Countdown Super Shad Rap

[Old Sarah]

Can anybody give me some ides of countdown time/depth for the above......or am I complete "plonker" to be used for sea fishing bass/cod. Water depth 10 - 25 feet close in shore, probably a resonable flow of water through a narrows. Is this going to be one of those expensive mistakes that one tries to forget!!

Thanks

Sarah

[Alan Taylor]

If I understand your question correctly you are trying to end up 6" off of the bottom. If this is the case I would drop down with the rod tip pointed down, just touching the water. When your gear hits bottom, engage gear and lift the rod tip at the same time. Now before you wind on any line mark the line with felt tip (for braid) or make a stopper knot on the line. Now wind in the line. When you next drop down watch out for the mark/knot and you will know how close you are to your bottom without actually touching it.

 

There are reels on the market with actual counters on them.

 

Hope this helps and that I don't have the wrong end of the stick.

 

Alan

[boybilly]

Alan, that will only work if you cast exactly the same distance each time surely. The best bet would be to cast out, count till it hits bottom then take of a second or so. No need to watch the line, just need to be able to count.

[Old Sarah]

To tell you the honest truth I'm not sure what I am asking, just want to catch fish for once, preferably more/bigger than my husband!! I have seen somewhere that countdowns drop about 1 foot/second, or am I thinking of something else! What happens if you don't know what the bottom is like and you get stuck first cast?

[Newt]

preferably more/bigger than my husband

 

Dang - unless you have a very small husband, you do want some big fish.

 

The 'countdown' lures are designed to sink at a specific rate. However, salt water and fresh water will have very different rates and the amount of additional weight (swivel, etc.) will also have an effect.

 

I agree that the only way to find out the rate with your lure will be to let it sink in a known depth and see how long until it hits. Then on the next cast, you can start reeling a little sooner.

 

To keep from losing a good lure to the bottom, I'd suggest getting a packet of titanium rings for mounting hook to lure. They will open under pressure (but more than if you were playing a fish) and then snap back into position so all you have lost is a hook and you can easily put a new hook in the same ring. They are good for at least a couple hundred times of opening to let a hook go and then back to normal position and no loss of strength.

 

May be available in the UK but if not, cost is not high from the US. Click Here to see details and Here to get a list of dealers.

 

The makers will be putting a stronger one on the market soon to suit sea anglers who need heavier than the 30lb one that is the heaviest available now.

[spanner]

I would be be very careful using a countdown SSR from the shore. If you are trolling from a boat then fine, you can set a specific depth, but casting over rocks is another matter.

 

If it is shallow use floaters, surface lures, or spinner baits.

 

If it is deep you need to get right down to just above the kelp, and when the bottom starts coming up it usually does it so quickly that you can't get a sinking lure up fast enough. If there is a wall or drop-off you fish along it by casting parallel to the shoreline, then if you can gauge the correct depth it can work well.

 

One alternative is to use a floating plug fished off a boom, and use a rotten bottom from the boom to the lead. That way you loose the lead and not the plug, hopefully! Redgills etc can be used this way too.

 

A shad or jelly worm works really well, especially if using std spinning gear, say up to 50g. The hook points up so they snag less, and they are easier to cast as booms and traces can tangle. Often the rock gives way to clean ground within casting distance so you can start off by bouncing the lead head along the bottom until you feel the rock, then speed up and keep off the bottom.

[Old Sarah]

Thanks all, keep the advice coming, I need all the help I can get!

Husband isn't really very small Just want a big fish!!

[Leon Roskilly]

I've found that for some reason the countdown version of the jointed rapala lures (CDJ-11) seems to take bass better than the none countdown version, even though I fish them both the same :confused:

 

Most bass, most of the time, will take a lure high up in the water.

 

Although on some days they really aren't into chasing fish and prefer to poke about on the bottom for crabs etc. (particularly as the temperature drops and Autumn approaches).

 

Sometimes a deep running lure such as a Fat Rap comes into it's own, but generally (in my experience) you are best off working a lure just below the surface.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Alan Taylor]

boybilly:

Alan, that will only work if you cast exactly the same distance each time surely.

Who mentioned casting :confused: Even if you cast out you don't want to cast too far, just far enough so that the line is up and down by the time the lead drifts back to the boat.

I assumed this is boat fishing. Drop down without a hook on for the first time.

Sarah, come to Holland, I do it one or two days a week every week weather allowing

 

Tight lines

 

Alan

 

[ 25. April 2004, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Alan Taylor ]

[Old Sarah]

Hope you realise how lucky you are, Alan to be able to go fishing so much. Even if I was "allowed" (joking!!) it's a minm of 1.5 hrs drive to the nearest sea coast. I'm afraid 2 weeks x2 per year is all I can manage.

Thanks for all the advice lads. There is a small rowing boat available where we will be staying so fingers crossed

Sarah