TACKLING TOWNSVILLE’S BIG FISH
The result of collecting some nice bait and putting the boat in the right spot and a dash of luck. A nice cobia taken on a relatively light 8 kilo Wilson Live Fibre, Calcutta 400 outfit.
The offshore fishing off Townsville in Queensland is still great, even if it is located near one of the fastest growing areas in Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef, which shadows the east coast of Queensland runs a little further out from Townsville, limiting trips to good weather or larger boats. At around 40 nautical miles, it’s a long trip in a smaller vessel. Just up the highway, at the bottom end of Hinchenbrook, the scene is a little less gloomy with the reef some 10 miles closer and in reach of smaller vessels, though in rough weather it seem a thousand miles away.
Townsville is blessed with the Magnetic Island Shoals. Reported to be remnants of the last Ice Age, the sporadic deposits of rock and shale bottom on the seaward side of Magnetic Island attract plenty of good fish. It’s like the one tree in the paddock theory. Small and large-mouthed nannygai, coral trout, cod and cobia are just some of the bottom fish that call the deep-water shoal areas home. Throw in Spanish mackerel, school and spotty mackerel, the tunas, big GTs and queenfish and you have the basis for a pretty successful patch of water.
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
If you wish to find these shoals then the place to start is directly out from Magnetic Island. By trolling a few lures for mackerel and watching the sounder intently then it may be only a matter of time before you happen across a nice piece of bottom with fish on it.
You will be in 80 to 100 feet of water so a sounder of good quality is probably going to be the most important piece of gear on your boat. A colour sounder would be all the better.
Concentrate on finding a difference in the bottom composition. A spot with some associated bait is even better. If by chance you locate both of these components and happen to see the odd olive sea snake or turtle, things are really looking up. These are all signs conducive to a good shoal fishing location.
HOT BAIT
It stands to reason that when bait fishing for any fish then bait is a very vital link in the chain to it all. It amazes me then how few anglers have a decent live bait setup in their boat. Keeping bait alive in the tropics when it is hot requires lots of water circulation and without it the bait simply dies. Those little buckets out the back of the boat on a bit of rope are good for a couple of small fish but if you are going to have a big session and the bait is plentiful you do not want to have to stop fishing on a hot bite to return to the bait grounds or stop doing what you are doing because the small live bait container could only hold a couple of fish.
Thankfully, most purpose-built rigs these days incorporate a decent live bait well from the start. If, however, you are retro-fitting your existing vessel, then there are still plenty of options for you. Eskies make great insulated live bait wells. Add a purpose-built live bait pump and battery and you have a start. If you can plumb the whole thing to reticulate the water in and out you are further in front. The bigger the pump, the more water movement, the bigger the advantage.
Once a nice school of bait is found then it can be as simple as using one of those pre-rigged bait jig rigs that cost all of a couple of bucks. One tip is to have a purpose-rigged rod with these on ready to go. They are far too prone to entanglement to leave it until the bait is found and believe you me they tangle like nothing else and those little hooks seem to be the sharpest hooks in the world when they get you. Another tip is that kids love catching bait and if you can line up a young angler to complete this task they normally do with plenty of motivation and catching more than one fish at a time is a kid’s dream job.
Best baits are undoubtedly the ones you get to the boat and get back down to the eating zone.
Offshore from Townsville there are scads, herring and a host of other little shiny silver critters that love those jigs and in turn, get eaten quite readily. Another local favourite are pinkies, which are of course a small pink fish that also eat the bait jigs. Grinners also attack the jigs and I don’t know of their credentials up here but a bit further south in the Hervey Bay area my old fishing buddy Charlie used to swear by them as the best cod bait in the world. He sure caught enough of them in his time so for me it’s an irrefutable fact in fishing that grinners are good bait.
BIG BAIT OPTIONS
Don’t stress too much about locating bait out wide. If you are handy with a cast net then there are also plenty of opportunities to gather herring and mullet in the creeks or rivers before heading out.
While plenty of anglers have their favourite baits I reckon at 80 or 90 feet down a big trout or cobia will eat first and think later. Also do not be afraid to put on a big bait such as a Spanish flag or Moses perch.
Bigger baits are good because they also escape the razor gang of small pickers that maul smaller obviously handicapped baits and trout, cod and cobia all have big appetites. As for Spaniards they take it in a couple of bites and GTs are just downright nasty animals that eat anything, sometimes just for the hell of it.
RIGHT TACKLE
You have done the hard work, put in the time looking for fish holding structure and have a bucket load of livies ready to be sent to the depths. You drift down the first livie on your K-MART special and get well and truly assaulted by an unknown and never to be identified assailant.
As far as tackle goes, if you want to stop big fish, everything has to be of good quality and these days with the range of tackle available there is no excuse for turning up with a Cold War edition boat rod and star drag overhead to catch the fish of a lifetime.
Rods should be in the 15 - 24 kilo bracket. Big trout can be likened to a mangrove jack. They hit and are heading back into whatever piece of hell bottom they came from fast so that first couple of feet is the key.
One super gun at this type of fishing is the Wilson Live Fibre 20 kilo Black Bass Rod with 50 pound braid and a Calcutta 400. It bends (under plenty of protest) right through the blank and cushions that first lunge with the drag virtually locked up. It’s not the rod to give to your grandma but it is a weapon of mass destruction when it comes to levering those big fish for the first couple of feet. Be warned though. That blank was not designed for a prolonged fight with a big GT as the leverage will then works the other way so it is a bit of a catch-22 situation, however, it has boated quite a few nice fish all the same.
Also do not be afraid to use one of the new big threadlines on the market on a 15-kilo stick with 50 or 80 pound braid. Those first couple of turns of the handle can mean all the difference and threadlines are the easiest to turn. Handlines are also a good back up if the mood should take you but 90 feet of water is a fair effort on a handline.
TIME FOR THE TERMINAL-ATOR
It should go without saying that the terminal tackle should be strong and good quality also. Strong live bait hooks and 100+ pound leader. Use braided line 30 – 80 pound.
Learn to tie a good Bimini Twist and then an Albright knot to join the leader. The rig is simply a ball sinker on the hook or a metre or so of trace to let that live-bait get around a bit. If you have the sinker on the hook, another tactic is to let it hit the bottom and then wind it up a few turns. Cobia love baits at this height off the bottom as do Spaniards.
You can use wire if you are targeting Spaniards but be aware that there is no shortage of sharks in any length, size, colour or shape off the coast of Townsville. There is even a place known as Shark Shoal. They get so thick that they black out the sounder at this spot, which must be the all-time favourite hangout for sharks. If you like staying connected to 10 feet of whaler then you are in for a treat. To avoid getting cut off by Spaniards, still use a set of gangs and only use the bottom hook in the bait.
VERDICT
Townsville’s offshore fishery is a great alternative to actually fishing the Great Barrier Reef itself. Even on a bad trip you’ll probably get a feed of thumper Spanish flags, or their other smaller Lutjanid cousins, which taste as good as anything else in the ocean.
As for a ‘good trip’ you’ll certainly have plenty to brag about.
Remember your boating safety gear and make sure it’s up-to-date and in reach. Also put a VHF radio call into the Townsville or Ingham Coast Guards on your way out so they can log your trip details.
Most local fishos guard their little shoal hot spots with vigour but with a little detective work, and good gear you can be out there enjoying a fabulous fishing experience.