afew questions about this time of year

ok been out 3 times this week and tried 4 venues and nothing but afew small bites (daytime). started up last april so never fished this cold weather before.

is there less fish around this time of year?

do you rate frozen bait or would you go out of your way to get fresh stuff.

im using (size 2) 2 and 3 hook flappers, should i be using different rigs?
beaches mainly clean ground.

any other pointers that could get me that 1st fish of the year would be welcome cos im already thinking its gonna be a bad year.

a few GENERAL guidelines for winter sea angling I find are:

worm baits work best on beaches for flatties/coalies and such, more bites per session than say just mack or squid, though not always the case...

fishing into darkness better than daylight fishing...
obviously tides matter and fish differently at different marks but I find the flood can be a safe bet, again, after dark....

size 2's are alright as they will hook smaller fish too, though personally i'd not go below 1/0, simply so I don;t hook as many baby fishies

Hey, fish in darkness with size 2 3 hook flappers(long ones) and use lugworm/ ragworm and tip it with mackeral or squid. make sure the hook point is showing! Try fish when there is a bit of a surf too! Id be surprised if ya didnt get anything doing this!

nite fishin wit fresh crab and lugs works well 4 me

Hi mate, don't know where you are based but maybe give some rock marks a go. Fishing into darkness in deeper water should throw up some fish. Best not to fish rock marks alone especially at night just in case of a fall or other accident. Frozen baits should be fine but it's always nice to have a variety of baits with you to see what works best.

Don't cast out too far either as most fish feeding on a rising tide in darkness will only be about 30 yards out. You could pick up some nice coalies this way and maybe some flats. But keep varying your cast till you find where they are feeding.

thanks for all the replies. think i will get myself a good lamp and try afew sessions at night. have been just casting as far as possible so will try starting far and move back each cast. will let ye know if i get something on the next trip.

cheers
Rob

best of luck!