|
The water was a calm cobalt blue and the sun was brightly shining as I hastily rigged a whole pilchard on a set of ganged hooks. I say hastily, since the water looked like pelagic conditions and in my mind the mackerel and tuna would be in feeding mode.
I dropped my rig over the side and before I even had a chance to grab my lighter outfit to bait up, the rod in the water went off like a packet of prawns in the sun!
Taken by surprise I clumsily grabbed my rod, but there was no need to set the hooks, as this fish was well and truly hooked. His few hard runs over the next few minutes did nothing to excite me, yet I did get excited when I saw colour and realized it was a lovely mackerel. The problem was he also saw me at the same time and went for a determined 20m run. I kid you not, it was the fastest my spool has ever spun!
I thought that this little effort would tire the fish out, but how wrong I was with the fish doing it all over again. After a couple more fast but weaker runs the fish was gaffed and boated. All of this was accompanying by much hooting and hollering from those onboard and myself included!
The fish was a school mackerel the location was the fairway marker off Hervey Bay in Queensland. Hervey Bay is the fisherman?s dream destination as the tourism in this area revolves almost completely around fishing.
Fish City:
One of the real positive aspects of Hervey Bay is the sheer variety of fish and shark species you can catch in these beautiful waters.
All fishermen are well catered for from the shore and bay fisho through to the serious offshore serious angler! Those anglers who enjoy quite estuary fishing are well catered for with bream, flathead, summer (sand) and winter (diver) whiting, flounder and sole all on offer.
These fish are common catches when fishing the River Heads, Gatakers Bay and the stretch of water from Urangan to Point Vernon. For those who love bottom-bashing reefs, like myself, will love Hervey Bay, as there are plenty of reefs to explore. The list of species that can be taken off reefs is as long as my arm, but some of the more commonly caught species include snapper and squire (juvenile snapper).
In this area you also get red and spangled emperor, sweetlip, coral trout, coral bream, cod of various species, tusk fish, and Moses perch.
A variety of parrotfish are also on the cards and tough fighters, often trying to cut your line by diving for the safety of coral grottos. All parrotfish are delicious table fish and are a welcome addition to any angler?s bag.
There is strict size and bag limits on all Queensland reef fish so make sure you know the limits BEFORE heading out into these waters with fishing gear. There are heavy penalties if don?t keep to the size/ bag limits.
Anglers who like to slug it out with pelagics will love what Hervey Bay has to offer. Yellowfin, northern bluefin, striped and mackerel tuna are all available in these waters. Mackerel such as school, spotted, narrow barred and Spanish all provide some explosive fishing when the weather warms up.
Cobia (black king fish), yellowtail king fish, queen fish, golden trevally giant trevally (GT?s) and the colorful dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi) are always on the cards when trolling, high speed spinning, live baiting at various depths and ?floating? whole pillies on ganged hooks.
The big prize is Marlin and they have been hooked and landed in the deep blue yonder off Hervey Bay. Other species of fish that are also taken in the Hervey Bay area include tailor, dart, mulloway, javelin fish, mangrove jack, folk Tail (blue) catfish and even the occasional barramundi. Yes, they really do get barra this far south.
When fishing the bay you are bound to come across sharks and depending on your opinion, they can be a blessing or a curse. Rays are in the same league as sharks.
The bottom line is that no matter what your cup of tea, Hervey Bay will provide what you want. The beauty of the place is there is always something else to catch, if either plan A, or B doesn?t work.
Gear To Take:
Now that we have established the wide variety of species on offer, now let?s look at the gear you?ll need for fishing the bay.
It is a good idea to take both a light gear and a light/ medium boat/game rod with a bigger reel spooled with heavier line. The heavier gear will handle most reef fish and pelagics while the lighter gear is ideal for whiting, bream and so on.
Those who enjoy slugging it out with big tuna and sharks usually use 15-37 kilo game gear, while a bait caster is a must for all the lure buffs as is a good selection of lures that can catch anything from bream to mackerel.
A large tackle box is recommended with hooks, swivels, sinkers, lures of various shapes and sizes so that you have all aspects covered. Squid jigs, ganged hooks, stronger lines and wire traces should also be part of your weaponry. Other accessories that will be needed on your foray to Hervey Bay are a strong sharp bait knife, a filleting and skinning knife plus all the tools needed to keep your knives and hooks super sharp at all times.
A yabby pump, sieve and a bait bucket are also handy to have when the whiting are on. Gloves can also be used to protect your hands from fish teeth and spines, they also help to keep your hands warm as it can be surprisingly cool fishing at night in these waters.
A pair of pliers, or hook removers, should be used when unhooking spikey fish such as a happy moment, from personal experience I can tell you it is not a good feeling being spiked by those!
A first-aid kit is a must for any scrapes that you may find yourself in and one day it could save your life so keep one with you at all times.
Fish landing gear is essential so nets, gaffs and fish grips are all on the mandatory list. A ?priest? or club should be used to give the fish a blessing (whack on the head) to stop it from damaging you or your gear. It is also the most humane way to kill.
Last but not least is a big esky full of ice so you can keep any fish caught in top condition for the table? Otherwise they go off quickly in the sun, not a good idea after you?ve gone to all the trouble of catching them in the first place.
Bait And Bait Collecting:
Now that we have established what we want to fish for and the gear needed, let us look at the right bait for your particular target.
There are two kinds of bait live bait and dead bait and I?d put my money on live bait. Live baits collected in estuarine waters include marine worms, bass yabbies also known as ?nippers? and ?one arm bandits?, crabs, shrimps, shellfish of various sorts and my two personal favorites live prawns and small bait fish.
Virtually all fish will go for delicious morsels such as these. I love collecting bait and when done with your mates and family it can be almost as much fun as fishing!
The main tool needed to collect yabbies and worms is a yabby pump, a sieve and a bucket or two to store the bait. At times when I?ve been pumping yabbies I?ve come across soldier crabs running across the sand flats. These pretty little purple/ blue crabs make good bait for big elbow slapping summer (sand) whiting.
Other crabs can be found by simply over turning rocks. Shrimp can be found under rocks as well, but the best method of capture is to run a net through the weed and sort it out afterwards. Most times you?ll pick up some good shrimp.
A word of warning when sorting, be careful of small spikey fish as they can inflict a nasty wound despite their small size. Another handy tool is a cast net which is useful for prawns and small baitfish such as mullet, whiting, white bait and hardy heads.
Check local laws on no-go areas before you do this activity, as fines are quite strict. My favorite way of collecting baitfish is to jig for them using a bait jig. When the baitfish is plentiful all you will need is a few drops to collect enough for your needs.
The best way to keep baitfish alive is to keep them in an aerator bait tank. Keeping bait alive in a bucket is OK, but regular water changes are a must and it?s not a good idea to crowd the bucket, as the fish will die from a lack of oxygen. However, dead but fresh strips make great bait and the frames can be used for berley.
Squid are also fun to catch and they make top bait, live or dead! The best way to catch squid is to jig for them using a suitable squid jig over a sandy bottom with weed patches thrown in for good measure.
Once a squid is hooked on the barbs of the jig wind it in always keeping the line tight. If you let the line slack the squid will let go of the jig. A handy tip is to set the drag because squid can pull hard and can bust the line if the drag is not set. I?ve seen a lot of big squid lost this way.
Another handy hint is to put the net behind the squid when you going for the catch, this stops it escaping backwards. Cuttlefish will also take squid jigs and like squid taste great and make top bait for most fish. It?s not often that I get a feed of calamari as when we boat a squid my fishing mates always use it for bait!
There are is a lot of frozen baits available and out of all the frozen baits pilchards are without peer and the most desirable bait for most Australian species. When I go fishing we always take a couple of kilos of pillies and any unused pillies are used to spice up the berley trail so nothing is wasted.
The Art Of Berleying:
You can?t beat a berley trail for encouraging the fish to feed. Berleying is an art and not just a process in my opinion and there are literally 1001 ways to concoct a berley trail.
My personal favorite berley is chook pellets mixed with tuna oil. This is weighted to the bottom in a berley pot filled with lead to keep it on the bottom. This pot attracts fish right under your boat.
Every so often you give the rope a shake, or two and this releases some more tasty particles. This will attract the predators who will come to see what the commotion is all about. I also like to chop up pillies and throw them over the side every so often to spice up the berley trail.
The secret to setting a berley trail is to release a little often. The trick is not to feed the fish with berley otherwise they won?t take your bait.
One problem with using berley as it often attracts undesirable fish such as toadfish and unfortunately Hervey Bay is the home to the biggest ?toads? I?ve seen in my life! When this happens the only sensible option is to move as the toadfish have an annoying habit of biting your line.
I believe the advantages of berleying well out outweigh the disadvantages when you are fishing in the Hervey bay area. This method will increase your results by the proverbial mile!
Ramps And Rooms:
Hervey Bays tourism virtually revolves around fishing so there are plenty of boat ramps to go around. The boat ramp we regularly use is the one at the Urangun Marina. This is a concrete ramp with three lanes with plenty of parking space.
There are also a couple of ramps at Gatakars Bay one is a public ramp, but it?s not concrete and on low tides it?s hard to retrieve your rig. The sand and saltwater can soon rust your car and trailer if you haven?t sprayed them with an anti-rust agent.
The other boat ramp is a private ramp, but it has a cost of $5 to use it. There are also other boat ramps at River Heads, Burram Heads, Howard and Scarness. At these places you?ll find accommodation to suit the needs of every fisherman with caravan parks, units and apartments by the water and hotels and motels. There is also no shortage of tackle stores with four spread between Urangun and Scarness!
Take A Trip:
I hope that this article has inspired you to take a trip to Hervey Bay. If you have never been before you?ll be impressed by both the quality and variety of the fishing.
Another string to Hervey Bay?s bow is the wonderful marine life sighted when fishing. Whales, dolphins, dugongs and loggerhead turtles can all be sighted at different times of the year. Hervey Bay is bound to draw you back there once you have sampled the fine fishing it has to offer. I know I?ll be back in the not-to-distant future to enjoy another Hervey Bay foray!
|
