Going to Stange Bay questions

[OZ 640]

Hi all,
after many years of wanting to cross stange bay off the fishing location bucket list I am finally going (weather permitting) mid may.
We are going with people who have been before but like to do my own research.

We understand the road is is one of the many things to consider and believe we have a suitable boat and trailer.
Boat is a 6.5m Performance Plate on an aluminium trailer
I do have a few questions and appreciate any info regarding my questions or any other I may have missed.

Boat prep-
we plan on plastic wrapping the outboard
have a heavy duty tarp we will tie over the cab
all fish gear to be secure in cabin
may look at shade cloth across front of hull
bearings will be serviced and replaced if necessary
extra straps to tie down boat
lock nuts or lock tight on all nuts

first trip out we plan on going out on half tide and marking a track we can follow in and out on anything over half tide

we plan on mainly fishing for reefies and have a have a few other fish we would like to tick off the bucket list.
any info regarding how or where to fish for the following would be awesome
GT on popper
Black Jew
Nannygai
Barra if we get up some creeks

re livies is there a spot you can usually jig them up or just sound around the reefs?

we plan on a trip to the Percy Islands for a few over nighters, any thing we must do when out there

appreciate any info or some starter marks but figure there will be lots of structure out and about.
have heard about the Jew hole, is it easy to find?

thanks in advance .

cheers Dale

[Skusto]

Hey Dale

I'm just about to head up to Stanage for the second time,

Your best bet is to just search on these forums for information or Talk to Von when you get there, a lot of people keep pretty tight lipped when it comes to Stanage.

as you are aware there is 3 island groups out from Stanage all within reasonable grasp. From all the research i have done it seams either the Percy or Hexam group tend to fire the best.

The Jew Hole is out from the ramp again Von or the locals will tell you were it is it is pretty hard to miss apparently.

I haven't done any fishing from Stanage this will be the first trip, last time i was there i went for the muddies this trip i will be doing both. Yes the crabs are massive if you can find them.( you still get them but tend to find, to get a good lot some areas work better then others)

We will be back from Easter Sunday so shoot us a pm and can update you of road conditions etc.

The one thing i do know though after the last trip is to protect your boat well!

Shade cloth to front of boat would be a must in my eyes to try to protect it.

Cover outboard well

And try to seal inside of boat so as the red dirt doesn't get anywhere.

If you don't cover your boat expect your boat to be riddles with stone chops and look about 15 years older then what it actually is!

For piece of mind i am taking up two spare springs, shackles, bearings etc. As we all know it costs now but it is always cheaper if you a pre prepared so as you don't get stranded with a broken trailer and wondering what you are going to do.

[jackson4300]

Hi Oz, been up there 3 times now. And have had atrocious weather 3 times now.....
Last trip up we left Brisbane and drove all night, only made toilet breaks as the next day was the last day of good weather. Threw everything out of the boat and headed straight past the close islands and out to some isolated exposed reef. First troll past the rock we got 2 GT's then dropped a coral trout and that was it for the day. That's the only time I have been able to fish out from the mainland due to the weather.
Have never done well in around thirsty sound aside from the crabbing. Best fish we have pulled from the area is grunter. Never got any barra or salmon. Have got 1 undersize jew but not a legal one. In saying that weather has always been terrible, whether that affected the fishing we don't know.
Jew hole is close to the ramp, Von should be able to show you on a map.
Always stories going around of good fish so hopefully you guys can get onto them and nail some trophy fish!

One thing we have learnt from experience and something you have left off your list is a spare prop. Unless you’re running a stainless steel prop I would recommend taking a spare prop. We found some rocks on two separate occasions and destroyed a prop completely.

[Skusto]

Where abouts did you hit the rocks Jackson?

Very curious and yes sorry i also have a spare prop that will be going as well, both stainless so dont really want to find them. Last time i was up there it was all good after the rock bar heading down the sound if i stayed on the left hand side but this time i want to explore the island sides. So please let me know if there is something i should watch out for!

Cheers Dan

[OZ 640]

Thanks for the info guys.
visiting Von is 1st off the list for us.
I think we have boats sorted regarding the dirt and stones.
Had not considered spare springs, wow, that's full on. The trailer is only 2 years old and we will be driving very slowly. We are allowing a whole day for the dirt road.

we are running a stainless prop, how are people damaging their props? I am imagining they are getting stuck on a sand bar and hit rocks try to get off it? Is it only a problem fishing close to or getting to and from the ramp?

Not sure if the locals and regulars all it up to keep us Brisbane fisherman away 😉 Road is probably 3 lane sealed free way in and out 😂

Very excited but a very sounds like a place that must be respected.

We are up for 7 nights so hope for a good bit of weather over that time in mid may.

[Flex]

Towed a boat in a few times now. Both glass cats with no dramas.
It's not a hardcore road, just corrugated mostly. It's not as if your towing to cape York. So no need for hardcore spares if your trailer is good.
I like to tow in at night nice and steady. 30-40km/h at best.
Doing it at night you can see headlights behind you and pull over aswell as see pot holes better in the dark . Also less locals flying around corners at 100km/h spraying your boat with stones.
During the day you won't see anyone behind you in the dust cloud.


As for fishing, like anywhere else tides are very important. And further you go the better it is,
High peak and cheviot fish well for reds. Ground east of Percy's also fishes well.
I've never been up the sound, to dodgy in big boat.
Better fishing down in shoakwater bay anyhow if it's blowy.

No access to the ramp bottom if the tide, also remember they have 5m tides so be careful where you anchor.

Good luck!


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[goona]

Thanks for the info guys.
visiting Von is 1st off the list for us.
I think we have boats sorted regarding the dirt and stones.
Had not considered spare springs, wow, that's full on. The trailer is only 2 years old and we will be driving very slowly. We are allowing a whole day for the dirt road.
.

We do Stanage as our annual Trip and have done 7 trips with the boat now. The big thing to do is let your car,4wd and trailer tyres down a bit. We run about 45 on the HWy and drop them to 30 in the boat on the dirt and like others have said take it easy. You wont need a whole day for the dirt. we take about 3 hours .The first part is bitumen for about 10klm then it can be rough if it hasn't been graded. We wrap the boat in builder plastic and tape this on with duct tape then put xhade cloth under the trailer back to the trailer wheels also put a big full width stone damper at the back of the truck. We wrap the motor in a removalist blanket over the motor after covering the intakes with duct tape. Don't forget your transducer. We foam block this and put on duct tape around it to secure it. We have broken something on the trailer every year except fpr the last one as it was pretty much new after being rebuilt. The big thing is take it slow. Be careful of animals as well. Cows roos and pigs frequent the road and we have hit them all.

The fishing can be awesome and over a week you will get a feel for the place. I have had some epic trips like the first one bagging out on 7 to 8 kg nannis. We also spear there now and it is fantastic as I don't think it gets many spearos. Can be pretty sharky though and we have fun with the every year.We usually do Percys and then to the Swains for a day trip one day during our week. Give me a call if you want to chat. Have a search of some of my posts as there are photos of how we wrap the boat and a few fish pics

[tunaticer]

One piece of advice that has not been mentioned yet, turn your side mirrors in so you can keep an eye on the trailer tyres.
I have lost several tyres on that road over the years, usually by the time you notice the boat is on a lean you will have shredded the tyres completely.

The road can be anywhere from good to dangerous, don't take anyones word on it and drive to the conditions.

There used to be two patches of clay road that got slippery as shit when wet, I don't know if they still exist, been ten years since I have visited Stanage.

Stanage area can be hit or miss fish wise, have had two trips where we caught nothing more than some wolf herring. About ten trips where the fishing was good, and two outstanding trips.

If i was to return to the area I would be working the sound much more and into Broad fringes.

Research where the rocks are heading towards Broad........last thing you want to do is open your hull on them.

[The Silver Unicorn]

Last 4 years we've done it in less than 2 hours towing in 7m boats. Roads been fine


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[OZ 640]

Thanks everyone for the feed crack and information.
still very keen to know where people are coming unstuck on the rocks??
we hope to do mostly reef fishing.
cheers Dale

[Flex]

As to rocks, I can only assume ones up the sound.
What ever you do, make sure you follow the markers heading out from the ramp.
Don't go straight west once you launch.
Have a look at dead low tide and you'll see massive set of rocks sticking up that are hidden at high tide.

I think most issues are people not factoring in 5m tides


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[goona]

Thanks everyone for the feed crack and information.
still very keen to know where people are coming unstuck on the rocks??
we hope to do mostly reef fishing.
cheers Dale

Hi Dale,

I think you will find the the rocks are up the creeks. You are pretty good from the ramp to out side the entrance and out to the islands. I have never had any problems in the numberous trips I have done up there.

[The Silver Unicorn]

The big rockbar is visible from the ramp at lowtide, its nw ish from the ramp maybe 500m-1km


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[Shark Poker]

The big rockbar is visible from the ramp at lowtide, its nw ish from the ramp maybe 500m-1km


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NW ish?
I mean come on. Sounds like the perspective of an entity that might reside in the house with a heater on, while others survey rock bars during a storm.
And don't tell me to chill out. We already did that.

[Noelm]

NW ish?
I mean come on. Sounds like the perspective of an entity that might reside in the house with a heater on, while others survey rock bars during a storm.
And don't tell me to chill out. We already did that.

whats all this supposed to mean?