Ledge

Awesome way to make use of a blue swimmer, Rob! I usually throw back the rogue crabs but will have to keep the next one.

Yeah we got out and it was definitely a popular day to be on the water! Only plagues of baby snapper at the drop offs but we picked up some nice whiting on the flats and started to get the handle of the new boat.

Nice one Larkin. Decent feed there. Nice to see the bonnies are turning up!

Nice one! Loving your reports Larkin. Great level of detail and good pics. Keep them coming!

Nice snapper Bob! Great to see the bananas continue to deliver. Saw the below clip and immediately thought of you. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuL_9vrKYoO/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I don’t understand the level of concern about dunking the reel. I’ve accidentally dunked my Stradic a couple of times over the years (the metal one, not the plastic version) and it still works like new. Always rinse it in fresh water when I get home. I reckon rinse it in fresh water and then you’re good to go! $120 to repair a $220 reel that’s probably going to be fine anyway seems like madness.

Great session Bob! 👏 Good fun and great table fare! Nice day for it too.

Congrats Jeff, that is awesome! Bucket list fish for sure. An obvious question maybe and you’re clearly a much more accomplished fisho than me… but if you’re losing so many fish to pulled hooks and snapped leaders why aren’t you upsizing your gear??

Thanks team! Good to have an answer even if it’s not quite the species I was hoping for 😆 What threw me off the scent of a ray was the fact that it took off with a bit of speed.. but I have caught plenty of small shovelnose there before so that makes sense.

G’day Raiders. I had something strange happen to me last time I was out fishing a central coast ledge and wanted to harness your collective knowledge to figure out what happened and how to get the better of the fish next time! The situation: - Fishing whole pilchards on a two-hook rig. - 30lb braid and 50lb leader on a Catalina 4000. - Sandy bottom off the ledge. Had caught a few kings but was waiting for the big one. - Cast out and bait hit the sand. After a few seconds I feel something mouthing the bait and then it slowly starts to pull so I strike and BAM! Big run on fairly tight drag. Much harder run than the undersized kings I’d been hooking so far, I call it for a big fish and tell my mate to have the gaff handy. Then after a few seconds of taking line I’m no longer connected. - I reel in the line and bait is still there, intact but slightly crushed?! Im wondering if it was a big Jewfish as I’ve never caught a jewie before but have heard they take the bait differently to kings. 1) What the heck happened??? 2) What do I do differently next time? Thanks for reading!

I’ve made jerky from Mac Tuna before. I thought it was pretty good... but quite ‘fishy’ so the rest of the family were turned off by the smell!

Thanks Bob for an awesome session. We were humbled by your knowledge and generosity in sharing what you know. We had a great day and can’t wait to share a kingfish dinner with the family. I’ll be back for the One That Got Away!!

Great post. I was literally laughing out loud reading your description of the back cast incident. Might have to give the sugapen a go.

Great variety! Looking forward to the pictures. What bait were you using?

Nice catch! Did you measure the length?

Whatever it weighs it’s a nice fish and they all go hard for their size regardless! I have caught them up to 35kg and they were great fighting fish on a popping rod and spinning reel with 15kg drag!! Hardest fight of my life. Any heavier and I would have had to tap out. Very envious that you have the boat to get out there. Top session, well done!

Use long pvc pipes. 1m is good. Get a rubber mallet from Bunnings and hit them in deep. Your rod will snap before the pipe pulls out of the sand.

What lures you using? Maybe I need to try the HBs for bream... have only used big xraps for pelagics

Well I’m sure it’s small consolation but it motivates me to know that even YOU have fishless days JonD! Always enjoy your reports and photos. Ledge

Nice one! Have read a few of your posts now and you definitely know how to catch snapper. How do you cook them?

Congrats on a great catch! Do you mind explaining what size jigheads you use and how you work the plastic? I bought a bunch of swimmerz in 4” and 6” recently but can’t get the fish to hit it. Have had plenty of follows all the way to the boat but no decent strikes.

Have heard stories of good fish taken there. Fished it twice myself for donuts. Can only access in low tide unless you like swimming. Like a lot of places down that way, it gets absolutely packed with fishos in summer... good luck

Good stuff, thanks. We’re on the houseboat with tenders. 10 of us so it’s going to be tight!

Awesome. Thanks for the tips. What size metals do you recommend?

OK raiders. I need your collective knowledge to stock up before a trip to Weipa next month. We’ll be doing all sorts of fishing from boats... rivers, reefs and out wider. Lots of casting around pylons and under bridges and markers etc. I need to stock up on lures for the trip. And especially good value lures (that work) since I expect we’ll be losing a fair few. I know plastics are a good option due to their value, but I know next to nothing about plastics... no idea what brand, type, jig size etc.. Any experts that can point me in the right direction? I’m experienced in metals, hardbodies and poppers but does anyone know what works best in Weipa? And what sizes? I’ll be taking 3 spinning combos... 80lb, 50lb and 20lb. Thanks team!