Bundaberg

Learning from the pros

BUNDABERG Luke Truant

The fishing over the past month has continued to be amazing – it’s as good as I’ve seen in my lifetime. On most trips, we have been catching more large fish on average than I’ve seen in all the years I have been fishing here. You might think we have been targeting remote or little-known areas to get these big fish, but that hasn’t really been necessary. Lately we have been fishing fairly well-known areas, and they have been holding lots of fish most of the time. The standout species are still coral trout and red emperor, with a bycatch of big gold-spot cod.

When it comes to red emperor, we have been catching a lot of fish in the 65-67cm range, which have been making up the majority of our legal-size ones. Mixed in with these fish are the occasional bigger specimens in the high 70s, weighing in at around 8-10kg. We’re still getting one or two grassy sweetlip (grass emperor) per day, with fish up around 5kg, which is big for a grassy. They have been coming from 35-45m of water, alongside the reds and the cod.

The average size of the trout lately has been around 60-65cm, but we have been regularly getting 80cm fish (typically the 80cm ones are bar-cheek trout). The smallest trout I have caught in the last three months was about 43cm – we almost definitely never see undersize trout.

We have been catching plenty of coral trout in some unexpected areas – locations which, in the past 20 years of offshore fishing, I have never caught them. The shoaly areas off the top of Fraser, or in between Fraser and Lady Elliott Island for example, have become trout hot spots. There are areas here where we used to consistently catch 10kg+ nannies every single time we’d go out, and now you’re lucky to catch just one legal fish. I’m not sure whether the trout were always there, and we just didn’t catch them because the nannygai were taking our baits. Or maybe the trout weren’t there before, and only moved in when the nannygai were gone.

The reason for the lack of nannygai could be that they’ve have been overfished in these particular spots. The problem with nannies is that they congregate in large schools, and when they feed, they feed hard – and this can be their downfall. At such times, the nannies are vulnerable to being smashed by anglers looking to take home a feed of these tasty fish.

Having the right bait is key to consistent catches of large reef fish. At the present time, if you’re not fishing with live yellowtail scad, you may as well go home! Hopefully we’ll keep getting the scad through until the end of October, but it’s more likely that they’ll taper off around mid-October. After that, they won’t return until around May. True, there are other live baits that you can use instead, but it’s difficult because there are minimum size limits on some other species.

Even after the big schools of yellowtail scad have gone, it’s still worth poking around the bait grounds to see what’s left. At this time of year they tend to hang in smaller patches, and on the sounder they’ll look like a show down low as opposed to a big ball up high, like you’d get earlier star, but it’s not so good for maintaining momentum. Of course, if you get really big fish then yes, you will need to pump and wind.

THE PROFESSIONAL APPROACH

To minimise shark biteoffs, a lot of professional fishers in the north move up to the shallows and change to handline fishing. When you retrieve with a handline you can maintain constant momentum, which is more effective at keeping the hooked fish away from sharks. If you watch some YouTube videos of professional coral trout fishers, you’ll see how they bring the line in continually in one motion, without jerking.

The other good thing about handlining is that it’s easy to let a bit more line out when you know a bigger fish is interested. When you get some taps from a bigger fish, you don’t want to strike because it could put the fish off. It’s much better to let a bit of line out, to encourage the fish to have another go. This is easy with a handline, but a bit fiddly with a reel. While you’re flipping over the bail arm or adjusting the drag lever, you could miss a strike.

If you want to try handlining for trout, I recommend starting with 80lb mono. The brand doesn’t matter much, but you do want a line that is relatively supple. Some monos feel really wiry, and these can be very slippery, making it hard to stop the fish.

When handlining, you want to be fishing in less than 30m of water. If it’s deeper, you’ll end up with too much line on the bottom of your boat. You also need a nice clean, clear deck.

You might think you’d need to hold the handline spool while fishing, but that’s not true. The spool should stay sitting on the deck – there is no need to pick it up while you’re fishing. Some people make the risky move of picking up a handline when they hook a fish, but a large fish’s run makes the handline spin really quickly, and if you don’t hold it tight enough, it can be very dangerous. It can break your finger or recoil onto your face. Stay safe and leave it on the deck until it’s time to pack up and go home.

You will need to protect your index finger while handlining for large fish, and there are a few options available for you to use as a protective finger stall. The most well-known is a bike tube over your pointer finger, but a better option when you’re starting out is probably a SureCatch Finger Protection Guard. The SureCatch Guard is made of leather with an elastic backing so it stays on your finger, and it’s not too tight or too loose. This last feature is useful because your finger will swell after a successful day’s handlining, so what fit you on the first day won’t fit you on the second day – at least when you’re new to this kind of fishing.

If you can’t find a tube or finger stall to fit, you can buy some strapping tape (the kind the physio uses) and wrap it around your index finger. This kind of tape tends to hold better in the water, and you can usually go most of the day without having to dry off and stick fresh tape on. I personally love using strapping tape, and I use the 50mm wide version. The tip of your finger can poke out, but you make sure the first and second knuckles are covered.

And that’s pretty much all you need to know to get started. If you find yourself struggling a bit, don’t be discouraged – it does take some getting used to. You will get better after a bit of practice. Remember, you will absolutely catch more fish in shallow water when you use a handline. That’s why the pros do it.

OCTOBER FISHING

This month you should keep using livies to target red emperor and trout. If the sharks are a problem, you can either go deeper and more remote, to try to get away from them, or go shallower so you can beat them to the surface. Try to keep away from reef edges, ledges and drop-offs, because sharks are more likely to congregate in those areas.

Spanish mackerel have still been in good numbers in close to Bundaberg, within

There are still a few big grassy sweetlip around.

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in the season. These small, late-season schools resemble variegated emperor or small whiptails on the bottom. Once you start fishing for the scad, you might only get one or two per drop, rather than the five or six per drop you’d get earlier in the season. Still, it’s very worthwhile making the time to collect them.

While you’re fishing with livies, it’s good to drop down at least one dead bait, typically a strip of mullet, hussar or iodine bream. These smelly dead baits get interest from picker fish, which in turn arouses the interest of larger fish, who may move in and spot one of the enticing livies nearby. Strip baits will also catch their share of red emperor and other target species.

The sharks will start ramping up in October, so practice your fast retrieve! The ‘pump and wind’ approach is not the fastest way to bring in a medium size fish – you just want to crank it straight up. Pumping and winding may make you look like a YouTube fishing Not all trout are created equal! This one was taken close to Bundy recently.

a few miles of shore, and the average size is around the 20kg mark. We have been catching them on really large live baits, rather than lures. The best approach with livies has been to troll them super slowly at idle. A good thing about live baits is that you can troll almost in a circle, and if you find fish on the sounder you can target them effectively.

At the time of writing, the estuary is still very quiet, due to the floodwater in the system. They have been releasing water in the Burnett, so we’ve been seeing quite large amounts of freshwater coming though. This means the fishing isn’t what we would hope for at this time of year. Things will improve though, and I should have more to report on that front in the next issue. • Truansea Charters specialise in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef targets such as coral trout and red emperor, as well as arm-stretching pelagics like Spanish mackerel. The maximum number of anglers is 6, so you’ll never feel crowded. The price is $350pp (or $330pp if you book the whole boat), which includes all gear, fuel, bait, ice, chilled water/soft drinks and laughs! You’re welcome to bring your own reef fishing gear if you prefer. Other charter options include half-day reef trips, half day river trips and private guiding. To find out more visit www.truansea.com.au, or you can Like them on Facebook or call Luke on 0423 015 490.