Calling all Ballooners...

G'day fellow fisho's...

I need some advise...

Looking at doing some ballooning off the cliffs near Kalbarri in April; have never done it before, don't know what gear I need, and don't really know what to do/how to do it...

So... what is your advise?

What sort of gear do I need? - I was thinking approx 10 foot land based game rod, decent o/head, 50 pound mono, leader, flying gaff, long handle gaff, rope, gimble belt, harness (?), rock hopping shoes (?), terminal tackle, helium gas bottle, balloons; - do I need all this? do I need anything else... any recommendations with this gear? - brands etc...

How do I balloon? - any video's you guys can recommend? bait v hb lures v soft plastics v anything else

Any tips/hints/things to look out for?

Would really appreciate any advise anyone can give.

Cheers,
damo


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Ballooners...

Thu, 2008-02-07 16:07

.... someone must know something ...

sherbert's picture

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Send kc a pm

Thu, 2008-02-07 16:14

He will know   Plus tapout too

steve

Born to fish forced to work

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Rob C's picture

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A short rod you would

Thu, 2008-02-07 16:38

A short rod you would normaly uses off a boat will do the job mate.

 Just a correction on NoWorries post, If you have your rig so your balloon line is running you wont loose your balloon when you hook a fish. You dont want to be loosing around $15 of gear each time you hook a fish.

 

Cheers

Rob 

 

Neander's picture

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There is quite a bit of

Thu, 2008-02-07 16:47

There is quite a bit of discussion at steeppoint.com.au that deal with Balloning you might want to take a look at.

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Awesome

Thu, 2008-02-07 17:29

Excellent info guys...

really appreciate it...

are those land based game rods a waste of time then, or are they more effective than boat rods for this sort of thing

do you ever use hb lures or soft plastics?

is it always the idea to skip the bait along the surface?

cheers,
damo

NOHA's picture

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The longer rod helps you

Thu, 2008-02-07 21:07

The longer rod helps you guide your line arround the rocks at the base of the cliff or keeping the line up high out of trouble so it has an advantage. I did have a custom built 24 kilo 10 foot LBG rod but I made a mistake in lending it to my brother.

I never saw it again.Frown

 

Only get the big balloons and party gas is cheaper than helium and comes with a balloon filling attachment. You will use more balloons and gas  than you thought you would.

 

.
.
No Orange Hats Allowed

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Dankie

Fri, 2008-02-08 06:26

thanks for all the info guys...

damo

tailor marc's picture

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(No subject)

Fri, 2008-02-08 07:20

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tailor marc's picture

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This pic above is off

Fri, 2008-02-08 07:25

This pic above is off www.steeppoint.com.au

I use above rig but i prefer a normal swivel instead or a 3 way then run a running snap swivel that the baloon line is attached to.
Advantage is that it helps getting balloon out off the cliff easyer.

What i do is hold onto the bait and let baloon out off the cliff. Let baloon out 60 meters then throw you bait off and it should skip out to meet your balloon!

I have had many strikes while its acually skipping out to the balloon!

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Colin Hay's picture

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Ballooning tip

Fri, 2008-02-08 07:30

I have been told to use a very light mono line (0.5) kilos to attach your balloon to the main line. When the fish grabs the bait you can then reel your balloon in on a light roid and reel after you have landed the fish. That way you don't lose your balloon which costs a fair bit to buy and to fill with helium
All the best Colin Hay

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tailor marc's picture

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I allways use light line

Fri, 2008-02-08 07:56

I allways use light line ...about 10pound max. When the fish runs or goes deep 90% of the time the balloon will pop.
Thats the first sign there is something happining around your balloon.

Best to loose your balloon i think. It only makes gaffing or cliff gaff tangled etc

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tailor marc's picture

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"no worries" I know what ya

Fri, 2008-02-08 09:09

"no worries" I know what ya mean! Love steeppoint!

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Neander's picture

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I am planning on a trip to

Fri, 2008-02-08 09:53

I am planning on a trip to Steep around April 09

1 week exmouth
1 week steep
1 week Kalbari

Dam I wish I could time travel :)

brenz's picture

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Date Joined: 15/06/06

balloning:

Fri, 2008-02-08 13:22

balloning:
30 size overhead reel minimum,
50 lb line class min as 30 snaps too easy when it touches rocks,
i use a 10 ft cutom live fibre rod wouldnt recomend anything less than 7ft .
harness to bolt you onto the cliff ok but harness to clip you to the reel definately not cause if your reel locks up your goin over with the fish,
90 cm balloons,
135lb multistrand wire (not heat shrink wire),
9/0 7766d mustad hooks ganged in a set of 4 or five depending on gardie size riged with trebble on second and last hook,
180 lb ballbearing swivels ,
skirts,
gimble belt,
the way you make your rig for ballooning is very simple 2 meters of wire trace onto your gang(crimped) with a skirt over the top and a ball beaRING swivel on top. to attach your balloon have a clip swivel running up and down your main line with aleast 10 meters of 30lb mono conected to your balloon this means when you hook your fish the balloon comes up to your rod tip you unclip your balloon of the main line so you can keep your balloon for the next bait (also means you can carry less gas)
cheers brenz

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legends

Fri, 2008-02-08 16:08

you guys are serious legends...

would be lost without ya's...

cheers

Rob C's picture

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I used a 20lb balloon line

Sat, 2008-02-09 07:05

I used a 20lb balloon line about 20 meters long and didnt loose my balloon once when hooked a fish, I dont want to be loosing a $6 balloon and $10 or so worth of gas everytime i hook a fish.

 

Make sure you buy those big 90cm balloons not the cheapest but well worth it.

 

Cheers

brenz's picture

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crikey rob 6 bucks for a

Sat, 2008-02-09 09:05

crikey rob 6 bucks for a baloon you have been "robed" lol
got the good ansell 1s for $3.50 down here at tackle shack :):):):)
cheers brenz
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Rob C's picture

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What size balloons are

Mon, 2008-02-11 11:33

What size balloons are these?

I use the 90cm duratech ones. These are realy big balloons have heaps of lift.

 

Cheers

Rob 

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Date Joined: 08/06/11

 Do you really need the wind

Sun, 2011-12-18 22:00

 Do you really need the wind to be behind you while attempting to balloon ? Also is gassing necessary or can this be done without gassing? How come no ones trying this from the beach or is this not really possible and more for cliff and rocks? 

Cheers

Abz

dan80's picture

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Hey mate forget loading your

Mon, 2011-12-19 20:29

Hey mate forget loading your reel with 50lb line, go for 30lb with about 50m off 50lb wind on leader, 50lb tends to give you extra drag when ballooning meaning you need more lift in your balloon. The wind on leader gives a bit of extra protection around the rocks when gaffing. This is what we use up at the point and It's been working for the last 17 years. Also get onto nilsmaster hard body lures colour 66, itackle online have em for about 17 bucks, mackeral love em