First Surgeon

[prawn*]

hay guys ive been trying to catch some new species of fish besides usual fish i target after watching my mate catch one of these things i was inpressed by the sheer power so i gave it ago at the same spot with my kingy rod 7' spin and came up with my first after 5 snap off's on 50lb braid 80lb leader, she measured 40cm on bread there were some big ones there i didnt manage to land anything bigger spotted one about 1m long biggest ive seen looked like a GT as these things are white in the water... so now for my next journey im goin to try with weed and float and after i get a hobie i can get out from the structure abit and land a few more,

oh and thanks Cephalopod for the info shared that helped alot!!

Edited February 6, 2010 by mc fishn

[Basil D]

great catch mate, didnt know much about these fish before this year, i would like to give them a go too

[taloyoak]

Try down at Kiribilli, right under the bridge, on the rock platform to the right of the cemented in ship bow. Green weed is the go, best on the rising tide, drift from right side, over infront of the seaweed. I've caught plenty of massive Surgeons there. But- not on 50 pound braid. I regularly caught big ones on 8lb vanish with 12 maxima pink mono- on a Blackfish rod, with Alvey blackfish centerpin reel- holy god these guys run like 10 pound Bonefish in the Seychelles.

[jewgaffer]

I regularly caught big ones on 8lb vanish with 12 maxima pink mono- on a Blackfish rod, with Alvey blackfish centerpin reel- holy god these guys run like 10 pound Bonefish in the Seychelles.

Good effort catching what you were going for mc fishn and Nanook if I was hooked up your gear even while having a quick cool off at Kiribilii I'd certainly come in quietly especially if hooked thru the tongue on a black fish rod.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[gretsch]

No worries champ!!! 1 metre of Surgeon would be a handful.

[jahajo]

Nice catch you got there

Do you have any tips on how you catch these monsters?

They must pull pretty hard if they are breaking you off on 50lb!

Harry

[prawn*]

hay nanook thanks for the heads up i'll have to try that spot so much fun!! reason ive had so much trouble landing them as im 3m up on a platform with solid timber piers to contend with and once these fish no they are hooked 30m of line within seconds under the piers is hard to keep under controll like i said next journey will either be using a float and try to get the fish away from the structure so i have more of a chance even on a kayak will be fun!!!

jewgaffer

always good to achieve a new goal even with limited info on how to target these fish. i was happy to land one, being prolly the most underrated fighting fish out there its now another fish to tick of the list,

Hazza

i would usually only use 30lb max for these fish but i wanted to try and over power the fish to steel it away from the structure which 99% i failed haha if u had and open run at these fish lighter line would be a better option for better hookup rate, and another tip make sure u have good strong hooks as they tend to straightn cheap hooks i had one that was straightend on the larger one's that i hooked up.

[Brooker435]

Good Stuff there Mate,

I seen Surgeons being caught on Tv and yeah they look like real fighters might have to try this one day...

I have a rough Idea where you can catch these guys too so hopefully in the next few weeks Ill try this out

What are they like on the table????

Regards,

Nathan

[arpie]

Well done, McFishin! I was surprised at how much the 30cm ones I caught last week fought! They sort of 'burrow' away - they don't swim in a straight line! Any bigger ones would be a real challenge!

WHen you get one from the yak, don't be surprised if you are towed around a bit! Even with the pedals, I had a massive blackfish out in the open water after catching him alongside a lease, only to be towed back to the lease, the fish right under my yak with BlackQueen blackfish rod bent double & the top half in the water under the yak as well as I tried to turn its head .... and couldn't! It skunked me on the lease poles. Exciting whilst it lasted, tho.

Good luck on the bigger versions! I know a lot are caught around any structure in the harbour, so that spot should be fun!!

Cheerio

Roberta

[kris]

well done mate....... i caught one about 35cm around the peirs in Balmain and boy did it fight... I've been told that the spots or spikes are razor sharp. I;m guessing that is why they are called Surgeon Fish.. I used chicken breast with cheese, although it was an unusual hook up.

Essentially these creatures have a similar or even more powerful pulling weight to size ratio then a trevally or even kingfish... the lack of knowledge and lows numbers being caught are probably the reasons why.

Best fishing and keep the interesting fish coming !!!!!

Kris

[DGF]

i caught some of these few years back on pier 2 in the harbour 4 of them on 50lb hand line because all the rods were kitted out for bream etc.. and these things were smashn my rods n snapping the line i had some 50lb trace which i used as hand line with a long shank hook i sliced the crap outa my fingers not knowing what they were at the time each one was 60cm+ landed 3or4 of them they didnt taste anygood to be honest :/ but then again somone else had cooked them :/ i remember fisheries came up to check fish etc.. and were suprised to see my fish i asked them what the heck they were n was told by the fisheries officer that they were "black trevally" i could see the the similarity however i ended up looking them up later had a lil giggle too

point is never try get them on a handline your hands will be sore for weeks bow do they have some power

gear used bloodworm longshank mustad hook size 3/0 from what i remember and a tiny split shot with a small piece of prawn

Edited February 7, 2010 by DGF

[taloyoak]

I know some may find it hard to believe you can catch them on 8lb line, but let me tell you you can. On my blackfish rod and centerpin reel- I palm the reel to slow them down, but I had about a 20% success rate until I learned how to fight them. They are not particularly dirty, they just put the afterburners on for about 1 minute. If you can manage not to get busted off, then you're looking good. I find them about 10 times more difficult to catch than Blackies, in that for every 10 I used to pull out of the harbour, 1 might be a Surgeon. Oh and for the comments above about the name- trust me you do not want to know, the lateral tail bits are not for ornamental value but ready to cause beautiful surgical like lacerations to any tissue that happens to meet with an angry Surgeon- they are as sharp as scalpels.

There was a young guy who caught a bunch last year on the forum, can't remember who?. He really cleaned up though, big hard fighting specimens.

[gretsch]

They are tough fighters. I tend to land most on a luderick rod with an egg beater loaded with 20lb braid and 20lb fluro leader under a float. Typical luderick set up really, just a bit heavier. Maybe the long soft rod is helping subdue the fish.

[Krispy !]

Nice surgeon there mate,

I once hooked up one on the 80lb braid that was close to a metre and had the reel locked up,

It nearly broke the rod and cut me off on the pylons, in saying that it was still peeling line off the reel.

I have pulled them out around 65 on light line though so theyre not imposible.

cheers,

[rickster]

Hi raiders,

I sit here amazed reading the responses. Having fished the harbour for blackfish for more years than i care to remember, and getting busted repeatedly by these "lovely' creatures, i find it hard to believe so many people enjoy re-rigging. We do land them occassionally, but only using 2kg trace the odds aren't generally in our favour. I must admit that they are a buzz for those first few seconds and I've been known to get great enjoyment (laughing out loud actually) watching my mates hook them, mainly because i know they'll be laughing when it's my turn. Anyone who wants to know a few special spots for these are quite welcome to PM me and i'll pass them on.