Bundaberg

Messing with the big boys this November

BUNDABERG Luke Truant

The fishing has been productive in recent weeks, with catches of good-size red emperor and coral trout. Just like the previous few months, there have been relatively few medium and small fish. Most of the trout we’ve caught lately have been between 60-65cm, with the biggest trout weighing in at 7.5kg. The average size of the red emperor has been just under 70cm, and the biggest red emperor caught lately was 8.5kg, which isn’t a massive red but it’s still a solid fish. There were definitely a lot more trout than reds caught in the last month, which is typical for this time of year.

The fish have been evenly spread between what I call shallows (18m of water) through the bommies. I’ve been up on the top of the reef and all the way down to the 45m fern and individual bommies, and the fish have been scattered pretty evenly. On the whole, we have tended to have better catches on the incoming tide lately, regardless of the area we have been fishing. And the morning incoming tide is best. We usually find the best bite time for us is between 9-10:30am. If you fish after 11am, your chances of success are reduced.

As expected for this time of year, the fish have become less interested in live baits. Every year, at the start of the season, you can’t Most of the trout caught lately have been a good size.

catch enough – the fish seem to be obsessed with livies. However, at the end of the season you almost can’t give them away! Large cod and Maori cod do still bite readily on live baits in late spring, but the red emperor and trout are definitely less interested. On one recent trip we didn’t get any decent strikes on our live baits, but we were catching big trout on flesh baits.

You might be tempted to ditch the livies altogether, but I would advise against this. It’s still worth getting a few livies for the chance of a cod or other extra-large fish. On a spread of four clients in the boat, I would have one with a live bait and the three others using flesh baits, and I would recommend you do the same (you can rotate so everyone gets a chance at using different baits). XOS gold-spot cod have been horking down the livies; the biggest one we have caught lately was just oversize. Remember that the maximum size on gold-spot cod is 1.2m. If you catch one bigger than that, you’ll need to use a knife to vent the swim bladder before you release the fish. A syringe isn’t really big enough for fish of this size. After venting the swim bladder, you should don some gloves and massage the air-filled stomach that’s protruding from the cod’s mouth, to make sure all the air is out of it as well. If you don’t, the cod’s stomach can make it float, even though the swim bladder is empty.

The standout baits for most species lately have been hussar fillets with the tails on, and iodine bream fillets, also with the tail on. Wings have been working well too. With wide baits like iodine bream, you might be tempted to cut it in half to make two smaller baits, but this isn’t necessary. Big baits tend to catch bigger fish. I recommend using a single hook at one end of the fillet. Hook placement is very important. Do not put the hook in the middle of the fillet, because your bait will fold over and look unnatural. If you want to maximise your catch rates, insert your hook at the thick end of the fillet so that the tail section can waft enticingly in the water.

For this kind of fishing we use 10-15kg spinning rods with 50lb braid. I don’t often mention brands in my reports, but I’ll make an exception for the reels. We use Rovex Big Boss III in the 8000 size, and they are almost unbreakable. From all the reels that I’ve used commercially, they are the strongest and the longest lasting, and they’re nice and smooth. They’re only around $110 bucks (even less if you get them on special), and they’ll outlast other reels at that price point.

Of course, like any reel, you should wash them down properly after each trip to maximise their lifespan. You may have heard that you shouldn’t spray water forcefully into a reel, but I personally spray these reels down with a decent stream because they have rubber O-rings to seal them from water intrusion. After many hose-downs the reels have exhibited no ill effects.

Bear in mind that these reels have a gear ratio of 4.9:1, so they’re not an all-rounder that you can use for spinning slugs for tuna. The Big Boss III is better suited to reef fishing, so if you want to do high-speed spinning you should get a different reel.

When it comes to the best braid to use, you should make sure it’s smooth. If the braid makes a grinding noise while you’re bringing it in, you need to buy better braid. I use Rovex D8 and I find it’s got great durability and knot strength, and its affordable. That said, there would be other braids out there that would do the job just as well. Remember, just because a braid is expensive it doesn’t mean it’s automatically better.

I use 55lb Schneider Klear leader in green, which seems to be a good colour that doesn’t put the fish off. When you are choosing a leader for bottom fishing you don’t want softness and suppleness, you want abrasion resistance. Also, I recommend avoiding using white leader. White line tends to put the fish off, in my experience; you want your leader to be as invisible as possible. FISHING

IN NOVEMBER

November isn’t a great month weather-wise; we usually only get a few days when we can get out wide. You definitely need to make the most of any weather window that pops up, because you might not get another chance for a while.

There are of course other options if it’s too rough out wide. You can have a lot of fun chasing school mackerel inshore, all you need is a paravane/trolling board and a few spoons. If you haven’t done this kind of fishing before, just go to a tackle store and they’ll set you up and explain how to go about it. You can often find schoolies around Burnett Heads along the lateral

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marks all the way to the end, around 3 miles out, or Ryans Reef. I would troll at least 5.6 knots, and probably no faster than around 7 knots. That usually works well.

At the time of writing, the grunter are really thick in the estuary, and people are catching specimens up to 70cm. I personally like to target grunter on the rubbly sections of the river, with river rocks along the bottom. It doesn’t have to be deep. I usually use long strip baits, whether it’s mullet or mullet gut. I prefer the run-in or the margins of the tide change for these fish. In my experience, you generally have the best bite on the last hour before a change, or the first hour of the run-in. The middle of the tide can be a lot harder, but it’s still possible to catch fish if you use smaller weights. I use a running sinker with a long trace, at least 50cm long, with a 20lb fluoro trace and size 2/0 hook. Grunter are an underrated fish – they’re fun to catch, they pull like freight trains, and they taste great. • 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.