Kids, Kings and Snapper — Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt

KIDS KINGS and SNAPPER

Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt with a few tips.

It is here and after a few stops and starts it looks like it’s here for good. What am I talking about…? SUMMER. We all love it for different reasons but for me it’s the increase in fishing. It’s a time when all species seem to fire, but I think it has also a lot to do with our collective time on the water. The weather warms up and so too does the action on the Facebooks. We see pics of fishos into em and we get keen, so we get out ourselves. Then if we catch something of merit up it goes on the book and drives the machine and everyone gets keen.

Daylight savings is a huge bonus as well with more daylight hours to play with. The weekend becomes sort of longer in summer and bed times get later. Weeknights also become viable as a fish after work is always on the cards. So it is no secret that I love summer.

There has been a heap of great fish caught thus far and we are only just starting to fire up. Some of the species that have a cult following are snapper and yellowtail kingfish and they are here early in good numbers. I love chasing both these species as they both fight very well for size and are great eating. We might talk about a few tips for snapper and where you might try and find kings this summer.

Kids

I love my kids, as we all do, but kids and fishing can often be a frustration. In the colder climes it is a real pain. They will get wet and miserable and then it’s all over. The whinges come out and makes whatever you are trying to do a misery. The key here is to start out slow and simple and target a simple species first — flathead, squid and salmon are good. Then you can keep taking little steps and including them along the way. If you try and do what you want, and have always done without taking the kids into consideration you are setting yourself up for a fail. They will hate fishing. What you are trying to do is instill in them the love of the activity, the outdoors and being with dad. Get it right and you will have them telling mum that they want dad to take them fishing. That is a much better scenario than going fishing and dumping the kids on her indoors…. And that’s how the fight started.

Make sure you have a happy outfit of little fisho’s on your hand, you do not want a mutiny. Pack plenty of food and a few snacks. Water and some fruit juice is always a good idea and hide away a treat if things start to go downhill and you need to arrest the situation. This time of year sunscreen and a big hat is a must. Wow… can you get into some trouble from the wifey if you bring home sunburnt kids

Pick some low hanging fruit like squid or Australian salmon and make sure you can hit your target. The enemy of the child’s mind is boredom, but get them onto a squid in a few minutes and you will have a fan. A squid to a child is like a sea monster. You want your kids sprouting to their friends “Dad took us hunting for sea monsters on the weekend.”

In all sports there will be a reason for participation and a reason for persisting and you don’t want these to be forced but rather forged out of fun. The key is to be relaxed and include the kids in everything, even if it is not how you would do it. Let them choose the colour of the squid jig even if it isn’t what you would run at the time. Let them cast it no matter their skill level as if you are in a boat the jig will find the squid zone eventually.

I have got to the stage of having my kids take ownership of the weather call. They love computers and having them shop between WILLY weather and BOM for a favorable window to head out is gold. The weather sites are very visual with graphs and tables that can really hold the kids attention. Here is one of the true keys to what you are trying to do here. You are not just taking the kids for a fish. You are including them in the whole adventure and experience from start to finish. Give them some responsibility and they will thrive. If they just bubble along and feel they are baggage the “I’m bored” calls will start up pretty quick.

The youngest of kids chests will bulge if you ask them the simplest of tasks and involve yourself in showing them. Before leaving put your four year old in charge of carrying the little tackle box with five of her own jigs in it. Have the seven year old know where the bungs are and be involved in screwing them in. The 10 year old will love being asked to turn the sounder on and plot a course to where you are going to start. All simple stuff to us, but is like going to Disneyland for your child… “I helped Dad!”

First few trips out with kids and it is all about them and getting them a fish. Don’t you try and fish all you are there for is to be a little people man servant. Put them on some ground that they will catch something and watch the fun unfold. You don’t have to catch any special fish either. Any fish that they catch will be a special occasion and catching one to eat will just be a bonus. You will never see excitement or amazement greater than when a kid catches a puffer fish or toady all blown up round as a ball.

If you don’t have a live well with a glass front by all means sell that boat and buy a SURTEES because they have them and they are cool. You put a few fish inside a glass fronted livey tank and you have the kid’s attention for ever. Even from the shore or in a smaller boat take a bucket you can put some water and some fish in and you will have them hooked !

You may be wondering why I am going on about this — can we just get on with the fishing chat. Well, it is a means to an end. If you have kids with interests that are also your interests then you are going to have a happy life. Is there anything better in life than having kids harp on about “when are we going fishing again Dad?”

So get them out there and catch some simple things first and before you know it, that tiny child you taught how to catch squid, will be a young adult beaming about the tuna trip you just had or the weekend up the lakes catching trout.

Snapper wars

These fish are a bit of an enigma — a fancy word for mystery. The mystery for me is why we have not caught these fish in quantity before. Is it part of the changing cycles of weather and current or that we have not targeted them in the way we are now in the past.

I am not complaining though as they are turning up everywhere and are being caught by more and more people. Some people seem to think that the spots they are caught need to be kept secret or coveted by only a few. This to me is nonsense and I will explain why.

Snapper have been caught by clever people in the North North east, The Tamar and on the North North west for many years. In recent times we have seen them caught on the North West coast of Devonport and Wynyard and also more and more down south in and around the Derwent. Now I can only talk of my own experience off the North West coast and in Particular across my home stretch off the Forth River and down towards Don Heads, but I have formulated some pretty strong views.

Snapper are everywhere. If you are in an area that you are catching blue throat wrasse and pike you are in close proximity to what I call snapper ground. The wrasse and the pike tell me you are on a healthy part of the reef with a few holes and ups and downs. If you use your sounder and find some healthy reef with a two or three metre depth difference and then that reef flattens out onto some shale or sand you have a great place to start. When I say start I mean start the process because repeated success on snapper means a process.

Working out your position to anchor is the first thing to get sorted and this may be something new to you as a lot of our fishing is done on the drift or underway. You must drop anchor and pay out line so that you are sitting just off the reef edge around 10 metres or so. Too close

and you will be harassed by wrasse and draught board sharks. Once sitting pretty on anchor get your burley in the water. I like to use a stainless steel cage and drop it to the bottom with a few shakes. Then get your pilchard cubes going cutting a pilchard into roughly seven equal pieces. Throw two to the left, two to the right and two just at the back of the boat. With the last piece throw it as far as you can behind the outboard. Why — Who knows? It’s just what I do. Then get your rigs baited and you can have two sorts here. A snapper flasher rig out each side of the boat at 90 degrees and a couple of stray line rigs lightly weighted so they drift down with the berley. When they look to have hit the bottom you can leave them for a few minutes and then wind them in and re-cast. After you have re-cast one you can redo a pilchard. After you have re-cast the second rod bring up your burley pot with your fine burley in it and give it a couple of tea bag jigs at midway and the top. Then repeat. It is quite a process and you are setting the trap. You will have to wear a bit of bycatch from time to time, but re-bait and reset and wait. You are waiting for the snapper on the reef and in the shale channels to come past and see your beautifully prepared trap. When they do they can take two or three rods at a time and it will get busy. In a session they might come through once or twice — three times if you are lucky. Get into a tackle store and ask for information on what gear to use. They are all very well educated on what’s been working and what is a good fit for what you are doing be it shore based or in a boat. My snapper fishing is in a boat so I have been falling in love with the ABU GARCIA Veritas rods and use a 6 foot 8 in 3-7kg matched with the new Elite Max reels. These reels are a sensation at only $129. There is a lot of chat around www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Attomic PRINT.pdf 1 31/08/2017 3:03:53 PM hooks but I use OWNER circles in 5/0 or 6/0 and I love them. Perfect hook sets and super strong in case you get that big one come along. Time on the water is also a big key. Practicing your craft so you have the perfect trap set when the fish come roaring past.

Yellow Fever

The yellowtail kings are another fish that gets anglers excited. These hoodlums as they are also known are also showing up more and more and in places one would not expect. The traditional haunts of Montagu and Waterhouse Island have coughed some fish up already along the North West coast. I have also heard of reports in the Derwent of fish being seen, but haven’t heard of regular captures yet. Over the last couple of seasons the fish have been found all around Tasmania. This leads me to believe that you just have to get out there and have a crack.

Gear up and make sure you have the right gear to cover enough water to find them. Bigger longer rods set up to cast bigger lures a mile is what you need. Reels in the 4-5000 size bracket filled with quality braid. I was using a 9foot rod last week with some of Berkley’s X9 braid in 30lb and the casting distance was ridiculous.

Find a point with a bit of depth or a drop off and just start casting. What have you got to lose, at the very least you may find some big Australian salmon. Any point and head land is worth a go. Particularly if the area has some rocks and reef that leads into some sand.

Semi Hardz

Metalz Plazos Hardz

Seekerz

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There are a heap of places to try and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not worth it. Find a rocky point and thrash it till the cows come home. Cast long and hard and then rip it back in at a furious pace. That’s the thing with kings, not all the time but more often than not they like a fast erratic retrieve. Cast in a big fan arc and scour that water with your lure. Let the lure sink as well before you retrieve. Change to a different style of lure and do it again.

There will again be an argument on tides but I would be trying the last third of the run in tide. That is when the bait fish are active and nervous high in the green water that has come in with the tide and looking nervously for a feed for themselves. Spend the time there and cast your arm off. Nothing comes easy and this is also the case with breaking new ground for kingies.

If you don’t do any good then come back again another day and have a second crack. If you don’t do any good then you can move your attack to another rocky headland.

A back pack and a good set of sturdy shoes will be your friend. There is some good areas to try out around the front of the rock cliffs of Stanley and Wynyard, but you will need to walk in. Preservation Bay and the areas in and around the Three Sisters in Ulverstone are worth a look as well. Get the walking shoes on and try the rock areas from the mouth of the Don River towards Lillico straight. You should come across Paradise Cove and cast your arm off in that area.

Make sure you take a landing net and shoes that will handle a bit of salt water as hooking a king is only the first bit. Landing it is going to be super tricky in some of these areas.

Good luck in your ventures and make sure you remember the sunscreen. I love summer but I hate getting roasted. Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt

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