Coral Bay last week
Celebrated my 25th anniversary up there with the boys this year! weather was suspect at times but the fish were on the chew when out. In short;
- fished Friday, did well
- fished Saturday, did well!
- fished Sunday, did well!
- didn't fish Monday (should have), sore heads Tuesday!
- fished Tuesday, did well
- didn't fish Wednesday, Thursday (got cabin fever!!), 30-35knot easterlies
- was keen to hit the gold bands etc but didn't even get to our spots deeper than ~ 75m so had to "settle" for reds
- the place never disappoints.... weather permitting!
Highlights;
- averaged 12 reds per day and plenty under size so stocks look good (biggest ~ 6kg)
- good mixed bags each day
- limited shark intervention
- Merv the groper at the ramp is fit and healthy
Lowlights
- weather patchy
- catching another Queensland groper in ~ 75m water (est 60kg) and not being able to revive.
- Anyone have any ideas other than tieing to the anchor??
- anyone have any ideas after no amount of sinker would get him back and snapping a rod trying!
cheers
Dhuvinile
Posts: 228
Date Joined: 13/05/12
That's not a qld grouper,
That's not a qld grouper, looks to me like a large cod.
The only thing I would suggest would be a vent right tool although I snapped my vent right on a 14kg cod. Got to be very careful with the tool
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
cod
Yeah I agree thats a cod, I have had the same problems with smaller models about 35kgs they are hard to get back down. They suffer bad baratrauma but the eyes on that one look ok, if your anchor cant get it down then there isnt much hope just unfortunate bycatch
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
A hard one
Only thing I could think of , would be stick the deck wash in his gob , and head in to shallower water , or the beach
, ( not always practical I know) and try releasing him.
Most would say bugger that we are 10 miles out, but I guess it depends on how you value the life of a fish.
It sounds like you did your best , and yeah we almost knackered ourselves at ex a few years back , releasing one that size.
Sounds like you got those reds spots down pat, cheers.
quadfisher
Jsmolly
Posts: 176
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Is cod not a generic term?
Is cod not a generic term? are "cod" size restricted?
Did pull the heart strings a little, knew what it was as soon as felt it, but was still hoping for a shark, that rightly or wrongly would not have had the same effort put into it.
SEAFORCE CORAL BAY
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 09/12/13
Good work guys, some nice
Good work guys, some nice fish.
Looks like a estuary cod, not too un common to get really big ones up here in shallower water. They have a maximum size of 1m.
We got one at Gnarrloo last month, that was about 1.5M, in about 60M of water.
We got the deck hose strait in its mouth and used 8 of our custom extra large deck winch sinkers and managed to get it dack down and he kicked off once it got to the bottom and used a winch to get sinkers back.
Not sure how you could get it back down with normal gear, even a proper release weight would not have a chance once they are full of air. Maby a release weight with plenty of other sinkers attached and let it down with a light rope might be the go.
50ft Westcoaster "Valiant" - Coral Bay - Exmouth - Gnaraloo - Botton - Game - Sport - Deep Drop - Swordfish
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TorquenFish
Posts: 321
Date Joined: 30/12/12
If it's a cod why wouldn't
If it's a cod why wouldn't you keep it for its delicious fillets!?
TorquenFish
Posts: 321
Date Joined: 30/12/12
Ahh >1m. Makes sense then.
Ahh >1m. Makes sense then.
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15610
Date Joined: 29/11/05
malabar
Its a Malabar grouper, they have the black dots.
The estuary cod has the orange dots.
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SEAFORCE CORAL BAY
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 09/12/13
Yes sorry, right you are,
Yes sorry, right you are, same patern but yellow spots on the estuary.
Didn't look twice, bid estuary's are fairly common catch so thougth that first.
Come under the same 1M+ rule anyway.
50ft Westcoaster "Valiant" - Coral Bay - Exmouth - Gnaraloo - Botton - Game - Sport - Deep Drop - Swordfish
2017 EGFC Billfish Bonanza - Campion Team Marlin - Campion Team Combined - 8/8/5 - 4 Billfish Species
0429 034 540 / / www.seaforcecharters.com.au
oz74
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 14/05/12
cod
Could have sashimi'd it on the boat?
only 12 reds per day! Skippers let down by the deckies?
dkonig82
Posts: 2091
Date Joined: 06/07/10
Sounds like a great
Sounds like a great trip.
Shame about that cod though, but there's really not too much more you can do I guess.
Anchor probably the only way.
When asked by a non-fisherman 'how many fishing rods do you really need?' the correct answer is either:
n+1 (where n is the number of fishing rods you currently own); or
n-1 (where n is the number of fishing rods which would cause your significant other to dump you.
Jsmolly
Posts: 176
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Yeh Oz, my boat clearly out
Yeh Oz, my boat clearly out fished the other boat we had up there that's why I think I cam back with a sore back :-)
oz74
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 14/05/12
right
Oh right!
last day musnt have counted then- and,as they say, you're only as good as your last game.
sore back? May need to toughen up a little?
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17866
Date Joined: 11/03/08
well done guys. looks like a
well done guys. looks like a trip worth while. not good news about the cod/grouper
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
pigtrough
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 26/02/13
You donged it that's a heap
You donged it that's a heap of reds!
we had the same experience last trip with a huge cod in 55 metres. The biggest release weight I could buy looked like a jelly bean in his mouth and after 30 mins of trying venting etc he still would not go down.
Your options are limited, I have no deck winch on board etc so what to do ?
something needs to change with the regs as it's a by catch that you have no means of ensuring a safe revival yet you can't keep the beast and it's left to die flapping on the surface.
certainly leaves a sour taste in the mouth that's for sure after you try all options and abide by the fishing laws, it sux !!
goodluck
terboz123
Posts: 1358
Date Joined: 13/04/11
you cant change the regs,
you cant change the regs, cause then all the ppl that want to do the wrong thing...will just say every cod or grouper couldnt release......
a hard days fishing still beats work
PGFC member
GCGFC memberpigtrough
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 26/02/13
What's the answer then ??
What's the answer then ??