brettmann86 Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi Raiders, i went off chasing groper again yesterday and after my last epic failure i was not keen on going home empty handed, left home at 4am in the morning to beat the crowds and hopefully get a head start on everyone else for the day and was in high hopes of getting my target fish.. after arriving just on sun up and looking into the water and already seeing 1 big blue groper milling around i was really excited and while rigging i kept making sure he hung around but as usual the moment i was ready to go he'd disappeared.. oh well not all lost as my spinning rod was rigged to go i had fun catching the tailor that were thick on the surface, and after a while with 4 legal tailor in the ice chest i really lost interest spinning and decided to put a dent in the local leather jacket population.. well after burleting up consistently with my deadly groper attractant my target fish showed up and did not disappoint i lightly placed my bait right in front of him (SIGHT FISHING AT ITS BEST) and with a locked up drag and 50lb mono something was going to give and very quickly i was just happy it was the fish that gave and not my rod after a really short knock down fight i one handedly gaffed this beauty and i was done for the day so i ended up going home with 4 keeper tailor 13 leatherjackets and my 1st groper!!!! i found an empty VB can to throw in the shot to give some size to it.. she went 5.6kg and all of 77cm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingpig Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Nice. Good fish for your first. They do know how to find a weak spot in your gear though. Cheers Kingpig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeeros Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Nice one mate Damn good groper for your first Groper, my first was only about 50cm brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmac Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi Brettmann, Where did u fish? U do it landbased or boating? Did u use crab for bait? What type of berley u using? I'm quite familiar in landbased groper fishing before i got my own boat. I usually fish groper in Clovelly (next to cemetery) and there r plenty of them. However i never catch groper anymore while in boat. They seems like to stay near the rocks. Regards, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 wow nice lookin groper there well done john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi Guys, yeah that fella really put the hurt on in the first run!! i honestly thought it would drag me to my knees... and i was fishing landbased, using cooked prawn heads for berley and fresh cooked school prawns for bait (might sound weird but they love it) the rod was a custom built 10footer with a slow taper and the reel i used was an 8000 size spooled with 50lb mono straight to the hook no leader with a 6/0 hook... location was west head.. the walk back out was alot harder than the walk down ha ha ha especially carrying that beast back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merro Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Nice Groper! Funnily enough, my missus says I turn in to a groper after I empty a few of those VB cans Hi Guys, yeah that fella really put the hurt on in the first run!! i honestly thought it would drag me to my knees... and i was fishing landbased, using cooked prawn heads for berley and fresh cooked school prawns for bait (might sound weird but they love it) the rod was a custom built 10footer with a slow taper and the reel i used was an 8000 size spooled with 50lb mono straight to the hook no leader with a 6/0 hook... location was west head.. the walk back out was alot harder than the walk down ha ha ha especially carrying that beast back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabefisho Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 thats a beast! Great catch mate. Only ever caught juvies myself but my grandfather caught a few nice 50cm+ models when I was a kid... surprisingly on a beach worm intended for a school jew on mid-nth coast. Tight lines Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hey Brett , Nice Groper and now you have a can in the picture you can enter the COTM comp sponsored by Purefishing Regards Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonardgid Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 hello chaps, don't want to spoil it for you but do remember that blue groper have been known to have that ciguatera at times , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taloyoak Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 I hate Groper fishing for the simple reason that the best bait - those basterd Red Crabs are like trying to extract diamond from Kimberlite and the inherent risk that you will be taken into the sea by waves cause every time those "kimberlite pipe" crabs are in the worst and most dangerous places.....LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 hello chaps, don't want to spoil it for you but do remember that blue groper have been known to have that ciguatera at times , I think you may be mistaken my friend Regards Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 (edited) I really hope they don't have that poisoning!!! I just fed my entire family some!!! Lol nah were all sweet ha ha ha and I'm tellin ya try cooked prawns for bait!!much easier to gather!!! Oh and stewy that can being in the pic was a bloody lucky fluke eh?? Edited December 6, 2010 by brettmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yinchashe Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 if you use red crab, you wouldn't be disturbed by small fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Honestly with all the laws about where you can and cannot gather crabs from and so forth and considering the areas where you have to gather them, i'll stick with the cooked prawns and if you use quite large prawns they still last around 35 mins or so as long as you keep the burley up to keep the pickers interested.. as i said before this is only my second time fishing for groper and im by no measn an expert i'm just going with what i got shown and what worked for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catchin Jack Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 That's a great looking Groper mate, congrats on finally landing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keflapod Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Nice Groper! Funnily enough, my missus says I turn in to a groper after I empty a few of those VB cans Hey Merro, LOL - The difference between you and me is that you rely on the VB to turn you into a groper.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catchin Jack Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hey Merro, LOL - The difference between you and me is that you rely on the VB to turn you into a groper.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keflapod Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hey Brettmann, You're using a slow taper rod and an eggbeater reel ? For Groper? ..and that's what you were shown? Wow you're certainly making it a challenge eh.... You should really get a broomhandle and strap an electric 4wd winch to it and use the cable with..... But seriously, an alvey reel on a solid fast taper rod would be easier on you... ..but then again, catching bruisers like that on challenging gear makes the capture all the more meritorious. Well done - you set yourself a task, you went out and did it.... Grilled groper fillets in lemon-butter and herbs.....I'm now doing a Homer simpson drool...... Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 i agree with the broom handle and 4wd winch ha ha ha!! for a fight that lasted all of a blink of an eye it really stretched me right out! should see the bruise on my gut from the bottom of the rod!!! and honestly no thats not how i was sohwn but i'm under strict instructions no more rods or reels lol i have 33 rods and 39 reels so the fact i dont own an alvey will stay that way unless i can make some of the reels disappear lol ha ha ha... but yeah i wanted a challenge and i got one... my hands are still shaking ha ha ha the reason im not in the photo is because i looked too ridiculous with my smile.. i made the cat that got the bird look like it was frowning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVZ350 Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 lovely groper mate i get them pretty regular inside the harbour on nippers they are suckers for them give the nippers a shot next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Awesome job Brettman, gotta love it when a plan comes together. Just wondering though, so many reels but no Alvey???? What are you going to pass on to the kids?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettmann86 Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 Never been shown alvey reels lol... Cut my teeth as a youngster fishing for yellowbelly cod and carp and soon as I was old enough graduated to sharks and big fish lol I really really ought to get one lol but they're so new to me ha ha ha gimme a game reel and I'm right at home!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongrass18ft Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hi Raiders, i went off chasing groper again yesterday and after my last epic failure i was not keen on going home empty handed, left home at 4am in the morning to beat the crowds and hopefully get a head start on everyone else for the day and was in high hopes of getting my target fish.. after arriving just on sun up and looking into the water and already seeing 1 big blue groper milling around i was really excited and while rigging i kept making sure he hung around but as usual the moment i was ready to go he'd disappeared.. oh well not all lost as my spinning rod was rigged to go i had fun catching the tailor that were thick on the surface, and after a while with 4 legal tailor in the ice chest i really lost interest spinning and decided to put a dent in the local leather jacket population.. well after burleting up consistently with my deadly groper attractant my target fish showed up and did not disappoint i lightly placed my bait right in front of him (SIGHT FISHING AT ITS BEST) and with a locked up drag and 50lb mono something was going to give and very quickly i was just happy it was the fish that gave and not my rod after a really short knock down fight i one handedly gaffed this beauty and i was done for the day so i ended up going home with 4 keeper tailor 13 leatherjackets and my 1st groper!!!! i found an empty VB can to throw in the shot to give some size to it.. she went 5.6kg and all of 77cm Awesome catch mate,they taste as good as they look,did you have any hooks come loose this time ??????.Try lurline bay maroubra 10kg is average size using cungee as bait off the ledge. chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmac Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hi Guys, yeah that fella really put the hurt on in the first run!! i honestly thought it would drag me to my knees... and i was fishing landbased, using cooked prawn heads for berley and fresh cooked school prawns for bait (might sound weird but they love it) the rod was a custom built 10footer with a slow taper and the reel i used was an 8000 size spooled with 50lb mono straight to the hook no leader with a 6/0 hook... location was west head.. the walk back out was alot harder than the walk down ha ha ha especially carrying that beast back!!! First time i heard using cooked prawn for bait. Probably give a try if its work. I usually caught drummer instead of groper when i use green prawn but it also happened once or twice to hook groper by green prawn. Also I have to use very good quality hook to catch groper as it is a hard fighting creature and always bend and open my hook using their hard rock teeth. Cheers phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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