SWR Annual Trip

[The Poacher]

Hey Raiders,

Sitting down to write my piece of my annual review is always fun. Usually one species will dominate. We have had the year of the cobia, the year of the kings, and several good "year of the spotted mackeral". However, I have never scored a Spanish Mackeral. Last year, I saw a few at the cleaning tables, enough to really wind me up. After saying as much on Fishraider, I got some good advice on larger livebaits.

There was fantastic reports of pelagics being caught all during March this year - which I was cursing by the way, as my holidays didnt start until April 6. Anyway, I got to SWR and as I drove into town there was a guy weighing a spanish at the local Tackle Shop - it went 25kg!!! It was a very solid fish. However, the general vibe was "you should have been here in March".

Day #1 - pulled 3 spotties with my Dad and dropped a couple more. They were only the little 4kg jobs, but it was a good start. To show how "poor" the fishing was, there was only 6 boats on Grassy Head, compared to about 50 when its good.

DAy #2 - we were worried when we couldnt catch any slimies - but there were stacks of Watsons Leaping Bonito in with the yakkas. I fought one to a standstill on the 6lb handline, as did my mate Nick and we stuck 2 in the bait tank. One died on the way to Grassy, but the other one went out alive with a 8/0 in the nose and a treble up the back. The spotties were timid and we couldnt hook any. We were literally pulling the anchor up when the bonito got absolutely smashed!!! After a few big runs, up came my long awaited Spaniard!!! WOOOHOOOO. I am sure the other boats thought I was nuts. It wasnt big, maybe only 10 kilos, but I didnt care. But its a great feeling to chase a fish - and then to change techniques, persist and get a result. I had actually caught one before on a charter in Cairns - but that is nothing compared to doing it yourself, in your own boat, with your mates.

Day #3 - Went up to Grassy again, again the Spotties were quiet, so I pulled the pin early, and drove all the way down to Fish Rock. The current was flying past the rock and at 23.6 degrees. who cares about the colour eh? Plus I had talked to a couple of spear fishos who had seen some good Kings there. Fishing 500 metres past the rock (less than that would have been inside the Grey Nurse exclusion zone - even though this will apparently be repealed by the new Govt) I had a livebait smashed off the downrigger. It was cable tied on, but no hook up. Put one staight back out and it got smashed 30 yards behind the boat even before we got it on the downrigger. Funny behaviour for a King I thought - I mean even big kings rarely rip off 80 metres of line going west on the surface, change their minds and go east so fast they leave a rooster tail behind the braid!! Silently praying that the line would hold, I kept the pressure up and eventually a wahoo came up and was duly gaffed. Hooked under the chin!!! when I cleaned it, I found 2 slimeys inside - both with cable ties.

Day #4 - Fished with a bit more confidence. My long time fishing buddy Lento ended up with a big spaniard. . We werent the only boat high speed trolling down there. If you have never seen 3 boats trolling a 9 knots with lures 100m behind the boat - its a sight to behold.

So, I didnt get many fish this year- maybe it was the "year of the Spanish" even though I only got 2 of them. More importantly, they provided me with some memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks also to the Raiders for their advice. Sorry I rambled on a bit - I will get some photos of the Wahoo later. All fish were caught on a threadline (Saltist)- fantastic feeling to have those fish on the light gear.

See you on the water.

The Poacher

Edited May 4, 2011 by The Poacher

[james7]

That's a great report Poacher!

Congrats on the Spaniard!

I sure miss SWR. Your report made me miss it more!

Cheers

Peter

[dobson_c]

Great report. Entertaining with some tips thrown in for good measure!

[mal]

I had heard the stories but good to see the pics. Nice fish. I take it you are happy with the new reel.

...mal

[The Poacher]

Thanks Raiders,

Despite the river mouth being a nightmare, SWR is still a great place - in fact if it wasnt a dangerous bar, then more guys would fish it, which would thin fish out a bit. Also, most guys at SWR (even the locals) are very willing to share information, which makes a big difference.

Mal, you mentioned the new reel - it was fantastic. Its a Diawa Saltist with 15kg braid and will catch most fish you are likely to hook in NSW. I forgot to mention we also caught a 100kg Hammerhead (which we released). The hammer was awesome, and held kept us busy for 25 minutes. You can see it in the rod holder in the back of this shot.

I ate some Spanish last night, and they are very nice. Would recc them to anyone. It was very similar to spotted mackeral, but a little firmer.

Cheers,

The Poacher

[Ray R]

Great stuff mate, congrats on the Spanish Macks, they put up a great fight and have an awesome set of fangs..

[manhands]

Despite the river mouth being a nightmare, SWR is still a great place - in fact if it wasnt a dangerous bar, then more guys would fish it

Curiousity- to go out the river mouth is the only way isn't it apart from beach launch Smokey Cape?

[The Poacher]

Hi Manhands,

There are actually 3 launch options.

- river mouth

- back creek - safer, but suitable only for smaller boats. Inaccesable on the last half of the run out as the bar is too shallow.

- beach launch at Trial Bay jail. However, National Parks closed this during the school holidays as the campers were complaining about boat noise. Some guys think this is the best option, but I dont know much more than that.

The Poacher.

[manhands]

Hi Manhands,

There are actually 3 launch options.

- river mouth

- back creek - safer, but suitable only for smaller boats. Inaccesable on the last half of the run out as the bar is too shallow.

- beach launch at Trial Bay jail. However, National Parks closed this during the school holidays as the campers were complaining about boat noise. Some guys think this is the best option, but I dont know much more than that.

The Poacher.

Cheers poacher.

[Mr.KingSpooled]

Thanks Raiders,

Despite the river mouth being a nightmare, SWR is still a great place - in fact if it wasnt a dangerous bar, then more guys would fish it, which would thin fish out a bit. Also, most guys at SWR (even the locals) are very willing to share information, which makes a big difference.

Mal, you mentioned the new reel - it was fantastic. Its a Diawa Saltist with 15kg braid and will catch most fish you are likely to hook in NSW. I forgot to mention we also caught a 100kg Hammerhead (which we released). The hammer was awesome, and held kept us busy for 25 minutes. You can see it in the rod holder in the back of this shot.

I ate some Spanish last night, and they are very nice. Would recc them to anyone. It was very similar to spotted mackeral, but a little firmer.

Cheers,

The Poacher

I use the same reel mate, awesome little reels they are. They are built tough as !!

Congrats on the Spaniards, awesome catch mate !!!

[leatherjacket]

Great report and well done on the spanards!

Cheers,

Andrew

Hey Raiders,

Sitting down to write my piece of my annual review is always fun. Usually one species will dominate. We have had the year of the cobia, the year of the kings, and several good "year of the spotted mackeral". However, I have never scored a Spanish Mackeral. Last year, I saw a few at the cleaning tables, enough to really wind me up. After saying as much on Fishraider, I got some good advice on larger livebaits.

There was fantastic reports of pelagics being caught all during March this year - which I was cursing by the way, as my holidays didnt start until April 6. Anyway, I got to SWR and as I drove into town there was a guy weighing a spanish at the local Tackle Shop - it went 25kg!!! It was a very solid fish. However, the general vibe was "you should have been here in March".

Day #1 - pulled 3 spotties with my Dad and dropped a couple more. They were only the little 4kg jobs, but it was a good start. To show how "poor" the fishing was, there was only 6 boats on Grassy Head, compared to about 50 when its good.

DAy #2 - we were worried when we couldnt catch any slimies - but there were stacks of Watsons Leaping Bonito in with the yakkas. I fought one to a standstill on the 6lb handline, as did my mate Nick and we stuck 2 in the bait tank. One died on the way to Grassy, but the other one went out alive with a 8/0 in the nose and a treble up the back. The spotties were timid and we couldnt hook any. We were literally pulling the anchor up when the bonito got absolutely smashed!!! After a few big runs, up came my long awaited Spaniard!!! WOOOHOOOO. I am sure the other boats thought I was nuts. It wasnt big, maybe only 10 kilos, but I didnt care. But its a great feeling to chase a fish - and then to change techniques, persist and get a result. I had actually caught one before on a charter in Cairns - but that is nothing compared to doing it yourself, in your own boat, with your mates.

Day #3 - Went up to Grassy again, again the Spotties were quiet, so I pulled the pin early, and drove all the way down to Fish Rock. The current was flying past the rock and at 23.6 degrees. who cares about the colour eh? Plus I had talked to a couple of spear fishos who had seen some good Kings there. Fishing 500 metres past the rock (less than that would have been inside the Grey Nurse exclusion zone - even though this will apparently be repealed by the new Govt) I had a livebait smashed off the downrigger. It was cable tied on, but no hook up. Put one staight back out and it got smashed 30 yards behind the boat even before we got it on the downrigger. Funny behaviour for a King I thought - I mean even big kings rarely rip off 80 metres of line going west on the surface, change their minds and go east so fast they leave a rooster tail behind the braid!! Silently praying that the line would hold, I kept the pressure up and eventually a wahoo came up and was duly gaffed. Hooked under the chin!!! when I cleaned it, I found 2 slimeys inside - both with cable ties.

Day #4 - Fished with a bit more confidence. My long time fishing buddy Lento ended up with a big spaniard. . We werent the only boat high speed trolling down there. If you have never seen 3 boats trolling a 9 knots with lures 100m behind the boat - its a sight to behold.

So, I didnt get many fish this year- maybe it was the "year of the Spanish" even though I only got 2 of them. More importantly, they provided me with some memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks also to the Raiders for their advice. Sorry I rambled on a bit - I will get some photos of the Wahoo later. All fish were caught on a threadline (Saltist)- fantastic feeling to have those fish on the light gear.

See you on the water.

The Poacher