newbie to offshore fishing

[Iceman R]

Hey Guys hows it going? Was hoping a few of you experienced guys could give me a few pointers....

Am pretty new to the whole offshore fishing scene and have been reading up and talking to people on the best places to fish and how to catch some reefies in moreton bay. We have been over to curtain 6 times now with no real luck.

Have been trying to anchor up near some structure and have been berlying and cubing and trying paternoster rigs and gulps and all to no avail... after all that expense and effort and not a decent fish to show for it is pretty disillusioning!!

Have never really caught anything big before and would luv to get onto a good knobby, trevally, mackeral etc. Have a 18 ft haines and starting to find my way around the bay ( with the help of the gps... lol ) so any tips or locations you could give me to try would be much appreciated! Thanks guys and btw if anyone needs Ice I'm the guy to talk to...

[TimiBoy]

Mate, been there done that! I reckon it took me over a year to start bring in some decent fish, and that was only after I started going outside. But you may not be as keen to do that. I don't know much about fishing in the Bay, but I have a couple of starts.

Curtin's only good to fish around the top or bottom of the tide because of the current at other times. I've only ever been bricked there, so be ready for that, there are some big fish there. Try floating an unweighted pilchard there, maybe with a balloon to keep it near the surface? Been thinking of trying that one day there...

Harry's seems to yield a few fish to the persistent.

Mud and Peel Islands seem to yield a bit, but only after extensive sounding around, and developing an understanding of how they work. I have caught a few undersize fish at both.

The 4 large beacons can be good at tyhe top of the tide for a Cobia, but I have never caught one. I know fibbers who say they get them there all the time.

Make sure you know where the Green Zones are, and stay out of them. Use your sounder to find structure, and sound around to build a complete picture in your head. Take your time. Berley is good.

Hopefully other folk more Bay oriented will respond to you.

Where is your Ice Business? I want to buy 10 kg bags of the stuff, fed up with making my own...

Cheers,

Tim

[Crunchy]

....time and effort bring experience which will eventually bring rewards....plus its good just being out there eh

[Iceman R]

Thanks Tim, for the helpful advice! Is much appreciated and i'll be sure to give those a try. I'm keen to try anywhere where there is a good chance of getting onto some good ones... like I said am not real experienced so have been exploring the bay to start with and crunchy your right it is great to be out there but i'm thinking getting on to some good fish might make it that bit better.... and I agree time and effort gives experience but it doesnt hurt to occasionally get pointed in the right direction.....

I own Cabolture Ice works Tim just off the bruce highway, we sell dry ice (48 hrs notice) , 25 kg and 5kg party ice and also 5kg blocks. Give me a call on 54957822 and let me know who you are and i'll give a discount for ausfish members.

[STUIE63]

Iceman one thing you didn't mention is what time of day you fish . I get told up here how other people caught nothing but they are going fishing when I come home and coming home when I go fishing if that makes sense
too many people want to fish bankers hours
Stuie

[Duckfish]

Hi Iceman,
With a 18 ft Haines you shouldn't have much trouble heading outside. What sort of motor have you got? Flinders Reef should be a good place to try or the Cape.

Duck

[Iceman R]

G'day Stuie, we usually get on the water just before or on daybreak as I've been told from early morning increases the chances of hooking up, have also heard night time at curtain is sposed to be good but just atm dont have the experience or confidence to go offshore at night time.

Duck: It has a 115 merc on it and isn't flinders reef a green zone now..? where exactly is the cape duck?

Thanks to u guys who have responded to my post and offered ideas and suggestions!!

[Smithy]

If you are at Caboolture try towing up and putting in at Mooloolaba. The mouth of the Mooloolah river is one of the safest crossings to the open ocean on the east coast of Australia, not that we need another boat out here (Lol!), but it would be a good place to build up your offshore confidence. Just avoid it on big easterly or nor-easterly swells as that is the only time it can get a bit gnarly. Light SWers like the last few weeks have been good for crossing.

One tactic is to go out with someone like myself or John Gooding who have the smaller charter boats. You can see what we do and how we go about things in boats the same or a big bigger than yours.

[big noby]

Hey Iceman, my suggestion is if you have only started boating i would buy a Book with GPS marks available, it gives you a bit of insight to what structure your fishing on and what to expect to catch......your local tackle store would steer you in the right direction on what baits to use...once you fish these grounds you will start to understand what you are looking for generally on the sounder...........

My experience tells me if the fish don't bite within 10 -15 mins move.....to the next structure and try again... (No not always fool proof) but it does work.

When you buy the book or get the marks off a web site.... program half a dozen in and make yourself a route that way you get to one mark and the next mark is ready to go...makes the whole day faster and easier.....

You will find GPS books in tackle shops and Big Deparment stores like K Mart

Its true you know....its a small world till you try to find that fish

Happy fishing

Big noby

[Duckfish]

Hi Iceman,
Flinders Reef is a green zone but you can fish about 200 metres of the reef. If I am wrong I stand to be corrected. There is plenty of reef that you can find around there. The Cape is Cape Moreton and you can fish around Roberts Shoals.
A 115hp should get you there using about 90-100 litres of fuel providing you don't go full flat out keeping the revs to 4000rpm. If you leave from Scarborough ramp, head towards Bulwer then hug the coastline out.

Duck

[The-easyrider]

Hi Iceman, If you are ever wanting another boat to tag along on a cape or beyond trip feel free to send a msg as it can be a bit daunting the first time you venture out wide. Till you get there and find you are just one of fifty boats on that reef

[Pelagic 660]

Hey Iceman,

I feel ya pain, I am still trying to work the bay out. I did get some good tips from Webby at the last T&T show could be worth a pm, curtain.....same deal never done much good, had a bit of luck of the edge of Harrys and in around 18 feet of Mud. Havent been up to Hutchies for a while and not sure if its green now but it was a good one to drift over,
Good luck, Trevor

[Iceman R]

Thanks big noby, have done a bit of research and got some gps marks such as curtain, hutchies, flinders, shallow tempes and the caloundra 12 mile, just generic points but i guess theyre a start.. thanks very much for the tips mate!

Thanks very much easy rider for the kind offer, just may take you up on that, would feel more comfortable going with someone a bit more experienced!

Thanks again duckie and Trev for the advice i think its great that so many of you more experienced guys are prepared to take a bit of time out to help a newbie... Thanks Guys!!!

[TimiBoy]

I own Cabolture Ice works Tim just off the bruce highway, we sell dry ice (48 hrs notice) , 25 kg and 5kg party ice and also 5kg blocks. Give me a call on 54957822 and let me know who you are and i'll give a discount for ausfish members.

Mate be ready on September 11/12. You'll get hammered! Is it 68 sleeps until Agnes guys???

Cheers,

Tim

[Iceman R]

Thanks Tim ur a champ! I'll be ready....!!! lol look forward to catching up with you and other ausfish members!