Mondo Rock Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Hey Raiders. Had a go at the drummer yesterday down off the rocks between Coogee and Maroubra now that the swell has finally backed off a bit. I'd been chasing them locally for a while without much success, but had put that down to them being a new target species that had previously only been an accidental by-catch when chasing blackfish. Well not so much by-catch as bye-bye as they would monster my 4lb blackfish gear whenever I hooked one. I picked a good-looking wash and burleyed hard with bread and some old frozen abalone gut (and then even harder when my bucket got washed into the crevice next to me - retrieved minus the burley) and then tossed very lightly weighted green 'endeavor' prawns ($10 a kilo) from the local seafood joint into the wash. No fancy rig - just running sinker all the way to the hook. It was quiet at the start but after about an hour and a couple of small sweep the fist small drummer came in. He was a bit borderline so back he went, but catching him had shown me how to drift the bait in the wash so that it hung in the right spot and it wasn't long till a 1kg model was in the keeper net. Then things got a bit interesting and for about an hour as every bait that hit the water got clobbered as soon as the wash let it sink deeper than about a foot. I could actually see the drummer dart in and grab the prawns as they sank through the wash - I ended up landing three three fish that were easily 2.5kg and losing a couple more that felt about the same. These were brutal fights all of which involved periods where the line was stretched tight across rock ledges while the fish buried their heads deep into the crevices below, only to suddenly run left or right as a wave came in and dislodged them. Lots of line was trimmed after fights left the 15lb mono frayed many metres from the hook (when the fish didn't manage to perform that service for me of course). It was ball-tearing action while the fish were on - I would be desperately trying to extract the fish and clear the line from the rocks while keeping one eye on the waves and one eye on the gap I wanted to wash the fish through once I had it in open water. In the end it was a great session and I kept two fish for the plate and released the rest. Had one last night and it was just as good as I remembered - one of the best eating fish around I reckon. I'll definitely be hitting the stones again next weekend. Sorry, no pics of the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Well done on the pigs Mondo ....Must have been a tussle at times as they go like hell and fight dirty. The swell has abated nicely now and there should be lots of them on the chew about now. Be careful all you rock hoppers. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Good on ya Mondo, I have caught pigs before at Avoca , the only trouble was that I was black fishing and got smashed. If ya reckon the pigs go hard , you should have a go at a Grouper, I've caught and released a few beauties at Avoca but you need some heavy duty gear. Anyway good work with the pigs and watch out for those sneaky swells. Cheers Ray R... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Well done Mondo I have not heard Drummer called pigs in a long time it brought a smile to my face. When i was a kid (not that long ago ) Family Friends used to fish for them and he used to walk around Saying "Here pig pig pig ,Here pig pig pig". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR@ZY OS@M@ Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 well done on bringing 2 good size fish to the dinner plate. top report also . would love to have seen the pics of the 2 fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 top work Mondo. Top report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Top report Mondo. I didn't need the pics, It was all in my mind. What size sinkers were you using. Only small ball sinkers I am imagining, to try and keep the bait in the wash? Well done. Arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 Hi Arch They were the smallest running ball sinkers I could buy without going split-shot. In the end I think they were maybe a bit light as the fish were mainly biting during the lulls when the wash calmed and the bait was able to sink. Still - it was working for me so I wasn't about to change sinkers!! Funniest part about it was teaching myself to fish so close to the rocks. I soon learned that there was no point casting out further than about 2 metres from the edge, and that the closer the bait was to the edge, the better my chances were. When chasing blackies I usually try to keep the float positioned where the suds meet the clear water - but even that was way too far out for the drummer. They were taking the bait right in the wash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 good stuff mate, i will give it a go next time i am off the rocks arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 (edited) Well done Mondo, seems like u have them pigs just about worked out. penguin Edited July 2, 2007 by penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rode Cary Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 well done mondo!!! i was drummer fishing this morning and they are definitely on fire great fun on light gear. yeah prawns worked for me too careful next week end, the swells might be bit bigger take care bertrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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