Sea bream surf fishing (Part 3)-

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The fishing methods for catching black sea bream differ significantly depending on the season, so the advice in Part 2 that places with fast currents are good does not apply to black sea bream in winter.

 

As with other fish species, when targeting the particularly sensitive black sea bream, it is very helpful to acquire sufficient knowledge about the characteristics and habits of black sea bream in advance.

Actually, I didn’t plan to post about fishing  methods that differ depending on the season, but I thought that those who don’t have much experience might have a lower catch if they apply the same method to winter fishing after reading the method on understanding the seabed topography in Part 2, so I’m going to look into how to target black sea bream in winter.

In 1986, at the Fisheries Experiment Station in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, a transmitter was attached to the body of a black sea bream in November and February to investigate its movement distance.  The experimental results showed that in November, it moved about 42 km per day, while in February, it only moved about 1.4 km .

What we can learn from these experimental results is that as water temperatures drop, the effectiveness of bait and groundbait in catching fish declines. Furthermore, in the case of long-distance fishing, where groundbait cannot be distributed, this  proves that, compared to float fishing, finding the exact spot where black sea bream migrate and casting to achieve a good catch is crucial.

While these large differences in travel distances are due to individual issues, the most significant factor is the temperature of the seawater. Black sea bream instinctively prefer areas with varying seafloor conditions.

However, this instinct often does not work in winter when the water temperature drops significantly, making it especially difficult for beginners to catch black sea bream in winter.

Looking at the ongoing series on red sea bream long-distance fishing, there’s quite a bit to learn. However, considering that fishing is a science and relies on accumulated data, acquiring a wealth of information will be beneficial not only for red sea bream but also for other target species. Therefore, I encourage you to build a broad and in-depth knowledge base.

As you know, the ocean has four seasons. Because the ocean temperature cools later than the atmosphere, there’s about a month’s difference between what you feel on land and what you feel on land. Therefore, February and March, including March, when we await spring, are considered midwinter at sea.

When winter comes and the water temperature drops like this, unlike homeotherms, cold-blooded fish drastically reduce their activity and stop foraging.

However, in the case of black sea bream, there is experience catching them even in water temperatures of around 8℃. This is because coastal fish like black sea bream have relatively strong cold tolerance. Those who use long-distance fishing to catch black sea bream, which has strong cold tolerance, must keep the following three things in mind.

 

① Find a place with deep water.

Deep waters are less prone to temperature drops than shallow waters. Just as people seek out warmer waters when the weather is cold, and anglers’ fishing trips decrease during the winter, black sea bream also seek out warmer waters, flocking to deeper waters where temperatures remain relatively stable.

This makes sense when you consider that in winter, rivers and sea water begin to freeze from the edges.

② Avoid areas with fast currents.

Currents are to fish what wind is to humans. Just as strong winds in the cold winter can make the perceived temperature drop dramatically, to catch black sea bream in winter, you should avoid strong currents like the main stream. (However, summer and fall are different.)

 

③ Aim around obstacles such as underwater reefs and reefs.

Emotional dome instinctively likes places with changes in terrain, and baitfish often gather in these places. However, in winter, they become even better spots because they can avoid the flow of currents (water temperature).

In order to catch red sea bream, it is best to go to a slightly warmer area south, but even if that is not possible,  to increase the chances of catching one, you should find a spot where the water temperature remains relatively stable. Also, on days when the water is not very clear, it is necessary to remember that fishing after sunrise or before sunset is better than the morning and evening when the sun rises and sets as we commonly know .

Typically, the water temperature at which black sea bream begin feeding is known to be around 12℃, and they are known to stop feeding when the temperature drops below 10℃. It is natural for fish to become less active as the water temperature drops.

Therefore, in order to catch low activity fish, it is most important to focus more and find the point.

Especially  in winter, since black sea bream eat their prey little by little, it is better to extend the hooking timing a little, and it is also effective to target the end of a breakwater, a quay wall, or an obstacle such as a tetra.

Between December and February, black sea bream become less active, their metabolism slows, and their lower abdomens don’t shrink, making them less active and less likely to forage. Therefore, it’s crucial to acquire sufficient prior knowledge before heading out to sea.

Sea bream surf fishing (Part 2)-How to Understand the Seafloor

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When it comes to long-distance fishing, most people tend to go on one-night, two-day trips or day trips. As a result, they often focus on nighttime fishing rather than daytime, and it’s common for darkness to fall by the time they arrive at their destination and begin preparing.

During the day, it is easy to observe the surrounding terrain, waves, and currents with the naked eye, as in photo 1, but  even in the same location, as in photo 2, it is difficult to identify them at night.

So today, we’ll learn how to determine where the water depth and seabed topography are changing when fishing at night, why you should focus on areas where the seabed topography is changing, and how to determine the seabed topography and select fishing points by looking at the waves during the day.

When targeting big fish with surf lures or long-distance fishing on a white sand beach, it is true that it is somewhat difficult to judge the overall waves and currents of the sea because the casting platform is lower than when fishing on a rock.

However, if even a slight visual identifiable point is available, the first thing to look for  is the tidal boundary . This is where the currents converge, where temperature and salinity fluctuate, water color changes, and plankton populations increase due to the abundant growth of seaweed.

Therefore, since there are many baitfish that feed on plankton, there are many target fish species that feed on this.

These boundary points arise due to differences in seawater flow, water quality (salinity), and temperature. However,  for those less experienced anglers, changes due to wind can also be perceived as boundary points. The only way to overcome this is through extensive experience.

The next thing to look for is where the wave begins to break. As shown in the photo below, the point where the wave begins to break and foam forms is usually where the water depth gradually increases or remains constant until it’s raised by a sand dune, gravel, or underwater reef ahead.

As I’ve posted before, baitfish instinctively prefer fine terrain like this. Furthermore, these areas of change in terrain are important because plankton and crustaceans tend to gather there.

To aid understanding, let’s look at the view from the reef. The circled area shows particularly large foam formations, indicating that the seabed changes significantly compared to other areas. The area on the right, in particular, is characterized by strong currents, making it an especially advantageous spot.

 

 

However, it’s nearly impossible to identify a spot by observing these foams at night. Therefore, even in dark conditions where identification is difficult, you can still identify the waves directly ahead using a headlamp.

Looking at the photo below, you can see that the wave origins are different, whether due to water flow or differences in the bottom topography. This difference can be judged by observing how much of the incoming wave is swept away.

You can see that the waves pushing out from the circled area are much larger than those around it. This indicates a shallow sandbar, a sandy area forming a hill on the seabed ahead. Therefore, for best results, cast around the circled area rather than the area itself, which is difficult to identify with the naked eye.

 

These are mainly formed in areas with strong swells that run counter to the waves coming from the sea, and baitfish tend to gather in front and behind these sand bars.

Next, among the previously mentioned  wave breaking points, the best point is to find the beach break, where surfers’ favorite waves begin.

This beach break also has several starting points, but the first one is the one you should focus on. Another important point to note here is that while it might be a bit difficult at night, during the day, distance is  crucial for long-distance fishing. Therefore, you should aim for the starting point of the beach break, rather than focusing on absolute distance .

 

I think many people have probably experienced the bait constantly being washed away and ending up in front of their feet while fishing for red sea bream at night.  It is important to remember that if you cast in front of the beach break like this, the bait will inevitably be washed away .

The next place to look for is where a rip current occurs . Since rip currents are frequently reported in the media during the summer vacation season, I’ll skip the detailed explanation, but if you look at the photos (spraying dye to observe the rip current), you can see that the water is swept away about 50-60 meters. Some surfers focus on targeting only the center of this rip current, but this is not a very desirable practice.

 

 

As previously explained, the point where these rip currents form is deeper than the surrounding water, so you can see the foam breaking near the point where they form. There are various ways to identify these rip currents, but since this is a lengthy topic, I’ll save that for another time and end this post here.

In the case of winter sea bream long-distance fishing, most people fish at night, and it is not easy to observe at night because it is dark. However, based on the information mentioned above, if you make an effort to observe the terrain and waves of the fishing spot, even just a little, you are more likely to get good results.

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To be continued in Part 3… … … .

Sea bream surf fishing (Part 1)

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Black sea bream is a popular fish, caught along the South Sea, West Sea, and East Sea coasts. While most are caught using floats from reefs on the South and West Seas, the East Sea is arguably the best place to target black sea bream using longline fishing.

However, the water on the east coast is so clear that you can see the bottom during the day, and it is especially clear in winter when the plankton population decreases, so the night is better for fishing than during the day.

As you all know, the black sea bream is a hermaphrodite and changes sex when it becomes an adult. Due to the effects of global warming, the black sea bream with yellow fins, called yellow black sea bream or saenunchi, which mainly inhabits the East China Sea, is also rarely caught, but the black sea bream caught in Korea is almost always black. While black sea bream spawns in the spring, saenunchi spawns in the fall.

Among the fishing methods for catching red sea bream, long-distance fishing, unlike other types of fishing, tends to choose places with relatively wide bases due to the space for setting up the rod and the conditions for casting, and as a result, the East Sea, where long-distance fishing can be done from white sand beaches, seems to be a popular fishing spot for red sea bream long-distance fishing.

Among the four popular species of sea bream (black sea bream, rock bream, red sea bream, and black sea bream), black sea bream is particularly affected by the tide and the tidal currents, so it is difficult to say for sure which conditions are best. However, for long-distance fishing, it is said that the best time to catch it is before and after the sari when the current flows well and the water color is cloudy, and the tide is better than the ebb tide.

I plan to write a series of articles on emotional sea bream surf fishing over the next few installments, so I will cover the details of currents and bait later. Today, I will just look at the equipment.

There are commercially available rods designed for catching black sea bream, most of which are around 5 meters long, the same length or shorter than float rods. However, shorter rods are sufficient, but the 4-meter length typically used for long-distance fishing is generally not chosen for the following reasons.

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◉ Reduces damage to the main line from obstacles such as reefs located in front and reduces movement caused by waves or ripples.

◉ The line can be used longer than for regular surf fishing.

 

 

◉ When catching fish, it is easy to avoid obstacles and land, and reduces the chance of losing the fish due to damage to the main line.

◉ The distance increases.

However, I don’t think it’s necessary to buy a dedicated rod because you can catch red sea bream with a rod of about 4 meters.

To catch the extremely wary black sea bream, a sinker with a hole is effective. To prevent damage to the leader line caused by the black sea bream’s teeth and especially to prevent the leader line from breaking if it swallows the hook, it is helpful to attach a cami to the end of the hook to achieve the catch effect.

The main line used is better than PE (polyethylene) as it has a stretchy nature that allows the red sea bream to feel less of a sense of foreignness. It is also effective to use a leader line that is slightly longer than that used in general long-distance fishing, about 1.5 to 2 meters.

And the size of the needle used would be around size 4, but since most ready-made rigs have a leader length of 1 meter, it would be better to tie the needle yourself to make it more effective. (Some commercially available red sea bream rigs have a leader length of 3 meters.)

However, if you’re fishing in a place with a lot of snags, or if you’re not yet used to long-distance fishing and your line frequently gets tangled or you have trouble sensing the bite of the fish, it’s best to use a slightly shorter line. However, if possible, a longer line will help with catching fish.

A paper on the vision of cuttlefish (file attached)

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Recently, seeing that some rods are even in short supply, it is clear that interest in squid fishing has increased significantly.

When providing information through blogs and providing examples of data, I try to ensure objectivity by specifying the source. Today, I would like to explain the paper that served as the basis for the statement in the previous post titled “Vision of the Cuttlefish” that “The visual acuity of the cuttlefish is known to be 0.6 to 0.7, but according to a paper published in 2007 by the Mie University Research Institute in Japan, which has conducted extensive research on the vision of cuttlefish, the vision of the cuttlefish is 0.63, and that of the flying squid is a whopping 1.37.”

The title of the paper is ‘Basic Study on the Vision of Squid’ in Japanese, and the translation is ‘Basic Study on the Vision of Squid’. A copy can be viewed by downloading the file below.

https://mie-u.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/10325/files/2006B044.pdf

 

This paper was written by Akihito Makino, who majored in biological resources at Mie University in Japan, when he was completing his master’s course. As cited in the paper, it states that the absorption wavelength of squid, including bigfin reef squid, is approximately 490 nanometers (nm), as announced in a 1958 paper by Hubbard and George in the United States (Pigment Migration and Adaptation in the Eye of the Squid, Loligo pealei), and that squid have the ability to react to light, and in particular, the ability to distinguish polarization, which can be seen in the citations in this paper.

Aside from these points, most of the paper seems to be difficult to understand and more than half of the explanation is about the experimental method, so it may not be very useful information for anglers. However, Table 3 on page 55, a comparison of the number of photoreceptor nuclei and visibility of six types of squid, is considered necessary information for anglers, and in particular, the fact that the visual axis of the cuttlefish shown in the figure is facing downwards seems to show the importance of pole movement in egging fishing.

 

There should be no particular difficulty in understanding it, but please refer to the table below translated into Korean.

division
cuttlefish
Window gopher
squid
Sujiika
winged squid
cuttlefish
maximum visual cell
Nuclei (cells/mm2)
32,080
No data
48,840
79,600
44,800
28,640
minimal visual cell
Nuclei (cells/mm2)
11,920
No data
18,320
42,080
23,600
17,840
Lens diameter (mm)
9.57
7.43
8.52
8.63
17.28
5.07
City administration
(Focal length 2.55)
0.63
No data
0.64
0.90
1.37
0.32
City administration
(Focal length 2.27)
0.57
No data
0.57
0.80
1.21
0.28

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