long reef

[anthman]

hi all, thinking about going to long reef this weekend. Looking for any tips for fishing the area - targeting reef species and kingies.

I've tried in the past near shore(20m drop point away from the beach, various spots long the ridge line) and also out wide at around 60m depth. No luck with pilchard on paternoster setups and also with sps and slow jigs.

I'm always reading reports and mentions in the newspaper - snapper and kingies, but alas cannot get on them myself.

Can anyone suggest tips that have worked for them and types of terrain sounded that have worked?

Thanks all and appreciate any advice!

[GoingFishing]

HI Antman. Are you fishing from shore or boat

[anthman]

Fishing from boat

[kingie chaser]

10 hours ago, anthman said:

I'm always reading reports and mentions in the newspaper - snapper and kingies, but alas cannot get on them myself.

Hi Ant, while I know some of the info on here in reports is old I think it still gives you an idea on locations & for what you could be in for at this time of year.

 

Id be doing a full forum search & doing a bit of research on here plus google.

 

Also look up the GPS thread from Scratchie 

 

http://www.ozpolitic.com/fish/map-gps-marks-fishing/Sydney-II-S-New-South-Wales-map-gps-marks-fishing.html

[GoingFishing]

Hi Antman

There are a few spots at Longy that are definitely worth a try. Ive put up a little map below which you should be able to use when your out there.

If your after kings "the wall" (Line B on the map) is the spot that most fishos will head to for live baiting, fly fishing, it is relatively shallow with reef bottom so it is not really suitable for knife jigging but i have jigged longy with smaller jigs such as the marias in 45grams and up. Most fishos tend to fish the middle or the far northern end of the wall. You can also get snapper and other reef species at this location along the deeper side of the drop off.

If Kings are your target, keep moving around until you find the bait, and the kings will be nearby, they can literally be anywhere in the longy area.

Out a little deeper, there is also a reef system which comprises a number of reefy ridges (Location C) on the map. Here you will find snapper and other reef species and occasionally some kings stacked up if live bait is close by.

You can also fish over lines A & D along the drop offs of the nearby reef.

goodluck

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by GoingFishing

[PaddyT]

Couple of adds to this-paternosters is pretty unproductive for snapper off Sydney- floaters much more effective, 2nd and probably more important-Longie is pretty unproductive without current from the north- it bubbles water over the nthn end of the reef and creates eddies and upwellings especially on the nthn end . 

[anthman]

8 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

Hi Antman

There are a few spots at Longy that are definitely worth a try. Ive put up a little map below which you should be able to use when your out there.

If your after kings "the wall" (Line B on the map) is the spot that most fishos will head to for live baiting, fly fishing, it is relatively shallow with reef bottom so it is not really suitable for knife jigging but i have jigged longy with smaller jigs such as the marias in 45grams and up. Most fishos tend to fish the middle or the far northern end of the wall. You can also get snapper and other reef species at this location along the deeper side of the drop off.

If Kings are your target, keep moving around until you find the bait, and the kings will be nearby, they can literally be anywhere in the longy area.

Out a little deeper, there is also a reef system which comprises a number of reefy ridges (Location C) on the map. Here you will find snapper and other reef species and occasionally some kings stacked up if live bait is close by.

You can also fish over lines A & D along the drop offs of the nearby reef.

goodluck

 

Legend! This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for the detailed guidance 

 

3 hours ago, PaddyT said:

Couple of adds to this-paternosters is pretty unproductive for snapper off Sydney- floaters much more effective, 2nd and probably more important-Longie is pretty unproductive without current from the north- it bubbles water over the nthn end of the reef and creates eddies and upwellings especially on the nthn end . 

I'm not sure if im doing this right, but if I check the swell forecast and the direction- will that be indicative of the current direction? E.g. this Sunday the swell direction is easterly (i.e. heading to the west). 

 

Also, how essential is it to get there before sunrise? It's a bit tough to get there before sunrise since I launch from roseville...(bed too early!) Though I could get there maybe by 7am

Edited May 13, 2020 by anthman

[M1100S]

3 hours ago, PaddyT said:

Couple of adds to this-paternosters is pretty unproductive for snapper off Sydney- floaters much more effective, 2nd and probably more important-Longie is pretty unproductive without current from the north- it bubbles water over the nthn end of the reef and creates eddies and upwellings especially on the nthn end . 

 

Can you expand a little on the first comment about floaters....  are you referring to baiting or soft plastics?

[kingie chaser]

9 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

Hi Antman

There are a few spots at Longy that are definitely worth a try. Ive put up a little map below which you should be able to use when your out there.

If your after kings "the wall" (Line B on the map) is the spot that most fishos will head to for live baiting, fly fishing, it is relatively shallow with reef bottom so it is not really suitable for knife jigging but i have jigged longy with smaller jigs such as the marias in 45grams and up. Most fishos tend to fish the middle or the far northern end of the wall. You can also get snapper and other reef species at this location along the deeper side of the drop off.

If Kings are your target, keep moving around until you find the bait, and the kings will be nearby, they can literally be anywhere in the longy area.

Out a little deeper, there is also a reef system which comprises a number of reefy ridges (Location C) on the map. Here you will find snapper and other reef species and occasionally some kings stacked up if live bait is close by.

You can also fish over lines A & D along the drop offs of the nearby reef.

goodluck

 

Nice to have Navionics maps GF  

[PaddyT]

Anth the direction of swell and wind is independant to current-if im looking at current i have a subscription to Ripcharts, there is another provider called Fishtrack-both are good, there is a place on the BOM site you can see a current map but its a bit rough and ready-also inshore currents can change a bit overnight so i rely on my eyes . As for the question on ""floaters"" IMHO both plastics and bait are more productive than any paternoster for decent reds, if its a fairly wind free morning with a gentle current then you can even berley whilst drifting and get good results

[Berleyguts]

3 hours ago, PaddyT said:

Anth the direction of swell and wind is independant to current-if im looking at current i have a subscription to Ripcharts, there is another provider called Fishtrack-both are good, there is a place on the BOM site you can see a current map but its a bit rough and ready-also inshore currents can change a bit overnight so i rely on my eyes . As for the question on ""floaters"" IMHO both plastics and bait are more productive than any paternoster for decent reds, if its a fairly wind free morning with a gentle current then you can even berley whilst drifting and get good results

Paddy - I’ve been interested RipCharts. Is it viable on a phone, do you know?

[PaddyT]

i only look at it on the laptop before i go out, i rely on my eyes and ears once im on the water

[kingie chaser]

21 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

i only look at it on the laptop before i go out, i rely on my eyes and ears once im on the water

So you don't use a sounder?

[Berleyguts]

32 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

i only look at it on the laptop before i go out, i rely on my eyes and ears once im on the water

Thanks. I only asked because I very rarely use a computer these days... I do everything on my phone.

[rickmarlin62]

Personally lookin at the map provided i would anchor just nth east of the C  on the map an berley an float baits back to the face of the ledge runnin sth east

[PaddyT]

16 hours ago, rickmarlin62 said:

Personally lookin at the map provided i would anchor just nth east of the C  on the map an berley an float baits back to the face of the ledge runnin sth east

Yep

[PaddyT]

18 hours ago, Berleyguts said:

Thanks. I only asked because I very rarely use a computer these days... I do everything on my phone.

Fair enough Baz- i just find that when im planning a day out i really like to have a ""big screen"" look at things and form a clear plan in my head-i just cant get the detail i want looking at a phone screen- once i'm out I modify according to conditions-eg Longie is a very good king spot when the current is belting from the north, but if the current is from the south I dont even bother looking at Longie- i have other spots that fire in those conditions. Having said that it is amazing how often conditions change overnight-""no plan survives first contact with the enemy""  so nothing i do is based purely on Ripcharts

[anthman]

Thanks for the advice all, I checked out BOM and looks like current is coming from the north on Sunday. Will try NE edge of point C. 

I usually drop a paternoster and bounce  SPs whilst I wait - usually into the berley trail.

Just need the weather to hold!

[rickmarlin62]

Dont be scared to float big baits   half a slimy or pike  full butterflied yakka  or free swim a livy down trail

[GoingFishing]

13 hours ago, anthman said:

Thanks for the advice all, I checked out BOM and looks like current is coming from the north on Sunday. Will try NE edge of point C. 

I usually drop a paternoster and bounce  SPs whilst I wait - usually into the berley trail.

Just need the weather to hold!

There is no substitute for fresh bait.

If you have time troll for some early morning bonito or collect slimies, send them down butterflied as Rick noted.

Large baits withstand the small pickers and are more likely to attract the bigger fish

[anthman]

So I didn't manage the get to long reef today - I popped out past the heads and it was a bit too bumpy and windy for my liking. When back inside, got some yakkas, landed an 80cm mulloway and 70cm flattie. Big believer in fresh bait - dead or alive!