Thread: Mullet on a rod?

I have read somewhere that Oz fishos catch mullet on trout gear, using a piece of corn on a sprat hook..has any Forum member tried this?

Not mullet but I have caught Parore (Aussies call them Black Fish I think) on spin gear using sea lettuce under a float. Might work for mullet?

Yellow-eye mullet are easy to catch with fish baits on tiny hooks. Grey mullet are a different proposition. I've not heard of anyone catching them consistently on rod and line in New Zealand. That said, people in other countries successfully target similar species. I think the first mistake is using gear that is too heavy. You need to be using ultralite gear with light fluorocarbon leaders, maybe even as low as 2lb breaking strain. Bait would be bread moulded on to a small hook or small worms. Too much hassle for the average guy when there are big snapper and kingfish to be caught.

I've caught a few in soft-baits when targeting sea-run trout and kahawai. They'll usually just chew the tail of the soft-baits, and the occasional one will actually grab the whole bait and get hooked.

If you wanted to target them you could use a jig-head with a long hook for the size of the soft-baits so they can't chew it up.

I believe corn is bait of choice for targeting flounder..... and burley is as simple as puncturing numerous holes in can of cream style sweet corn and putting it in the tide..on string/wire so can take empty can home afterwards. we caught sprats and sometimes bigger ones,which I guess are yellow eyed mullet??? bread or small bait and tiny hooks...about size 12-14 so fly hooks work well.... muscle is always a good bait,small section of the lip stays on well.

You mean this fish?
When I was in Auckland, I caught lots of this fish from shore using UL rod 1.55m and light tackles, ML 2.4m for longer casting say out of 60m. I do `t use baits, only flesh lures. Good fun with light gears, if tides and currents is right.



This was caught from nine pin rock area, another fisherman said "Good for you, you got a sizable live lure there, hook it up and throw back in...."

yes and no.... thats the wee fellas but grey mullet are more 1-3 lb size

I assume the OP is talking about Grey Mullet. Anything will catch a Yellow Eyed Mullet.

Yeah, sorry guys, I meant grey mullet, but all the other advice is useful.

I used to catch mullet and parore with my young boys in Whangarei at the Hatea River when the tide pushed up. They readily take dough made from flour and water, mixed until no longer sticky, or white bread squashed onto a small hook (size 8 from memory). The trick is to use enough bait and a long, light rod to cast the ball upstream and let it drift. Burley up first with small pieces of bread, until you have the fishes attention. Kids loved it, and bait for more serious fishing was sorted.

Maggots are the best bait for those mullet, herrings and piper, start your maggots off on the usual rotten meat and transfer them to damp porridge mix or damp weetbix in a jar, no mess and no smell but they do grow quite large, put them on the hook live...don't leave fishing bait where mother will find it.
One way I used to catch herrings for cat food and to feed a pet seagull we had was to put bread in the bottom of an Agee jar held down with wire netting and tie a string and a float to the jar, plop them over the side of the dinghy and row around checking the other jars, usually get 3 to a jar.

Jag them with a large treble hook, or net them.

they make very god live baits of you can keep them alive. They are very hardy

those cast nets are a heck of a lot of fun...watched our son use one and was mind boggling how efficent it was.

Originally Posted by DavidGunn

Maggots are the best bait for those mullet, herrings and piper, start your maggots off on the usual rotten meat and transfer them to damp porridge mix or damp weetbix in a jar, no mess and no smell but they do grow quite large, put them on the hook live...don't leave fishing bait where mother will find it.
One way I used to catch herrings for cat food and to feed a pet seagull we had was to put bread in the bottom of an Agee jar held down with wire netting and tie a string and a float to the jar, plop them over the side of the dinghy and row around checking the other jars, usually get 3 to a jar.

Haha. Back in the old cuntry () we livened up our maggots in the winter by putting a few in our mouth. True story

Originally Posted by Pengy

Haha. Back in the old cuntry () we livened up our maggots in the winter by putting a few in our mouth. True story

Like those dirty girls, you gotta remember to spit, not swallow