Western rock lobster belong to the family of ‘spiny’ lobsters but here in Perth we like to refer to them as “crays”. The past cray season that took place along the coast in metro waters was quite a spectacle and the shear number of crays being caught by recreational fishers was something to behold. Recreational fishers must have a recreational rock lobster licence are allowed to keep 8 crays each per day with a possession limit or 24 crays. Licences can be purchased from the department of fisheries for $40 and strict rules must be followed regarding pot types, bait, number of pots allowed, etc.
For approximately 2 weeks in Late November/Early December of 2015 myself and good mate Brad Davey found ourselves completing a very exciting daily ritual. Waking at 4am we would pack some bait into the ice box and with boat in tow we would head down to Hillarys boat ramp as our launching point. From there we would head out to the 3-mile reef and pull our 4 pots. Every day without fail we pulled the pots with child-like excitement and high anticipation of what we might catch. When the crays were running in full swing we found ourselves bagging out with our limit of 8 crays each. The best pull we had was our bag limit of 16 crays all in 1 pot. That particular day was the pinnacle of our success and exciting as it was there were reports of others catching over 20 crays in a single pot!
The whole event that took place over those few weeks was so fun and exciting that I thought I would shed a bit of insight to what we did behind the scenes in preparation before the run. They say that “prior preparation prevents piss poor performance”, so in order to succeed we spent a few hours one afternoon tidying up our cray pots and fixing any broken slats. Three of our 4 pots were in relatively good working order, however 1 needed quite a bit of TLC to remove the old plastic red neck and replace with wooden fingers. With the Bosch Blue GSB 18-V EC Professional Impact Drill/Driver Kit handy we had everything we needed to get the job done. Here’s a quick step by step guide to what we did:
Step 1: Remove the old plastic red neck
Step 2: Fix 4 main beams to support the wooden fingers
Step 3: Screw the wooden fingers to the main beams
Job done.
One thing I will note was the importance of having a good quality drill to get the job done quickly, safely and without hassle. Having to screw all of those screws in by hand would have been a nightmare and would have caused the pine fingers to split. A few weeks prior I had just got myself a new Bosch Blue cordless hammer drill and I must say that to date it’s the best power drill I’ve ever used. Pre-drilling and screwing was a breeze and the efficiency of a cordless drill allowed us to complete the whole job in less than 15 minutes!
Once our 4 cray pots were in good working order and our rope lengths were suitable for the depth of water we planned to fish the only thing left to do was make sure we had a good supply of bait for the duration of our campaign. Over the course of 2 weeks we went through a 20kg block of Orange Roughy heads and a 20kg block of blue mackerel.
I’ll leave the finer details about catching crays to a future article, but in a nutshell we placed our pots on sand in about 18m of water just behind the 3-mile reef. Here’s a few pics of our results.
Brad Davey showing just a little excitement with our first cray of the season.
Three average-sized crays plus our biggest of the season on the left.
The result of a successful morning, 16 delicious crays.
Bagging out with 16 crays wasn’t unusual when the crays were in full run.
On a recent trip to Western Australia’s south west I was lucky enough to experience one of those fish-of-a-lifetime encounters with a Giant Herring close to 1m in length.
It all started when I picked up my new kayak from Perth Airport the day before our trip down south. Some serious research went into choosing the right yak that would be suitable to a variety of conditions. The vessel not only needed to fit into my budget of less than $1,000 but it also needed to be a purpose-built fishing platform suitable to fishing a variety of Western Australia’s fresh and saltwater waterways as well as Perth’s inshore waters. After filtering through the various brands, shapes and models I had my heart set on the Dream Kayaks Angler’s Dream 3 which is a 4m Fishing Kayak that comes fully rigged with loads of extras. At the time of purchasing the guys at Dream Kayaks did not have a shop front where the kayaks could be viewed. The only way to get one was to purchase online and pick up from a warehouse at Perth International Airport, which seemed like a leap of faith at the time. This particular model really did tickle my fancy far more than anything else within my budget so I bit the bullet and got one. Needless to say I couldn’t be happier with my new rig that is comparable, if not better in my opinion, than kayaks twice the price.
After packing all of the camping gear into the 4×4 and strapping the yak to the roof, my wife, two golden retrievers and I hit the road and headed south. Our first destination was Walpole, a small town on the south coast of WA about 5 hours drive from Perth and an hour and a half drive west of Albany. The Walpole region is a renowned fishing hot spot that offers anglers two adjoining inlets to fish, Walpole inlet to the north and Nornalup inlet to the south. The town of Walpole itself is situated at the northern end of Walpole inlet. The two waterways are actually joined by a narrow neck of water about 1km long and 200m across. Considering we were booked to camp at the Rest Point Holiday Village on the western side of this neck of water it made sense to focus my fishing efforts in this narrow stretch of water for a couple of days.
The first session was an arvo session along the eastern edge of the neck, fishing the small rocky points adjacent to sand/gravel substrate. This trip was the maiden voyage in the new Angler’s Dream 3 and produced a few nice herring and undersized snapper on plastics. The yak was a pleasure to fish out of but unfortunately lure fishing was made difficult with the occurrence of snotty slime weed almost every cast no matter where you fished. Although I had managed about ten fish in a few hours it was certainly nothing to write home about and after chatting with a couple of other fishos in the camp ground I was starting to think the blanket covering of weed throughout the inlets was going to jeopardise the whole trip.
The next morning I ventured out just after first light for another session, this time along the western edge of the neck and down into the sand flats in the north west of Nornalup inlet. I spent the first couple of hours throwing Squidgy Wrigglers and Z-Man Grubs along the rocky edges and down along the sand flats in search of bream and Flathead. Both of these species seemed to be pretty well shut down but the plague proportions of undersized snapper and the occasional herring provided endless entertainment. At this point I was thirsty for some real action and was starting get over catching tiddlers. As I made my way back into the neck and towards the cap ground I came across some good gravelly ground adjacent to a rocky point on the western edge. Unlike everywhere else this patch of ground had little to no slimy snot weed. I decided to mix it up and start throwing hard bodies instead of plastics, and it became apparent that Jackall Chubbies were more than twice as effective than any plastic I had used that morning. Almost instantly I was getting hit left, right and center by juvenile King George Whiting and snapper, herring and a couple of bream. It was starting to get late In the morning, about 9:30am, and it was time to start heading back.
It was one of those occasions where you really wanted to stay but you knew you’d better leave otherwise you’d be in the dog house with the better half. Anyway I decided to push my luck and have a few more casts when SMACK! I finally came connected to a decent fish. It felt like a decent flatty and started to moving right and back towards the yak. Moments later as the fish rose to the surface I got a visual and could not believe what was unfolding – I was connected to a fish that I honestly never thought I would encounter – a Giant Herring, and a big one at that. The fish’s dorsal and tail fins broke the surface about 6-7m away from the yak and up until this point it was a pretty casual fight. However, things changed dramatically as soon as the fish saw the yak. The next 5 minutes or so entailed a series of excruciatingly fast runs that saw the poor little 1000 Shimano Rarenium Ci4 reel with only 4lb braid cop a serious flogging.
About 100m away there was a boat passing by, heading south towards Nornalup inlet. I gave a frantic wave signaling it to come over. All I could think of was that I needed a net to land this fish and this was my only chance to get one. After a quick briefing with the guy in the boat he was generous enough to pass me his landing net and sit back waiting until I landed the fish – what a legend. Over the next 10-15 minutes there were several moments where I thought the fish was going to spool me, but as luck would have it I was fishing from a kayak and was able to put just enough pressure on the fish to enable it to tow me around, gaining line at every chance. The fish showed relentlessness equivalent to that of a tuna or even more so. It just wouldn’t give up and every time it neared the yak it would tear off another 10-30m of line. After a total 20-minute battle I was able to slip the net under the speedster and get a close up look at it.
It truly was a magnificent looking fish and I can remember a distinct odor coming from its slimy flanks. By this stage the generous boatie and his two kids were pulled up alongside the kayak and were kind enough to take a few photos. I wish I had taken more time to admire the Giant Herring in all it’s glory, but my thoughts were focused on getting it back in the water as quick as possible. The fish was buggered from a drawn-out fight but after a quick swim it regained it’s energy and powered off to fight another day. At nearly 1m in length (it looks much smaller in the photos) it has to be up there with one of my most memorable captures and pound for pound one of the best fighting fish I’ve ever done battle with. Given the rarity and unpredictability of Giant Herring as a target species, and considering it was caught on 4lb Sunline braid and 6lb Yamamoto leader it’s fair to say that this was a true fish of a lifetime and a fish I’ll never forget.
Unfortunately this was to be my last session in Walpole for the trip. As it turns out the National Sparks and Wildfires unit thought it would be a good idea to begin back burning from the edge of the campground right throughout the National Park. The intense smoke and heavy traffic of fire trucks and support vehicles was a complete turn-off to our peaceful campsite. The owners of the park were furious considering it was peak holiday season and only 1 week before Christmas, but there was nothing they could do. We didn’t think too fondly of the situation so we decided to leave 4 days early and headed north to Busselton to continue our adventure.
At the time of writing this article my number of sessions in the Dream Kayaks Angler’s Dream 3 still remains relatively few. However I can honestly say from a fishing perspective it certainly lived up t all of my expectations. Previously I had fished from other quality yaks but the Angler’s Dream surpassed those as a fishing platform. It is very stable, has plenty of storage including a large rectangular compartment conveniently located between your legs, it has a sturdy and easy to use rudder system, ample rod storage, drainage bungs and a super comfy adjustable seat. Aside form that the blue camouflage colour I chose also makes it look like a serious fishos kayak. I did notice that Dream Kayaks have a stack of RailBlaza accessories available on their website. I’ve got my eye on a camera boom and kayak trolley for now but the list of gadgets to trick your yak is endless.
The new kayak and this latest adventure down south have certainly rekindled my passion for this style of fishing, so be sure to keep an eye out for future kayak fishing articles on the website!
The following is a re-cap of an epic fishing adventure in late March 2014 when a handful of Get Fishing members got together for an annual fishing trip at a sleepy little town along WA’s mid-west coast.
The trip was set to be a 5-night stay for 5 blokes between the 24th-29th March. However, with the weather looking the goods a last minute decision was made on the morning of Saturday the 22nd for Jeffrey Ward and I to pack the Prado, hitch up the boat and be on our way by lunchtime. We were to arrive two days early and the rest of the boys would meet us up there on Monday 24th. After grabbing a few supplies along the way and enduring a sweltering 6 hour drive we arrived at our destination, Port Gregory. We were lucky enough to deploy the cray pots just before sunset and fix the boat to its mooring where it would reside for the following six days.
Sunrise at the jetty
Day 1 on the water started off in fine form with a feed of crays from the pots plus a couple of nice Coral Trout and Baldchin Groper being boated in what was almost too perfect conditions – flat seas and no wind. With the wind getting up that evening Jeff and I decided to call it quits for the day and return to our cabin at Port Gregory Caravan Park where we would spend the rest of the day tying rigs and devising a game plan for the following days.
A beautifully coloured Coral Trout to open the account on Day 1
Jeff being an eastern stater was wrapped with his first ever Baldchin Groper
Day 2 started in similar fashion to Day 1 with a few more crays from the pots, hardly enough to get excited about but enough for a delicious feed at the end of the day. From there we began fishing to the south-west of the lagoon about 4 mile offshore. We found a nice patch of ground to work and not too long into the first drift a bent rod and a few groans signified the first fish of the day was hooked and on it’s way to the surface. It turned out to be a reasonable Dhufish of about 4-5kg. By 9am we had landed a couple of Dhufish and a Baldchin Groper, when suddenly Jeff’s rod buckled over and line began to spew from the Saltiga 4500. Unfortunately for Jeff the fish turned out to be a hefty Painted Sweetlip, aka Sand Snapper of about 8kg. Apparently these fish are no good to eat so after a couple of quick pics it was released to fight another day.
Not a bad way to open the Dhuie account for the trip with this small specimen of about 4kg
Another nice Dhuie. Not a monster but still great fun at around 5kg
Talk about an anti-climax. This Painted Sweetlip had Jeff sweating bullets for a few minutes thinking he was hooked up to his first Dhuie. After a few pics this beauty was released to fight another day.
At approximately 9am the Caravan Park owners called, letting us know that the big cabin was ready for us to move into and that we had to move cabins by 10am. So we headed back to shore, completed the move in record-breaking time and headed back out to chase the schools of Tuna we had been watching all morning smacking baitfish in tight bait balls. Catching tuna on spin is easy when you have the method down pat. It was simply a matter of heading upwind of a school of fish, killing the outboard, belting a 60g metal or stickbait into the school, waiting a few seconds then cranking as fast as you possibly can. A few moments into our first approach we were in the thick of what was to be a 1.5 hour session of reel screaming, adrenalin injected fishing as we pinned striped and yellowfin tuna one after the other on 5-8kg spin sticks and 20lb braid. With a couple of jelly bean Yellowfin Tuna on ice and a few stripeys kept for bait it was almost time to head in. The wind was increasing, the seas were becoming unfavorable and with one final cast Jeff found himself on the receiving end of brutal surface strike and drag melting first run of what turned out to be a 14kg Yellowfin Tuna. Not huge by any means but on spin gear and 20lb line in those conditions it was a great effort. We were on a high and it was sashimi smiles all round. Upon returning to the cabin we were greeted by the rest of the crew; Paul Swart, Matty Fawcett and Allan ‘Greeny’ Green.
This Jelly Bean Yellowfin Tuna took a fast retrieved 60g Gillies Baitfish in glow
Jeff and his 14kg Yellowfin Tuna taken on a Maria Bull Chop on 20lb spin gear
Day 3 was a write off due to weather and engine difficulties. On the way back to shore the previous afternoon the outboard was playing up which turned out to be a dying spark plug. With none of the same type available in Kalbarri (yes, we couldn’t believe it either!) it was decided that all five of us would fish the remaining days on Matty’s 6.5m Coraline Plate Ally Boat ‘Son OF A Beach’.
Sunset at Port Gregory Beach
Day 4 was a day noone will ever forget. All five of us piled into the 6.5m Coraline and headed about 6mile offshore to a few lumps that hadn’t been touched in months due to the prevailing poor weather conditions. Within minutes of anchoring it was bent rods all round as we hooked up left right and center. It was either Coral Trout, Dhufish, Estuary Cod, Spangled Emperor or Snapper on the bottom or Spanish Mackerel on the floaters. Everything we touched turned to gold. This mayhem lasted for about an hour before we up anchored and moved to a nearby spot where we experienced a serious case of deja vous.
Another one of many small to medium sized Dhufish caught during the trip
Early on in the piece we reached our bag limit of 2 category 1 demersal fish per person plus a few Spanish Mackerel, which meant that most fish we caught had to be released. Due to the water depth being so shallow all but 1 of the fish were released successfully without the aid of a release weight. However, after about 2 hours of total mayhem we decided it was best to leave the fish alone and head to shore for lunch and a few coldies. The weather turned sour in the afternoon so we kicked back at the cabin once again to spin a few yarns and enjoy a feed of crays, chips, salad and YFT sashimi.
Most Coral Trout boated were red fish like this, among the other colours were brown and green
Look at those conditions! Perfect for pulling quality Coral Trout like the one Matty is showcasing here
Day 5 was basically an exact replica of day 4 except that the early morning wind was a little stronger. Nonetheless we punched out into the 10-15knot sou’easter, dropped the pick and were once again greeted by the locals…and needless to say they were hungry! By the end of the session we had reached saturation point. We had caught enough fish to sink a small ship and we all had a few kilos of fillets to take home to our families. After what was unanimously determined the best fishing trip ever we made the call to end the trip on a high and head home to Perth, one day early.
Jeff looking stoked with yet another first, this time a rather green coloured Coral Trout
By midday on Day 6 we were on the road, headed for the hustle and bustle of Metropolitan Perth. The morning consisted of pulling the pots for another half a dozen crays, retrieving the boat, packing the 4WD’s and saying our goodbyes. If you ever visit the region be sure to stay a night or two at the Port Gregory Caravan Park. The owners Tim, Sam and their two kids are a top young family that have done a great job making the park a perfect place to unwind after a big day on the water.
By Robbie Riches – Get Fishing Founder and Managing Director
With the first rains falling and glassed off harbours fishos around the top end are smiling. The build up is here bringing with it flat seas, sweaty days and the best chance since April to bag a big barra.
This weekends neap tides will see all the major rivers clear up and provide a fantastic opportunity for lure, fly and bait fisherman alike.
Trolling and casting rock bars inside rivers like the Finnis and the Daly will no doubt produce some quality chromed up barra who are aggregating in these areas to follow natures call and begin the spawning process.
Casting snags with well presented lures and flys will also be a top option for the more active fisho while soaking a live cherabin or mullet will suit those more relaxed types.
The build up isn’t only about the barra either. Some great bags of hungry Jew fish, golden snapper and coral trout are again gracing the filleting tables as bottom fishers can once again spread far and wide to their favourite marks.
This time of year is full of anticipation for keen top end fishos who revel in each storm and keep an eagle eye on the rainfall totals over the floodplain of their favourite run off barra spots. It’s the rain at this time of year which sets up the breeding cycle for the mighty barra so cross your fingers and do the rain dance.
The Inner Sanctum is a dish best served by boat, with a few jerry’s strapped in to help you cover ground and lots of it, well that’s how we approach it.
After about 6 months from our last trip, once again the plans, the itch to get up there again were creeping in. The biggest hurdle this time was the plans of new jobs, career prospects and the reality that this year’s trip needed to be pinned to a long weekend, not a 7 to 10 day break.
Any regular traveller to shark bay will tell you that trying to put your eggs into one basket of a weekend that far out might not work out to well, and with a constant eye on the willy weather website for the 6 weeks leading in, comfort arrived about a fortnight out when the low easterly wind pattern that usually starts to develop in Easter rocked up in late May.
Day 1: Finally arriving around midday Friday, we got everything setup and hit the water mid arvo and headed of for a quick look at one of our usual haunts not far from town, usually good for some big western yellows, good sized pink snapper that like roaming flatter pastures and chunky tailor.
Much to our disappointment, there wasn’t a lot to spruik about with only a couple of very small yellows, very few pink snapper, and some small tuskfish to hit the decks, we were left thinking if this is how one of our good indicator areas is going, are we in for flat weekend.
Day 2:
Launching at gentleman’s hours thanks to the time of the tides, we headed of into the distance across the bay to one of our further but most favourably spots for Pink Snapper in reasonably skinny water to only find two boats already working the area. With the tide starting to show it was on the in, we decided to not cramp the situation and move on. After some deliberation in the boat, much to my disgust, we headed off to a rocky point that we knew had some tidal influence on it and produced some ok fish the year before. What a change from last year, as we started to put casts into the flow of the point, it wasn’t long until Mikey and Brent had some solid 40cm plus slabs hitting the deck.
It then became pretty clear this trip the bream were going to be hard to tame, as it didn’t take long for them to go of the bite and shut down, we found some other entertainment in that area on some chunky whiting and an aggressive flatty, but within too long we were on our way to another area.
A spot that produced well for us 12 months earlier, the anticipation of what may arise this time from the caves, crevasses an weed beds was instant, what we encountered was a rampant school of mini GTs that would just not let any other fish near a lure, another location where we had once tamed some giant western yellows and solid tuskfish seemed to be a relocated day care for GTs, not that we were complaining.
The next plan was hatched to move out to deeper water nearby, an area we had eyeballed once before in search of some Pink snapper on Jig’s, and whatever else was lurking. What was too happened over the next few hours, I would have never predicted to happen in this location, was that due to my overall lack of knowledge in the area, or was it the new way in which we approached it to last, I’m still unsure. I started off on the Damiki Backdrop Casting Jig 40g while the other lads went the placcies 5’ to 7’.
We pulled up to the shallower side of the area we wanted to work, deployed the kota and started to work along some good looking, but at times heavy structured ground in search of some elusive large shark bay pinks. After around 20mins or so we started to wonder again, are we just up here on the wrong conditions, then the first strike, mike was onto a mid-60’s pink, short hustle and it was in the net. Things slowly started to improve from here, and as the next hour unfolded, we started getting into mid-size pinks, Golden Trevally and the Odd Small GT, by small I mean half a metre, because every GT under 40kg is a rat thanks to the guys in Oman. Coming around one part of the area we were working is when things got interesting, mike all of a sudden gets a peeling run on the pe2 loaded caldia, and within no time is dusted, did we just loose the big pink we were hoping for, or was this something else.
After playing around with weight sizes on the Damiki Jigs, from 20g up to a 100g, it become very clear that 40g was the ideal setup in the 6-8m of water we were fishing, and the retrieve for both the placcies and the jigs come down to the basic hop hop an drop. We’d stumbled across the biggest school of goldens I’d personally encountered in my few trips to the bay, and there was metre fish to be had in here and they wanted it of the bottom. Once we had established the pattern our weekend just went from ok to outright awesome in the space of 5 mins. It was on, after a good tussle I had my first good size Golden on the decks, stoked to say the least, hungry for more, you bet.
About 5 mins later after a few small hook-up’s on Pinks, it would be on again, but in dramatic fashion, both Mike an myself had the double hooked up, you beauty, oh no, they both went in opposite direction to each other and were seeing who could take the most pe2, after a short decision it was decided to chase mike first, he had less line, then after recouping some of his spool, we had to get hot after mine as I was getting unloaded, but as we did this, the fish turned, and went totally opposite direction’s again, take 2, fighting over the kota pedal, running back and forth from front deck to back, we soon had mine in, at around mid-80 cm’s I was chuffed an worn out the same time, then Mikey finally got his to the surface and the first metre golden would grace the decks, over the side with mine and out with 7D for pics.. what a beast at 106cm.
We’d have a bit of a quiet spell for the next half an hour, landing only a handful of small pinks again, but myself and Brent were determined, we were getting a metrey as well. It was at the time we noticed the tide started swing and go out, and with late arvo sun starting to get down, the school would fire up into a frenzy. I think it was after getting dusted 4 times in a row I wasn’t giving up, I will get one, from the shortest of hops, bang, I’d hooked up to a fish that didn’t put on the after burners like the others, but just stayed down and pumped power, after a good tussle of short but very powerful bursts, we’d make head way and start turning him up, from the depths we could see another large golden coming up looking every bit a metre as well.
Not only I had just landed my PB Golden Trev on a Damiki backdrop jig, it was my bucket list fish of the 1m plus at 103cm, and to do it where I did, after chasing them further north I was just quietly a little stoked.
After this there was only one job left, Brent, here’s my jigrod, get em. As we started to lose light, the backdrop jigs were coming into their own against the placcies, and before I knew it the lads had the lid of my jig box and we’re going for broke. After a few failed tussles, we finally managed to back one out on the outboard and Brent was into it, quietly disappointed he’d missed out on the metre mark, he was still chuffed and worn out from battling his new pb of a nudging 80 Golden on the deck.
Day 3:
After the antics of day two’s afternoon, we weren’t all that sure if the initial plans layed out for day3 could come to level of what we had achieved the day prior. As we set of from the ramp to our first location over 10nm away, we quickly spotted a small school of tuna busting up and raced on over and that was pretty much it, one hook up, a certate almost spooled, game over. Of we set back on course to our first location, usually a great spot for large tailor, we were back on the thought train of what is going on this weekend, not a tailor to be seen, so of we moved again.
We still had not cracked a real beast of a bream yet like last year’s trip, so we headed on to an area we knew was good for good for large bream as well the powerhouse bluespot tuskfish.
Pulling up way short of where we needed to be and coming in quiet on the kota trying not ruin the last chance of the trip at a big yellow, I threw in tight against the reef ledges, giving my Pontoon21 cablista a few quick jerks an pause, it was on, in plain view through aquarium clear water we saw a big yellow come from its cave, grab the jerk bait and cut loose on the reef flat.. My first two casts at the last spot of hope went 46 and 44 and that would be it, they shut up shop on us again.
Akin to last year, our beloved tuskfish wouldn’t bite so we moved on to our second favourite pinky flat. Once again to our amusement, the big fish weren’t holding, but we did get stuck into a few around the 40cm mark, saw some good size yellows that just couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
We decided we’d head to a new area and explore as it was getting to the middle of our last day, about half way to where we wanted to head I spotted some leaping bonito working some bait and thought we might as well have a crack, see what else might be in there. As we pulled up I took a look at the Sounder and realised we were about to embark on more than a few leaping bonito, a quick look over the side and it was clear, snapper everywhere. Our initial thoughts were we’d come across a spawning school, but it was nothing more than a feeding frenzy as fish broke up around us for the next few hours.
As we descended Damiki Back drop jigs, and different placcies, the size of the pinks started of small, around 25-40cm being the norm, as we persevered the size of the fish began to increase, getting up into the 40 to mid-50 region. Using the 100g backdrop at this stage to try get past the rats sitting mid water, I would come up solid on what I hoped would be massive pink, using a slow pitch jigging action I was onto something with some serious grunt, after a few tense runs and some real hard pulling power we got out first site at one of the biggest tuskfish I’ve seen to date, after some tense moments with net we’d have one of the most slipperiest fish you could ever try an hold up for pic. At 62cm I’d grabbed my second PB for the weekend on a Damiki Jig and couldn’t be happier.
After the elation of seeing the tuskie, it wasn’t long until the boys raided the backdrop collection again and went nuts on the snapper. The retrieve was simple as the bite was hot, small jigs of the bottom, quickly releasing the jig to fall with a 2-3 second pause. As we slowly drifted through, we’d start getting in better sizes with a few fish getting into the 60-70cm bracket, it’s always hard to take a heap of photo’s on a session where you struggle to put the rods down so we’ll finish up with boys on the best of a double of hook up.
By Jeff Norriss – Finfish Research – Dept. of Fisheries, Western Australia
On the 1st of September 2007, Bruce Olsen went fishing about 10 miles off Bunbury, and hooked into a big snapper. He got it up on deck – it measured 94 cm and about 10 kg. Not a record breaker but nevertheless quite respectable.
Fillets on big snapper can be a bit stringy, so Bruce released it. But it was a floater so he recovered it and put it in his esky. Might be good for fish patties.
When he was back at the jetty Bruce had a photo taken of him holding the fish, after all you don’t catch snapper that big every day. It had the bulbous nose typical of old adult males, and a face only a mother could love. It made for a good photo.
Bruce Olsen holding the record breaking oldest snapper in Australia
After filleting Bruce did the right thing and donated the fish frame to the Department of Fisheries WA for research purposes. They are running a Send Us Your Skeletons program, collecting frames of recreationally caught fish to assess the health of stocks. The main use of the frames is to extract the otoliths (ear stones), which have growth rings like a tree trunk, to age the fish. Watch a video on how to remove otoliths here.
A few months passed until Fisheries contacted Bruce to tell him the age of his fish: a staggering 40 years and 10 months. It was the oldest pink snapper they had seen.
Fisheries contacted other Australian fisheries agencies asking if they knew of snapper this old. The Victorians said they had a snapper caught in Port Phillip Bay in 2001 that was 40 years and 5 months, slightly younger than Bruce’s. South Australia and New South Wales both had 37 year olds, and Queensland only 23 years.
Bruce was the winner. He had Australia’s oldest snapper, and he’d taken a photo, which he gave to Fisheries.
Fisheries published the photo and results in a peer reviewed scientific journal. Longevity is actually an important parameter for assessing fish stocks.
So, there’s this photo of Bruce Olsen holding a big snapper, just like any typical fisho holding their catch, but it’s published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, the caption reading Australia’s oldest recorded snapper.
The moral of this story, ladies and gentlemen, is to donate your fish frames (fresh or frozen, with guts intact if possible) to the Department of Fisheries for research. There are quarterly prizes available, and an annual grand prize of a week-long charter fishing trip for two to the Montebello Islands. Details of species required and freezer drop-off points can be found on the Department OF Fisheries WA web page Send Us Your Skeletons.
Bruce Olsen donated his frame, became an Australian record holder, and had the whole thing put on the scientific record.
When asked ‘What is your dream fish?’, many Australian Anglers would answer ‘A big snapper over 10kg’. There’s something special about big snapper, or ‘reds’ as many prefer to call them, that sets them high up on an anglers pedestal. Characteristics that give snapper their status, apart from their obvious handsome appearance and eating qualities, include their notorious hard hit and blistering first run, their knee-wobbling head thumps, their skittish feeding behavior and their ability to dictate terms during a fight. Snapper fight dirty when hooked in shallow water, busting off even the most experienced anglers in the blink of an eye. Fighting a snapper in shallow water is like battling an out-of-control freight train as they scour the broken bottom for any opportunity to cut you off. Fishos who so passionately fish for snapper know this feeling all too well and it’s on that note that I would like you to grasp the sheer achievement of this 16kg fish caught off the rocks by Nathan Brown in April 2014.
Nathan Brown showcasing the monster 16kg snapper he caught off the rocks in Albany, WA
Nathan brown is an ordinary Aussie bloke who loves his fishing. By day he earns his crust as a coppice worker at Albany in WA’s South West, specialising in after-harvest maintenance of plantation trees like Bluegums. However, on the weekends and at any available opportunity Nathan can be found rock-hopping the coastal granite cliffs around Albany with his mates. The relatively deep water adjacent to rock platforms and cliffs in the area gives rise to fantastic land based fishing opportunities. Species that can be found here include blue groper, snapper, samsonfish, tuna, salmon, kingfish and more. Nathan and his mates are no strangers to landing big fish from the stones, however on this day none of them could predict the size of the snapper they were about to connect with.
The boys arrived at their fishing spot shortly after daylight and were fishing by 7am. They started the morning flicking lures for pelagics. After catching a handful of salmon and bonito the session was about to get serious. They whipped the fillets off their catch and belted them out in hope for something more substantial while they berleyed with the frames and old fish bait. While Nathan and the others were using small chunks of fresh fillet for bait, Nathan’s mate Jacob decided to cast out a large slab of bonito. That’s when all hell broke loose. At about 9am Jacobs rod buckled over as he sank the hook into the first big fish of the day. The fish took so much line on it’s first run leading everyone to believe Jacob had hooked a samsonfish. After a 5 minute battle the subdued fish neared the rocks. As it broke the surface everyone’s eyes lit up as they gazed upon a snapper in the order of 10kg bumping it’s head in the wash. While the crew prepared to land the fish it took one last run and busted off on the rocks. With no further ado, everyone got a line back in the water and within 5 minutes they were on again. This time a 9kg snapper was successfully landed, setting the scene for the rest of the morning. Every few casts (roughly half an hour or so) someone would connect to another horse snapper.
Jacob Crispe with a land based snapper caught on a large chunk of bonito
One guy got busted off by three fish, another landed four, and by 12pm Nathan was starting to wonder if he’d get a shot at one himself. Realising that the snapper were all taking large baits, Nathan cast out a 10cm x 10cm chunk of bonito. Soon afterwards he got the hit of a lifetime on his 7-foot rod. As the braid poured from his reel in a fashion much harder than the others had experienced, he began to question his first thoughts of snapper and was beginning to think he’d perhaps hooked a rogue samsonfish. Five to ten minutes later the fish surfaced and all were gobsmacked by their first glimpse of the enormous head and proboscis-like blue nose of the monster snapper staring back at them. The swell was quite rough on the day but luckily they were fishing in a sheltered area and had a calm place to safely gaff the fish. After a few photos were taken and as the adrenalin started to settle, the guys finally began to comprehend the physical enormity of the fish and the mind blowing session they’d just experienced. Nathan says he can’t describe the feeling of when he caught the snapper, it wasn’t his biggest land based capture but definitely his best.
Another angle of Nathan Brown’s 16kg land based snapper caught in April 2014
Luck was on Nathan’s side on the day. During the fight the fish did it’s best to bust off, hitting the reef on a couple of occasions, worrying him as he felt the line rubbing against the rocks. Experience paid off in this instance because Nathan was using 100lb leader. Had he been using lighter leader he says he would have lost the fish. Furthermore, the fish actually bit down on the hook, closing the gape so that there was no chance of it falling out.
In total five snapper were landed during the seven-hour session and another five or six were lost. All of the fish were around the 1m mark, 90cm being the smallest and 13kg being the second biggest. Nathan’s monster hit the scales at just under 16kg, roughly 2.5kg shy of the 18.4kg state record and quite possibly a state or national land based record. He was using his mate’s new 7-foot Penn Spinfisher rod and Pflueger Salt 80 reel loaded with 80lb braid. The rig used was a 100lb paternoster rig with a single dropper, 5/0 tarpon hook and 6oz snapper lead. His mate Jacob was using a snell rig. Some may think that 100lb leader is excessive. However, these guys know their stuff and the terrain they fish regularly. On numerous occasions heavy leader has made the difference between landing a fish of a lifetime and not. When you see the caliber of some of their catches over the years you soon realise that when extracting big fish from the stones you can’t give them an inch. To land big fish regularly off the rocks anglers need to ensure that all of their gear is in perfect working order and that their terminal gear is up to the challenge, not to mention your own physical strength and fitness.
Anyone now thinking about packing the car and hitting the rocks for a session, just be mindful that rock fishing has it’s inherent risks and is not for everyone. Rock fishing is an extremely dangerous sport. Not because you always get hurt, but because it only takes one simple mistake or lapse in judgement and it’s all over. Rock fishermen/women are extremely experienced anglers and have a firm respect for the ocean. They understand the dangers involved. If you are relatively inexperienced at rock fishing, lack confidence, are less nimble, or just unsure whether you are ready to fish off the rocks, please don’t jump right in at the deep end. Work you way up to it by developing the necessary skill set. Start by fishing off the rocks in estuaries, fish the beach regularly until you get a grasp of the ocean, fish from heights off bridges and piers, then finally off sheltered low-lying ledges or rock walls in protected coastal waters on a very low swell. Never fish alone. When you are relatively inexperienced make sure that your buddy is an experienced rock fisher and is willing to teach you the ropes.
Below are a some photos of fish that Nathan and other Albany local, Cowan Wise, have caught from the rocks over the years:
Nathan Brown with a solid western blue groper caught July 2013
A big yellowtail kingfish caught by Nathan Brown in Jan 2013
Cowan Wise with an Albany samsonfish fresh out of the water displaying blotchy colouration
When it comes to earning brownie points with the father in-law nothing better comes to mind than connecting him with a dream fish he’s always wanted to catch. So in my case, when the in-laws came to town recently it was a no-brainer that I should capitalise on the recent run of snapper and take the father in-law, an avid bream and flatty angler, out in search for big red.
Launching from Mindarie Boat Ramp in Perth’s northern suburbs we headed north west to a spot I had discovered only a few days prior. With the anchor rope pulling tight approximately 2m from the mark in 60ft of water it was time to get the berley flowing. Phil had the first bait in the water and within minutes of his first cast ever into WA waters his rod buckled over. It was game on and 12lb line emptied from his reel as a solid fish bounced underneath the boat in a fashion not resembling the target species snapper, but more like a slower but equally powerful WA Dhufish. After a 5 minute tussle we got colour as a respectable 4 to 4.5kg WA Dhufish surfaced. Talk about luck, Phil had managed one of WA’s most iconic fish species on his first cast and only minutes into the session.
Phil Brandon with the spoils of his first cast ever in Perth – a 4.5kg WA Dhufish
After a few quick pics were taken the dhufish was bled and placed on ice for that night’s dinner. It didn’t take Phil long to get his line back in the water and be connected again, this time to what we believed was a very large snapper in the order of 9kg plus. The fish hit hard and the screaming first run left Phil buried in the reef before he got a chance to even turn it.
Over the next couple of hours the fishing we experienced was in the upper level of awesomeness compared to a usual days fishing in Perth. Additional to the odd knee-rattling bust off we both managed to land respectable snapper in the order of 5-6kg, a couple of smaller snapper between 40-60cm. The bonito also turned up at one stage providing great fun on light tackle. Being a strong believer in catch and release and due to the fact there were fish fillets already in the freezer it was an easy decision to do the right thing and release both of the bigger snapper, giving them the opportunity to hopefully breed again and ensuring our fishery remains as healthy or if not better than it currently is.
Phil Brandon grinning as he shows off a fine Perth metro snapper
This snapper came as a result of an early start and consistent berleying
The bait of choice on the day was WA mulies, otherwise know to eastern staters as pilchards. There’s no surprise that mulies make for fantastic snapper bait due to their natural oiliness. On days when there’s lots of pickers around scalies might be favoured over mulies but on this particular day there were thankfully very few small fish around. We also threw 7″ plastics side by side with bait for a good hour or so with no success while at the same time our mulie baits were getting smashed.
With the current speed on the increase our size 1 ball sinkers were finding it hard to sink the bait into the strike zone, the lower third of the 20m water column. Up-sizing to a size 2 ball sinker paid off. As my bait neared the bottom I was hit hard, experiencing a simultaneous drag melting first run and losing over 150m of braid before the fish slowed and I got my first chance to turn it’s head and feel it’s true weight. As the fish neared the surface in the distance it had me scratching my head as to what it might be, simply because the possibilities of what it was just got narrower and narrower until it reached zero. The fact that I was using 30lb fluorocarbon leader to a single gamakatsu 6/0 octopus ruled out toothy critters like mackerel or shark, the fact that the fish came to the surface and hadn’t buried me in the reef already ruled out yellowtail kingfish and the shear speed of the fish ruled out samsonfish. After battling it out for about 5 minutes or so the first glance revealed the opponent and sent tingles through my body as nerves started to set in. It was a Spanish mackerel and a decent one at that. This explained the explosive first run and the surface interval that soon followed. Knowing that I was connected to sizable mack without any wire really did put me on edge, especially as the fish continued to scrap it out each time it neared the boat. After a few knee wobbling moments the metro mack was brought on board and it was celebrations all round. For those wondering, the fish was actually hooked right in the corner of it’s jaw and the hook basically popped free when the fish hit the deck. After we grabbed a few pics we began to comprehend how unlucky this fish was to be caught against all odds, especially at this time of year in the same 20 degree water where people were actually catching salmon.
One unlucky 14kg Spanish mackerel caught on fluorocarbon leader and a single hook
It’s worth noting the weather conditions on the day. The wind was blowing between 8-15knots ESE, it was overcast and the current was ripping to the south. Thinking back on some of the best snapper sessions I’ve had in Perth they all have one thing in common and that is a stronger than usual current. Whether the current be pushing from the north or south it doesn’t seem to matter as long as it’s strong. Without being able to give a definitive reason for the correlation between strong current and hot snapper bites, one theory that seems to fit is the fact that your berley is dispersed further afield in a stronger current. A wider distribution of berley means attracting more fish to the back of your boat. Whether this is the sole reason for greater snapper success or whether there are other contributing factors in times of strong current I’m not too sure, but one thing is for certain when it comes to inshore snapper fishing and that is ‘more run, more fun’.
By Robbie Riches – Get Fishing Founder and Managing Director
After arriving back in Perth after a recent Mid-West fishing trip, good mate of mine Jeffrey Ward still had a bone to pick before heading back to Sydney. Although he had managed a decent Dhufish of around 4kg on the trip, he still felt there was time to pin a more respectable fish and try to break the magic 10kg mark before his departure.
So, having a few secret spots up my sleeves I kicked Jeff in the guts on Monday morning and took him out for a fish. We tried a few shallow water Snapper spots first (somewhere in the vicinity of Hillarys Marina), but to no avail we headed out wider to an old faithful Dhufish patch of mine. About 10 minutes into the session we had a few mutton birds at the back of the boat. After flicking them an off-cut of Tailor fillet to distract them we both dropped down at the same time. Unfortunately for Jeff one mutton bird cottoned on to what we were doing and dived downwards, grabbing his bait about 10m under the surface.
While Jeff was doing battle with a handful of mutton, my bait continued to sink and moments later I felt the characteristic bump of a large Dhu mouthing my bait. I didn’t think twice to strike and when the hook found it’s home the 7′ 5-8kg spin stick loaded up as the big fish started to bounce around in typical Dhufish form. I called it for a biggy straight away and was cautious to just play her out and not go too hard on the light gear. A few minutes later Jeff had rid himself of his nemesis mutton bird and placed the net under what turned out to be a respectable 10.5kg Dhufish, my biggest at this particular nearshore spot. Unfortunately for Jeff it was the one and only fish for the day but that’s fishing, sometimes luck just isn’t on your side.
The author with a 10.5kg Dhufish – 31 March 2014
By Robbie Riches – Get Fishing Founder and Managing Director
Here are 52 of Our Best Fishing Tips to make this year your best fishing year yet:
1. Learn from those that get results, and don’t listen to those that talk too much. It’s not what comes out of one’s mouth that matters, it’s what’s connected to their line! 2. Work on your patience and believe in your ability. This is important. 3. Take at least 2 fishing trips away per year. Book these in first before the year starts, otherwise you won’t take the breaks. 4. Become obsessed about fishing. Casual anglers should not expect results. 5. Don’t overcrowd other fishos. Give them space to swing a cat. If they are in your spot, go and say g’day then fish somewhere else.
6. Learn how to gaff and net fish correctly. Practice in a pool, dam or down the local wharf if you have to. This is something every angler needs to learn and it becomes increasingly important when targeting trophy fish, fishing competitions, etc. Your ability to gaff and net fish won’t go unnoticed by your mates either! 7. Think thoughts of success rather than self-doubt. A B-grade mindset yields B-grade results. 8. If your line cops a nick or fray, retie it straight away. 9. Never rely on a knot tied by someone else. If a mate hands you a rod to use, retie the knots. 10. Watch more fishing videos to get inspired. 11. Decide on at least 3 new PB’s that you want to achieve this year then target those fish. 12. Be selective about who you fish with, this matters. 13. Release the fish you don’t need. Release them correctly and with care. 14. Service your reels regularly. You’ll get extra mileage and they won’t let you down when it’s crunch time. 15. Own your own gear. Borrowing once-off is ok but perennial borrowing is cheap. 16. Don’t let outdated or cheap gear be your Achilles Heal. Only use quality gear by respected manufacturers. A $1K combo for bream won’t catch you more fish, but a $50 special will let you down eventually. 17. Carry a healthy supply of quality terminal tackle in all different sizes. It’s better to have too much than not enough. 18. Always carry a variety of gear, tackle and lures. Things can change quickly on the water and it’s those that adapt that get the results. 19. Use quality terminal tackle and don’t let price influence your purchase. It’s better to have less of quality gear than too much cheap gear. Go through your tackle box and throw away any cheap or rusty tackle, now. If your tackle box has rust stains, throw it away, now. 20. Upgrade the trebles on your lures. Replace any rusty/blunt trebles. 21. Make the most of every session – bring your “A” game to the water every time. 22. Fish new places/ground more regularly. 23. Accuracy matters. Take the time to improve the accuracy of your casting. 24. Distance often matters. Fish the lightest practically possible braid line when spinning. Ensure your spool is full (not over full). Use a longer rod. Use a heavier sinker. When spinning with metals choose those that are heavy for their size. Present streamline baits in the surf (rip the tail off pilchards if you have to). Learn a better leader joining knot.
25. When you lose a fish, immediately determine what went wrong and make the appropriate changes so that it doesn’t happen again. 26. Take a camera with you. Share your pics with mates and look through them when the weather is lousy, this will help you and them get amped for the next session. 27. Look after your gear. Wash your rods and reels after every session. 28. Carry you own knife. Keep it sharp. 29. Value your time on the water. Be grateful for the abundance of fish in our waterways and the lifestyle that fishing brings. 30. Keep your fish cool/on ice. If it’s worth killing it’s worth looking after. If it’s worth feeding to your family it’s worth feeding them the best. 31. Take your rubbish home with you. If you come across others’ rubbish take it home too. 32. Spend some time underwater. It’s amazing how your fishing will improve when you learn how different species behave, especially when feeding. Witnessing the finicky behavior of snapper feeding in shallow water is a prime example. 33. If you fish on a mates’ boat, flick them some cash for fuel and it’s won’t be the last time you fish together. 34. When using lures/fly, vary the action of your retrieve until you find what’s working. Change your lure/fly regularly until you find what’s working. 35. When using bait, ensure that it is well presented each cast and be sure to expose the point of the hook. A little effort here goes a long way. 36. Match the hatch. Present offerings the same as what the fish are eating. 37. If possible, plan ahead and pick the prime times of the week to fish. Keep an eye out for tide changes, tide height, moon phases, wind, swell, etc. Continuously fishing lousy conditions will make you depressed. 38. If your knot breaks while fighting a fish, accept the fact that you didn’t tie it right or that you need to learn a new knot. No questions asked. 39. Fish with stealth. Make less noise. Get in the zone and think like the fish you are targeting.
40. Justify each spot you fish by using all of your knowledge. Don’t just pull up aimlessly and expect to catch fish. Look for structure. Look for visual signs of fish. Look for bait. Look for birds working. Look for holes or gutters on a surf beach. On a calm beach, look for areas of interest like a rock outcrop or breaking waves. Think actively not lazily. 41. Berley may help depending on the scenario. Putting more effort into your berley making and method of dispersal will increase your success. 42. When connected to a solid fish stay calm during the fight. Keep your cool and play the fish firmly, taking every opportunity to turn the fish’s head and gain the upper hand in the battle. Never rush a fish but at the same time don’t be blasé. Take your time when landing the fish, it’s amazing how many good fish are lost at your toes. 43. Set your alarm 1 hour earlier or fish 1 hour later to make the most of prime times. Boat fishos know that this is not just about the fishing, it’s also about avoiding queues at the ramp. 44. Learn to catch your own bait and keep it alive. When it comes to bait fresh is best, but alive is better. 45. Change your bait/soft plastics regularly. If it’s been picked, waterlogged or lost it’s shape throw it away and put on a fresh one. 46. Challenge yourself to fish lighter. For example, chasing snapper with TLD 25’s is old-school – you get the drift? 47. Get your bait/lure in the zone and keep it there. Once it is out of the zone wind in and cast again. 48. Wear suitable clothing. On the rocks this means footwear, in the heat this means covering up. Buy a set of Polaroid sunglasses. Getting skin cancer is not cool and it will limit your days fishing on this fine planet. 49. Get to know the staff at the local tackle store. They always have a finger on the pulse and the better they know you the more they will divulge. 50. Keep up to date with bag and size limits. 51. Be humble, you’re not as good as you think you are and it will encourage you to learn more. 52. Read more, watch more, listen more. Education comes in many forms but practice makes perfect. Get Fishing.
All the best for a memorable 2014 from GetFishing.com.au!
