Snapper, Pearl Perch and AJ’s

[Frank OO]

Ben and I have been having a hard time with a few fish lately because we haven’t been able to get them off the bottom and we were getting spooled as a result.

My nephews Brian (Scalem) and Andrew (Poodroo) have been wanting to go out to some deeper water for some time so yesterday was the perfect opportunity to find out what these monsters were.

We started the day by trolling for Mackerel at the fairway beacon and then moved to Caloundra 12 Mile without a click from the reels.

After trolling for about two hours, we decided to go wide to a depth of about 80 meters. The Pearlies were everywhere. Ben gets real excited when the Pearlies are about because he reckons they are like pulling up an old boot. They are pretty boring but they taste good.

The big Snapper were also sitting on the bottom underneath the Pearlies so we kept a few around the 8 – 10 Kilo mark.

We had caught about fifteen of each and decided to try and catch these monsters so away we went to “Nowhere” That’s what we call the mark because it is out in the middle of nowhere.

More bloody Snapper. These things were everywhere. Anyway we finally found out what they were.

AJ’s from hell. I Finally managed to get one on a plastic with my Egrell(Big Bertha) with a lot of chasing and help from Brian( the driver) and Andrew (My Coach). This one was about 14 Kg but the ones we lost were many times bigger than that.

After loosing four Knife Jigs and half an AJ we decided to leave them alone for the next time.

Great day with Flat seas and Good company.

[Frank OO]

Photos of the trip

[Frank OO]

Photo of my Egrell Rod (Big Bertha)

[outsiderskip]

nice fish
u did better than me

pete

[knuckles]

Nice going guys, always good to see someone catching big ones.
Next time pack lunch, and try not to eat the fish before you take photos of it.:-)

[Poodroo]

Was such a good day out that I had to read this twice. Lol Thanks for having me along Frank. I had a fantastic day on the water. Here is just a couple of photos I took. One of the sunrise and the other of Scalem and a pearlie.

Poodroo

[gawby]

Good work there boys. You did a lot better than we did.
Seems the fish are more plentiful up that way than what they are down the Gold Coast. I've always got better catches up the sunny coast way.
Graeme

[Scalem]

Thanks Frankoo,

It was certainly a "humbling" experience to go offshore with you. As you know, I hope you didn't mind this "shaddow" that followed you everywhere, and did everything that you did, but still didn't get on to the same number of fish as you. I have been looking forward to a trip with you for ages, I think next time ( can't come soon enough) I will be better prepared with bigger reels and bigger, better quality braid and plastics.

The highlights for me were

*** Learning more about deep water jigging. Holy crapola!! They work don't they, but stopping big fish like we lost really needs more than 200lb breaking strain rope doesn't it? The 1st time you hooked up I thought I was going to need to grab the back of your pants to stop you from being towed into the drink!! Thanks for the chance of having a go myself, my arms and my shoulders will continue to thank you for the next few days too. You'll have to get alongside reel manufacturers to come up with a more robust design of reel that can take the punishment.....

The other highlight was the audience back at Spinnaker sound boat ramp, and watching peoples reaction when we tell them we caught all fish on Plastics and Knife jigs.... Can't beleive that!!

Thanks again!

Scalem

[Poodroo]

The other highlight was the audience back at Spinnaker sound boat ramp, and watching peoples reaction when we tell them we caught all fish on Plastics and Knife jigs.... Can't beleive that!!

Thanks again!

Scalem

I am still laughing about it. First impressions of a person because of what they are wearing can be a little bit misleading. If a man arrives in a boat and jumps out wearing a Berkley Gulp shirt looking like a real pro it doesn't necessarily mean he knows all about placcies. His face turned to horror when he learned that we didn't have a single bit of bait onboard and that the entire catch was caught on placcies. "I can never get the bl*#dy things to work for me!" he says. I was half expecting him to rip his Berkley shirt off to give to us. ;D

Still smirking,

Poodroo

[Scalem]

"I can never get the bl*#dy things to work for me!" he says. I was half expecting him to rip his Berkley shirt off to give to us. ;D

Still smirking,

Poodroo

To add insult to injury we were sorting the boat out in the car Park, and the same guy was bringing his boat and trailer around when Frank held up the big blue plastic still attached to my overhead rig, and gave it a wave.. I think we came close to copping that shirt 'round about then!! I hope he is not an AF Member, I think we will be on his ignor list from now on!

Scalem

[Tangles]

Poodroo, Scalem, looks like you guys had a ball, nice fish there too, and scalem thanks for your sp advice the other day.
cheers
Mike

[Fishing_Freddy]

great looking fish there guy I'm sh1tty >:( as hell because I had to work and couldn't get out this weekend but there will be a next time.
Ken;D;D;D

[wombie]

well done guys i dont get outside that often go in a mates boat would love to give the plassies a go any advice on size and jig weight would be appreiciated.and what do you do use them like a bait jig up and down or what. if you dont want to give any secrets away ill understand.

cheers Paul

[Pistol_P]

Top fish boys well done...8-)
I love those amberjack.....I had a day last year with a mate from this site (seapup) last year and we got onto them....This year its time to get the serious jigging gear out there...:P

[Frank OO]

Hello Wombie,

There are no secrets with plastics mate. I use the finest Braid (Sensor) about 30 pound. The Plastics are Big Gulps Neuclear Chicken and White. Jason Bird from Sundown will know the ones, and 1 ounce Jig heads (heavy wire).

Cast your lure as far as you can in the direction that the boat is drifting and leave the bail open. If there are any fish around, your lure will not get to the bottom. We were fishing in about 80 meters of water.

Frank OO

[Scalem]

Hello Wombie,

There are no secrets with plastics mate. I use the finest Braid (Sensor) about 30 pound. The Plastics are Big Gulps Neuclear Chicken and White. Jason Bird from Sundown will know the ones, and 1 ounce Jig heads (heavy wire).

Cast your lure as far as you can in the direction that the boat is drifting and leave the bail open. If there are any fish around, your lure will not get to the bottom. We were fishing in about 80 meters of water.

Frank OO

Frank,

You make it sound simple, and on the day, you made it look so easy.... I think there's a lot to be said for having good quality gear like you have so my advice to Wombie would be not to compromise on having a strong spinner reel, with at least 300 mtrs of good Braid like sensor. I won't deny that my Bay gear was too light for this sort of fishing ( My goodness I hope Great white does not read this thread!!::) ) In shallow water like I normally fish it is all about stealth and fishing light. In 80 mtrs of water, it's just getting the Plastic down to the strike zone, then having the quality of gear to cope with a potetnial fish like the AJ. Mind you, I remember the groans when you hooked onto that big Snapper and you said " I don't think I am going to get this one up, It's got a lot of power!!"

I hope with all the right gear, I can prove I really don't have a hoodoo voodoo, catching more fish than I did this time;)

Scalem

[The_BeaR]

Hey Frank...

Great Fish.
You're a legend, not quite a god yet but when you reach that status I will be putting in my request for better weather conditions so we can all have a better chance;D
Good to see you are giving those rods a good workout, and those photos are a great testimonial of just how good the rods really are.

Well done to all involved
Eric&Deb

[wombie]

thanks for the reply frank 00 and Scalem usually fish murphys reef of mooloolaba got a shimano bait runner 6500 got 20 pound braid on it might upgrade to the 30 pound see how i go dont get out that often , thanks again for the info ill let you know how i get on next trip

cheers Paul

[DALEPRICE]

great report frankoo,
was also out friday and didnt that weather turn it on,
some fine looking fish, congrats.
wasnt so nice out their today!
cheers dale

[Poodroo]

great report frankoo,
was also out friday and didnt that weather turn it on,
some fine looking fish, congrats.
wasnt so nice out their today!
cheers dale

Hi Dale, would you believe that this trip was almost postponed as a Saturday trip instead? Between phone calls and internet chat with Frank OO and Scalem we had early week concerns about the weather because according to Seabreeze it was going to not be too suitable. But just as regularly as we change underwear we noted several changes throughout the week on the predictions and we decided to stick to the original plans and do the trip on the Friday (Yesterday) which was a decision that paid dividends. Sitting at home today with a fairly strong wind blowing I thought that it may not have been as pleasant out today as yesterday. I guess you confirmed that for me.

Regards,

Poodroo

[-spiro-]

Frank top report and great fish. Well done to the crew aswell. That was good of you to help the plastic boys out with some tips too.

[Great White]

Frank,

You make it sound simple, and on the day, you made it look so easy.... I think there's a lot to be said for having good quality gear like you have so my advice to Wombie would be not to compromise on having a strong spinner reel, with at least 300 mtrs of good Braid like sensor. I won't deny that my Bay gear was too light for this sort of fishing ( My goodness I hope Great white does not read this thread!!::) ) In shallow water like I normally fish it is all about stealth and fishing light. In 80 mtrs of water, it's just getting the Plastic down to the strike zone, then having the quality of gear to cope with a potetnial fish like the AJ. Mind you, I remember the groans when you hooked onto that big Snapper and you said " I don't think I am going to get this one up, It's got a lot of power!!"

I hope with all the right gear, I can prove I really don't have a hoodoo voodoo, catching more fish than I did this time;)

Scalem

Well Done Boy's some nice fish and looks like Uncle Frank came through with the goods :D

Brian, I have some spare 80 lb anchor rope I can spool you up with instead of that cotton floss you use ;D ;D ;D

Andrew bad luck that the tax man took his share plus GST, would have been a nice AJ. It looks to me like you got deckies revenge on the big bro and out fished him :o

[Frank OO]

Hey Frank...


Good to see you are giving those rods a good workout, and those photos are a great testimonial of just how good the rods really are.

Well done to all involved
Eric&Deb


Hi Eric / Deb,

I noticed that you are watching how I am treating your rods. I can't believe the difference that your Egrell rods make, not only to the handling and power but also to the feel. Every little touch can be felt through the grip.

Well done guys. I will be backto buy a special AJ rod in the near future.

Frank OO

[MyWay]

Nice going guys
Frankoo you are the champion mate
cheers no_luck

[finga]

How come you fellas call Uncle Frank Frank???
Show a bit of respect fellas. I mean he takes you out to the bigun's, shows you both how to catch the biggun's and puts you on the big ones and all.
All you fellas need to do is pull them in. ::)
Poo can't even do that right by the looks. He just brings in 1/2 fish..... ;)
If my uncle did that for me I'd be calling him "The Master" or just plain "God"

Good to see that a nice day was had by all :)

[Frank OO]

Hi Finga,

I'm with you mate. Not only do I have to take them out but they made me clean all the fish as well.

Frank OO

[finga]

Hi Finga,

I'm with you mate. Not only do I have to take them out but they made me clean all the fish as well.

Frank OO
You've got to be kidding me...
They probably didn't even wash the boat for you.
Can I call you uncle Frank??
;D

[lattic]

Well Done Frank. looks like you had awesome conditions out there also. Good to see a few quality snapper still around.

Muz

[Poodroo]

Oh it looks like I have to do some explanations to set the records straight here.::) To start off with Finga, my dearest Uncle Frank and his lovely wife aunt Sheila both agreed from an early age that they didn't like to be titled as uncle and aunt as it made them feel OLD. Regardless of what we call them there is no hiding the fact they are what they are. :-X ;) But then again I am not very far behind either. Now as far as making him clean his own fish is concerned I was standing opposite Uncle Frank at the cleaning table at the ramp helping with gutting and scaling and wearing all the flying scales from my uncle's efforts and even the ones from my brother who was standing next to me. In fact my lovely aunt who came down to meet us at the ramp had to comment advising me I had a face full of fish scales which I had to wipe off. And finally yes we did help clean the boat. For some reason though I was the one who was nominated to clean the top and once up there advised to be careful up there because he just had it polished and once the detergent hits the paintwork it is going to get slippery. >:( ;D He wasn't kidding me. Slippery was an understatement. It was like putting detergent in a water slide. Between the three of us it didn't take very long and the Cruise Craft Outsider was gleaming in no time.

All jokes aside I do consider myself lucky to have an uncle with such great knowledge as a fisherman who can take us out and put us onto the big ones. I can tell a lot of fun stories about our fishing escapades when I was a toddler to present times as there were a lot of fishing times over the years. Thanks again goes to Uncle Frank not only for the trip but for getting us hooked on the hobby in the first place.

Regards,

Poodroo

[Scalem]

Ditto Poodroo,

I think Finga is tying to put ideas into Franks's head that he needs to upgrade to a better class of deckie.;D ;D Do you have anyone in mind per chance Scottie??;D ;D

On one occasion I confess I was half asleep Frank, your regular Deckie Ben knows that when you start counting down the number of meters left before the fish hits the surface, that means your deckie MUST be ready with the net. On this occasion it was 20 mtrs..... 15 mtrs ..... 5 mtrs ..... Sh!t!!! Who's got the net?? But that was the only time I slipped up, we made up for it later I guess!!::) Poetry in motion from then on, how else did you manage to land the AJ??:o :o Great experience again FOO, another memorable trip!!

Scalem

[Big_Ren]

::) Aw....you're making it look too easy Frank;D Well done to Andrew & Brian...those AJs have some power don't they. Maybe it is Ben that is the bad luck eh mate???

That Saltiga purchase can't be too far away Frank......120lb YGK and you will need to be tethered to the boat;)

Top effort again guys and Eric's sticks are certainly not letting you down.

Cheers
Paul

[finga]

Andrew, the all day all night cupboard bunger innerer, would be a beaut decky.
He doesn't go to sleep.
He even knows the boat already :)


I think Finga is tying to put ideas into Franks's head that he needs to upgrade to a better class of deckie.;D ;D Do you have anyone in mind per chance Scottie??;D ;D


Scalem

[Adamy]

On ya guys... nice fish.... and great conditions - why isnt it like that when I go outside?? Hey Brian... where was the call?? - I'm a bit jealous hehe. Good to see Droo getting into a few - even if one did fall in half on the way up... they dont make AJs like they used to!!

Adam

[snapperm8]

some great fish there mate
geeze look at those flat seas wish it was like that down here



cheers dave

[reel scream]

well done Frank and crew. I will have to come around very soon to look at the plastic setups as we spoke about.

Cheers Scott.

[Frank OO]

Hi Scott,

I think I am going to hold "Soft Plastic" lessons pretty soon. In the last few years I have been inundated with calls from people who would like to know more about the Soft Plastic Techniques.

I must warn you that I have taught approximately 20 people how to use these little rubber lures and it has led to a massive decline on the monthly budget.

New rods, Reels, Jig Heads, Lures and then as part of the Plastic session, I just have to include the deepwater jigging lessons. That leads to new rods, Reels, Braid and jigs.

If you still want to come over you are most welcome.

Frank OO

[Frank OO]

Hi Paul ( Big Ren),

I had a look at a Saltiga this morning because my current reels can not handle the power of these fish. I thought that spending $350.00 on a reel would be enough but it would appear not.

I was looking at a Saltiga 4500 Blast for around $500.00. Not quite up to the standard of your $1,200 Saltiga or the $1,100.00 Stella but I only have a beer drinkers budget.

P.S. The AJ's are about three times as big as the last time. We were blown away with 80 pound line and a 200 pound wind on trace.

Frank OO

[husserhunter]

well done some nice snapper there looked like a tpo day to out on the water

[dean_ind]

Good one Frankoo 80 metre mark I was at Wednesday fish everywhere no bites for 2 hours went back inside to 40 metre mark and got on to them then.

[sempre]

Any photos of the 10kg boneheads ?

[finga]

Hi Scott,

I think I am going to hold "Soft Plastic" lessons pretty soon. In the last few years I have been inundated with calls from people who would like to know more about the Soft Plastic Techniques.

I must warn you that I have taught approximately 20 people how to use these little rubber lures and it has led to a massive decline on the monthly budget.

New rods, Reels, Jig Heads, Lures and then as part of the Plastic session, I just have to include the deepwater jigging lessons. That leads to new rods, Reels, Braid and jigs.

If you still want to come over you are most welcome.

Frank OO
Count me in Uncle Frank....sir :2thumbsup:
;D

[tfish]

So jealous....the water looks unbelievably calm. Onya boys, nice snappper.nice ambo also.

[560haines]

Hi guys i'am the guy at the ramp, with the shirt and if i hadn't seen the pics of the great conditions would have said b/s , very different to down south of you, still working on plastics.

[560haines]

can manage some squire sometimes :D

[Scalem]

Hi guys i'am the guy at the ramp, with the shirt and if i hadn't seen the pics of the great conditions would have said b/s , very different to down south of you, still working on plastics.

Oh buggar, was that you? M8, you took our comments fair on the chin, you are a champ! If we can help you develop your skills with the placcies, we probably owe you that. Let me know, but PM Frankoo who is the master, we are his apprentices because we don't get out in the big blue too often. Moreton Bay is a different story, Poodroo is my usual deckie in my, much smaller boat, and we do OK;)

Scalem

[Poodroo]

can manage some squire sometimes :D

Hey that is a nice fish in your photo. How big did it measure? Personally I think it is a legal snapper rather than a squire. Was it caught on plastics or bait?

Poodroo

[560haines]

Hi mate,
Yeh its a little snapper, i was having a go at those plastic user's
I meet them at the ramp after a very ordinary day fish wise off the Cape and they were up north and had great conditions and some nice fish

[Poodroo]

I was one of those deckies.... yes we did have a good day and we cleaned up. I managed to just finish eating the last of the fish not too long ago so I am ready for another trip out to stock the freezer back up. Lol
Glad you know how to get a few too.

Poodroo

[560haines]

Lucky for sites like this, with the weather as is, gives us fisho's something to do lol. i'll have to catch up to Frankoo about those plastics

[Poodroo]

Lucky for sites like this, with the weather as is, gives us fisho's something to do lol. i'll have to catch up to Frankoo about those plastics

Frank OO is my uncle and is currently in Tokyo at the moment. Will be back soon though. Brother (Scalem) and I almost were tempted to go out this morning but decided the weather was crapola. May have been good first light though. Next time. We are more than happy to share what we know about fishing plastics too. Give us a yell sometime.

Poodroo

[560haines]

Just a few pic's from offshore here and i was lucky enough to go for a fish with Alex Julius up in Kakadu