Bundaberg

Winning in the westerlies

BUNDABERG Luke Truant

Good weather windows have been limited in recent months, but when we’ve hit the water the fishing has usually been red-hot for red emperor and other popular target species. visibility, baits have been working better than lures. At this time of year the Spanish tend to be bigger fish, and that’s true at the moment; nearly all of ours have been 10kg+.

Interestingly in the bait grounds (i.e. at the end of the lateral marks where we catch the yellowtail scad), nearly a 45° wind as fast as I can. I use around 15cm of 40lb thin wire trace down to the lure.

A tip for young players – a 3m long mono trace (I use 40lb) will stop you from winding your lure into your face. When you hear the mono touch the rod you know to stop winding.

On a recent trip we found tuna baits differently from the rest of my baits. If I was to run a long mullet strip, I would weave the hook in 3-4 times. With mac tuna though, I’ll cut vertical strips off a big fillet, creating 10-15cm long baits, and I’ll just do a double weave at one end and let the majority hang off. This is because the skin is so tough that it takes a fair bit of punishment for it to come off.

You’ll sometimes get mac tuna as bycatch when targeting mackerel, but you can also catch them throwing small slugs at the busting schools, such as a 40g Sniper or 38g Sea Rock. I like the Sea Rock because it creates a bubble trail which gets the tuna excited, but the lure doesn’t jump out during a fast retrieve, like some other lures can. When I use chrome lures I always put a small roller Maori cod, there’s layer of fatty meat you can tear off near the dorsal fin before you cook it. Once the fat is removed, the rest of the fish will be delicious.

We have also been picking up big tuskfish up to 5kg, and bucketloads of 60cm+ red

Ryan caught this Spanish mackerel on a Laser Pro.

The fishing for the grass emperor, however, has tapered off significantly, as is usual for this time of year. In recent weeks we have been catching only around a couple a day. Their numbers probably won’t pick up again until late summer.

The Spanish mackerel have been hanging around, and bizarrely they have been getting caught in dirty water. At the time of writing we still have flood run-off, and the mackerel are in feeding amongst the brown water. Because of the reduced every drop we are losing a jig, or a fish hooked on a jig, to school mackerel. The schoolies are really thick. If you want to actively target schoolies you can drift out an unweighted livie rigged on a stinger rig. You want that second hook because the schoolies usually eat the rear half of the fish first. Alternatively, you can just float out a ganged pilchard.

If the water is clear, a 40g Twisty or similar can also catch plenty of schoolies. I like to cast out, let the lure drop to the bottom, then make some clean water, looked for bait on the bottom, and trolled at 6 knots with Halco Laser Pros in 2m and 6m. The result was two schoolies, two large mac tuna, and a 14kg Spanish in only 10 minutes. From what I have noticed, losing the paint on your lures doesn’t make a lot of difference for these speedsters – which would indicate that colour doesn’t matter too much.

After a 10kg mackerel, even the best hooks will start to straighten a little bit, so you should replace them often to avoid disappointment. As soon as they start aging, you’ll get fewer solid hook-ups; the strike will be on for only 3-5 seconds before the fish is gone. I run VMC trebles for mackerel. I find that if one barb comes out due to the leverage put on the lure, another barb will often rotate around and pin the mackerel.

The trout bite has been off the charts, as it usually is at this time of year. The standout bait, aside from live baits, is mac tuna. I rig mac swivel on the leading split ring on all of them. The smaller the roller bearing the better, generally, to make the lure swim better and minimise line twisting.

The shallow water and the deep water has all been firing, yielding a range of fish. We’ve been seeing blue Maori (cattle dogs) up to 10kg+, and heaps of brown Maori cod around the 2kg mark. These fish cannot resist a live bait, and when you drop down that’s often the first fish you’ll pull up. If you’re anchored, never expect to catch one brown Maori – you’re nearly always going to catch at least a couple.

When you eat brown emperor are still on the chew, especially in that shelfy area between the top of Fraser and Lady Elliot.

The trout are biting well too, and nearly all of the trout we catch are solid specimens. We caught a trout the other day that measured 80cm (about 6kg), caught by an angler on his first time reef fishing. The reason we consistently catch big trout is because we use big baits. Whole hussar fillets, hussar wings (the wings take more scalps than anything), hussar heads, live baits and massive tuna chunks are all working well. If you look at your bait and think, “that’s too big for a trout bait”, send it out anyway.

When you fish big baits though, don’t leave them there for a long time. If it’s down there for more than two minutes with no result, you won’t get a fish on it. Pull it up and change the bait. Some days the fish will take one bait and not the other.

Another important factor is to get someone fishing a smaller bait while someone else fishes a big bait. The small bait will get the pickers going, creating excitement to get the attention of larger fish. And who knows – you might be lucky enough to snag a good fish on a small bait. Recently I was fishing

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Lure colour doesn’t seem to matter with pelagics. This lure has caught 25-30 Spanish, a few schoolies and half dozen mac tuna.

Chris with a red emperor that snaffled a livie. with tiny squares of mullet to create underwater excitement so my clients could get fish on their bigger baits, and I got a 3kg trout on a 2cm square of mullet fillet.

Snapper catches out of Bundy lately have been fantastic. My business partner recently went to the Cochran artificial reef and bagged out in record time. The average size on his trip was around 65cm, and they were caught on mullet fillets. Just remember that the closed season starts soon – it runs from 15 July through until 15 August. JULY FISHING

In July the westerlies typically kick in, and those westerly days are usually the best days for fishing. The westerlies tend to blow 15-20 knots offshore until about 11am, and then conditions generally become calmer, giving you a nice trip home in the afternoon. On the days when the westerly is forecast to stay up all day, don’t go out. If you do, you can expect a very long, hard trip home.

When it comes to the best time of day to fish, your best chances are before 11am and after 2pm. Fishing in the dark with no moon is rarely fruitful. You should fish until just after the sun goes down, and once it’s black it’s time to pack up.

July is normally when the trout seem to taper off somewhat and the reds pick up. However, this year may be different because the reds got really thick earlier than usual. Time will tell. • 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.