RockHoppin Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) Hey Raiders, Been reading all the reports and have finally decided to share my 2c worth... Calm weather on saturday meant the stones were a great place to be for any rock hopper who's been itching to wet a line! To cut a long story short I caught myself half a dozen red rock crabs, rigged up the brutal Fishfinder 6120 special with my 24kg alvey outfit and set myself up with a nice berley trail.... 1st bait got smashed and my mate suffered the same fate. Baited up the next crab and threw him on in segments...didnt take long before the classic 'tap tap tap' of a big blue rattled my line. Line stiffened a little and began to move away from the ledge which meant old bluey had swallowed the unlucky crab. Dug my heels in and struck to set the hook...I used to think kingies could pull hard until I felt the power of a big blue. Once he was hooked there was no stopping him. As he was heading to his cave I was brought to my knees with the power of this fish until the line just popped!! Thinking I'd been busted off or my knot had failed I reeled my line in disgust only to find out that the fish had straightened a 4/0 Big Gun!!!!!!!!!! No more big blue action after that but we did manage a haul of 15 trevally's, 1 pan size red and a small brown groper which went back to fight another day. Majority of those fish were caught on lighly weighted pillies fished into the wash around 1 hour before sunset. The trevally were smashing any bait as soon as it hit the water... Great day out with a very fishable 1m swell keeping things pretty sane on the stones...cant wait to get out there next week and do it all over again! No pics of the trevally but i've included a pic of a 4.5kg drummer my mate caught on a crab bait that was meant for groper! Not the 15kg groper we were after but who's complaining! Cheers RockHoppa Edited July 30, 2007 by RockHoppin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassyboy Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 wow.... something that's more machine than a kingy ? that's truly insane =\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 That is insane... straightening a hook!! At least you know your knots are strong. Nice drummer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 very nice fish there too, im sure that would have gave you a short workout too! unlucky bout old mr groper, at least u know where he lives! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Top fish RH. Do you collect these crabs, or get them from a bait store or something? well done to you and your mate. Arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastspinna Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 shame about the bluey but there are plenty more..... that is a cracker drummer..... i got monstered twice yesterday on full cunjis.... bloody groper... those things go hard wd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Top fish RH. Do you collect these crabs, or get them from a bait store or something? well done to you and your mate. Arch thanks mate, but (seas permitting) i collect my own crabs..dont think theres any bait shops that would stock them. They hang around in the red weed/cracks where the rocks meet the sea. Really need to be careful when collecting them though...just remember never to turn your back on the water, always helps if you got a mate with ya. And make sure you leave enough for next time. I've seen too many rock platforms that have had all signs of life stripped from them cause some morons always take more than what they need. And yeah Ceph, knots are pretty tight! Real pain when the 24kg tortue gets snagged though!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Thats a great looking fish, well done fellas Cheers Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riceball Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hey Raiders, Been reading all the reports and have finally decided to share my 2c worth... Calm weather on saturday meant the stones were a great place to be for any rock hopper who's been itching to wet a line! To cut a long story short I caught myself half a dozen red rock crabs, rigged up the brutal Fishfinder 6120 special with my 24kg alvey outfit and set myself up with a nice berley trail.... 1st bait got smashed and my mate suffered the same fate. Baited up the next crab and threw him on in segments...didnt take long before the classic 'tap tap tap' of a big blue rattled my line. Line stiffened a little and began to move away from the ledge which meant old bluey had swallowed the unlucky crab. Dug my heels in and struck to set the hook...I used to think kingies could pull hard until I felt the power of a big blue. Once he was hooked there was no stopping him. As he was heading to his cave I was brought to my knees with the power of this fish until the line just popped!! Thinking I'd been busted off or my knot had failed I reeled my line in disgust only to find out that the fish had straightened a 4/0 Big Gun!!!!!!!!!! No more big blue action after that but we did manage a haul of 15 trevally's, 1 pan size red and a small brown groper which went back to fight another day. Majority of those fish were caught on lighly weighted pillies fished into the wash around 1 hour before sunset. The trevally were smashing any bait as soon as it hit the water... Great day out with a very fishable 1m swell keeping things pretty sane on the stones...cant wait to get out there next week and do it all over again! No pics of the trevally but i've included a pic of a 4.5kg drummer my mate caught on a crab bait that was meant for groper! Not the 15kg groper we were after but who's complaining! Cheers RockHoppa Well done mate, groper fishing is always fast and furious. And there are so many of them at every headland. They are easy to hook up as long as you using the right bait, but landing one is tricky. I landed a 8kg specimen last year around the same time of the year, when you do hook them up, just wind in as quick as you can, dunt worry about the knots, dunt worry about the snags, just wind it in before it realize its hooked, I think that’s the only way to land one of those power machine. Better luck next time, its always good to learn from experience. cheers Louis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Well done mate, groper fishing is always fast and furious. And there are so many of them at every headland. They are easy to hook up as long as you using the right bait, but landing one is tricky. I landed a 8kg specimen last year around the same time of the year, when you do hook them up, just wind in as quick as you can, dunt worry about the knots, dunt worry about the snags, just wind it in before it realize its hooked, I think that’s the only way to land one of those power machine. Better luck next time, its always good to learn from experience. cheers Louis Yeah I've caught heaps of the smaller browns and they're just as brutal on the lighter gear. Always use red rock crabs when I target them but have caught them on prawns and cunji before. I use a direct wind 651E5 with 24kg tortue. Rod is a solid glass 6120 special by Fishfinder so the gear is well up to the task and mate I wasnt giving an inch....shame about the hook though! but thats fishing and there's always next time! cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Cheers mate. thats what i was thinking. I was imagining it being a little hairy fiddling around in rock cracks while waves are comming in. Better luck next time on the blue's and thanks for the heads up. Arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Cheers mate. thats what i was thinking. I was imagining it being a little hairy fiddling around in rock cracks while waves are comming in. Better luck next time on the blue's and thanks for the heads up. Arch Its all good so long as the swell is low and you keep your eyes on the water. But, if you cant find any red rock crabs use some of the other black crabs that hang around a little higher up from the waters edge. Caught many fish using them as bait before, they work best when broken up into segments though. Cheers RH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 well done on the drummer mate, im sure you will get the bluey soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 That is a massive pig!!! Well done mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooch Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 (edited) g;day fellas great loking site here with heaps of info ,good stuff have you ever tried using a hand line for the big groper?i use a 24kg handline mainly because there is no bend in the rod for the groper to get their heads down and take off.i havnt caught a great deal of big fish but have done ok groper_3.bmp Edited August 2, 2007 by gooch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share Posted August 1, 2007 have you ever tried using a hand line for the big groper?i use a 24kg handline mainly because there is no bend in the rod for the groper to get their heads down and take off.i havnt caught a great deal of big fish but have done ok Handline for groper? No chance mate, not a good idea if you plan on keeping ur line away from the barnacles. Might be a good idea if you plan on going for a swim though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rode Cary Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 well done rock hoppin that report and pic reaaly waters the mouth of keen rock hoppers got 2 questions for you 1st, how do u berley for groper? 2nd, does that mean u just send your crab bait next to the ledge or u cast away? cheers bertrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 well done rock hoppin that report and pic reaaly waters the mouth of keen rock hoppers got 2 questions for you 1st, how do u berley for groper? 2nd, does that mean u just send your crab bait next to the ledge or u cast away? cheers bertrand Hey mate, you don't need to cast far for groper..they usually hang around pretty close to the rocks. if you're ever game enough to snorkel around a calm headland you will be sure to spot a few groper cruising around. The big blues are awesome to watch, its amazing how much you can learn about catching fish after you've had a snorkel to see whats happening beneath the surface! They are usually no more than a few metres away but your cast will depend on the depth of water you are fishing. As for burley, anything from the barnacles under your feet to urchins (if you can find em) or crushed snails will work a treat. Again, only use what you need otherwise you'll have nothing to catch them with the next time you go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harold Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 now thats a great story. Such a powerful fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooch Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 it makes it good fun how did you get the picture to come up without having to open it ? mine seems to come up as a attachement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 it makes it good fun how did you get the picture to come up without having to open it ? mine seems to come up as a attachement http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=2228 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastspinna Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 gropers love urchins........ i snorkel and grab 5 or so before we fish and smash em up in a bucket and mix with sand... as for handlining groper now that is keen..... 50 lb line is askin for trouble...unless you want to get dragged down to have a first hand look at old blues cave... they get huge.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 They seem to be a mighty fish with some real kick ass grunt. Great report and a good read. When you do get one please post a pic. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Nice report RockHoppin, and a strong lookin fish too penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockHoppin Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 gropers love urchins........ i snorkel and grab 5 or so before we fish Thats part of the fun mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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