central coast. Or the old fella out cast netting prawns to turn them into threadfin salmon or barramundi.

Image: Tim O’Reilly

Fresh and live can make a huge difference.

Procuring bait is the source for many a keen fisher growing up and sadly many of the modern fisherman have never pumped a yabby, dug a worm or grovelled in the sand for a pippi. These are foundational skills and set the tone for what comes next, a deeper appreciation of food webs and trigger points for almost every feeding fish out there.

Burley includes anything which might trigger fish to begin feeding in a confined area close to where the fishing is taking place. From a boat or the shore, burley made up of fish or prawn scraps or tiny morsels of anything they might find appealing can be super effective. Sharks can become a little problematic up in the tropics.

Gear: too many options to cover all. A long beach rod with Alvey type reel, a long spinning rod for surf and beach options, a heavy overhead outfit for reef options and hand lines to cover all bases will cover most scenarios. 

Image: Tim O’Reilly

Heavy offshore jigging and casting

The bluewater scene is alive and well in Australia and although the fishing generalist needs access to a decent boat for this style of fishing, it is amazing what can be achieved with a medium sized trailer boat. I’ve seen keen fishos taking 5m boats to the outer Barrier Reef and continental shelf on many an occasion. Catch and release has become a far greater force in the modern fishing scene, so skies and refrigeration become second fiddle to casting space and fuel capacity.

These two styles of fishing are quite different from each other. Heavy casting involves flinging poppers, stickbaits, soft plastics and diving lures around structure and current flow off-shore. All manner of reef and pelagic species from kingfish in the south to spanish mackerel and giant trevally in the north will be on the hit list. High speed jigging normally involves heavy metals being dropped to bottom and retrieved erratically to trigger a bite from any predator sitting vertically in the water column.

These types of fishing can be hard on the body and rough on the wallet. To throw casts all day with heavy braided lines, thin strong gloves can provide protection from cuts as well as the sun. An unobtrusive rod buckle can save a lot of nasty bruising around the stomach and groin area if fighting hard pulling fish is a common occurrence. 

Gear: Two spin outfits. Long casting rod and short jigging rod matched with 8-10000 reel and 60-100lb
braid (PE 4-7)

Light and heavy tackle gamefish

The fishing generalist might be a little out of their league on this last front but a willingness to give it a crack and learn from others with more experience is all that’s required. Game fishing is best undertaken with well set-up boats allowing a spread of lures and teasers to be trailed behind the boat.

Target species are normally big tuna, dolphin fish, wahoo, mackerel and most notably the billfish species including sailfish, black, blue and striped marlin.

Gear: Heavy overhead trolling outfits ( 15-50kg) to suit target species usually with large line capacity and monofilament.

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