Whitsundays fishing!

[Shifty]

[smiley=help.gif] [smiley=help.gif]
I will be coming to your great country in feb for a month and I have a week in the Whitsundays booked with a power cruiser. I have never been fishing before in my life but thought I would give it a try. Any help or tips would be most appreciated. I will be purchasing a rod reel etc and anything else you suggest I will need pertaining to the area. Coming from Scotland you can appreciate I dont know anything about the fish there, so any do's or dont's would be helpful too.
Thanks in advance,

Shifty

[jeffo]

:o scotland :o welcome to the site shifty. by a powercruiser do you mean a cat with a motor? :-/ i assume so. if so i would imagine you will be looking at cruising around the islands? if that is the case your main targets will be reef fish (coral trout, cod and sweetlip) and some pelagics (mackeral and trevally). a good combo or both styles of fishing would be a good strong threadline outfit. ie. shimano speedmaster tss4(loaded with 8 or 10kg) teamed with a 8-10kg spin sitck about 7 foot long. what tackle to take with you? i would get some mustad "big reds" in 4/0's or 5/0's. some mustad 7766 5/0's for ganging. a large variety of sinkers (from 0 ball to 8 ball), and a few snapper leads. as for lures i would be getting ahold of some large surface poppers, some metal slugs and some lures for trolling.
may seem like alot of gear but to get the most out of the trip fishing wise that would be just a start ;D
you mentioned your new to fishing so all of what i have written may make no sense at all to you. if that is the case feel free to PM me and i will explain it all to you in greater depth.
like i said i havent fished the witsundays before so all of this is open to critisism, but from reading books and relating to the fish caught there its a good start.
hope this was helpful.
jeff
DISCLAIMER-if i misunderstood the meaning of "power cruiser" feel free to disregard this whole post ;D

[agnes_jack]

Shifty
As Jeffo said, but being new to reef fishing I would recomend a heavier outfit with a minimum 15kg line and an outfit to suit for hauling coral trout out of the reef, and stopping some of the heavy duty pelagic species that you should encounter. You are probably going to do more bottom bashing than anything else, so make sure you take some heavy duty mono trace around the 24kg mark. Keep asking questions as this site has some very experienced fishos on it who will be happy to help you! Above all hope you enjoy your stay,and get ready to hold on very tightly!


Regards Tony ;) ;D

[Jeremy]

Shifty,

It is going to be bloody hot up there in Feb, so think about wearing a broad brimmed hat, long shirt, sunnies, and sun block lotion. Sunburn sux whitey!! Make sure you have all the gear for diving or snorkelling as there is some great coral and fish life to be seen up there. There is also a book called 100 majic miles which is a guide to the whole region. You might want to get a copy before you come over to do some planning.

As for the fishing, it all depends how keen you are and how much you want to spend. If you just want to dabble a bit, then you could get a strong cord handline for trolling a lure behind the boat. The type of lure you use depends on how fast the boat is going. I'd guess it would be less than 10 knots as its a hire cruiser, so you could try Halco Laser Pro deep diver in 160 or 190 mm in purple chrome or red/white colours, also mack baits or even some weighted skirted lures like jet heads or bullet heads.

If you wanted to spend a little more, you could get a basic overhead combo, like a Penn 330 GTi with some 15 kg line ad use this for trolling the same lures and also fir fishing for reef fish at anchor. You might want to even enquire about going on a charter for a day up there - at least that way you should catch some fish and you'll definitely learn alot from the experience.

As a guide, the cord handline would be around A$30, 6 assorted lures would be about $80, and a basic overhead combo about $250. A charter would be about $80 for a half day or about $140 for the full day.

Jeremy

PS I think there is an article on fishing the whitsundays by Craig McGill on www.sportsfishaustralia.com.au
http://www.sportsfish.com.au/library/fishing-stories/whitsunday-islands.html

[imported_admin]

As above as well as make sure you know the local rules on what you can keep, what size, how many, etc.

Have a look at
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/

Especially this page http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/11416.html

[Brissyguy]

Be careful with Ganged hooks as the locals frown on them.
Many big trout around the island headlands and in the lee of most of the islands.
Was there 12 months ago and kept 3 good trout to eat, must have returned over 20 to the water in 2 weeks.
Watch out for XOS cod as well, they will break you up on most general gear.
Lots of pelagics in Feb to. (The razor gang.

Brissy.

[nonibbles]

Addition to sunscreen tip.
You should either wear good sneakers or wet boots. If you are going to wear sandles or thongs, and you probably will, don't forget to replace the sunscreen on the tops of your feet. Your feet probably don't see the sun very often and even less than most of the rest of your body. A dose of hot swollen and sunburnt feet can spoil a whole trip 'cos you won't be standing up for too long or often! Trust me I live in North Queensland and I've forgotten a couple of times - not good. Same for back of hands!

[jeffo]

locals frown on ganged hooks? #:-/they troll ribbon fish (wolf herring) for spaniards up there with gangs. i assume that they dont like bottom fishing with gangs due to the big cod? if thats the case i cant see any real worry trolling baits with gangs for mackeral? maybe im wrong.

[Brissyguy]

Yeah Jeffo you are right.
It is the bottom bashing with Ganged rigs they dont like.
The first trout we caught was around the 12 kg mark and when we took it to be weighed at the Airlie Tackle shop the guy warned us about letting on we were using gangs.
He told us the locals would skin us alive if they found out..

Sooooooooo we changed ummmmm most rigs back to single hook setups.

Brissy.

[jeffo]

ahh thanks for that mate. im heading up there in april (ish) so that will be good to know. what time of year were you up there and how was the fishing?

[krazyfisher]

when you get there go and talk to wayne and the boys at the cannonvale tackle shop its at the bp servo they will help you out alot

[Kerry]

You certainly on a big call, from scratch. Like Krazy tke local tackle shops might be willing to part with some info but don't go overboard on the gear.

Rod/Reel might be nice but you'll also catch much the same in that area on a good old handline at much less the cost especially for a one off situation.

Cheers, Kerry.

[Shifty]

Jeffo,Tony,Jeremy,Steve,Brissy,Nonibbles,krazyfish er and Kerry, thanks alot for all your input, alot of it went over my head but very helpful all the same. I will be based in Coogee(Sydney) for a week b4 the Whitsundays then back there for 2 weeks after. Am I better to buy some gear there or wait till I get to Airlie.
http://www.whitsundayescape.com/powerCruisers/seaway33.htm This is the boat we have hired for the week. As I've not been fishing b4 I think a basic rod and reel will do me, correct me if I'm wrong here ppl. Steve, I have taken your advice onboard(pardon the pun) cheers. Thanks again all,

Shifty

[Brissyguy]

Buy local from the guy on the spot is my advice.
If you dont need it after the trip maybe the local bloke will buy it back.
I am sure the local 2nd hand dealer will take it off your hands anyway.

Cheers Brissy.

[jeffo]

either that or you can keep it for your NEXT trip to this beautiful country ;D :-X good lucky shifty. let us know how you went after your trip.

[Hutcho]

I agree with Jeffo, Shifty, once you visit our shores, you won't want to leave! And after taking a peek at the boat you're hiring for the Whitsundays, I'd say you're in for a grand time whether or not you catch a big bag of fish or not. But best of luck anyhow on your adventure.

Remember...tight lines!
Hutcho.

[krazyfisher]

yep
you will get more help from the tackle shop if you buy it from them and their prices as as good as anywhere

[jeffo]

i checked out the link to the cruiser... looks a treat. does any one know how much it is? would be good to get a few super keen fishos and do a trip out on it, use it as a mother ship.

[Shifty]

Jeffo the cost was $1850 for five days and two days free. Obviously there are hidden costs like insurance, fuel, mooring costs etc so best to do a wee bit of digging first. If you click back on the link you can find out more from the site. I think I should be on some sort of commision for this from the company hiring the boat! ;D Hutchy, my girl lives in Sydney so I'm sure I will be back on yer shores after this visit. 8)Cheers again lads.

Shifty ;)

[DaneCross]

Shifty, the boat looks great! Travels at 6kn too - perfect trolling speed! We hired a yacht up there a few years back, best holiday ever [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]. We didn't fish that hard, but trolled a mackerel spoon on a handline whenever we were underway.. only managed 1, but the fish was just a bonus when your on holiday in such a magnificent area.
I'd suggest you do the same, maybe not with a spoon, but a heavy duty handline and a couple of good trolling lures would do the job. Then when you're anchored, a sinker on top of a baited hook dropped over the side is a cheap and easy option. I'm suggesting a handline as its very cheap compared to a rod/reel set up and if your only going to use it for 7 days it'll probly do what you want it to do - catch fish!
Enjoy your stay,
DC

[DaneCross]

Forgot to mention that there are a number of areas that are closed to fishing, make sure you suss these out before dropping the line over.
Good luck,
DC