boat fishing advice

im heading out on a boat this weekend,off portsalon, and im just looking for a few tips. im pretty new to this ,i've only been out on a boat once before and fished off the rocks a few times but i don't really know anything about sea fishing.

whats the best thing to use as bait? the last time i was out we just caught mackerel and cut them up. is this the best method? whats the best type of hooks to use? and do you use different hooks/bait when your fishing the wreck to when your fishing the bottom?

does anyone have any other tips or advice.

thanks

I find a set of hawkeyes or feathers fished with small pieces of mack will get you a good mix bag for someone starting off.....
Either way enjoy and be safe

im heading out on a boat this weekend,off portsalon, and im just looking for a few tips. im pretty new to this ,i've only been out on a boat once before and fished off the rocks a few times but i don't really know anything about sea fishing.

whats the best thing to use as bait? the last time i was out we just caught mackerel and cut them up. is this the best method? whats the best type of hooks to use? and do you use different hooks/bait when your fishing the wreck to when your fishing the bottom?

does anyone have any other tips or advice.

thanks

Google gilling, or flying collar, use size 1 or 1/0 Aberdeen hooks with either Ragworm, or long thin strips of Mac as bait.

this was posted on here by Mick Barry some time ago, and you will find it very useful:

"if you are on the reefs and you are drifting the predominant species should be pollack, wrasse (ballan & cookoo), ling cod pouting and coalies with the possibility of a few other species popping up

1. for pollack if you are using a french boom on its own put approx 10 ft of line on it with a blood loop at 5ft tie on a hook plain 2/0 and another one at the end, there are 3 bait you can use , rag, jelly worms or my favorite the belly strip of mackerel, what to do is bait up lower your line to the bottom and reel back up to the top slowly, the pollack will hit you on the way up , a point to note to make this more effective, is to count every turn on the reel you take normally the pollack will hit you at 6 to 14 winds off the bottom, so that the next time you go down you can be ready for your next take. THE TRICK IS KEEP REELING AND NEVER STRIKE

2.COALIES CAN BE CAUGHT using the same process other wise they will take the conventional hawk-eye's

3,when fishing for the wrasse the ballans like rag and crab (recent reports say not 2 many ballans around ) again a conventional rig with size 1 hooks is perfect if you have spreaders, if you use yellow beads on your snoods this can be very effective

4, the cookoos will also take the rag but they also like thin strips of mackerel (be careful not to put thick pieces on nice and thin does the trick.

5, ling & cod generally will take a luminous rig baited with mackerel an alternative is to fish 2 hooks up and above that put on your french boom with approx 2 to 3 ft of line with a Muppet or a blade tipped off with decent bait of mackerel.

6 the pouting will come as your fishing for the wrasse but there favorite co lour is pink (they love it) either fish bait or rag will catch these

7 , if yous anchor up the possibility of ling and conger is good for the conger just fish hard on the bottom with a pirk an a 6/0 hook with a decent bait of mackerel if no pirk you can revert back yo your french boom with it as close to the weight as possible put on a short snood of heavy mono and and mackerel as bait. 2 options open to you from here 2 ft up your trace you can put on a Muppet and fish for ling or double up on the snood off the french boom similar to that i explained for the pollack but only make it 3 & 1/2 ft long one hook at the end and another approx 18 inches from the boom


Tight Lines
Paddy

Pretty comprehensive and useful advice there. To get you going quickly this weekend I'd get a few packets of the hokkais (hawkeyes!) and bait them as you said with slivers of mackeral belly. Baited hokkais are a great all round rig for various situations, you can also fish them on the bottom by clipping on a 4ft baited snood at the lead link. Hook size 4/0.
Hope you get the weather and the fish