# Help me catch slimey mackeral



## deano (Nov 26, 2006)

I have heard all these great things about slimeys as bait, but I have never caught one - can anyone help me out. I regularly catch yellowtail no probs - and I kind of assumed that slimeys would be in the same area and would be caught on the same rig. Am I wrong or just really unlucky?


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

they are hard to find but not hard to catch.

I've only ever come a cross a few schools of them (usually together with yakkas) so i guess that wherever you can find yakkas you'll also find slimeys. They both prey on the same type of small baitfish.

In open water burley, burley and more burley seems to be the key to catching yakkas/slimeys unless you can find some holding near a wharf etc


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

You can catch them on a baited sabiki rig if you find them. Most slimies I've caught have been on a trolled CD7, when you hook up, drop a bait jig immediately and you may well find more. If you berley, you'll attract them (and 4000000 sweep, mados & small snapper). The slimies seem to prefer more oceanic water, I rarely catch them too far up the estuary.


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## diabolical (Mar 30, 2008)

A baited sabiki jig works well when they are deep to mid water. Often they are out numbered by yakkas and take a bit more work to locate. When they are amongst a mixed school burley seems to sort them out. Burley them to the surface and then you can use a unweighted tiny hook and the smallest piece of skin/flesh. Once fired up with the burley the slimeys will push the yakkas out of the way to get in first. Sunrise and shortly after is the best time and somedays they go off the bit in no time at all. I prefer useing a live slimey floated or trolled above all else but some days a big plastic is a little easier to catch. :lol:


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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

Slimies often frollick on the surface briefly around high tide. When you find a school of fish on the sounder then drop the sabiki. A heavy sinker at the bottom of the sabiki works much better than what you normally might use. If fishing the top then cast out your small baited hooks about 4-5 mtr from your craft then throw a handful of mixed burley on top. The burley tends to sink more quickly than the baited (and unweighted hooks) or sabiki. The slimies feed above the yakkas. Other thing is that you are better to use a wet cloth to hold them whilst unhooking otherwise the protective slime coat comes off and they die more quickly


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

I've caught loads of them mixed in with yakkas, also closer the ocean. I've also caught them on very small slices (ie 7 grams) when they are schooled and feeding. They are one of the most fun baitfish to catch as they go like rockets with hooked.


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

This works for me if I'm lucky enough to come across them trolling with an sx40 or similar and catch the first one. You sacrifice the first one by quickly slicing a fillet off it and chopping it into little bits each with skin on. Bait up your triple paternoster rig without a weight on the end loaded with 3 size 6 hooks and cast out about 3 to 4m unweighted. As soon as it sinks out of sight you will be on! Don't wait for the double and triple hookup start bringing it in straight away - as the caught slimey shoots around and gets the others excited they will hook themselves on the other hooks. The slimey flesh with skin seems to stay on the hooks well and can often be reused 2 or 3 times before needing to be changed. They seem to like quiet water in bays near the ocean and I have also caught them by accident while drifting for flathead offshore about midwater as the flathead rigs are sinking or are being brought up.

Hope this helps.


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## Guest (Jan 25, 2009)

Use a soft plastik instead a small lead sinker on the sabiki jig. You never know what waits underneath the baitschool. ;-)


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## skippinlures (Nov 18, 2008)

Sometimes if you are into the yakkas, you will find the larger slimeys under the bait school. Try dropping your bait / bait jig or lure a little deeper than the fish you see under the boat / yak. I also find that the bigger slimeys are further back in the burley trail so cast your bait etc as far back as you can into the trail and slowly retrieve it. Once you find them you shouldnt have too many poroblems hooking them - they are hell bent on self destruction. Sabbiki jigs have been mentioned before. I dont like them because they tangle very easily and are a pain to unravel. If you do go this way try putting a little bit of squid tentacle on the hook. It stays on for a fair while and enables you to keep fishing rather than rebaiting hooks all the time. Hope this helps.
Brian


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## sliderman (Dec 21, 2007)

I have no problem catching slimeys as a by catch when fishing for snapper here in Victoria, mostly i will get them on soft plastics mainly small t tail grubs. Had 6 small slimeys yesterday in the fridge only to find the wife and daughter had them for dinner. I cant understand, their were 7 good pinkies and they had to eat the bait??? :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## Kez (Nov 5, 2008)

I caught all these in a matter of 20 minutes. They just jump on the second the metal hits the water.

I used a SPANYID MANIAC metal spoon lure, they are designed for slow to medium retrieves. they sure are fun on really light gear!


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