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Bate Bay Snapper


Larkin

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Gday Raiders,

Been watching the weather lately looking for an opportunity to go outside for a fish - today was the day. Low swell, low wind.
Loaded the JetSki & launched out of Gunnamatta Bay around 7am.
Close to the marina were schools of baitfish surrounded by large arcs. Thought about tossing out a lure, instead decided to head straight out to try for some snapper.

Hit up the north of Bate Bay to the same spot I fished a couple of weeks back. 

Bait used was salted Bonito strips.

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1 x 53cm Snapper

1 x 34cm Snapper

1 x 46cm Trag

1 x 37cm Tailor

Plus caught all the usual suspects along with these - Māori wrasse, sergeant baker, small trag, red rock cod/scorpion fish, couple of small flatties, and just under legal pinkies.

Fish were on the bite leading into the high tide, but then everything went quiet on the change.

Heading in saw a small school of quite large tuna cutting up and smashing the surface - Middle of Bate Bay. Was trolling some hard bodies, but no hits. A large boat also heading in behind me stopped to cast out, but the tunas were moving really fast.

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Nice mixed bag Larkin should taste even sweeter knowing that they’ve come from a spot you sounded up, food for thought the snapper I got a while ago was caught on a fresh tailor strip which as soon as it hit bottom was getting bites while salted Mack strips was slower to get the bite

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20 hours ago, Bluebenbomb said:

Good job mate, a rewarding day for you!

Thanks, Conditions were good out there - nice and flat, and managed to picked up a few.

19 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

Nice SNAPPER!

 

Thanks Bessel - decent size for a local spot. 
 

13 hours ago, big Neil said:

A nice result Larkin. Couple of decent feeds there, enjoy them. I had some Trag recently, for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. bn

Thanks Neil,

going to cook the trag up tonight! 

11 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Top catch @Larkin. Looks like you've found a bit of a honey hole!

thanks Mike! wanted to see if I could back up last catch from two weeks ago with another similar sized fish. 

11 hours ago, 61 crusher said:

Nice mixed bag Larkin should taste even sweeter knowing that they’ve come from a spot you sounded up, food for thought the snapper I got a while ago was caught on a fresh tailor strip which as soon as it hit bottom was getting bites while salted Mack strips was slower to get the bite

thanks crusher, definitely want to try some different baits and plastics to see which fishes best.
So far I’ve only used salted bonito strips on this spot (and a handful of casts with a 5inch jerkshad) - wanted to see if the catch a few weeks back was a one off. Will try fresh fish, pillies and squid - see if the catch rate changes.
 

9 hours ago, Isaac Ct said:

Great stuff mate, nice bag of tasty critters.

Well done.

thanks Isaac, a few good meals will be made out of these.
 

5 hours ago, Rebel said:

Great haul

Nice Snappers.

Well done

thanks Rebel, was happy with the result.

5 hours ago, Welster said:

Very impressive congrats.

thanks welster, happy I got onto them again.

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Here’s the trag dressed up

Beer battered Trag, Rocket Pear Parmesan Wallnut salad with a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing, Home made Tartare. Battered Fish nuggets and chips for the kids.

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4 hours ago, big Neil said:

How did the family rate the Trag, Larkin? bn

They loved it!

Tender white flakes in a crispy beer batter, It honestly came up beautifully. The kids are always the first ones to normally not eat fish if it tastes fishy, and they finished it all.

I bleed on capture, and straight on ice. Gut them when I get home and vac seal them whole. I let them rest overnight through the rigor in the fridge.

Next day I open the vac bag and use or portion/fillet/scale/leave whole - depending on how I plan to cook, vac seal again into the meal portions and into the freezer if I don’t plan to eat any over the next 2-3 days.

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19 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Nice job Larkin!

Very satisfying to find quality fish and put it all on the plate for the family👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thanks Rob, beats the seafood shop any day!

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22 hours ago, Larkin said:

@big Neil how you end up cooking yours? 

Skin side down first, few minutes shallow fried, turn over, further few minutes, then skin side down again. Skin just falls away. Mixture of veg oil and a little butter. Salt to taste. Very nice fish. bn

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On 6/17/2022 at 8:06 PM, Larkin said:

Here’s the trag dressed up

Beer battered Trag, Rocket Pear Parmesan Wallnut salad with a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing, Home made Tartare. Battered Fish nuggets and chips for the kids.

C6DCC2A6-4C23-41C1-B711-28A6699AE60F.jpeg.19f32fc8c6f5e73686c6cb102481bb4a.jpeg
 

CC3FB884-B42B-4DB9-956D-4100B0CBE8C4.jpeg.e2195ae96285eefd04fc6134075d6f9a.jpeg

Yummmmmm. How does the trag compare to the snapper?

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On 6/19/2022 at 4:52 PM, Isaac Ct said:

Yummmmmm. How does the trag compare to the snapper?

Mate I love snapper - one of my favourite fish to cook up, but the Trag came up really well in the crispy beer batter! Tender, flaky & no fishy taste.

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59 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Mate I love snapper - one of my favourite fish to cook up, but the Trag came up really well in the crispy beer batter! Tender, flaky & no fishy taste.

Mmm, sounds like quite the dream.

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