Fishing tips

classic.

Good stories chaps and yeah Fitzy, I obviously fell for the Cooktown Salmon curse because try as I might, could never get a Barra.

But I will... bwa ha ha ha haaaaaa! (Rolls hands in gle)

I got my first Barra as a 10 year old kid on a handline and old rebel minnow.

rode a bike ten k's across town to the Ross River in Townsville and got it.

thought I was king of the world riding home with that Barra draped across the handlebars.

freeride76 wrote:

I find it hard to argue with that list Blowin.

I'd have to have tailor on there though.

This area has the biggest tailor outside WA.

Big tailor on poppers on light gear go very, very hard. Insane jumps.

I like eating the smaller ones, generally try and release the big ones if I can (not always possible fishing off rock platforms).

Tailor are another category altogether. They are so prolific and regularly targeted that it’s easy to overlook their qualities. I eat them heaps. The beauty of tailor is the way you can spontaneously decide on fish for dinner, go for a quick stroll with a single lure ready rigged , no other gear required and catch food within minutes.

BTW I beg to differ on the claims that the largest tailor are around your way. I’ve heard otherwise from a legit master fisherman. I’ve also heard rumours that the biggest of all East coast tailor are to be found in deep water offshore at certain times of the year…..

There’s certain spots we hit in WA where it’s not uncommon to catch absolute horse tailor in a metre of water in reef potholes and gutters. That’s some hardcore action.

freeride76 wrote:

I got my first Barra as a 10 year old kid on a handline and old rebel minnow.

rode a bike ten k's across town to the Ross River in Townsville and got it.

thought I was king of the world riding home with that Barra draped across the handlebars.

Fuck….you would have been king. That’s a good story.

Cool tales Supa and Zen. Thanks for the laughs!

The spots I fish are all shallow water, or bommies.

Blooping poppers on the edge of white water makes for some insanely angry surface strikes.

I mostly try and avoid the big fish though.

Easy get tailor over 5 kilos here most of the year.

I think Hoss McGrath got a 9 kilo fish this winter.

I just bought a seadoo fish pro...and I am soooooo excited to go Squid fishing. And hopefully can work out a way to throw a prawn net off the back platform.

I got a huge greenback way offshore the Goldy. probs six or seven kilo's.

So def. way out in the briny depths.

Blooping is the perfect word and great Barra story Free. And your 'first' Barra ya' bastard;

freeride76 wrote:

The spots I fish are all shallow water, or bommies.

Blooping poppers on the edge of white water makes for some insanely angry surface strikes.

I mostly try and avoid the big fish though.

Easy get tailor over 5 kilos here most of the year.

I think Hoss McGrath got a 9 kilo fish this winter.

How do you cook your Taylor?

Swiftly hehe

Awesome story FR. Love reading all the stories and seeing the photos on here in this thread.

I’ve been spoilt, and as a few of you on here know, my commercial and charter fishing has given me enough experiences to last several lifetimes. But it still gives me a thrill, particularly seeing others catch good fish, the smiles on their faces, the excitement in their eyes, the stories and the laughs.

Barra are the most frustrating, and also one of the most rewarding fishing. The fish of 1000 casts. They have defined feeding patterns determined by the tide, moon, atmospherics and location. The bite window can last 20mins to a couple of hours. But you can also fool them into a reaction bites outside those periods.

This year I have been blessed working as a guide in Arnhem Land. Yeah, home of the silver leaping bucket mouth. Have done a few short stints up here previously. This year, 28 over 1M, 4 over 120. All released. But the best of all, was my eldest daughters 112 on the cast about a 6 weeks ago.

Fitz, you ever fished for Saratoga?

That's one prehistoric fighting machine.

I'd like to target one of those one day.

Yeah Zen, early morning in the freshwater billabongs, bouncing frog lures across the lilly's. Miss more than you hook due to their hard mouths, but bloody good fun, surface action and they are a beautiful fish.

Roadkill wrote:

freeride76 wrote:

The spots I fish are all shallow water, or bommies.

Blooping poppers on the edge of white water makes for some insanely angry surface strikes.

I mostly try and avoid the big fish though.

Easy get tailor over 5 kilos here most of the year.

I think Hoss McGrath got a 9 kilo fish this winter.

How do you cook your Taylor?

roll fillets in seasoned flour.

cook on a high heat to sear/blacken skin cause I like it crispy.

squeeze o lemon and mayo.

few bits of rocket and lettuce from the garden, thats lunch.

I find most freshwater fish flavourless. Had a fresh saltwater barra in Singapore but it was still a farmed product. Actually pulled up in a boat at an offshore farm and bought the things still flapping. I wasn't overly impressed with the eating quality but they weren't wild caught so I'll reserve my judgement till I can get up North QLD one day and try a 'proper' one.

My favourite fish to eat though is Cobia (black kingfish). They're also fun to catch ,fight hard, though just not as pretty as some of the other species. With a diet that consists of a lot of crabs and crustaceans you know they have to be good. Freezes well and also makes a great sashimi .

yeah freshwater crays taste better than saltwater crays imo but are much smaller.

My top 5 - (eating)
1. Maori Wrasse (now protected)
2. Barra Cod (now protected)
3. Fingermark/Golden Snapper
4. Coral Trout
5. Barra (saltwater)
Obviously fresh caught that day is best, bled immediately and straight in an ice cold saltwater slurry.
Biggest mistake people make with fish is overcooking it.

@fitzroy 21 , have you ever tried blue bone groper ? Its a west oz fish , sensational. Edit my mistake didn’t realise they are also called baldchin groper

Whats wrong with you Blokes

Leatherjackets..

Haven't been past the East Kimberly region. Do you mean like Blue Bone Parrotfish or Tuskfish like over the Top End and over East? They are great eating. For me, up there with Red Emperor etc, only just outside of my top 5. definitely top 10.

Edit - just googled Bluebone grouper, no never caught or tasted them. Good eating?

fitzroy-21 wrote:

Haven't been past the East Kimberly region. Do you mean like Blue Bone Parrotfish or Tuskfish like over the Top End and over East? They are great eating. For me, up there with Red Emperor etc, only just outside of my top 5. definitely top 10.

Edit - just googled Bluebone grouper, no never caught or tasted them. Good eating?

http://fishingwa.com/species/baldchin-groper/

Parrotfish are delicious almost as tasty as blue bone fish wings but the problem is the barrier reef and ningaloo reef systems need parrot fish to recover from bleaching and dieing coral..they also shit out hundreds of kilos of sand a year which our beaches need.Please throw back parrot fish.

Blue bone is a WA black spot Venus tusk fish. WA species are tastier.

1 west Ozzie dhufish
2 sand whiting
3 coral trout
4. red emperor
5. thread fin salmon

Supafreak wrote:

fitzroy-21 wrote:

Haven't been past the East Kimberly region. Do you mean like Blue Bone Parrotfish or Tuskfish like over the Top End and over East? They are great eating. For me, up there with Red Emperor etc, only just outside of my top 5. definitely top 10.

Edit - just googled Bluebone grouper, no never caught or tasted them. Good eating?

http://fishingwa.com/species/baldchin-groper/

Yeah super, I know them as parrot, like I said above, top 10 eating for me.

freeride76 wrote:

1 west Ozzie dhufish
2 sand whiting
3 coral trout
4. red emperor
5. thread fin salmon

Oh yes, forgot the Threadies. I'm running out of top 10 now!!

John Dory
Snapper
Westcoast NZ, Whitebait
Flounder
Coral trout.

fitzroy-21 wrote:

freeride76 wrote:

1 west Ozzie dhufish
2 sand whiting
3 coral trout
4. red emperor
5. thread fin salmon

Oh yes, forgot the Threadies. I'm running out of top 10 now!!

I’d switch out sand whiting for King George Whiting and threadfin for Spangled Emperor.

Fitzroy- You’ve obviously led an amazing fishing life.

You still got a bucket list fish or anything which still stoked you out of your mind when it surfaced next to the boat?

I still get blown away by big barra when they come up next to the boat. The difference in size between a 97 and a 107 is only 10cm, but they almost look double, The height, thickness and weight is unbelievable. Then imagine a 120. They are absolute donkeys.

Bluewater, giant Black and Blue Marlin in the 1000lb range still give me goosebumps. They are something to behold, really hard to describe. I have never seen a photo or video that does their size justice or even comes close to seeing them live. Same with big tuna. Kegs with fins.

Bucket list. Not sure really. Can't think of anything else in the Oz. I would like to chase those big Tarpon they get in the States and Central America. Or the New Guinea Black Bass,

What about you, or anyone else? Bucket list fish?

groundswell wrote:

Parrotfish are delicious almost as tasty as blue bone fish wings but the problem is the barrier reef and ningaloo reef systems need parrot fish to recover from bleaching and dieing coral..they also shit out hundreds of kilos of sand a year which our beaches need.Please throw back parrot fish.

Had to laugh a few months back i saw you shared on FB an interesting article on this and how important it is to not fish for these fish. (didn't know this before i read the article thing)

And then in classic Indo style one of your Indo mates post a pic in the comments of all these parrot fish he had caught as proud as mustard, guess his english isn't so great and the post/article went over his head.

Haha yeah thats Eko, a true warrior, he gets a pass in my book as he lives of the land and sea looking after the g-land camps catching his own food which i highly respect.

Coming from Vicco my fave 5 are flathead, whiting, snapper, gars and snook. Jackets are tasty for sure but only get them spearfishing around here.

The humble Tommie.

In no particular order- Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Flathead, John Dory, Whiting.

Honourable mention- Snapper and Yellowfin Tuna.

Great thread all, love the stories here.
Love
Coral trout
Flathead
Spanish mackerel
Red emperor
Freshly caught Tuna for sashimi

Just had a fantastic week bareboating off Airlie
Haven’t led a life of fishing just dabbling in and when I can but love it.
Shot my second only and pb trout at 55cm and had a sick 30 minute fight with a beautiful long tail tuna on 30lb gear, prob 15kg or so
Some horse GT around the boat at night in green zones and some big runs at night on flesh hunks prob from reefies but would love to think a GT and next time might throw some heavier gear in.

Definitely some serious fishing cred on SN.
My best fishing experience was on a survival exercise on the eastern side of Exmouth Gulf. After starving for a couple of weeks eating saltbush and whatever we could trap in the desert we arrived at the coast - mostly tidal mangroves. It’s a super inaccessible spot and not many people go there (private station). The fishing was insane. Catching big Mangrove Jack on fishing line tied to a stick using shellfish for bait, sometimes you’d hook up with an empty hook. One blokes was catching small sharks using the cord from his bootlaces. Some of the dumbest crabs in the world there too. Just wandering past without a care in the world. It was surreal.
Needless to say we didn’t spend that long at that spot before the instructors moved us on, back into the desert.

To eat

In Vic
-Flathead (cant beat them for a feed and easy to fillet)
-King george whiting (fun to catch on light gear and good eating)
-Gummy shark when prepared & cooked right

In tropical waters
-Sail fish (Chicken of the sea)
-GT's (when not too big)
-Coral trout/coronation trout

But i like most pelagic type fish to eat when cooked Indo style though, cut into steaks deep friend with sambal.

I’ve tried FUGU a couple of times…..I’m still here. It’s kinda weird, waiting to see if you get the first symptoms.

Me too Roady. It's a bit of a nothing fish though really don't you think? More of a novelty. Did you have the crispy fins in warm sake?

One of my favourite fish here is Mehikari (Shiny eye). Lightly deep fried in flour and with a little salt and lemon or shiquasa. Eat them whole- lovely with a beer.

I'll leave the fugu for you guys .
So what was the crispy fins in warm sake like Zen ? Interesting combo.

I don't cook deep fried very often, maybe once or twice a year, but I always do that tempura recipe you put on here a while ago Zen, That is top notch.

Cheers Fitz. Simple and delicious. Pretty much any white fish makes great tempura. Squid too, just score it finely before frying and large green prawns too- make three or four shallow cuts along the tail so they don't curl up when you fry.

TS- just like having a flavourless cracker in warm sake. It's the novelty once again. But I do like sake but don't get into too much. I've done some pretty stupid shit on sake. Most of which I was told about the next day.

I love sake Zen but like you I've done some pretty stupid shit on sake, maybe not as much as I've done on soju

haha cheers

Haha TS, great thanks

zenagain wrote:

Me too Roady. It's a bit of a nothing fish though really don't you think? More of a novelty. Did you have the crispy fins in warm sake?

One of my favourite fish here is Mehikari (Shiny eye). Lightly deep fried in flour and with a little salt and lemon or shiquasa. Eat them whole- lovely with a beer.

Yep agreed, Fugu is bland and definitely has the novelty factor. Never tried crispy fins in sake.

Not fish, but I really miss Tohoku Reimen. In summer, they can’t be beat. So delicious.

Hot saki & yakitori…in the middle of winter in Japan. What a combination.

Now you're talking.

Sadly, covid killed the best yakitoria in town here.

I prefer to catch my own bait when i can generally calamari but didnt get any last trip, so I bought a packet of squid yesterday arvo in preparation for an early fish latter in the week.

Went to check the surf this morning jumped in the car and thought whats that smell, damn id forgot to grab the bait and put it in the freezer. (had to bin it)

Luckily was in the work car, even with it gone i think it will smell for a while.