Whyalla Snapper Comp - Day 2

[Jack. 10]

back home from comp it was a good weekend out no big fish from my boat was 1 fishman down on last day only speedo and i but we gave it are best shot oh well there allways next year

Well done too BigRed, hope you really enjoyed the adventure and experience of it good luck hitting the leaderboard next year

[Boyington214 0]

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are regarding Charter Operators taking clients out that are competitors in the comp?

[jagger 24]

ah why not.. just another boat wiht bait out. Stand the same chance as anyone else.It comes down to knowledge, persistance and a bit of luck.They have the knowledge of where they are and when they are biting just the same as any local that is switched on.If guys are prepared to pay megabucks to be a part of it instead of buying boats, rods, reels, sounders, put in the time etc... it's still promoting the comp and only adds to the challenge.I'm sure you would rather see half the field in charters and keep the comp running that have it fold due to limited trailer baots entering.For the record.... it does seem like an unfair advantage but then again I'd be interested to know what percentage of the larger fish came from the charter boats.

[Boyington214 0]

Don't know Jaggs. I know of at least 2 of the fish were caught on the charter boat. Not sure if it was only K&R charters that were out there or if the others were as well. I also know it ticked a quite a few competitors off. Heard it in the Marquee more than once. What the discussion was about was that the charter operators know where the fish are, and know the drops cos they do that for a living. Personally, It doesn't bother me. If I catch a big fish from my little rig, then I have done it all myself and not relied on someone else.

[ScaleyTom 19]

The majority of big fish come from fishing around the pens up in Fitzgerald Bay Get as close to them as legally possible and berley back into them (I've never fished there myself but my mate reckons it's a killer spot for biggies)

Not this year Fishie, the pens that the big snapper used to be caught are gone. Set the cat amongst the pidgeons.Thats why the Whyalla boys did so well yet again this year. Mudbanks, Fairway Banks yada yada. Rip produced one or two 13 kilo fish. I'm impressed with amount of 12 - 13 kilo fish on the board. There was a healthy breeding time way back, and i reckon our snapper fishery is very healthy. Very healthy. This lot of 13 kilo fish will be 14 - 15 kilo fish in two three years. The snapper comp is looking good.Didnt i try to guide you yourhookedfish

[Boyington214 0]

We had a good crack ScaleyTom. Trouble is the weather kept us away from places like the Mudbanks, Fairway, Mareks and the drops further South. I had trouble holding anchor out from Lowly as it was. Tried the mudbanks last year and couldn't hold anchor and conditions weren't as bad that day as they were this year. Oh well, at least we can say we were there and had a good go at it. I have taken note of your advice as well as some advice from a few other SH members and locals. Hopefully next year the weather will be better and we can get amongst them.Thank you for your help and advice ST. Very Muchly Appreciated!

[urhookedfish 12]

Its pretty simple really - We flogged up north, sounded every structure known to man and me and Bigred only saw very few fish around the pens and north of Lowly but did see a couple of fish in the rip but couldnt get them to bite after pulling out all the tricks.Although I had all the REALLY good drops on my marks list including the drop in which the winning fish came from we couldnt get 18km plus south to sit on them.Your advice though ST was exactly the type of advice we were after, and had there been more than the two sole grazing big fish we sounded on the edge of the 3 existing pens then we would have been in the game.Once that weather came in bad I kind of knew my plan B of fishing 18km south was out the back door. As luck would have it, had we been able to execute our plan B we may have had a different result and story.This year I feel that if you had had a really reliable and extremely seaworthy boat in which you felt you could fish comfortably in two metre waves and were prepared to possibly take 3 hours to get back from miles south then you could have gone down to the southern drops and had a crack. Unfortunately we didnt feel we could get there safely.I enjoyed the way the comp was run, think it was done really really well and think the catagories and prizes are excellent, but myself I dont think I will be back.

[sky30 0]

Where did the winning fish come from?

[Wahoo 146]

@ Archerfish: Mind you, it's still a long way off the "official" Australian record of 18.4kg (supposedly caught at Port Adelaide, according to some reports)Caught at the Coral Patch off Outer Harbour in the middle of the day on a mackerel fillet in early November (pre closures, it was Grand Prix week)on my brother in law's 5m quintrex centre console. I gaffed it we weighed it & went straight in to get it weighed on certified scales. Wouldn't keep another one that size.Wahoo

[whyallabrad 0]

Most of the top 10, including the winner came from false bay north of whyalla on the mudbansk area, good natural bottom, with a couple of scattered drops too. Prime grazing country for big 30+lb fish. The muddies and Fairway produce smaller numers but big fish over the next couple of months. South has the odd big one but more numbers of fish, if you want to catch a keeper, i'd head south of town, a winner comes from north or nor east normally though.