Fishing Australia

Mad keen rock fisho Ray Smith has been sniffing around the rock ledges around Batemans Bay in search of a few snapper. Catching snapper off the rocks on bait is nothing new, and over the last 20 years Ray has mastered this aspect of our art, but to spice things up a little he’s been using soft plastic lures, and with great results. A couple of snapper between 1 and 3 kilos most outings is the typical catch; a great result considering he hasn’t left the shore and is only using a light 6 kilo spin stick. Amongst the Ray and friends have also hooked some big knob headed snapper, but are yet to win the tussle with these stronger meaner fish. One honker around the 7 kg mark was lost just as it was about to be landed!

The set is simple: effectively Ray casts 7 inch long jerk shad style plastics rigged on a quarter ounce jig head and 15 pound leader. After this, things get a little harder. Targeting ledges that run into gravel beds or deeper water is a good start, but you will need to be mobile and know how to read the water; something that will only come with a lot of experience. Not to mention Ray has the deft touch of a champion sportsman when he glides his lure through the strike zone ready for a snapper bite…avoiding the snags in the heavy terrain all the way.

It is great to see anglers like Ray re defining the way fish are caught and laying out new challenges for other anglers to try their hand at. Meahnwhile anglers fishing out of kayaks and small boats are finding it straight forward to hook into the excellent numbers of snapper; just make sure you check the forecast and take safety precautions first.

DRUMMER
More traditional techniques are also producing some nice drummer from the Rocks, John Erwin and friends explored some spots near Batehaven and managed to wrestle in a few nice sized specimens before pulling up stumps. Good baits include weed, bread, peeled prawn, and Cunjovei just to name a few.

ESTUARIES BY DAY
Fish at this time of year often seek out the heat as much as we do, so the middle of a calm sunny day is a great time to wet a line. Several families of Kayak anglers I spoke to recently reported some good fishing in St Georges Basin, the water was cold at 15 degrees, but the air temp was a little higher and a good match for the light physical activity of peddling their hobies.

There was stacks of bait fish in mid water, with some good sized tailor amongst them to be caught on the drift; some topped the 2 kilo mark. They used a 3 kilo main line, a running sinker, a meter of 6 kilo trace and a white bait on size 4 long shank hook. The same rig dropped to the bottom acconted for several flathead to 60 cm a few pan sized snapper and some quality bream. Great fun that; but to stop a few more bite offs from the bigger tailor I suggest ganging up some size 2 hooks, or use a size 1 circle hook and hope to hook the tailor in the corner of the mouth.

SQUID
Kayakers also report some good squid fishing off Murrays beach on the calmer days. Target the weed beds, and keep covering ground; squid are very easy to catch provided you use a light leader, a bit if ultrabite scent on the jig, and most of all keep the tension on the cephalopod once hooked. Well done to young Patrick Beazley, who got inked heavily but made mum very happy with some fresh Calamari.

FISHING AUSTRALIA
This Saturday on Fishing Australia, amongst other things I target the rare clear water murray cod on the lesser seen south western side of the snowy mountains. Rare today, Murray Cod used to exist in better numbers this area than most people think. When you see the environment we fish on this weeks show, you might be surprised to see that we are catching trout one minute and murray cod the next.

Hope you like the show, this Saturday at 5 pm on WIN Television. Visit www.fishingaustralia.tv/tvschedule for exact on air times in your area.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos
www.fishingaustralia.tv