kiwicraig Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Went out very early this morning to try and get a session in before work and before the wind came up. I launched about 5am and the wind was already about 10 knots at the Blackwall boat ramp. I hightailed it out past Box Head - the forecast swell was very low so I wanted to see if I could drift for flatties or if the wind was going to be too much. Swell was indeed negligible. The wind was not, however. Because it was an offshore wind and West Reef is on my way to the mark I was heading for I cut the motor just short of West Reef with a view to letting the wind drift me over it. I put a couple of baits rods down. I landed a Sgt Baker and had a squid follow the bait up on the other rod. Normally I would have had a squid jig rigged up already on another rod, but not today. In a pre-work session I always try to avoid re-rigging as it just eats into fishing time. I hooked into something else as well. It did not feel big but it was crafty and it managed to cut me off on the reef. Not bad for one drift over the reef, but I wanted to stick to my plan so I headed further out to a bit past the 40m mark to a spot that has produced good flatties recently. I changed up the sinker and dropped baits down. Even with the drogue out I was drifting quite quickly so I decided to just fish one rod, keep it in hand and open the bail arm if it was coming off the bottom. This paid off as I quickly hooked up and could tell it was a decent fish. I worked it up and and netted a flattie around the low 50s mark. Unfortuantely the wind was just picking up though and I sensed this was going to be a hiding to nothing so I decided to change tactics. I headed in a bit to around the 30m mark and dropped on a spot I had marked in the sounder. I managed to land and release a small squire and undersized flattie, but the drift was still too quick to keep the baits down. I wound up and headed even closer in. Because the wind was offshore I decided to nose in just outside Box Head and let it drift be back out over the drop off. This proved a good tactic as it was a bit sheltered so the drift was slower. I not only could keep baits down, but I could even downsize the sinker. Then the rod loaded up and I struck and had a solid hookup. And it ran - peeling line off my fairly light gear I use for flatties. I could feel definite head shakes and was wondering - could this be the big snapper that had been eluding me? It was not a bad fight, but of line lost, regained and lost again. But then I saw colour and knew it was not a snapper, but a gummy shark! Not what I was after, but I'll take that any day of the week! By now it was time to head in so I dispatched the gummy, wound up and headed for home. Glad I did, too because by the time I got back to the ramp the wind had picked up even further. Only a couple of hours on the water and came home with a nice flattie and a gummy for the table. The Gummy was a first for me and measured in just under 97cm. Great way to start the day. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterfisho7 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Nice report Craig well done with the sharks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyngfish Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Well done, what was the better eating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 Just now, kyngfish said: Well done, what was the better eating? Haha - time will tell - I will let you know. I had some left over tortillas in the freezer so had the flattie as fish tacos for lunch. Will get a few meals out of the gummy I portioned it up and have some for tomorrow night and the rest is vac packed in the freezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsparkfisher Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Top effort. What rig do you use when you drift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Must be a few gummies coming about, and like mine, they were in the shallower water. A seafood feast in that photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 A great report Craig, felt as if I was with you...you painted such a clear description of the trip. What a great way to start a workday. One of my favourite eating fish the old Gummy Shark. Job well done mate. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 5 hours ago, Kingsparkfisher said: Top effort. What rig do you use when you drift? Drifting for bluespot flatties offshore I use a paternoster on 3-5kg rod, 2500 reel. Today I was using 15lb leader as I was mainly planning to be on clear ground. Paternoster is so versatile because it is easy as to change the the lead and/or the hooks. This makes it good for short fishing sessions because you can change tactis without re-rigging. In shallower water I favour a running bean sinker above the swivel, leader and a single hook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 On 11/2/2018 at 1:50 PM, kyngfish said: Well done, what was the better eating? The gummy came up awesome in a beer batter. Head to head it's too close to call, but given that I'll get 2 more meals out of that one gummy I might have to figure out how to target them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 5 minutes ago, kiwicraig said: The gummy came up awesome in a beer batter. Head to head it's too close to call, but given that I'll get 2 more meals out of that one gummy I might have to figure out how to target them. That looks like sensational fish and chips ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam bros Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 well done mate Your making me hungry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Wish you blokes wouldn't keep putting those scrumptious looking plates in front of me, I haven't eaten since 6pm last night and I just about devoured the computer screen. Gummy are one of the best. Small tip, next one you get bleed it by cutting through the top of the head as the neck joins the head and put in ice slurry , I'm sure you know how to look after your catch but just in case. Frank 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 5 hours ago, frankS said: Small tip, next one you get bleed it by cutting through the top of the head as the neck joins the head and put in ice slurry , I'm sure you know how to look after your catch but just in case. Frank Thanks Frank. You're quite right I didn't bleed it. Though I did brain spike it and put it in an ice slurry. I read that you should when I was looking for tips on how to clean them. Since I hadn't I filleted it straight away, cut wide of the blood line and took extra care washing off as much blood as possible and it was fine. I'll know for next time and this post may help prevent someone else making the same mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyngfish Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Is there any specific way you can target gummies. I thought (except for Melbourne) they are a bit hit and miss or just bicatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakelad Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Great well written report @kiwicraig, and a nice Gummy - the DPI say it's rare to get them over 1 metre off Central NSW. @kyngfish, Fishing World put out a good article recently on Gummy tips http://www.fishingworld.com.au/how-to/how-to-catch-gummy-sharks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyngfish Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 34 minutes ago, lakelad said: Great well written report @kiwicraig, and a nice Gummy - the DPI say it's rare to get them over 1 metre off Central NSW. @kyngfish, Fishing World put out a good article recently on Gummy tips http://www.fishingworld.com.au/how-to/how-to-catch-gummy-sharks Thanks for the info, now just have to get out there after them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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