Surf casting technique / Fraser island

[juicy233]

Hi everyone, next week I'm heading up to Fraser island for a week full of beach fishing and I was wondering if anyone's been recently and has any tips on technique with metal lures, do I let them sink to the bottom and then retrieve it super fast or hop it like a plastic? If anyone's got any info at all to help me catch some fish on the island it'd be greatly appreciated

[Green Hornet]

Never been to Fraser, but technique is much the same wherever you travel.

With metals I simply cast, give them a few seconds to sink to mid water, then start out with a mid paced, steady retrieve. Different lure shapes will require different speeds to get the best action. Example, fish shaped slugs have little natural action and work better with a higher retrieve speed than a wider profile lure like a Surecatch Knight.

If the steady retrieve doesn’t seem to be working, try mixing things up by varying speed and adding a few hops or letting the lure sink deeper until you find something that works, though beach fish are generally hungry and not overly fussy. Anything that flashes past them usually gets some attention.

If the fish are lure shy and you can see them following the lure but not committing, a trick I’ve learnt is to retrieve quite quickly to get their attention and when about halfway in, slow the speed of the lure substantially. It’s like the fish are about to “rear end” the lure and instead of running into it, they open their mouth and eat it, more often than not.

Something else I tend to do regarding lure depth is the higher the sun is in the sky, the deeper I tend to fish the lure. Common sense really, though there’s always exceptions to the rule.

Have a great trip @juicy233. Should be a lot of fun.

[Steve0]

I generally run my metals close to the surface, as above, starting out relaxed. I let the lure drop through the water column if fish are there and not showing much interest. After that comes speed changes and flicking the tip. Another method I found that sometimes turned fish on was a single crank of the handle as fast as I could turn, then pause for a fraction longer and keep repeating. The view below the water would be an erratic dart forward (like a panicked fish) and almost stop (the rod tip would absorb some of the fast cranks inertia, hence, tip down). Don't think about making that a regular retrieve. It is hard work and, I imagine, stresses reel gears.

A lure I found successful on the drop was a fall lure (I buy my lures unfitted in bulk from China, so no brand). Fall lures flutter in the water as they drop towards the bottom.  They work great dropped near the steep inside edge of a sandbank or next to structure. Sometimes, 'fish on' before the retrieve commenced.  They also work well with a straight relaxed pace retrieve.

The fish I targeted (Salmon and Tailor) don't seem to care about colour. Neither do I. In fact, lures still work when most of the paint is chewed or battered off, leaving mostly lead. That said, I like a bit of silver to flash reflected light at the fish.  For example, I buy something like the bottom lure and they keep working, despite looking like the lure at the top (if not lost, with even less paint remaining).

Notice the bend in the wire at the back of the lure above. Large fish put a lot of strain on lures.

Rings are high quality brand and a size I can just thread through a 3/0 Mustad Hoodlum (when you hook something decent, you want hooks and rings that won't let you down). The double ring allows more flexibility when a fish turns and shakes.  I can't recall what happened to the hook from the top lure, but it was in for a refit, so I grabbed the photo. Whether 15g or 50g I use the same 3/0 hook pattern.

I don't always use the lure in the photo. Broadly, any lure that is sculpted on one side and rounded or flat on the other should flutter as it drops. Long, thin lures are more streamlined for distance casting but don't get the same action dropping freely through the water.   

 

Edited September 26 by Steve0

[Ryder]

 

[Ryder]

Halco twisties between 40 and 70g  depending on your rod rating. Aussie made, I’ve used them in Fiji , Vanuatu, WA and NT. Up your leader to 40lb fluoro.

[Hill373737]

If the beach on th eastern side isn't working or gets blown out - have a look at the area around McKenzies Jetty, south of Kingfisher Bay on the western side.

It has very good flathead fishing on the flats and around the mangrove drains and as a bonus, the ruins of the old jetty and sawmill are worth a look.