From: "kevin long"
Subject: Quick report on today's trip -- 23Nov07
Date: Friday, 23 November 2007 2:22 PM
Hi guys
Stated mission for today's operation not accomplished, unfortunately, but please read on. Beanie joined Harvey and me and we launched without drama at about 0530, all using the channel on the western side of the groyne. The swell was med-low and there was no significant wind. Once outside, I paused to set up GPS and casting outfit, while my companions paddled off in the general direction of JS. Once ready, I opted to troll a hard bodied plastic lure and set off for JS Centre.
6am, two km short of JS, and still a long way behind Beanie and Harv, I got a solid strike and hookup on the trolled lure. I took the weight and judged it to be a tuna and settled down for a long fight as these guys can give out a fair bit of curry. To my surprise, after only a 5-10min fight I clearly had gained the upper hand, despite being towed 100 or so metres back toward my launch point. Shortly afterward, I had a magnificent 10 kilo plus yellowfin tuna relatively under control and readied the gaff for the coup-de-grace. On its first pass at surface level close to the yak I could see that the fish, which was glowing silver, yellow and dark blue in the early morning light, was secured in the upper jaw by the tail treble of the lure. Second pass and the fish was all but beaten, but I could see that his capture was going to provide me with a dilemma, because there was no way this fish was going to comfortably fit into my fish box and so for my planned 2-hour snapper session it would have to share the cockpit with me. Also in consideration was the extra weight, another 10kg plus, which I'd have to drag around. Never mind -- I decided to take him because I'd never caught a yellowfin tuna from the yak, and Mal Price has, and they are very good eating. Here he is, on the port side of the yak and I have the gaff in my right hand. I line up the gaff shot and before I could sink its deadly point into its shoulder, my yellowfin gave one simple flip and the hook pulled out and he gained his freedom.
And so I eventually arrived at JS, and, having elected to start a drift from the NW edge, 300m or so out, was joined by Beanie and Harv at about 0630. I threw out the drogue, picked up my snapper casting outfit, and with my first cast demonstrated to Beanie how far to cast. Within less than a minute of the jig in this first cast hitting the water I came up tight on a nice fish which started to take line off the spool against the steady drag. I called it for a snapper, which it almost certainly was, but I didn't find out because after another 30 secs the hook pulled out -- on a brand new, needle-sharp jig. Fish 2, Kev 0.
Conditions were glassy today and there was a fair bit of Trichodesmium around, the usual turtles, as well as the odd school of small mackerel tuna causing havoc among the baitfish schools hanging over the reef. Despite all of my efforts, I couldn't raise a decent snapper - got one or two small reefies and a small snapper (all released). Harvey got a small grass sweetlip which he released, or perhaps it released itself. We left at about 0920 and were back on the beach shortly after 1000, all coming in on the small surf again, west of the groyne, dodging swimmers and surfers as we approached the beach, more or less in control.
This is the first in about ten sessions in a row where I've failed to bring a keeper home from JS. All other occasions were in conditions where there was a reasonable breeze, and therefore a good drift, and perhaps this was the reason for the paucity of fish.
When are we going again, Jaro? I hope Harvey and Beanie are not discouraged, for they will catch snapper if they keep trying.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri (nice and clean today)
Since mid 2007, members of Noosa Yakkers have been writing and illustrating kayak fishing Trip Reports and publishing them by whatever means available. This blog collects all of our early reports (sent out by email) plus the later TR published here on Blogger, and more recently, Monthly Summaries of the reports published on our Facebook Group.
more snapper, JS, 19Nov07
(Note from editor. This report has two contributions, one from Jaro and one from Jim so when you've finished Jaro’s keep going for Jim’s.)
From: "JARO CERNY"
Subject: N.Y. Fishing Report 19/11/07
Date: Monday, 19 November 2007 2:31 PM
Hi Yakers,
Well four (Jim Mal and Steve and myself) turned up at the appointed time. With a small swell and little wind to trouble us we all made it out safely (6.20am) and proceeded to troll to Jew Shoal uneventfully. After a hiatus in activity the fish started to bite and Jim casting and also trolling with the drift using a squidgie caught a whopper keeper (64cm) with the said squidgie. In the excitement of bagging this fish Jim snagged his watch off his wrist to see it quickly disappear in Davey Jones Locker. Jim ended up with 3 other normal sized keepers.
Meanwhile Steve had also caught his first and only good sized keeper... and he also became seasick but toughed it out. A great effort from the newcomer. Mal was having a good time catching 3 keepers... one being a good 52cm. Yours truly caught a monster but as usual lost it hook and some line (you always have to have a story about the one that got away)... but still ended up with a normal sized keeper and a sweetlip.
Jim and Steve left about an hour before Mal and I. According to Jim, Steve made a brilliantly successful return to the beach surfing a wave like a pro all the way to the shore on the spit side of middle groyne. Jim tried to emulate this feat... unsuccessfully!!
Mal tried to pick a break in the waves... unsuccessfully and ended having a nice cooling dip. On seeing this I was determined to bide my time and on seeing a break in the waves made a headlong dash for the beach... fear is a great motivator... imagine the sigh of relief with success.
Well this has been the most successful expedition so far... 10 good sized fish caught between 4 kayakers and it was done under the most pleasant conditions to date.
Jim will show some photos courtesy of Steve.
Hopefully this report will encourage those that haven't be out yet to come and join in the fun.
Jaro
Heavy yellow Prowler 13
Jim’s report
Subject: Fw: N.Y. Fishing Report 19/11/07
Date: Tuesday, 20 November 2007 10:56 AM
G'day Yakers,
What a great day !!!
Further to Jaro's report (well done Jaro), attached are the accompanying pics.
For those wishing to refine the "Jew Shoal Fishing Technique" (pioneered by Kev) I offer the following additions to Jaro's report:
Once at Jew Shoal, Steve and I paddled to the upwind (SE) perimeter of the imaginary 500m radius circle around the centre of JS. Similar to last Thursday's trip to JS, it wasn't until we had drifted to about 100-200 m onto the NW side of the centre of JS that we started to get some action. I initially thought the thick wind rows of brown/orange algae all over the reef area might be having a detrimental effect on the snapper's enthusiasm to take the baits offered, but this obviously proved not to be so.
As there appeared to be no action with the normal technique of casting the Berkley Gulp soft plastic "minnows" on a small jig head down wind with the light gear, I decided to also trail a larger soft plastic "jig type" lure (the pink coloured lure in the attached pic, but with tail now bitten off) on my heavier trolling line. This lure is similar to the Starlo & Bushy's "Squidgies" (also shown in the pic) but the lead weight is all internal to the body of the lure, and the pink one I was using was not scented like the Squidgies are. They are ~12cm long and weigh 35g (~ 1.25 oz) which enables them to get reasonably close to the bottom on a very slow drift when trailed behind the yak. The actual lure I used had a triple hook attached mid body but this is not really necessary.
I was lucky that I had just retrieved the light line, when the "whopper" hit the heavy trailing "squidgie". Being the heavy trolling gear (~30lb line on big Daiwa Sealine overhead reel), I had plenty of "power" in reserve and didn't have to spend too much time in subduing this big snapper (but it was still bloody great fun!!!). I would suggest, however, that it would normally not be a good idea to operate two lines simultaneously, as a hit on either line would very likely result in a tangle with the other line in the process of playing the fish.
I marked the spot with the GPS where I hooked the big snapper and it was generally around this area that I picked up the additional three, albeit smaller, snapper, one of these on the squidgie type lure on two successive drifts over this area.
My conclusions after today's experience at JS are:
(a) A GPS receiver is invaluable to be able to target a locality for that morning and to be able to do repeated drifts over it.
(b) The soft plastic protein/scented lures are definitely the go for snapper and sweetlip at JS, however, shape, size and colour doesn't seem to make much difference.
(c) The important factors appear to be locating a "hot spot" for the morning, and getting your lure down there, ie, trailing a squidgie type lure is only likely to be effective on a very slow drift.
An interesting experiment now would be to combine Kev's "casting down wind technique" but using a heavier squidgie type lure. Because of the greater casting distance and sink rate achieved, retrieving slowly with a slight jig action as you drift forward might be effective. Next time...
I might also add that just before leaving JS, I got hit on the light gear with what I believe would have been a snapper equally as big as the 64cm specimen. My light Shimano Sedona reel (see pic) was just "screaming" for about the first 10-15 seconds as this fish took about 50m of line from me before he managed to spit the lure... bugger!!!! Not to worry, that means there is still at least one big whopper out there for next time, and it was a delightful casual paddle back to main beach with a yak full of fish, the sun shining, a small swell and light SSE breeze pushing Steve and me along. The fact that I had lost my watch overboard seemed inconsequential.
Cheers
Jimbo
Yellow and green Espri, now with lots more snapper scales on it
From: "JARO CERNY"
Subject: N.Y. Fishing Report 19/11/07
Date: Monday, 19 November 2007 2:31 PM
Hi Yakers,
Well four (Jim Mal and Steve and myself) turned up at the appointed time. With a small swell and little wind to trouble us we all made it out safely (6.20am) and proceeded to troll to Jew Shoal uneventfully. After a hiatus in activity the fish started to bite and Jim casting and also trolling with the drift using a squidgie caught a whopper keeper (64cm) with the said squidgie. In the excitement of bagging this fish Jim snagged his watch off his wrist to see it quickly disappear in Davey Jones Locker. Jim ended up with 3 other normal sized keepers.
Meanwhile Steve had also caught his first and only good sized keeper... and he also became seasick but toughed it out. A great effort from the newcomer. Mal was having a good time catching 3 keepers... one being a good 52cm. Yours truly caught a monster but as usual lost it hook and some line (you always have to have a story about the one that got away)... but still ended up with a normal sized keeper and a sweetlip.
Jim and Steve left about an hour before Mal and I. According to Jim, Steve made a brilliantly successful return to the beach surfing a wave like a pro all the way to the shore on the spit side of middle groyne. Jim tried to emulate this feat... unsuccessfully!!
Mal tried to pick a break in the waves... unsuccessfully and ended having a nice cooling dip. On seeing this I was determined to bide my time and on seeing a break in the waves made a headlong dash for the beach... fear is a great motivator... imagine the sigh of relief with success.
Well this has been the most successful expedition so far... 10 good sized fish caught between 4 kayakers and it was done under the most pleasant conditions to date.
Jim will show some photos courtesy of Steve.
Hopefully this report will encourage those that haven't be out yet to come and join in the fun.
Jaro
Heavy yellow Prowler 13
Jim’s report
Subject: Fw: N.Y. Fishing Report 19/11/07
Date: Tuesday, 20 November 2007 10:56 AM
G'day Yakers,
What a great day !!!
Further to Jaro's report (well done Jaro), attached are the accompanying pics.
For those wishing to refine the "Jew Shoal Fishing Technique" (pioneered by Kev) I offer the following additions to Jaro's report:
Once at Jew Shoal, Steve and I paddled to the upwind (SE) perimeter of the imaginary 500m radius circle around the centre of JS. Similar to last Thursday's trip to JS, it wasn't until we had drifted to about 100-200 m onto the NW side of the centre of JS that we started to get some action. I initially thought the thick wind rows of brown/orange algae all over the reef area might be having a detrimental effect on the snapper's enthusiasm to take the baits offered, but this obviously proved not to be so.
As there appeared to be no action with the normal technique of casting the Berkley Gulp soft plastic "minnows" on a small jig head down wind with the light gear, I decided to also trail a larger soft plastic "jig type" lure (the pink coloured lure in the attached pic, but with tail now bitten off) on my heavier trolling line. This lure is similar to the Starlo & Bushy's "Squidgies" (also shown in the pic) but the lead weight is all internal to the body of the lure, and the pink one I was using was not scented like the Squidgies are. They are ~12cm long and weigh 35g (~ 1.25 oz) which enables them to get reasonably close to the bottom on a very slow drift when trailed behind the yak. The actual lure I used had a triple hook attached mid body but this is not really necessary.
I was lucky that I had just retrieved the light line, when the "whopper" hit the heavy trailing "squidgie". Being the heavy trolling gear (~30lb line on big Daiwa Sealine overhead reel), I had plenty of "power" in reserve and didn't have to spend too much time in subduing this big snapper (but it was still bloody great fun!!!). I would suggest, however, that it would normally not be a good idea to operate two lines simultaneously, as a hit on either line would very likely result in a tangle with the other line in the process of playing the fish.
I marked the spot with the GPS where I hooked the big snapper and it was generally around this area that I picked up the additional three, albeit smaller, snapper, one of these on the squidgie type lure on two successive drifts over this area.
My conclusions after today's experience at JS are:
(a) A GPS receiver is invaluable to be able to target a locality for that morning and to be able to do repeated drifts over it.
(b) The soft plastic protein/scented lures are definitely the go for snapper and sweetlip at JS, however, shape, size and colour doesn't seem to make much difference.
(c) The important factors appear to be locating a "hot spot" for the morning, and getting your lure down there, ie, trailing a squidgie type lure is only likely to be effective on a very slow drift.
An interesting experiment now would be to combine Kev's "casting down wind technique" but using a heavier squidgie type lure. Because of the greater casting distance and sink rate achieved, retrieving slowly with a slight jig action as you drift forward might be effective. Next time...
I might also add that just before leaving JS, I got hit on the light gear with what I believe would have been a snapper equally as big as the 64cm specimen. My light Shimano Sedona reel (see pic) was just "screaming" for about the first 10-15 seconds as this fish took about 50m of line from me before he managed to spit the lure... bugger!!!! Not to worry, that means there is still at least one big whopper out there for next time, and it was a delightful casual paddle back to main beach with a yak full of fish, the sun shining, a small swell and light SSE breeze pushing Steve and me along. The fact that I had lost my watch overboard seemed inconsequential.
Cheers
Jimbo
Yellow and green Espri, now with lots more snapper scales on it
Snapper aplenty, 15Nov07
Subject: 15nov07 -- how'd we go with our fishing trip? Read on!
Date: Thursday, 15 November 2007 1:56 PM
G'day gang
With aching arms I type this report...
Mal, Jim, Jaro and I fronted this morning at 6. We opted to launch on the eastern side of the groyne as the waves were still quite uppity on the western side. There was a bit of fun going out with yours truly timing his departure to meet the biggest nastiest dumping wave of the morning. I hit it paddling as fast as I could, using appropriate words which I hoped would assist, aiming to punch through, but alas, my body got in the way. When I opened my eyes the yak was still the right way up and I was on it but we were surfing backwards. This didn't last long as I soon performed a "deliberate" beautiful reverse broach and went for a swim in the balmy waters of Laguna Bay. No harm was done, and I was soon back on and into the fray once more, this time successfully joining my rudely grinning companions 'out the back'.
It was a fairly hard slog out as we were punching into a NE breeze and chop on top of a 1.5m swell, but we made it out to our planned destination in about 40min and started fishing at about 0715.
While there was quite a bit of action from small reefies, snapper were not on the chew and by 0830 I was beginning to wonder if all of the snapper had left when suddenly we started catching them. Between 0830 and 0930 the three of us left there (for Mal had departed -- more about him later) boated 7 snapper, two of them around 50cm.
Mal has revealed that he became sea sick, and having vomited on his one and only keeper snapper, headed for home. Presumably this fish was washed before being stowed, Mal, or was it released to tell an unbelieveable story to his finny mates?
We departed the reef about 0945, with Jaro and I both getting strikes, but no solid hook ups, on our trolled lures before we'd cleared the reef.
I wouldn't say our return through the surf was uneventful (in fact, at one stage I couldn't believe I was still the right way up after the sand monster reared up and tried to bite me), but we all managed to land with dignity intact and were met by the usual envious stares and copious questions as we swaggered down to the water's edge to clean our fish.
Oh and why are my arms aching? -- from all the paddling of course...
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri with fish scales on it
Date: Thursday, 15 November 2007 1:56 PM
G'day gang
With aching arms I type this report...
Mal, Jim, Jaro and I fronted this morning at 6. We opted to launch on the eastern side of the groyne as the waves were still quite uppity on the western side. There was a bit of fun going out with yours truly timing his departure to meet the biggest nastiest dumping wave of the morning. I hit it paddling as fast as I could, using appropriate words which I hoped would assist, aiming to punch through, but alas, my body got in the way. When I opened my eyes the yak was still the right way up and I was on it but we were surfing backwards. This didn't last long as I soon performed a "deliberate" beautiful reverse broach and went for a swim in the balmy waters of Laguna Bay. No harm was done, and I was soon back on and into the fray once more, this time successfully joining my rudely grinning companions 'out the back'.
It was a fairly hard slog out as we were punching into a NE breeze and chop on top of a 1.5m swell, but we made it out to our planned destination in about 40min and started fishing at about 0715.
While there was quite a bit of action from small reefies, snapper were not on the chew and by 0830 I was beginning to wonder if all of the snapper had left when suddenly we started catching them. Between 0830 and 0930 the three of us left there (for Mal had departed -- more about him later) boated 7 snapper, two of them around 50cm.
Mal has revealed that he became sea sick, and having vomited on his one and only keeper snapper, headed for home. Presumably this fish was washed before being stowed, Mal, or was it released to tell an unbelieveable story to his finny mates?
We departed the reef about 0945, with Jaro and I both getting strikes, but no solid hook ups, on our trolled lures before we'd cleared the reef.
I wouldn't say our return through the surf was uneventful (in fact, at one stage I couldn't believe I was still the right way up after the sand monster reared up and tried to bite me), but we all managed to land with dignity intact and were met by the usual envious stares and copious questions as we swaggered down to the water's edge to clean our fish.
Oh and why are my arms aching? -- from all the paddling of course...
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri with fish scales on it
sweetlip, snapper, 01Nov07
Subject: noosa yakkers 01Nov07
Date: Thursday, 1 November 2007 1:03 PM
It's a while since I've been rolled going out and coming in but I managed it today. In retrospect I think the swell and tide combination were in the no-go class, so that's been tucked away for future reference.
Once out the back, conditions were very nice, with very little breeze. Jaro, Harvey and I set out for JS with snapper in mind. Just as we got to the centre, my trolled lure (deep running hard plastic) went off. I felt the surge of a powerful fish and also felt the line grating over the reef which is quite shallow (10-15m) just there. "Pop!" went the line and that was that. Possibly a yellowtail kingfish...
We started drift fishing for snapper but things were initially very quiet. Although there was little if any breeze, I found we were moving quite rapidly over the reef -- clearly there was a quite strong current from the north/north west. Then, at last, I hooked up when the jig was at its greatest depth. After a short tussle up came a beautiful grass sweetlip (see pic, immediately after capture, in yak), my biggest of this species so far.
It took a while to get the next hit, clearly a snapper, as the jig was taken within a few seconds of hitting the water. The hook pulled out and on close examination of the jig I noticed that the hook bend was slightly distorted -- so that was the cause of a lost snapper.
Jaro, meanwhile was having some success, having hooked two snapper in two casts -- the first was undersized and released, the second threw the hook. He persisted however and boated two keepers, a nice snapper and an even nicer sweetlip, albeit somewhat smaller than mine.
Just as I'd dismantled my gear in preparation for departure from JS (and transiting through the surf zone) I glanced down and could clearly see a school of snapper drifting past. So there are plenty out there.
Harv, by the way, quit early, fishless, on account of illness. I've just spoken to him and he attributes his illness to brain overheating on account of wearing a surf ski helmet, which he was.
Another great fishing trip. Thanks for organizing, Jaro.
Oh, and by the way, we bumped into Mike Gnezdiloff on the beach -- he took the photo of the two wet kayakers and their catch.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
Date: Thursday, 1 November 2007 1:03 PM
It's a while since I've been rolled going out and coming in but I managed it today. In retrospect I think the swell and tide combination were in the no-go class, so that's been tucked away for future reference.
Once out the back, conditions were very nice, with very little breeze. Jaro, Harvey and I set out for JS with snapper in mind. Just as we got to the centre, my trolled lure (deep running hard plastic) went off. I felt the surge of a powerful fish and also felt the line grating over the reef which is quite shallow (10-15m) just there. "Pop!" went the line and that was that. Possibly a yellowtail kingfish...
We started drift fishing for snapper but things were initially very quiet. Although there was little if any breeze, I found we were moving quite rapidly over the reef -- clearly there was a quite strong current from the north/north west. Then, at last, I hooked up when the jig was at its greatest depth. After a short tussle up came a beautiful grass sweetlip (see pic, immediately after capture, in yak), my biggest of this species so far.
It took a while to get the next hit, clearly a snapper, as the jig was taken within a few seconds of hitting the water. The hook pulled out and on close examination of the jig I noticed that the hook bend was slightly distorted -- so that was the cause of a lost snapper.
Jaro, meanwhile was having some success, having hooked two snapper in two casts -- the first was undersized and released, the second threw the hook. He persisted however and boated two keepers, a nice snapper and an even nicer sweetlip, albeit somewhat smaller than mine.
Just as I'd dismantled my gear in preparation for departure from JS (and transiting through the surf zone) I glanced down and could clearly see a school of snapper drifting past. So there are plenty out there.
Harv, by the way, quit early, fishless, on account of illness. I've just spoken to him and he attributes his illness to brain overheating on account of wearing a surf ski helmet, which he was.
Another great fishing trip. Thanks for organizing, Jaro.
Oh, and by the way, we bumped into Mike Gnezdiloff on the beach -- he took the photo of the two wet kayakers and their catch.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
Jew Shoal snapper, 26Oct07
Subject: Noosa Yakkers trip 26Oct07
Date: Friday, 26 October 2007 1:19 PM
Jaro, as organizer, may make his own comment on the trip, but here it is from my point of view... Thanks for organizing, Jaro.
Jaro, Mick, Jim and I turned up on or before the agreed RV time (0600) this morning and we gazed out onto a "do-able" surf entry, albeit with mutual agreement that we'd probably get wet (by waves, not rain) going out.
Mick Murphy had never taken his Hobie out through the surf before but he managed to pick a nice break in the sets and went through unscathed in his huge (4.9m) Hobie. One of us, who doesn't ride an Espri, went spectacularly backward when hit by a broken wave and seemed to be starting a new trend until the yak broached going backwards and the sand monster had claimed another victim.
By 0630 we were all "out the back" and shortly afterward set course for Jew Shoal, into a gentle nor-wester and a 2m or so swell. The trip out was uneventful and by 0715 we were setting up for our first drift for snapper.
Having received no hits within 6 or so casts at the 450-500m ring, I opted to move in to 350m from the centre and caught two snapper on two consecutive casts at that possie, so I knew they were around.
The result of the trip was that everyone caught at least one snapper, and all except possibly the first I caught (which I released), were legal size. I also hooked a small yellowtail kingfish which released itself yak-side after a solid fight, which was convenient, as I was going to release it anyway. Occasional tuna (probably mackerel tuna) were evident, feeding on baitfish clustered on top of the reef.
Jaro was looking a bit glum for a while with bent rods evident all round him and his rod straight and his line limp, but he persisted and eventually got
the knack and boated first one, then a second, snapper, accompanied by yells of excitement (see photo).
One thing worth commenting on is that close to where we were drifting and catching snapper there was a very expensive looking powerboat with heaps of shiny fishing gear aboard plus two glum looking anglers watching disbelievingly as we collectively boated fish after fish. They caught nothing of significance while we were out there and even offered to carry our catch back to Noosa -- No Deal!
Anyway, a great morning was had by all, including spectacular escapades when we returned through the surf. Once safely on the beach we enlisted the aid of an admiring young lad to record the event with my camera, whose lens cover, once more, had salt spray on it, so the resulting pic is a bit fuzzy -- sorry.
For info, my largest snapper went 54cm, slightly shorter that the 55cm I'd estimated out on the water.
Fresh snapper is on the menu in several households in the next couple of days. Yum Yum.
When are we going again?
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
Date: Friday, 26 October 2007 1:19 PM
Jaro, as organizer, may make his own comment on the trip, but here it is from my point of view... Thanks for organizing, Jaro.
Jaro, Mick, Jim and I turned up on or before the agreed RV time (0600) this morning and we gazed out onto a "do-able" surf entry, albeit with mutual agreement that we'd probably get wet (by waves, not rain) going out.
Mick Murphy had never taken his Hobie out through the surf before but he managed to pick a nice break in the sets and went through unscathed in his huge (4.9m) Hobie. One of us, who doesn't ride an Espri, went spectacularly backward when hit by a broken wave and seemed to be starting a new trend until the yak broached going backwards and the sand monster had claimed another victim.
By 0630 we were all "out the back" and shortly afterward set course for Jew Shoal, into a gentle nor-wester and a 2m or so swell. The trip out was uneventful and by 0715 we were setting up for our first drift for snapper.
Having received no hits within 6 or so casts at the 450-500m ring, I opted to move in to 350m from the centre and caught two snapper on two consecutive casts at that possie, so I knew they were around.
The result of the trip was that everyone caught at least one snapper, and all except possibly the first I caught (which I released), were legal size. I also hooked a small yellowtail kingfish which released itself yak-side after a solid fight, which was convenient, as I was going to release it anyway. Occasional tuna (probably mackerel tuna) were evident, feeding on baitfish clustered on top of the reef.
Jaro was looking a bit glum for a while with bent rods evident all round him and his rod straight and his line limp, but he persisted and eventually got
the knack and boated first one, then a second, snapper, accompanied by yells of excitement (see photo).
One thing worth commenting on is that close to where we were drifting and catching snapper there was a very expensive looking powerboat with heaps of shiny fishing gear aboard plus two glum looking anglers watching disbelievingly as we collectively boated fish after fish. They caught nothing of significance while we were out there and even offered to carry our catch back to Noosa -- No Deal!
Anyway, a great morning was had by all, including spectacular escapades when we returned through the surf. Once safely on the beach we enlisted the aid of an admiring young lad to record the event with my camera, whose lens cover, once more, had salt spray on it, so the resulting pic is a bit fuzzy -- sorry.
For info, my largest snapper went 54cm, slightly shorter that the 55cm I'd estimated out on the water.
Fresh snapper is on the menu in several households in the next couple of days. Yum Yum.
When are we going again?
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
Snapper on SPs
It's taken me over seven years to get exactly what I wanted to explain this subject: several small movies. After you've watched the movies, I recommend that you go on to read the rest of the post, mostly unaltered from the time I first wrote it back in 2007.
The original post:
Subject: fishing for snapper at Jew Shoal
Date: Thursday, 25 October 2007 11:40 AM
Hi guys
Looks like it's going to be OK tomorrow so I thought I'd pass on some info which may be of use in preparation.
Firstly, the following technique works for me and has done so consistently at Jew Shoal in the last several trips. So far this year I've caught 14 keeper snapper, most at Jew Shoal.
Note: the legal limit for snapper is 35cm and the bag limit is 5 (editor: this changed to four in 2011). Please do the right thing. If you have any doubts about fish legality please return them to the water. You may also catch grass sweetlip, whose legal limit is 30cm.
Background info: It's a 3.7km trip to Jew Shoal (JS) from Main Beach which takes me 40 min or so. I have the centre of JS registered on my GPS, and it's a quite large area of reef and rubble, more than a 1km diameter circle. Mentally, I draw a 500m radius circle centered on JS. My navigation target is the edge of that circle which is directly upwind of the JS centre.
Fishing technique:
(1) Although I usually troll on the way to JS, when I reach my nav target I'll be starting to drift fish for snapper, keeping an eye on distance from the JS centre as I drift. I use a small shopping bag as a drogue when drifting (see pic) and this slows down the drift rate and maintains the yak in a constant orientation to the wind and waves. Once I've drifted outside the circle I reposition myself on the upwind edge of the circle and start again.
(2) I use a 1/8oz jig head tied directly to the line and baited with a Power Bait 3inch minnow. I fish with a threadline reel using 12lb breaking strain line. The water depth is 15-20m. I cast the jig/bait as far as I can downwind while drifting and allow it to sink unimpeded except by the drag from the line (allow loose line between the reel and the place where the line enters the water, but engage the bail arm of the reel as you could get a strike at any time after the jig hits the water). Sometimes the jig is taken by a snapper within the first 10 seconds, but usually the take occurs when the yak is directly over the jig and the jig is at max depth. If I haven't hooked up by the time the jig is starting to be dragged upward behind the drifting yak, I retrieve and try again.
(3) Important: If you hook a snapper, he's going to fight pretty hard. Make sure your drag system is in good condition and that you are prepared to handle the fish into the yak safely if you subdue him. There is no need to bulldoze the fish. Snapper are clean but solid fighters and as long as you keep moderate pressure on you'll eventually gain the upper hand. I usually gaff a fish if he's obviously a keeper (see pic, which also shows my snapper rod/reel) and I also have a stringer on the yak onto which I thread the fish, through the gills, to ensure I don't lose him overboard while I'm stuffing around getting him into the fish box. Small fish should be gently lifted into the yak and gently de-hooked and returned to the water ASAP.
Finally I'm delighted to be accompanied by fellow yakkers, but please don't crowd each other. The fish are well spread over the reef so there's plenty of space. If you catch something you can't identify bring it over to me and I'll try to help out. And keep an eye out for whales.
Tight lines... Hope to see you tomorrow at 6am
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
The original post:
Subject: fishing for snapper at Jew Shoal
Date: Thursday, 25 October 2007 11:40 AM
Hi guys
Looks like it's going to be OK tomorrow so I thought I'd pass on some info which may be of use in preparation.
Firstly, the following technique works for me and has done so consistently at Jew Shoal in the last several trips. So far this year I've caught 14 keeper snapper, most at Jew Shoal.
Note: the legal limit for snapper is 35cm and the bag limit is 5 (editor: this changed to four in 2011). Please do the right thing. If you have any doubts about fish legality please return them to the water. You may also catch grass sweetlip, whose legal limit is 30cm.
Background info: It's a 3.7km trip to Jew Shoal (JS) from Main Beach which takes me 40 min or so. I have the centre of JS registered on my GPS, and it's a quite large area of reef and rubble, more than a 1km diameter circle. Mentally, I draw a 500m radius circle centered on JS. My navigation target is the edge of that circle which is directly upwind of the JS centre.
Fishing technique:
(1) Although I usually troll on the way to JS, when I reach my nav target I'll be starting to drift fish for snapper, keeping an eye on distance from the JS centre as I drift. I use a small shopping bag as a drogue when drifting (see pic) and this slows down the drift rate and maintains the yak in a constant orientation to the wind and waves. Once I've drifted outside the circle I reposition myself on the upwind edge of the circle and start again.
 |
| Drogue made from shopping bag |
(2) I use a 1/8oz jig head tied directly to the line and baited with a Power Bait 3inch minnow. I fish with a threadline reel using 12lb breaking strain line. The water depth is 15-20m. I cast the jig/bait as far as I can downwind while drifting and allow it to sink unimpeded except by the drag from the line (allow loose line between the reel and the place where the line enters the water, but engage the bail arm of the reel as you could get a strike at any time after the jig hits the water). Sometimes the jig is taken by a snapper within the first 10 seconds, but usually the take occurs when the yak is directly over the jig and the jig is at max depth. If I haven't hooked up by the time the jig is starting to be dragged upward behind the drifting yak, I retrieve and try again.
(3) Important: If you hook a snapper, he's going to fight pretty hard. Make sure your drag system is in good condition and that you are prepared to handle the fish into the yak safely if you subdue him. There is no need to bulldoze the fish. Snapper are clean but solid fighters and as long as you keep moderate pressure on you'll eventually gain the upper hand. I usually gaff a fish if he's obviously a keeper (see pic, which also shows my snapper rod/reel) and I also have a stringer on the yak onto which I thread the fish, through the gills, to ensure I don't lose him overboard while I'm stuffing around getting him into the fish box. Small fish should be gently lifted into the yak and gently de-hooked and returned to the water ASAP.
 |
| Dealing with keeper snapper |
Tight lines... Hope to see you tomorrow at 6am
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
nice bag, Jew Shoal, 02Oct2007
Subject: fishing just keeps getting better and better...
Date: Tuesday, 2 October 2007 11:21 AM
I don't like to be forced to apologise for image quality, but there was salt spray on the lens.
Left the beach 0630, returned 0930, paddled 10+km, had a ball!! I pretty much was the only human out there, at least for the first hour or so.
The spotty mac (edit: in 2011, by author: probably a school mackerel, I think) was caught at Jew Shoal (trolled Rapala) as I was about to start snapper fishing. The snapper, none of which exceeded 45cm, were caught using Berkely Power Baits on 1/8 oz jig heads.
Had a fairly close experience with a pod of whales, one of which was showing off by breaching, and a very close experience with some dolphins.
What more could one want?
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
Date: Tuesday, 2 October 2007 11:21 AM
I don't like to be forced to apologise for image quality, but there was salt spray on the lens.
Left the beach 0630, returned 0930, paddled 10+km, had a ball!! I pretty much was the only human out there, at least for the first hour or so.
The spotty mac (edit: in 2011, by author: probably a school mackerel, I think) was caught at Jew Shoal (trolled Rapala) as I was about to start snapper fishing. The snapper, none of which exceeded 45cm, were caught using Berkely Power Baits on 1/8 oz jig heads.
Had a fairly close experience with a pod of whales, one of which was showing off by breaching, and a very close experience with some dolphins.
What more could one want?
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri
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