Snapper, pigfish and other reef species

[whiskey299]

Full moon fishing and I’m grateful that I didn’t donut 🍩.
 

Conditions were perfect today so I took the opportunity to fish the inshore reefs and explore some new areas.

The plan was to target trag and some reef species for the #fishdistributionsystem. 

I always have family that want fish so I’m more than happy to share it around and keep a few to eat.

Couldn’t find any trags but I found a few good sized snapper, largest one measured 48cm and one of my favourite pigfish. I would take pigfish any day over trag.
 

From the photos you can see the j hook was barely pinned on the lip. That’s why I like using circle hooks as you get a good hookup rate and it’s great for releasing fish. Plus you can just leave the rod in the rod holder and let it do all the hard work.

Tried that thing I see people do where they hold the rod and fish and struggled to take the shot and had lots of blooper photos.

Managed to finally land a fish on the palms jigaro super slide 60g. I’ve had this lure for over 2 years now and it’s never seen a fish, primarily used to target kingfish but today I hook a big ass scorpion fish. Can’t complain as they are great on the plate.

I think this will be my last session for 2023. Looking forward to trying some new styles next year. 

If you’re reading this far, congrats 👏. I wish you have a happy new year and lots of fishing and catching!

Gear used:
Rod: Daiwa TD Black V2 Mangrove Masher 642MFS 
Reel: Daiwa 21 Caldia MQ LT3000
Line: Tasline Elite PE1 (15lb)
Leader: Sunline FC Rock 20lb
Hook: gamakatsu 1/0 circles and 2/0 j 
Bait: Yakka strips

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by whiskey299

[Blackfish]

Great catch again there Whiskey 

[Yowie]

Nice catch of fish, a couple of better reddies, however, no mowies stay on my boat. All released very quickly. 🤣 They fight hard, but it is their only good point.

[jenno64]

Cracking bag!

[thaichilli]

Nice one, good to be rewarded for the paddle/peddle out wide.

[bessell1955]

Monster Snapper!

[Basil D]

Nice mixed bag of fish

the morning was very flat

it did change about 10amish 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Basil D
Spelling error

[noelm]

Seems to be more and more people keeping Butchers these days……

[Larkin]

Nice seafood buffet!

Well done Mate! Some good sized reds too. 

[Pickles]

Nice work again @whiskey299. I’m with you on the circle hooks - love them - you can leave rod in holder unattended & be pretty sure if you get a hit, you’ve got the fish.

[Little_Flatty]

Solid feed @whiskey299. Well done!

[Bosco]

Nice catch....the snapper is very interesting catch

[whiskey299]

23 hours ago, Yowie said:

Nice catch of fish, a couple of better reddies, however, no mowies stay on my boat. All released very quickly. 🤣 They fight hard, but it is their only good point.

Grey mowies yes I agree they are not the best eating. But my dad's is in town and he eats fish everyday if not every couple of days. I can't seem to supply him with enough fish lol. So if I'm catching fish for family and friends I'll take a few as I personally wouldn't touch them. But the red mowie it's a different story, I think it's a fantastic eating fish. How can 2 related fish be so different in taste and texture!

 

23 hours ago, Blackfish said:

Great catch again there Whiskey 

 

22 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Cracking bag!

 

21 hours ago, thaichilli said:

Nice one, good to be rewarded for the paddle/peddle out wide.

 

18 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

Monster Snapper!

 

16 hours ago, Basil D said:

Nice mixed bag of fish

the morning was very flat

it did change about 10amish 

Thanks Guys

16 hours ago, noelm said:

Seems to be more and more people keeping Butchers these days……

I think it's an under rated fish honestly but everyone has different preferences. 

 

11 hours ago, Larkin said:

Nice seafood buffet!

Well done Mate! Some good sized reds too. 

Thanks Chris, I actually gave the larger ones away and kept one small snapper as they have better texture steaming. The larger models are better for frying and I want to make sure we aren't always eating fried fish and there is a balance.

 

4 hours ago, Pickles said:

Nice work again @whiskey299. I’m with you on the circle hooks - love them - you can leave rod in holder unattended & be pretty sure if you get a hit, you’ve got the fish.

I love circle hooks as well, rodney rod holder and circles make an excellent combo! This leaves my hands free to use another rod with J hooks so I can strike and not get bored watching the rod tip lol.

 

4 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Solid feed @whiskey299. Well done!

Thanks

[Yowie]

23 minutes ago, whiskey299 said:

Grey mowies yes I agree they are not the best eating. But my dad's is in town and he eats fish everyday if not every couple of days. I can't seem to supply him with enough fish lol. So if I'm catching fish for family and friends I'll take a few as I personally wouldn't touch them. But the red mowie it's a different story, I think it's a fantastic eating fish. How can 2 related fish be so different in taste and texture!

 

Yes, the reds are better eating, as is the banded mowie, though not often caught on a line.