Noob report 26-5
Well, my mate and I headed out from hillary's yesterday morning. We both had the day off and the forecast was for no wind, so we thought we look for some ground and do some drifting. Problem is that both of us are new to offshore fishing, and don't really know much about what we are about. We were hoping to land our first pinkie or dhuie!
We got out to about 35m of water north of Rotto, and found a lump that looked promising. The wind was a little stiffer than we expected, and we were afraid the drift might be a bit fast, but we gave it a go. On the first pass, I hooked and landed a large wrasse. I couldn't believe that sucker could get the hook in his mouth! He was safely released and we swung around for another go.
A few more passes and my mate had caught an undersized breaksea cod that we released. I had one nice fish on for about 20 seconds....don't know what it was, but i felt some long slow headshakes before he busted me off.
That was the extent of the excitement for us out wide. We kept looking for good ground, but didn't find anything that was holding fish. We were frustrated, and my mate was so upset he was actually talking about going back in time to go into the office for a few hours!! 
I suggested we try the back side of an inshore reef to try and land a few skippy for dinner.
We anchored in about 12m of water and got the burley trail going. I brought in a few foxfish, when the reel started screaming on my mates light rod. A few minutes later I put the net around a 3kg pinkie! Sorry, didn't have a camera with me....i'll remember that for next time. My mate was so stoked to catch his first pinkie!
Over the next hour, we caught a heap of skippy and several more wrasse. One of the skippy my mate caught was 4kg!! Not that I have much experience, but it's the biggest skippy I've ever seen. We headed back to the ramp with the pinkie and two pan-sized skippy for tea!
So we got our first pinkie....but now how we expected.
Oh, and we almost lost our anchor bc, we didn't think about where we were dropping and it got hung in some rocks. so much to learn!!
I'll keep you posted as we continue to learn.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Its pretty amazing what some
Its pretty amazing what some of those bottomfish will swallow, hookwise.
The big skippy over there are great fun and a good eat too, but even better work on that Pinky!
fullysik
Posts: 249
Date Joined: 03/08/06
sounds like a nice size
sounds like a nice size skippy mate,sometimes it pays to knock one of those wrasse on the head and sent a fillet down for the dhuies
cheers ray
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18054
Date Joined: 11/03/08
nice catch
i was there in your predicament only 3 years ago.we looked listened and learnt with help from felow club members.dont be afraid to ask questions on what rigs what to look for in lumps ,learn to read sounder(still learning )but most of all just go out have fun and dont give up
RUSS
p.s. 4 kg skip a verry good size and good fighting.good catch
"A family that fishes together stays together"
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
mike79
Posts: 241
Date Joined: 30/10/05
might payyou
might pay you to invest in a reef anchor mate that way you can achr on lumpy ground and knw your going to get it back. also if that spot out by rtto looked good might pay t head back there and anchor up on that too drop th burley and wait. bit f a pull with the anchor but the rewards i find can be great
Andy Mac
Posts: 4778
Date Joined: 03/02/06
Sounds good Eddie
Cheers
Cheers
Andy Mac (Fishwrecked Reeltime Editor & Forum Moderator)
Youngest member of the Fishwrecked Old Farts Club
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18054
Date Joined: 11/03/08
anchoring
invest in a anchor retriever boat shops have them .makes pulling anchor a lot easier.wouldnt be withouy it
RUSS
"A family that fishes together stays together"
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Colin Hay
Posts: 10407
Date Joined: 23/10/07
Excellent Eddie
Not a bad effort at all for a newbie. Those big skippy fight hard and that sounds like a nice pinky. You are off to a good start.
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15648
Date Joined: 29/11/05
Cheers
Cheers for sharing Eddie, stoked aye. :) Look foward to the report when you get one of those really really good days when it all comes off.
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
DK
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 13/05/08
4 kg skippy massive
4 kg skippy massive mate!awesome fish to eat too..must have been a great day u guys..gd on u 2!
-----------------------
Loosen those drags!
eddie
Posts: 303
Date Joined: 07/02/08
thanks
Thanks for all the responses y'all! Some good advice there, and i'll look into the reef anchor. We've already talked about wanting to get a sea anchor.
The wives were happy to get a meal out of our latest effort, but of course that just rachets up the pressure on our next trip! ;)
thanks again for your advice, I reckon this is the best group of fisho's on the web!
Dreamweaver
Posts: 4688
Date Joined: 01/12/07
Good report Eddie
Well done on your first foray 'out wide'. There is a lot to learn, but you have the sense to know that, which is good. As the others said, invest in a reef anchor - if they get stuck, you can come about on them or go astern and the splines will straighten.
If you are planning on drifting (and the great advantage there is no worries on retreiving an anchor and you cover more ground), then investing in a drogue (sea anchor) is a must. Just make sure you get one suitable for your size of boat. If in doubt, get the next size up.
As for that fish that bust off...head shake......I'd pick that for a pinky or morwong myself. But that's only a guestimate.
But otherwise, nothing at all wrong with a 4 Kg skip and a nice pinky.
Well done mate, and good report. Keep em comming.
As the guys have also said, if you have any questions, post them up. Everyone in here is always willing to help and impart their knowledge, experience and suggestions.
Colin Molloy
(Colin 2 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)
Soon to be de "dreamweaver" ed!
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
Good Work on the Pinky
Good Work on the Pinky Mate!!
Im in the Same boat, ive been heading out wide for about the past 8 months trying to track some big fish.
Ive landed 3 Dhuies with only 1 being sized, and only just at 58cm.
But ive always wanted to get a nice pinky.
Ive been heading out off Mandurah mainly, but will be movign the boat upto where i live In Bertram, which will give me access to the back of rotto, garden island etcc..
But i to have many questions / Problems with going out wide.
How deep do you need to go?
Whats the best way to burley for snapper?
Im getting very frustrated heading out 15-20 mile and catching bugger all. :(
I think i read the sounder quite well, But generally will only fish lumps i know are lumps (Big lumps on the sounder)
Ive laso had my fair share of bust off's out deep, many i put down to sambo's
But i just cant seem to nail a big pinky :(
Bodie