Groper Fishing

[Central Coast Fisherman]

Hi Raiders,

I have decided to try and start targeting groper of the rocks. I've done a fair bit of rock fishing over the years for bream, drummer, blackfish, trevally, tailer, bonito etc but have never tried for groper. I know there are quite a few of them around so I was wondering if anyone could give me any help on how to catch them.

My thoughts were:

Use 50lb main line with 100lb leader

Very small running ball sinker straight to extra strong 1/0 hook

Berley up with crushed up sea urchins

Use cunji for bait

Also does anyone know where to start fishing for groper around the rocks at terrigal?

[BiG_G]

Wish I could help but I don't know there first thing aboutgropers

[MikeR]

I've never chased them myself but I've seen some old fellas doing well using rock crabs as bait. A buddy also managed to land some using urchins as bait directly.

I think the urchin burley is a great idea to turn them on, in numbers.

Just make sure you run a strong braid since these fish will run you to the reef really quickly, especially if you hit a big male.

[Mr Squidy]

I'd be worried about pulling a 1/0 hook. For me, a red rock crab with legs removed on a 5/0 circle, line choice should be ok, lock up the real and hold on. When it reaches a cave (inspite of locking up it usually will) then you free spool untill it swims off, then repeat the proccess a couple of times. A big advantage with the circle i find is you'll get less snags due to the point being less exposed.

[Central Coast Fisherman]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Mr Squidy, the only reason i suggested the 1/0 is because they guy at my local fishing shop suggested it. The circle hooks are a good idea regarding less snags, however do you find the hook up rate decreases using circle hooks?

Also, where do you find the red rock crabs? I've spent a little bit of time searching for them however all i seem to be able to find are the black crabs...

[cheap charlie]

Hey buddy,

Do a quick search on this forum with the word grouper. There is a lot of threads packed with loads of info from q&a's.

[Mr Squidy]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Mr Squidy, the only reason i suggested the 1/0 is because they guy at my local fishing shop suggested it. The circle hooks are a good idea regarding less snags, however do you find the hook up rate decreases using circle hooks?

Also, where do you find the red rock crabs? I've spent a little bit of time searching for them however all i seem to be able to find are the black crabs...

I've only tageted them a few times but have never had any trouble hooking up on circles.

As for the crabs look under the ledges at low tide and you'll find them. i usually take an old wire coat hanger along and bend it into a long hook to pull them out of their hidding spots.

[brettmann86]

I've had limited experience but great luck catching them, a trick I got shown is they love a prawn head burley, where I fish for them we use cooked prawns as bait with no sinker and usually just 50lb mainline with just the last 4 metres doubled for extra strength. Lock up your drag is great advice, your not fighting them as u would any other fish your simply out muscling them and hauling them up green, red rock crabs work great too and I usually use a 5/0 live bait hook. This has worked for me I've only fished for them a dozen times or so but I've come away with one 6 out of a dozen so it's about a 50/50 chance they're just horses of fish that love busting tackle

[On Strike]

Hi there CCF,

I have fished for them many times on shore and in a boat. I was taught by an old fella that just targeted them. We used rock crabs but the red ones work best. A 5/0 hook is about right but I have used bigger. This also seems to stop small by catch of rubbish fish. 50lb plus line and I agree with the locked up drag. Don't forget that the rod you use will need to handle this as well. I used to get the crabs on weedy rocks where they meet the sand, like the ones around the haven or the nearby beaches at low tide. I used bare hands to feel under the weed as you can feel them better. Any crab will work and really load the hook up with them. Remember there is bag limits on crabs and sea urchins too. There are plenty of good spots around Terrigal. The ledge under the skillion for one. Remember that its generally washy where they live so be careful. They are great to target on the flat days too when you can sometimes see them feeding. I was once told that one blue (Male ) groper services up to two hundred brown ( females ) and it takes the dominant female about 12months to turn into a male after the male has been removed from its area so think about it before taking a blue. ( someone else may be able to verify this ). Good luck, be safe and hang on when they bite. A big alvey reel is a great way to get started. Remember big bait= big fish. Hope this helps.

Paul

On Strike

[Catchin Jack]

Just make sure you don't collect cunji, crabs or sea urchins from Intertidal protected areas.

[Central Coast Fisherman]

Thanks On Strike. I was going to try the ledge on the southern side of the skillion where i spin for bonito in summer. I have a 10 rap beach rod which i think should be up to the task.

Another question, apart from sea urchins, what else can you use for burley? As the bag limit for urchins is only 10, i dont think that would be enough burley for a decent fishing session.

[On Strike]

No worries CCF,

I never worry too much with burley. The groper are nearly always there anyway. If you get the chance and dont mind getting wet go for a snorkel and check your area out. You will see them just about everywhere. When I do burley I use the crab legs and the top shell, and the occasional crushed urchin or just stuff scraped off the rock with my cleats. I find burley attracts the sweep and weed cockys ( rubbish fish ). I have seen the big blues at the ledge your talking about when I used to spin there years ago. We caught groper, drummer and blackfish off the rocks just south of there too. I found that you normally catch the groper where you catch the blackfish. I pass the hook point through the space left after snapping off a leg and out the opposite side through another leg hole. I have seen people catch them on peeled cooked prawn too. The bites can be quite gentle at times and like freight trains at others so don't discount a small bite on a big bait. Good Luck.

Paul

On Strike

[macman]

Don't bother with burley it just attracts crap fish that will attack your hard earned bait

Use crabs, black, then green and best of all red crabs.

Use a hook to suit a big crab, ie a 6/0 to 8/0 octopus. Only remove two legs, ie the one where you thread the hook, and the one the hooks sticks out of.

Use 50lb straight to the hook.

Use a small enough pea sinker to keep the bait manageable and an alvey with the drag locked up or better still no drag.

Use a decent rod, ie an 8 wrap or bigger

Hang on, they pull hard, really pull hard and will win around 50% of the time.

Give the poor buggers a break once you have caught a few and they have looked up at you with those big brown eyes, you may be tempted to give groper fishing away

Matt

[Rafinx]

all this talk about gropers makes me wanna catch one, my dad loves them.

[brettmann86]

The red crabs are the best, go low tide and look at ledges of the rocks and most of the times you will just see their legs, you mast snap at them quickly but wear some gloves as you dont know what else could snap at you. I have in the past hit urchins, had eels about to go me because still left my hand under there trying to get him when i have missed.

If you fridge them and not freeze them they're alright for a couple days afterwards

A question to raiders if any one knows if these crabs keep frozen, are they still good for bait after thoring out and any specific way to freeze them. Just asking because so many times i wanted to get some on a low tide during the week for the weekend and i thought why kill the crab if it is no good for bait after thoring out. Has any one freezed these crabs and did end up catching a groper. Cheers cg.

[ferret69]

Don't bother with burley it just attracts crap fish that will attack your hard earned bait

Use crabs, black, then green and best of all red crabs.

Use a hook to suit a big crab, ie a 6/0 to 8/0 octopus. Only remove two legs, ie the one where you thread the hook, and the one the hooks sticks out of.

Use 50lb straight to the hook.

Use a small enough pea sinker to keep the bait manageable and an alvey with the drag locked up or better still no drag.

Use a decent rod, ie an 8 wrap or bigger

Hang on, they pull hard, really pull hard and will win around 50% of the time.

Give the poor buggers a break once you have caught a few and they have looked up at you with those big brown eyes, you may be tempted to give groper fishing away

Matt

Awwwwwwww, your such a sweet man Matty

Now let me in on your secret spots! Damnit !

[Central Coast Fisherman]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow afternoon. I'll take my 8 year old son with me to catch the crabs.. He loves catching them!

I'll let you know how I go.

Cheers,

Phil

[ferret69]

I'm also going to use this info tomorrow afternoon, off sydney though.

Central coast fisho, lets compare on a post later in the weekend?

Good luck

[Pongrass18ft]

Hi Raiders,

I have decided to try and start targeting groper of the rocks. I've done a fair bit of rock fishing over the years for bream, drummer, blackfish, trevally, tailer, bonito etc but have never tried for groper. I know there are quite a few of them around so I was wondering if anyone could give me any help on how to catch them.

My thoughts were:

Use 50lb main line with 100lb leader

Very small running ball sinker straight to extra strong 1/0 hook

Berley up with crushed up sea urchins

Use cunji for bait

Also does anyone know where to start fishing for groper around the rocks at terrigal?

Good luck on the groper they sure are fun to target.

You will have no problems catching them on cunji , don,t just fish in close as i,ve caught plenty on a wide cast from the rocks also.Although the ledge would be 5m up so i had plenty of lifting power.

They sure are a beautiful fish,look forward to seeing your posts.

chris