LuckyFil

Very wise - there's always another day Laughed out loud when I read this! Thats a top fish - well done. When they get to this size and bigger its a fair dinkum battle for about 30 seconds, by which time you've either got him or he's snqpped you off or found a cave (same result)

Absobloodylutely!!

Are the Oxeye herring the same as the tarpon we get in Weipa? If so they are speedy critters when hooked! Fil

South West Rocks

Did a quick dash up the mid north coast trying for drummer after the latest swell started to drop. A fishing mate gave me some good info on a spot he'd heard had fired recently (sorry can't be too specific). Drove up Wednesday arriving at 3:30pm in time for a short fish, conditions looked great plenty of wash, put in plenty of burley but no-one wanted to play. My offsider Al (my son's fishing buddy who initiated the trip) went for a pre-dawn spin off the point hoping for a late tuna , none about but he managed over 30 tailor, many quite big - brought 3 back for the smoker and released the rest. We both headed out for a drummer fish in the late morning as the next spot can only be reached at low tide, arrived at first likely looking ledge but too much wash so climbed a bit further to another cut out and started burleying this one. Only a few kelpies to start with then Al calls out "I'm on" and his rod is buckled over. A short tough struggle and he lands a beautifully conditioned drummer of around 43cm. Lots of whooping it up as we'd both been starting to wonder if the long drive had been worth it. With the monkey off the back we relaxed a little. It wasn't too long before I hooked up and had my hands full with another tough fight to get my fish clear of the barnacles and cunje below. Al clambered down and helped retrieve this fish which I measured later at 49cm. We continued to land or lose fish for the next hour or two with a mix of big drummer and good silver bream coming up the burley trail. We kept a couple of bream at first then released all the rest (maybe 6 in the 32-36cm range). After bagging 5 drummer between 42-49cm we released a further 2 in the same size range - now that's when you know its a good session that you can throw back so many good sized pigs and bream, but we didn't want to be greedy and also hoped it was appeasing the fishing gods for good luck in the future. After cleaning the fish we headed up the hill with very tired backs and big smiles talking all the way about our best ever drummer session. Headed home this morning rather than venture out for a morning session as we were stuffed and wouldn't have been keeping anything anyway. Have included a few pics below. Cheers Fil

Nice couple of pigs, but be careful drummer fishing is addictive!

Looks and sounds like a great trip Bruce and a nice barra to finish it off with - not that 50cm jacks and fingermark are too sloppy either! I'm hoping to get up to Broome in the next year or two and interested in doing one of those cruises but the one I looked at was around $10k per person. Were you happy with your boat- food, service, comfort etc as I'd be taking the wife as well? Fil

Nice report and great to hear you can spend time with your son. Maintaining those links is so important when they have such busy lives. Also gives you time to talk about other stuff while fishing. Are those cycling gloves doubling up for fishing! Creative on these cold mornings.

great story and pics especially the baby crays! You obviously have a wonderful daughter and a close bond with her- nice to see.

great pic!

A great read and pics. Congratulations on finally scoring not one but two jewies off the rocks! Reward for all the time spent and those other trips with sharks and rays... Phil

A 12 foot rod that is quite firm towards the base and reasonably light tip, I use a Gary Howard 7144 (the 7 is wraps of glass making it quite strong and 144 is number of inches long).Traditionally guys used an Alvey reel but I prefer a threadline (eggbeater) with 20 or 30lb line. Some use mono, I like braid with a leader of 20-30lb . This set up may seem heavy handed for fish that are usually only 1 or 2kg (occasionally I'll get a 3-4kg model) but they pull extremely hard straight away and dive for the near cave or ledge which results in a bust off if you fish light. Whether I use a float depends on how rough the bottom is, I prefer to just fish a 1/0 double X hook ( a good drummer can straighten a normal hook) with a small pea sinker straight onto the back of the hook (bigger sinker if a lot of wash). If I'm getting snagged a lot I'll use a bobby cork and stopper . Bait is bread, cunje or prawns or if I can get them, crabs. Bread burley mixed with weed is good to attract drummer and keep them around but it can also bring in the rubbish fish. You have to fish where there is wash and hopefully some deep water nearby. No wash - no fish. As always with rock fishing - rock cleats are a must and check the swell for a while before you decide to fish a spot - also know what the tide is doing as some rocks start out safe but are dodgy as the tide comes in. Hope that's of use. Phil

Savit - thanks for sharing all that info. We might be fishing the same area as I usually fish around Avalon rocks when I'm after drummer but occasionally try other spots. Hear what you say about the flourocarbon (pricey) so will go back to nylon but having regard to the previous comments from other Raiders I'll aim for the copolymer which having checked my tackle bag some is already of that type. I did pick up a 5kg groper on the cunje one day and was luckily using the heavier leader that day. Hope to give the pigs a go once this swell dies off enough to make it safe. Will post another report if I do any good. Maybe see you around the stones one day Cheers Phil

Thanks for the feedback Savit I might give the copolymer nylon a go

Thought I'd have a go at the drummer yesterday (northern beaches) before the southerly front came through and pushed the swell up too much. I haven't fished for them since last winter so wasn't sure if they would be friendly or not . They weren't on fire but I did score 2 nice fish amongst a lot of pickers that I think were sweep and mados. I was using 25lb flourocarbon leader for the first time as the water was pretty clear and there wasn't much wash. I normally use nylon leader. I found the flourocarbon OK but it didn't have much abrasion resistance and chaffed through without much pressure. Any other Fishraiders had this experience? The larger of the 2 fish went 47cm and both were well conditioned with a lot of fat in their gut when I cleaned them. Cheers Phil

Hi Tom I was wondering where you picked up the black jew? Close to Pera? I've been going to Weipa for a while now and we've never managed to catch one but not sure of the territory they hang out! Any info welcome for future trips. Thanks Phil

Great report Gordo and some cracker fish - especially for what seemed to be an exploratory trip! Curious what depth you got most of your fish? Cheers Phil

Hi Basil I recognise the tenders in the pics and I'd say he was on one of the Weipa Houseboats which I've also used. Google their site and it has most of the info you need. Steve who runs the operation is a top bloke and really looks after you, just remember though its self driving so you have to look after yourself (skipper the houseboat and tenders, cooking and of course finding he fish - but thats half the fun) which I and the guys I go with are very happy with as it keeps the cost way below what it would be for a charter up there. If you want to know more send me a PM. Cheers Phil

Hi Indepth Sounds like a good call to head south. I was in Weipa myself last week fishing out of a tinny with similar results when we did a trip to the Pyne. Also noticed the lack of bait balls and tuna ? I'll send you a PM about Pera. Cheers Phil

Hi Bruce I was there last week and we couldn't find the barra. We gave Red Cliffs a very thorough go both ends of the beach but didn't get a touch. Where did you find them and the jacks? We caught plenty of good sized queenies and trevally (diamond, golden and small GTs) in Triluck on the run out and a good flowery cod at Westminster but also noticed the lack of tuna and spanish. Phil

Great story, great pic and good on you for releasing her!

Tash can I just reiterate what Rick had to say about that black trevally - I'm told the pain off a spike is excruciating , I saw a bloke nearly pass out after getting spiked by one. My suggestion is don't touch them cut your line if necessary to get it off. The Queenslanders call them 'happy moments'! A real aquarium of fish you've been getting - looks like a lot of fun. Fil

It's amazing what you can catch if the reel has a decent drag system and the fisherman has patience. Well done Rev!

Wow what a dream trip and some great pics guys. Is that a privately owned cabin or is it available to rent? Fil

Wow, quite a haul. What depth were you drifting in? Fil