Rock Hoppers- got any advice?

[Physh Tacho]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I've been estuary fishing pretty much my whole life, but wanna buy a setup for rock fishing and give that a go. Pretty much because I love sitting on rocks and watching (and listening to) the waves roll in and smash, and looking out over the horizen. Therapeutic yes Also I understand you can catch some pretty decent fish off the rocks :cheer: So I have a few quick questions and I'd appreciate any help or advice.

1. Is a 12FT rod overkill?

2. Does a 6000 size reel sound about right?

3. Is it worth having a sesh on rock groynes (such as the seaway, tellebuggera(?), tweed mouth etc.) or are platforms and headlands the go?

4. I'll probably give live baits, ganged pillys and the odd popper or chrome a go.. is there any other baits or items i should fling out?

5. I guess tailor, trevs, jew and small sharks might show up. What else can be caught of the rocks? I've seen people in magazines catching tunas, kingfish, mackerals and cobia off the rocks: might be a bit out of my league, but are those fish actually viable targets around gold/sunshine coast or northern NSW?

6. I've read quite a bit about using floats off the rocks for baits and livies, but never seen anyone actually using one, just lobbing out fat sinkers. I'd use one to keep off the snags but don't wanna look like complete noob :pinch:

Any tips would be much appreciated Let's hope this windy weather buggers off soon yeah!!!

PT

[Guest]

Welcome to AFO mate, hope you enjoy the site

Cheers

Darren

[madmullet]

mate you are on the right track. all rock headland and rocky bar entrances will hold big fish at one stage or another. if you want to consistanty catch or target the bigger fish such as tuna, kings and mackeral ect, i would start fishing these spots...

coffs

and the world renowned j.b

now if you want to stick to say bream, trevs, jew, tailor ecthit fingle headland, c.g seaway, tweed river mouth, pt arcwrite and carwrite???, and the headland over straddy.

[Jords]

Hey mate,

1.12ft is by no means overkill, some people use much longer!

2. As for reel size, sounds about right, althoughI personally use alveys (indestructible!) for my beach and rock fishing, unless I'm using light gear to spin small lures.

3. Around the seaway is a popular spot, as are many of the groynes - have a look through old reports (forum --> advanced search) and you will find many useful, detailed reports about those areas!

4. Sounds perfect - Chromes and poppers are also definitely worth a crack!

5. Down southern NSW they game fish of rocks - big tuna, cobia and kings are just the norm! Up here you would be looking at Tailor, maybe sharks, salmon (when it's cold enough) as your main targets, but don't be surprised if a tuna rocks up - they have been known to chase bait balls right up in close!

6. Floats are good if there is a rocky bottom (keeps you out of snags) but are not necessary.

7. Good luck!

Cheers

[Physh Tacho]

Thanks guys, can't wait to get out there and have a crack

[Do$tylz]

hey mate. I'd say im far from a rock fisherman but i've done it a few times.

I've only done it with my estuary gear and have done reasonably well with dart, bream, trevs, tailor and a few others.

just remember to be safe. Try not to go on your own' tell someone where you are going and when to expect you to be home. Most importantly, don't turn your back on the water.

[Bi_polar]

Anything can be caught off the rocks.... Including Marlin and Yellowfin. I grew up down south climbing down rope ladders and old steel ladders chasing Yellowfin, Kings and other big beasts south of Sydney and my Father was one of the first people to catch a Marlin off the rocks. It is totally different type of fishing.... But the 2 best pieces of advice is No.1 - NEVER TURN YOUR BACK TO THE WATER

No.2 - Spend the money on a good pair of rock fishing shoes.

Back in the day we would buy cleats and bolt the to our shoes.

[benno573]

Mate there are heaps of options within 2 hrs drive from Brisbane. A few detailed below:

1. Double island point. Best lbg spot in SE qld. Have caught mackeral, tuna, gt's, golden trevs, shark and jew there. Obviously need a 4wd to get there and it is a bit of a hike but well worth it. On the lighter gear expect anything. Have caught bream, tailor, trevs, dart, grassys, snapper, black drummer, Moses perch, cod... Anything!

2. Fingal head/rock groins at mouth of tweed. So many options! Not so many bigguns about but Bream, tailor, trevally and the odd kingy and jew thrown in. Fish the southern rock wall on the southern side near the end. On the headland there is heaps of spots subject to swell.

3. Cabarita (norries head). Bit of a climb to get there but expect bream, tailor and jew.

4. Noosa head. Get you hiking boots on. Many many spots to try, again subject to swell. Have caught mackeral, tuna, jew, and the usual bream, tailor, trevs.

5. Tallebudgera. Great for tailor, bream and flatties pre-dawn or on dusk. Can be crowded though.

Gear. I take at least three outfits on most trips. I have a heavy 10' surf rod that i run anything up to 50lb on depending what the target is. Drop down to 20-30lb if spinning. The second rod i take is an 8-10kg 8' rod, used for targeting the bottom dwellers, also can be used for spinning. Generally run 15-30lb on it. Third is a 4-6kg 7' rod for when things are a bit slow. Run 15lb on it. Yeah I do get pooned on it occasionally but I did land a black drummer off double island that went just over 2kg on it. Great fun.

Obviously, safety first. If the swell is up, pick your spot very carefully or crack a beer and stay home.

It's a relatively unexplored option in SE qld, I missed a lot of lectures at uni experimenting with different spots.

Hope this helps a bit.

[mick fillet]

as dostyles metioned definatly go with another person as a spoter 2 sets eyes are better than one. dont rock fish with all the bells and wistles on leave your takle/bait at a good spot up on the rock. its handy to rock fish with a long rod longer than 12ft i own an 18ftr med taper snyderglass decked out with a rockhopper alvey 12lb as the alvey only got 4kg of drag.

long rods help have safe control over the fish prior to landing as your not finding your self moving around on the rocks nearly as much nearing the edge at times to cover ground as the fish is darting around in the wash. long rods allow for a swift one motion lift to land a fish with out inverting the rod tip past the 90deg point thats when the rods tend snap about 1 third of the way down. i found that for beach fishing you need to be able to cast a pilly in tact for great distances to get out the back,but for rock fishing some of the best fish are taken from the white water at the back of the foam you could just about get away with a hand line but you need the rod to assist you in landing the fish in a safe manner.

mick

[Hfisho77]

Mate for surf fishing you can go pretty much go as long as you like rod wise. You should consider an alvey reel for this sort of fishing, as jords pointed out - they are indestructible and they can easily withstand sand, salt etc. I also use one on the beach/rocks. All the spots u mentioned can produce good fish on their day. Good luck on your adventures, hope to hear a report soon.

cheers

Hugo

[Angus]

Also give Point Lookout a look in.

This video always fires me up for Point Lookout. Only a little mack tuna but on a 2-4 kilo stick and one of 6 or so caught. It was a fun morning!

/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/community/videos/63-angus/video/59-mac-tuna-at-straddie

Also I would be concentrating more on the chrome and maybe poppers instead of thinking of them as an after thought.

Safety has already been mentioned but keep it in mind. I have had a few hairy moments and heard of many many more. Be over cautious as opposed to over confident as no fish is worth your life, or even your gear

Angus

[Manni79]

Take and extra pair of clothes, getting hit by a wave at 6am during winter is not fun,

Especially waiting to dry off and your freezing your ass off !!!

And as a few people mentioned always go with someone for safety in case so

Something happens

[Gad]

In NSW where rock fishing is very popular, each year a number of people are swept of rocks and drowned,last year I think 13 people died in NSW,in this way. NO fish is worth your life.

From what I read /heard via the media, if common sense and a deep respect of the oceans potential had been used in some of these instances, many of these deaths would have been prevented.

Below is a list of safety advise that I have copied from a safety campaign run by the NSW Marine Safety Authority…..

Never fish by yourself

- fish in a group or at least with one other person and within sight of each other.

If someone is washed in, one person can stay and help while the other alerts emergency services (dial 000). Mobile phone users can also dial 112 to access emergency services.

Inform others of your plans.

Always let friends or family know where you are going and when you will be back.

Wear light clothing.

Light clothing such as shorts and a spray jacket will let you swim easily if you are washed in. Jumpers may be heavy and difficult to take off.

Wear appropriate footwear.

Cleats, sandals and sandshoes with non slip soles suit different surfaces. Use the appropriate shoes for the conditions.

Carry safety gear.

Wear a life jacket or buoyancy vest. Also bring something buoyant that can be easily thrown and held onto, to help you stay afloat. Carry ropes and torches

Never fish in exposed areas during rough or large seas.

Make sure you are a w a re of local weather, swell and tidal conditions before going fishing. Listen to weather forecasts

Be aware that conditions may change dramatically in a short period of time.

Observe first, fish later.

Spend some time (at least 30 minutes) watching your intended spot before fishing to get an idea of the conditions over a full swell/wave cycle. Wave conditions can get worse as the tide changes - you should know whether the tides are high or low and coming in or going out.

Plan an escape route in case you are washed in.

Stay calm - if you are washed in, swim away from the rocks and look for a safe place to come ashore or stay afloat and

wait for help to arrive.

Stay alert.

Don’t ever turn your back on the sea - if the waves, weather or swell threaten your fishing spot then leave immediately.

[Physh Tacho]

cheers for the safety advice guys. i'll have to change my habits a bit for rock fishing cuz i usually just head out fishing on my own and no one hears from me til i get back! i can see from Angus's video how easy it would be to take a header off the rocks, even on a calm day. (and i'm a rubbish swimmer- got no bouyancy haha)

i'll probably try a rock groyne such as tweed and ballina the first couple of times and go from there i've fished those spots a few times but well away from the surf and wash. i've seen some large shadows cruising along those walls at high speed

funny story (kinda ), last time i was down in ballina i was fishing down the calm end of the groyne. caught a chopper tailor then got busted off by something huge (30lb line + 6" wire + hook gang- snapped like dental floss. big jew or shark maybe?) anyway, my next hook up was something decent, and after about a 10 minute fight a small crowd of sunday strollers and some other fishermen had gathered around to watch. turns out it was just a bastard stingray, about 60cm diameter.

a local hero offered to clamber down and cut the line for me. so he takes my knife and climbs down to the waters edge where the rocks appear to be covered in teflon. sure enough, after some cartoonish slipping and sliding, he goes in on top of the stingray. the stingray goes apesh*t and the guys disappears for a few tense seconds. the crowd gasps in horror, no doubt with images of poor old steve irwin in their head. after some violent thrashing around between man and beast, old mate emerges from the wash, untangles himself from the ray and pulls back onto his slippy rock.

he seems just shaken and soaked at first, but it soon becomes apparent that he's been cut to ribbons on the oysters and blood starts to soak his clothes in dozens of places. worse still, he has a deep stab wound in his thigh where my knife went in when he fell. to his credit he maintains his composure for a while and waits for someone to fetch another knife to cut the stingray free. but i guess it was just shock cuz after the ray is released he packs up his fishing gear and his left over bourbans and limps off (to emergency?)claiming 'she'll be right mate'. i reckon that thigh needed a stitch or three

tldr: i'll get me some grippy shoes

[Angus]

Dunlop volleys mate. Gods gift to rock hoppers. Just expect to replace them every few trips...

Angus

[Gad]

.....a local hero offered to clamber down and cut the line for me....

don`t ya luv em, self cullers wanting to speed up the natural selection process,just waiting and filling in time untill their final act of stupidity.