Gold Coast full bag Sunday the 9th

[Burley_Boy]

Well finally got my camera back from repairs so I'm reay to post a report.
Went out to the 24's the other night for a quick 2hr fish. I hooked a double with a 52cm Tailor and a Trag Jew and then we boated a decent Snapper that didn't make the pic (was cooking..)

Decided it was my turn this morning so no tourists just me on my own. Then I can spend the time finding spots and move when I like. Couldn't have picked a better morning, it was flat as anything with light winds so headed to the 24's around 6am. Hooked a gew things that were not boated then hooked onto what I thought was a monster, after 20minutes I figured it was either a ray or a fish snagged around a pinacle so I put the rod in the holder with full drag and continued fishing the other rods. Pulled up some bait and then a few squire before I returned to the rod. Finally it seemed to release from the bottom but this fella had been peeling line off 45minutes after hookup so I'll be buggered if I can figure out what was going on, but like I said it suddenly released then I pulled up this foot long Amberjack, first of the species in any case. :)

By 10am I found the conditions compelling me to go wider so I headed to the 36's where I have not been for about 2years. Found a few small shows to drift over and kept getting hits and bustoffs but the hits were continuous so I finally bagged out on Snapper which is a first for me. :)

Almost forgot, hooked a Snodger Mac tuna on the 24's, I could have sworn it was a large Snapper but eventually I boated a Tuna :( 84cm to the fork and pushing 9kg :o
All in all a ripper of a day. Flat from the 36's in with fairly light winds and I left them biting at 11am.

[Burley_Boy]

Trag and Tailor from the other night

[Burley_Boy]

First AJ, albeit a small one that must have fallen on my hook.

[Burley_Boy]

Biggest Tuna I've boated. 84cm to the fork

[Smailesy]

84cm mac tuna that is a monster great fish nice snapper

[Burley_Boy]

Funny thing happened though. Had a guy pull up next to me at the 36's and ask me where the 18's were. :o
Now for those that don't know the area the 36's I was fishing are 20km Eaast out of the GC Seaway and the 18's would be about 7km's or so out of the Seaway so talk about lost.

He then asked me if I was fishing the reef, I reccomended he head back to the 24's and he'd find his fishing a lot easier seeing as he obvioulsy could neither read or had a GPS or a sounder. :-/ The 36's are not the easiest to fish and certainly not without a sounder or GPS.

[Brejen]

ONya B/B.

Good see some reds ones of the filleting table mate.

Sent u Pm.

Going to do an arvo/night run this week.

Brett

[Hagar]

OOOH - nice one Joakim . Told you those 17L's were fish magnets mate .

Brejen - hope you are planning to go early this week - looking ugly for later in the week on Seabreeze . :( :(

Chris

[indy]

Lost isn't the word Mad keen or stupid maybe, those guy's usually just drop the pick right on top of you, that tuna you got i've had the same thing happen to me the last two times i have been out thinking i was on to the snapper to beat all snapper and only to be a tuna at the end of it all but none the less make great bait.

[Brejen]

Chris , was thinkin bout Wedenesday depending on the deckie.

Maybe wait till later and then give the new clears a good testing ;D

Brett

[Smithy]

Burley Boy,

I would call that for a Samson not an AJ. Still part of the Seriola family.

We fished the 50s Saturday morning in Mally's 685 Cruise Craft. Jigged rat Kings and AJs till we got sick of catching them, all small and nothing to test our tackle. Sounded the 50s and had a few blind drifts then stumbled onto this show on the new 585 Furuno.

[Az]

yeh looks like a little samson to me

good feed there mate, nice table size

[Smithy]

It was Pearlys like this out on the back edge of the 50s in the middle of nowhere stacked up from 60-80m and good sized ones at that feasting on Squid. #That's the beauty of a good sounder and the ability to read on the plane. We found two schools near this one and one up near the northern end. The current was still racing south and we were drifting at 1.7knots with the sea anchor out. Drift was N-S so it was the run and not the wind having the biggest effect. We only got a couple of drifts on each school of Pearlys before the disappeared. Must have been something to do with the current. We had trouble finding them again each time.

[Blueby]

Nice work BB

You have given me some motivation to get out there again soon. have been too busy on the weekends lately but I am going to make the time now

What technique were you using on the 36's for the snapper - bottom bashing or floaters??

cheers JB

[Hagar]

Nice pearly Smithy - good lesson there about about finding fish in places other than on structure.

Brett - yep I am hoping the wind pushes back a couple of days on the forecast too . BTW clears will keep the spray out but the potholes are just as big >:( >:(

Chris

[wayne_cook]

looks a bit deep for a a/j color is more like sambo

[Burley_Boy]

Yep you're probably right on the Samson, thought the first fin was black but I must have been mistaken, never counted the rays on the second dorsal. He wasn't too happy by the time I boated him so I tossed him in the esky to use as bait, good eating huh, ok I'll have to get him out of the baitfridge.

Re floaters or otherwise I had double setups of both paternosters and floaters. On the 24's the paternoster did the trick and on the 36's I think once i upped the sinker size the single sinker did most of the damage. on the 24's I anchored and on the 36's I drifted.
The trick was to get the right weight to get the bait down rather than sit out the back like a trolling rig. #
Mac tuna & sliced up slimies were used as bait as the last lot of pillies I bought were only good as burley. I was not really expecting Snapper on the 36's as I was so late in the morning, most are really Squire and one Snapperish...
I was expecting Pearlies and saw some smaller shows but only boated undersize ones not like Smithy's ones on the 50's.

I used the the octopus circle hooks as they tend to hook themselves and in the mouth. Was kinda handy as i didn't need to strike and I probably looked kinda funny with double hookups with only myself onboard attending to the reels.. ;D

[Big_Ren]

Great report BB and some top fish to boot. Looks like everyone cleaned up at the weekend.

Cheers
Paul ;)