Monthly Archives: September 2015

Eastern blue groper live along most rocky areas of the coastline from southern Queensland to Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria. Another closely related species the Western blue groper looks very similar and can be found from South Australia to southern Western Australia. The harder it is to access a set of rocks then generally the better the fishing is. They can be caught in depths between 1 and 30 meters.

The author Darrin ‘Wilso’ Clarke washing up a big blue onto the rocks.

How to target

Rod & Reel

You don’t need large bulky outfits to target snapper. An ideal outfit to use is a 5-8kg spin rod around 7′ to 7’6″ in length. Match it with a 3000 to 5000 reel and you’ll be able to flick lures or baits with it all day without getting tired.

Brett Mensforth’s winning 101cm topwater snapper entered in the Get Fishing Tournaments 2015.

Line and leader

When fishing for snapper with small to medium sized spin reels choose a braid in the 15-30lb range to suit your outfit. You can go lighter but when it comes to stopping 10kg+ fish you might be a little under gunned in most situations. Attach 2-3m of 15-30lb fluorocarbon leader to your mainline using an Albright Knot, GT Knot, FG knot or similar. Double Uni Knots are not recommended as they are a low-breaking strain knot and will bust eventually.

Fingermark are also known around the top end of Australia as Golden Snapper, particularly in the Northern Territory. They are found in estuaries, inshore reefs, structures and wrecks throughout the northern parts of Australia. Mostly an inshore species although the bigger fish may be found further offshore when in their spawning cycle.

Coby Pascoe with a cracking Fingermark taken on a soft plastic.

How to target on bait

Fingermark will take a large variety of baits although fresh is always best. Baits of live Squid, Herring, Yellowtail and other small to medium baits are all worth trying. Dead strip baits of Squid, Mullet or Tuna and what is around the area of the target species is always worth a go.

How to target on Lures

Fingermark are an aggressive fish they will attack a wide range of lures large or small. Lure choice is determined on the area and conditions fished at that time.

For instance calm clear days fish smaller less aggressive style of lure. Night time, low light and dirty water use vibe’s and larger lures.

The new micro jigs will do the trick of turning the fingermark on. If in doubt try and match the hatch.

Kenny Howell with a tournament winning fingermark taken on soft vibe at night.

Rod & Reel – Estuary

The fingermark found in estuaries are generally smaller than the big offshore fish so if you are fishing gravel patches rods from 2kg to 5kg and reels in the 1500 to 2500 sizes will give you some fun and still handle these smaller fish. However when they are around snags or rock bars you will need to up-size to rods of 5kg to 10kg and reels from 3000 to 4000 to extract them.

Rod & Reel – Inshore

Fingermark found around inshore reefs are a lot larger than the average estuary fish so some stopping power is needed, especially in rough terrain. Reels of 3000 and above sizes and rods to match with some serious stopping power in the roughest terrain will be needed.

Liam Pascoe caught this fingermark while flicking the bank of a QLD estuary.

Terminal Tackle – Estuary

When using smaller estuary outfits mainlines of 2kg to 5kg and leaders of 6kg to 10kg will suffice for fish hanging around the softer terrain such as gravel beds, etc.

You need take it up a knotch when the terrain gets that bit rougher around rock bars, snags, etc. So main lines of 10kg to 15kg are the go with leaders of 15kg to 27kg.

With soft plastic’s matching the hook size, weight to the outfit and current conditions is required. Also as the tackle used gets heavier you need to upgrade your hooks so as to not straighten them out on a fish retreating for home.

Rigs: Stick with the KISS method [Keep it simple stupid] just run a ball sinker of the right weight for the conditions straight to the hook or add a swivel of the right size with the sinker running to it then about 1m of leader to your hook. See Running Sinker Rigs.

Terminal Tackle – Inshore

These fish are usually hanging around some pretty tough structure so some stopping power is needed. Main lines of 15kg to 25kg are needed to stop these fish from getting home and when they do leaders in the range of 18kg to 36kg should help, but not always.

Rigs: A paternoster rig with the appropriate weight with solid hooks in the 7/0 to 9/0 range or a running ball sinker to a crane swivel of the right size with a 7/0 to 9/0 is best suited to a live bait.

Soft plastic jig heads and lures should all have strong proven hooks on them these fish will straighten hooks on heavy tackle.

Best Lures

Soft plastics in the 3’’ to 5’’ work well when fishing estuaries. When fishing inshore you can switch it up to 5’’ to 7’’ Flick baits and paddle tails.

Vibes for the estuaries should be under 4’’ or 100mm whilst outside anything that gets close to their front door will work.

Jigs are becoming popular and will work in the 40mm to 100mm range and different weights.

Notice the ‘finger mark’ disappears in larger fish.

Hints and tips

• Always use the FRESHEST bait possible.
• Use the correct hook size for that bait, eg.plenty of hook point showing.
• Use your sounder and electric motor if you have one to find the best structure or concentrations of fish.
• At night or in dirty water work your lures slow but noisily in the one position this will attract the fish to your lure from distance.
• If you catch one there will be more, concentrate your efforts on that area you caught the fish.

Liam Pascoe with a very nice inshore fingermark caught on medium spin gear.

Black Jewfish are commonly caught in northern waters of Australia. They can be caught in a range of different habitats from the top of an estuary to the mouth, headlands and offshore wrecks and reefs. Its usually best fishing for these fish in the colder months when they begin to school up in large schools.

Night time is the best time to target black jew.

How to target

Black Jewfish are very similar to there relative the mulloway, although mulloway have a very good reputation of being picky with what they eat. This isn’t the case with black jewfish. Black Jew are scavengers and predators. They are commonly caught on dead baits like pilchards, squid, prawns, fish fillets, whole fish, etc. While they do readily take dead baits it still pays to remember that fresh is best. 

Juvenile fish can be caught in estuaries and can easily be confused with other small jewfish like soapy jew and river jew in the estuaries. But once these fish start getting around legal size (75cm in QLD) they are easier to identify. Big black jew are occasionally found in the deep holes of estuaries, around rock bars and in the mouths of creeks.

Headlands and offshore is were you find the big fish ranging from 75cm to 150cm. You generally find them in the deeper areas although they still move around to shallower headlands and islands.

Generally 4 days before and after the full moon is best at night around the tide change. In saying that, 4 days before and after the new moon still produces some fish as well.

Black Jew aren’t just scavengers they are also aggressive predators that will attack a whole range of lures such as soft plastics, hard bodies and vibes. Working lures slow generally produces the best results.

You don’t always need heavy gear to stop big fish.

Rod & Reel

One of Coby’s black jew being measured for our tournaments.

Line and leader

Best Lures

Soft plastics large and small all work, especially the big flick baits and curtails. Just work them slow in the one area, this will attract the fish to the area.

Vibes from about 40mm and up can also be used to great effect. They cover the whole water column and can be used to search out the area very quickly.  Slow rolls, big lifts and draws work well as does just slowly hopping the lure straight up and down under the boat.

Coby’s dad Liam with a cracking black jew on stickbait.

Best Bait

Black Jew are not too fussy so baits of all types can be used. Just remember that fresh is best.

Baits such as qquid, tuna, mullet, fish heads and pilchards are all good baits.

Hints and tips

• Winter time is your best time to find these fish as they are usually schooled up and are bigger fish especially off headlands and wrecks. Concentrate your time during night time around the full moon on tide changes.

• Make use of your electronics and sound around an area for a while to find were the bait is located. There may not be fish there yet but they wont be far away.

• Keep an eye on your sounder at all times as black jew show up very well on sounders because of there large size and big swim bladder.

• Use different techniques, especially if there is more than one person. Whether you are anchored, drifting or have an electric it still pays to have a bait out the back while using lures.

• Don’t be scared to go big in lures! Especially at night time big is better and it does not worry these fish. Work them slow too. Big vibes slowly jigged under the boat works well.

• Also usually were there is one there is more. Don’t expect to be able to release these fish as they suffer from barotrauma in depths of 8m or more, and will more than likely die. So only catch as many as you need, they aren’t very good eating except in curries and soups.

Coby with a prize-winning jew from our tournaments.

Rigging for bait fishing

Usually a paternoster rig will be good enough fitted with the right weight for the prevailing conditions, just make sure the hooks are large and strong 7/0 to 10/0 these fish have huge mouths and pull extremely hard.

If the current isn’t pushing to hard then a decent ball sinker sliding straight to a crane swivel attached to about 1.5m of good quality leader and hook wafting around with a large squid head or strip of tuna will entice them. See our Running Sinker Rig video as an example.

Rainbow Trout are an introduced species that inhabit the southern states of Australia predominantly. They can be caught in rivers, dams and lakes throughout these areas. Rainbow trout do have areas where they are self supporting, but they are stocked heavily into many areas for their sporting ability. They are more prominent than brown trout due to the amount of private fisheries they have been stocked into. It is a common belief with anglers that they have better fighting ability than that of the brown trout. Rainbow trout love running water and sometimes the faster the better. They will lay in sections of fast water that you would not expect a fish to be in and they love traveling upstream into the current. When hooked the run very fast and they generally don’t give up easily sometimes spending more time out of the water than in it. They have been stocked extensively into many waterways and its not uncommon for them to be in many private dams around the country as they can be purchased specifically for this purpose. They are easily distinguished from other trout by the red stripe that runs through there body and there are several colour variations of this also.

How to target

There are several ways to target trout depending on where you are located. Its best to check the local angling regulations in your area to check what the rules and regulations are as in most instances a freshwater licence is required to fish for them. They can be caught using lures, soft plastics, flies and bait. You can fish from a shore or boat using any of these methods. They are a great sporting fish and they have good fighting ability. It’s not uncommon for them to run and jump once they are hooked.

They have soft mouths and it is easy to pull the hooks if you have your drag too tight so a patient approach will see you land more fish. A loose drag is a must and its important to wear the fish down rather than just try and get them in as quick as you can.

Rod & Reel

Trout fishing gear has come a long way over the years from where it began. Most people used bigger rods and reels back in the earlier years, but these days you can use a 1-3kg rod or heavier with either a 1000 or 2500 size reel. Length of rod would be up to your preference, but anything from 6-7ft would be ideal.

Line and leader

When fishing for trout there are many types of line available to suit your needs. If your using braid you can use anything from 4lb to 12lb as there is very little difference in the line thickness these days and its just your preference of where you will be fishing and what size fish you will be targeting as to what you want to use.

Terminal Tackle

Depending on what you wish to do there are many options available to you.

• Jig heads: from 1/16th to 1/6th it depends on what area you will be fishing and depth. Also its best to choose a hook size to suit the size of your plastic as you don’t want to be using a small plastic with a big hook so take this into account when choosing.
• Lures: Most lures will come with the trebles already attached. Try and use the same size hooks that have come off the lure. There are many different brands such as Owner, Gamakatsu, Decoy and Mustad. Any of these are fine and in most cases size 10 or 12 will suit, but I never use silver hooks on trout lures as it looks unnatural to see them hanging from a lure.
• Sinkers: When trout fishing the least weight as possible is best. When a trout takes a bait if it feels weight and resistance it doesn’t feel natural. So look at thje bait and where you will be fishing and choose the lightest you can. Barrel sinkers or ball sinkers are best.
• Hooks: When bait fishing there are many hooks available. You need to look at your bait and decide what hook best suits the bait based on its size. You have many baits you can use from worms, wattle grubs, baitfish, mud eyes etc so your hook choice will be based on the bait used. The possibilities are endless really.
• Clips/snaps: When using lures you can use clips to attach your lures. There are several available and the benefits of these are it enables you to change lures faster rather than retying. Trout don’t seem to mind clips, but try and use as small as possible. Size 00 are generally rated to around 18lb so they are ideal. Damiki and Decoy both have versions of these.

Best Lures

There are literally hundreds of options available when it comes to choosing a lure or soft plastic to fish for Brown trout with. They are a predatory fish, but they can also be quite lazy at times as well. You can use anything from small hard bodied lures up to six inch plastics with success. They key is matching the bait that inhabits the area. If you can use something of similar size or colour then that’s a good starting point. Try mixing up how you fish them from fast to slow and with aggressive twitches and even letting the plastics bounce off the bottom. It will depend on what sort of mood the fish are in as to how they react. Once you work out a pattern then try sticking to that. It’s a matter of what works on one day may not necessarily work on another.

A selection of what you can use to catch brown trout.

Best Bait

There are many baits to you can use when fishing for brown trout. You can use wattle grubs which the fish love. They can be rigged on a running sinker rig and fished on the bottom or they can be used unweighted. Worms are another great bait and these are especially good when fishing rivers that are on the rise or when newly covered ground has been covered by rising water. In some areas you can use baitfish, but check your local regulations first as depending on your location this may be illegal. It is a very popular method for catching sea run trout. mudeyes are a great bait for trout. These can be fished under a float or unweighted. Trout find these hard to resist and in the warmer months they are very popular.

Hints and tips

Brown trout are a predatory fish this helps us as anglers to catch them. You can use many methods to do this, but remember to try and use what looks natural.

• Rainbow trout love running water. They will travel great distances following it and lay in sections that you would think impossible for a fish to be in. The faster the better at times.

• They can sometimes travel in schools and its not uncommon to catch several fish from the same spot.

• They can be very fussy at times and follow your lures without taking them which is all part of the challenge. Sometimes a change of colour or retrieve will get them more interested.
• Rainbows love bright and flashy lures. Sometimes things that look completely unnatural they will eat. It’s sometimes a case of the brighter the better. Pink and orange are two such colours.
• They love structure and this ranges from rocks, logs, trees or anything they can hide under. It pays to fish around these as this is where you will find them.
• They also like running water and you will find them in very fast sections of running water, but generally they like sitting behind structure in this instance where they can ambush any prey that comes past their nose.
• When using soft plastics don’t be afraid of using big plastics as they will eat them even when they are 6 inches long. You will be surprised how big the plastics are that a small fish will take.
• When using lures fish with big rips and jerks. This mimics a baitfish and sometimes the faster the retrieve the better. It is not necessary to pause the lure and a constant wind with twitches works well.
• If fishing in running water don’t dismiss anything as they will hold in very fast water. If you can see structure that breaks the current as in behind a rock give that a go as they will often sit behind these as it requires less energy.
• When fishing its and advantage to use a landing net as this gives you a better chance of landing the fish rather than trying to beach it or pick it up.
• Rainbow trout can be caught at night using most methods. Big fish feed at night under the cover of darkness as it gives them plenty of cover. Using wattle grubs of a night and surface lures are very productive and can result in some big fish captures. The key of a night is fishing as slow as possible.
• Look for showering baitfish as this is a sign that there may be a fish chasing them. It pays to give these some attention if you see them.
• They have soft mouths and it is important to have your drag loose so they can pull line once hooked. This prevents them from breaking your line and helps prevent losing them.

Rigging for lure fishing

There is nothing complicated when rigging a lure for a trout. You can simply tie the lure straight on using a Clinch Knot or loop knot such as a Lefty’s Loop. You can also use a snap or clip. Either is fine and the advantage of a clip is it enables you to change lures more quickly rather than retying every time you want to change lures