Reply With QuoteBest spot to me looks like the western side of the shoals where the fusiliers are. Dunno about May as a good month. I was thinking more the summer months.
G'day all, heading of on the annual Fraser trip in May, keen to do some stuff other than red hunting and trout bashing!! I see a bit of youtube footage the other day of some pretty fierce gt popping action up around breaksea somewhere (Spaniards on pops as well). Just looking for some pointers on where to go looking in that area for these bad boys. I've tried popping on top of the shoals (sandy cape) but not successfully, I see some rocks on the chart on the western side of the spit closer to the island, maybe there?? Anyway, if anyone can and is willing to given me some pointers on where to go looking up that way for some popper action it would be great.
Scott
Best spot to me looks like the western side of the shoals where the fusiliers are. Dunno about May as a good month. I was thinking more the summer months.
Thanks Rob, you would know more than me on the best time. Might give them a crack though, just looking for some options to break up the regular reefy and Spanish fishing. Thinking that I might head wide of the spit, say 100m or a bit more and do some jigging for a change as well. Could try for a blue also I guess. Think you told me once before that shelf east of waddy is the go to on that one before? May to late for blues up there?
Cheers, Scott
Hi Scott.
As Rob said, work along the western side of the Sandy Cape Shoals. You will get more fish during the warmer months, but they are there all year around. On our last trip up there at the end of January, there were plenty of large GTs, bludger trevally and spaniards willing to chase our poppers and 85 gram Raiders. I have always found that the fish are more active on the run out tide, when the ebb flow pushes up a pressure wave along the shallow ledges and bommies. Also, if you see the schools of fusileers rippling on the surface, then work those areas as well because the GTs in particular just love getting stuck into them. You will also see the schools of barred long tom and sauries getting smashed up by the pelagics as well during the summer months.
Further to the north, the Spit Bommie is also on the eastern side of the spit, and it also holds some great sportfish that love poppers and large metals. I have found that this area fishes best in the afternoon which is good, because it is a very short run to get back over the spit shallows from this area if you are not intending to stay out overnight. We have often fished this area till after sundown, and still been able to get back to the western side of the spit before dark.
There are a few areas along the western side of the spit itself that hold trevally and mackerel, but you have to be aware of the green zone that now extends along this area.
Hope you do get up there, and get among a few nice fish. Its around 25 years since I first started fishing up there in trailer boats, and it is still one of my preferred fishing locations.
cheers
Jeff
Thanks Jeff, good info. A crew of us do a week fishing ex waddy every year, think this is the 7th trip on the trot for us I think. We usually make it up to the shoals and north of there once or twice on those trips. Just have never got around to doing much popping up there (usually trolling gar and smashing the Spanish) so thinking will make a concerted effort to give it a better crack this year. You ever done much work in 100m+ of there, I never go much past 60 or 70 because never had to but thinking jigging in that 100+ stuff on the edge might be interesting.
Scott
Hi Scott. Most of my fishing up there, particularly in the early days was in the shallow stuff chasing sportfish. When I first joined the ANSA organisation and attended the various sportfishing club "Interclub" events, the Hervey Bay and Maryborough competitions were keenly anticipated because it gave us the chance to make the long runs to the Shoals and Spit Bommie chasing australian records, masters fish and competition points. It was even more interesting in those days because we used to go up there in a 5.3 metre Cruisecraft with a 90hp Evinrude on the back, and the local belief was that to go over the bar in anything less than a 30 footer was a sure fire way to commit suicide.
I remember the first day we went to the Spit Bommie. I had just put some new technology into the boat, forking out over $3000 for a Marinetek Seamax colour sounder / GPS system, which was a massive amount in those days and had acquired a mark from a mate who was pro fishing up that way. On his first cast over the Bommie, my mate Wayne caught a world record big eye trevally on 3kg line. The fishing we experienced on that day is still burned into my memory banks.
It is only in the last couple of years that I have targeted reef fish in any numbers up that way, and have mainly concentrated in waters less than 70 metres deep. This is probably mostly because I feel I am still discovering new areas to fish in these depths, and have no trouble catching more than enough fish up there to keep me happy and make the trips a success. The currents that are prevalent up that way deter me from fishing any deeper also due to the amount of lead needed to get to the bottom in any deeper water. My pro mate Noel used to tell me tales of some incredible fishing in the deeper waters up that way when he used to fish up there in his 38 foot boat. I think you could spend a lifetime exploring the waters up there, and never scratch more than the surface, and particularly launching from Waddy just further increases the amount of water you can explore.
I do know that Smithy tried a bit of deep jigging in the 100 metre plus depths when he was doing a few trips up that way a few years ago as well. He could probably throw a few bits of helpful information into this thread if he gets the chance.
cheers
Jeff
Some of the biggest pearlies you'll see in 100m up there (6-7 k.g. Possible but mainly 5's). And reds/snapper on structure if you sound for them.
Gts come into the beach at the Cape to herd the bait. As many as you want from the sand on hardy heads or from the boat on poppers - no need to travel far for those things.
nil carborundum illegitimi
Thanks men, you better stop now, trips still a month or more off, i'll be peaking to early if you keep going on with all that stuff.
Much appreciated fellas.
rgds, Scott
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