there are three main techniques in catching cuda
1 trolling at slow speed with live/dead bait
2 trolling at medium speed with lures
3 spinning from the shore
Simon, I don't know if you fish for swordfish, but barracuda make a great bait for them....Very tempting trolled slow in the dark, or early light, of fished straight down under a float with a light above the cuda....LOOK OUT
Capt. Mike Fisher
just wondering mike how far offshore would a cuda go?
YOURS FIN
Cuda here are related more to the inshore waters and kelp beds here in southern California. But Swordies love 'em...they eat most anything...even bottom fish!!
how do you rig the fish wih float and lights????????
hi guys im kinda new here i havent fished since i was 16 (im twenty now ) . well i recently re-kindled my passion for fishing last month or so . well , last saturday , me and my friends went shore fishing and this 3 or 4 foot cuda cane right underneath us !!!! the thing is , we didnt have anything to catch it with and it was really frustrating because it kept coming back for about an hour !!! what kind of lure should i buy to use on the shore for cuda ? and what can i use from the boat ? ( because we're repairing my friend's boat which will be ready soon) . i like to buy from mister fish. any tips about what kind of lure to use ? both for casting from the shore and for trolling along the boat? ( sorry for the long post ) thanks
Hi Sergio,
Welcome to the forum. Placebo will def be able to help you out with this one, as will SimonG, fraid I know virtually nothing about shore fishing. Indeed very frustrating to see a fish you weren't equipped to get, but high spirits and great motivation to get the right kit so next time you'll be posting a picture for us all to see here online!
Skip
Hi Sergio
The best way to catch cuda's is by spinning is the cuda was so close in it was probably not feeding
the lures to use are fish like 4-6 inches long eg halco, rapala,etc etc.
you do not need a wire trace when spinning cos they attack the lure sideways
but check your line after every 10 casts to make sure there is no damage on the knot or swivel.
(ps dont give up it might take a while before they bite...... Good luck)
;D ;D
Simon G
Sergio, I would choose Yo-Zuri or oWNER lures. There are other succesful lures but it does depend on your choice.
I prefer 9mm lures for inports while I would choose bigger lure 12mm for places like Zurrieq, Mellieha etc....Colours.....red heads are great, even firetigers (green with blach stripes) are also good.
The most important thing is the time of the day. Dawn and dusk are both succesful. During daytime you can try using live bait (maybe vopa or sawrella) on a hook and fished on running float method using 25/30gms float.
As for boat fishing I would choose yozuri/ rapala/ halco lures 12mm or 9mm on 0.25mm line with no steel.
Use steel only if you're fishing with live bait.
thanks a lot guys i really appresciate the help !! so from a boat i should just troll along at medium speed ? ( our motor is a yamaha 9.9 which we recently modified into a 15hp so i dont think it can go too fast)
sergio, half gas is okay.
approx 4-5 knots....
by the way, if you intent lure fishing from boat for barracuda I prefer using floating lures.
Actually these type of lures sink from 1 - 3mtrs above sea surface. It is the ideal depth to catch barracudas.
This is my thinking. Trying out different lure colours and depth may give better results .... you are never quite sure in fishing.
Fishing is fishing :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
thanks a lot placebo :) im hoping to catch my first cuda this summer so i hope i'll be posting soon to tell you that i cought one :D hehe. i have never actually been lure fishing before as i always fish for bottom fish , usually using paternoster rig, so fishing for cuda is a new challenge . anyways , thanks a lot and have a good season :)
guys , i've been checking out the internet , you think a Yo-Zuri Hydro Magnum would be good for cudas ? ( although on the site it actually says it's a sinking lure ).
I prefer hydro magnums for albacore (Alungi) although the small hydros (12mm) might be a good try for barracuda.
ok i just bought a Rapala Husky Jerk lure ( firetiger). it's 14cm long , i hope it's not too big. i'll gove it a go in the past couple of weeks and see
hi sergio
good choice i have caught a couple with the fire tigers
A good hot spot for cudas is cirkewwa at night from land
if you have a boat you can troll at slow speed next to mellieha fish farms (the cudas will be there dawn and dusk)
good luck
Simon G
simon ,
thanks for the tip. will smaller cudas go for my lure as it is about 14 cm long ? should i get a smaller one just in case ?
good luck sergio,
you have a right lure.
tight lines
adrian...
lol these barracudas are really pissing me off !! this is the 2nd week in a row where i've been fishing at night in sliema ( this time at exiles .... there werent many fish except vopi imma msomma) and ANOTHER barracuda came !!!! istra it kept sort of circling the vopi and not eating any of them !! anyways it wasnt very big so I tried casting a lure that i just bought ( 70mm Yo-Zuri Livebait Floating Minnow redhead) because the rapala firetiger i have seemed too big . anyway , it DID NOT GO FOR IT !! dal hut qed jitnejjek bijja lol damn cudas :(
Fishing is fishing.
Try spinning in the last hours of daytime and first hours of daylight. Those are the hours that can be good for using lures for barracudas.
Else, try hooking up a live vopa on a running float as Simon suggested.
by the way at this time of the year barracudas are giving way and not so poular in ports. They are more popular from JAN-MAY.
hi guys
cudas attack lures of any size i have caught 1.2kg cuda on a 18cm nils master and on the other hand i caught a 6kg one on a pins minnow and crystal minnow (both yozuri)
cudas are impulse strikers so if you see it follow the lure dont slow down but speed up just imagine that a fish being chased will run for its life not stop to be eaten!!!!!
try also spinning with a vopa (Boops Boops) live if possible or use the running float technique and if you see the cuda circling but not attacking pull it away as if you are escaping
good luck
Sorry to be so late in jumping in here, our east coast season is getting started and that keeps my fingers elsewhere. On the cudda, I'd be using a smaller size lure, or a similarly sized bait. up to 6 inches at most....We often slow troll live bait for them too. It's very effective....we use sardines or anchovies.....hook them via the nose. Gotta watch the twist if you troll to fast, just bump the transmission in and out of gear.....they'll come
I still haven't managed to get a Barracuda. I went another few times, tried next to the fish farms, mellieha reefs, veccia area, no use. I'm now using a 30mm line with a Rapala lure. I'll probably loose it if I get one, but at least it would be exciting! Must be doing something wrong. Maybe the speed. I haven't got a GPS yet, but I'd say I'm doing 5-6 knots. I've tried slower speeds too.
hey ciappinu
yesterday iu was diving in salina bay i saw a good shoal of red sea barracuda (litz tal lvant) and a couple of med ones over 4ft they are hanging around 20-50mts east north east of the trimaran in 4-8 ft of water
they are feeding on small bouges(vopi) and kurunella (sand smelt)
ps if you want just let me know and i will come give you a hand
in st pauls bay thet come in at night .
Simon G
Great Simon. Thanks for the info. I'll definitely give it a try this weekend. I went around the Marfa / Cirkewwa area yesterday evening.....still no luck!
Hey simon,
have u ever heard of ppl cacyching barracudas trolling at night and if so how and generally where. Plus whats your thought of having best chances of catching one or 2 or 3 overall :)
FIN
The last time we went trolling for cudas in april we landed 6 in one night.
we trolled from xemxija to qawra to the fish farms and back using live mullet weighted down to 3mt with a starlight 5mt from the fish
When you want to join us yest let me know
Is it better to troll with live bait or is it fine if you use a small rapala ?
From my experiences live bait is better, however you never know when they hit. Apparently a Rapala floating and rippling on the water is also a very good option. I don't have a Rapala that floats so much, but I'm sure there is out there. I also caugh a barracuda on a red/white surgical tube lure around 8 inches long.
Ok. So let's say I want to troll a live Vopa, what do I have to do ? How do I rig it and waht speed ?
Better explained with pictures. With live bait I meant, once alive bait, because if you manage to keep it alive, it doesn't normally survive the rigging process. The hook should go through the mouth, out of the gills, so you don't really touch or pierce the fish at all. Then pierce the hook straight through just behind the tail. Try and give the fish a slight bend, so it looks injured while trolling. Of course use a swivel to lose the swirling action on the line. You might need to use a very thin line around the fish in the middle to keep it hooked well and to keep it bent. I'm not too sure about speeds to be honest, but I would say around 5 knots. Personally I never got lucky with trolling on live bait for barracuda, I just learnt how to probably rig a fish now, however I know plenty who did. I think this isn't the best time in the year for cudas either. Simon might know of a better way to rig them.
Hi guys
I prefare trolling with mullet as it lives longer and it is easier to rig for begginers
lets start with the trace if you are trolling for cudas i recomend s/s wire as they have teeth (Sharp ones)
use a size 2/0 hook which you incert just under the skin next to the tail
the other hook a size 6 or 4 can be incerted either infront of the eyes or trough the upper jaw
you only need about a foot of wire 10lb is enough
regarding speeds 1-3 knots not more with live bait any faster and you stand a chance of ripping out the hooks (due to the fishes drag )
with dead bait 3-5 knots
can any one tell me the best times to catch barracuda (the time of day and the time of year)
best time is early in the morning or late before sunset. i think its an all year fish you just have to be lucky to catch one
try trolling early evening about 6 pm and continue till about 10pm the usually hang around reefs and drop offs
Hawn xi hadd qed jaqbad baracudas jew? Ili ma nara u niehu messa tul ix-xhur tas-sajf kollha. Filghodu jkun hemm jikkacja ghax jinstema' imma l-lure ma jatix kasha. Normali bhal dan iz-zmien tas-sena jew jien il-problema??? ;D
Nahseb normali jew jien ghandi problema ukoll din il-gimgha kuljum ghamilt siegha filodu minghajr ma naqbad jew jigi wara l-lure.Il-lum qbad huta differenti imma! Kien ili xi 45 minuta nispinja,hatt messa u hsadt.Wahhalt xihaga pero ma bediex jati daqqiet!Bejni u bejn ruhi hsibt li xi klamar jew sicca,jekk mhux xi borza.Pero huta kienet.BURQAX!
lol amilt succes mela hehe... ahjar mix xjn imma :)
Burqax :o ??? Ara kemm kellu guh mela.....
Mela lure 8cm u hu kien fih 11-12cm!
Nope,not really you can often catch them spinning! Even skalm,tracna,skorfna will all take lures and spinners
the beach comber (burqax) is a big predator.
He acts exactly like the dentici when some prey enters his territory.
Like martin said there are more fish that take lures .... also there is the sargu sometimes!
Yep the sargi too sometimes! Although personally ive never caught a sargu so far (or a skalm) on spinners,but a friend of mine caught a really nice one this summer!
maritn semejt li jinqabdu ukol skalm,tracna,skorfna..... dawn huma huwt tal qih. bazikament il huta titla al li spinner jew l ispinner jadi mal qih ?!
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Barracuda season will soon start again, although this week I came across a 3 - 4 kg one.
meta taqbad wahda min dawk il hut ifisser li qed tkarkar mal qiegh. jew ghandek hafna comb jew izjed probabli miexi bilmod wisq.
Mela kont ghadej speed tajjeb bir-rukkel,il-huta bdiet tinzel xi metru u fejn wahhaltu kien hemm xi 2 metri fond.Igifieri xejn minnom caldaland!
naturalment inti qieghed tassumi hux veru spitec!
X'qed nassumi?
assumejt li kien qed jistad ghall barracuda f'zewg metri fond!
Quote from: Perla 165 on September 17, 2009, 09:01:20 CET
maritn semejt li jinqabdu ukol skalm,tracna,skorfna..... dawn huma huwt tal qih. bazikament il huta titla al li spinner jew l ispinner jadi mal qih ?!
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Ma kontx rajta dil post sorry! le jitla mill qiegh ghas-spinner! specialment li skalm u skorfon! Sa issa ma kellix xorti inssib sargu sabih hekk imma jinqabdu ukoll
Illum qbadt denci ta madwar 1kg fuq spinner.....vera esperjenza differenti eh.......hallejtha niezla ftit imma zgur ma kinetx fil-qiegh ta....jigifieri nahseb tela ftit ghaliha hu. haga li dejqitni hi li ftit il-fuq minn denbu kellu qishom 2 parassiti mqabbdin mieghu...qishom gamblu trasparenti. Nehhejtomlu u vera kienu iebsin. Xorta jibqa tajjeb ghall-ikel please???
Sa fejn naf jien iwa..hemm hafna hut li jista ikollu minnhom..pero mhux ghall xi haga siehbi, imma denci ta' 1kg kiku kien ahjar tlaqtu lura.
Jien naf xigifiri u kemm trid tbati kulltant biex taqbad huta spinning u minn daqshekk nifhmek 100% pero denci huta kappaci tikber seww u iddum biex jigi tajjeb biex ibqid..kien qadu 'baby' dak miskin!
Iva xorta tajjeb ken dawk kemm il-darba jkunu ma hut specjalment fil-portijiet.
Fil-fatt ftit qabel qbadt cervjola zghira u tlaqtha lura. Imma d-denci bela l-ispinner ta 10g u kelli ncarrtu ftit u ma nahsibx li kien jghix....ghallinqas hekk hsibt dak il-hin. Ghalkemm ma kienx xi kbir l-ispinner belaghha. Thassibt aktar ghax kellu dawk il-parassiti mieghu u ma nqabadtx mill-fond wisq.
Skuzani mela siehbi,ghax hekk mod iehor!...biex titfu lura u imut xorta tarmih tkun qieghed!
Id-denci gili jibellaw spinner jew lure...ma ghandomx biex!!
Jien dawk il parasiti il bojod l-iktar li kont narahom fuq il mullet meta kont nistadu tas-spiss zmien ilu,pero bhall ma ghidt l-ewwel sa fejn naf jien tistu tieklu hekk...ghall kemm qatt ma kilt mullet li qbadt min go portijiet ::)