Jump to content

what to pack when going to outer harbour breackwater


Recommended Posts

I'd suggest going light first off, depending on how far you're going to walk. Have a general pack of tackle such as hooks, floats and sinkers depending on what you're planning on targetting. Size 6 or 10 longshank, size 4, 1 and 3/0 octopus style hooks should cover most species. Sinkers from 1g up to 45g. Some swivels and 10lb line should go alright for rigs. Floats like your tommie floats or squid floats could be added.

Could also pack a few lures such as soft plastics in the 60-100mm range with some jigheads of 1/8 to 1/16th for salmon trout. Could also add a squid jag 3.0 just in case.

 

All this should fit in a small backpack; plus one or two rods, esky with bait and water and you're set.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's difficult in places but it's not exactly a walk in the park I'm told. I have no idea on locations up there, never fished off the breakwater. But I'd suggest that tommies, gar, salmon trout are found in various areas along the breakwater, mullet prefer the shallows and squid could be anywhere with weed on the bottom.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Your shoes/boots with the best grip & ankle support.

 

Echo coments to travel light, always keep one hand free to assist balance/grab rocks as required.

 

It's a hard walk.

 

You can't 'predict' the rock structure at all like you would be able with natural reef/rock fishing as it is entirely artificial plus a hotchpotch of rock types. Some of those are well weathered, some are not. Some will move (quite a bit) as you jump from one to another and can be slippery due to any weathered, chalky loose surface before you add rain & spray to the mix. Keep your momentum from one rock to the next rather than a stop-start walk.

 

Im fit & quite competant on rocks but last time out there i fell near the end and bruised my hip joint (& busted my reel)  was sore for months & haven't been there since! (easily 2 years ago)

 

Not to put you off in any way....the OH breakwater :censored: sucks bigtime.

 

That said, did catch my first snapper there, sub legal, nevertheless fun dragging away from the rocks on 6lb line!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

I went out for the first time a while back and learned a couple of things.

 

You need both hands free, ideally. For balance and to help steady yourself or stop a potential fall. It's a moderate hop out there and you'll be sweating like a pig after rugging up for the cold weather.

 

If it's dark, a good head torch and be prepared for it to take a fair bit longer. I reckon 30-45 mins to go 2/3 way down from memory in the dark and a whole lot quicker in the day time.

 

Good backpack that you can fit all your gear into, plastic bags, for your rubbish (which most seem to just leave there) and a couple for your catches. Don't bother with a bucket! Cable ties...I used these to tie small bait esky and bits and pieces to the backpack.

 

Last time I carried out 2 rods which made it slow going and unless staying for a decent time (and throwing out some big baits) probably not worth it. The rods and reels cop a beating every time you balance and teeter on a bad rock. Next time, if I ever bother, i'll break the rod down and tie it onto the back back tightly. I'm also inclined to take out a couple of hand reels for squid etc rather than a second rod.

 

Pack water! And don't race out, I'd say a broken leg = helicopter rescue!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 6 years later...

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but seeing it wasn't closed, thought I add my 2 cents.

Back in the 70's and early 80's we'd venture to the OH breakwater a couple of times year. Always in daylight. Night, lol, was too much like playing Russian roulette with the devil.

Aside from mulloway and snapper, if you were lucky, you'd hook up some decent size King Gorge Whiting too. Though, to be fair, in those days, fish were aplenty, locally.

Unless the breakwater has undergone repairs since, rock hopping was definitely a task you had to take care at.  The snail win the race on this one, that's for sure.

The other thing, not sure if it's still a problem, but there was a vermin (rat) issue. Some where the size of small cats, and not scared to have a got at you, if you cross paths with them. Hence a good pair of solid boots, with a well gripping sole, and even steel caps wont go astray. Especially if those rats are still inhabiting the rocks.

Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Dave061 said:

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but seeing it wasn't closed, thought I add my 2 cents.

Back in the 70's and early 80's we'd venture to the OH breakwater a couple of times year. Always in daylight. Night, lol, was too much like playing Russian roulette with the devil.

Aside from mulloway and snapper, if you were lucky, you'd hook up some decent size King Gorge Whiting too. Though, to be fair, in those days, fish were aplenty, locally.

Unless the breakwater has undergone repairs since, rock hopping was definitely a task you had to take care at.  The snail win the race on this one, that's for sure.

The other thing, not sure if it's still a problem, but there was a vermin (rat) issue. Some where the size of small cats, and not scared to have a got at you, if you cross paths with them. Hence a good pair of solid boots, with a well gripping sole, and even steel caps wont go astray. Especially if those rats are still inhabiting the rocks.

Just quoting you I used to live at Taperoo on the way to outer harbour left there about 10 years ago . Rats and brown snakes were always a big problem from Taperoo to north haven . When I bait fished the north haven marina used to watch the rats run up the rocks and straight into the expensive houses . That was the 80/90s . I never went out far on the break water iirc used to be a little wharf there used to catch STs there in the late 90s early 00s. Then I got attacked and stung by European wasps . Good luck 

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

18 hours ago, Dave061 said:

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but seeing it wasn't closed, thought I add my 2 cents.

Back in the 70's and early 80's we'd venture to the OH breakwater a couple of times year. Always in daylight. Night, lol, was too much like playing Russian roulette with the devil.

Aside from mulloway and snapper, if you were lucky, you'd hook up some decent size King Gorge Whiting too. Though, to be fair, in those days, fish were aplenty, locally.

Unless the breakwater has undergone repairs since, rock hopping was definitely a task you had to take care at.  The snail win the race on this one, that's for sure.

The other thing, not sure if it's still a problem, but there was a vermin (rat) issue. Some where the size of small cats, and not scared to have a got at you, if you cross paths with them. Hence a good pair of solid boots, with a well gripping sole, and even steel caps wont go astray. Especially if those rats are still inhabiting the rocks.

Same here Dave061, I used to fish it quite often for snapper at night, backpack with only what was needed for the long walk to the end of the breakwater. The hardest part was the walk back carrying a few snapper that was slung over the back. The biggest problem I had at night was the light on the rocks cast a shadow and it was easy to miss your next step even worse when it was wet and windy. Like you said the fishing was a lot better back in those days too and it was well worth doing the hard yards for a fish.. Best thing would be to chase Mulloway in the Port River, a good area was close to the Birkenhead Bridge (on the Birkenhead side), the wrecks at Garden Island, Pelican Point & the old ETSA site in the Port River.. I don't know what's it's like now days though a lot has changed in the twenty years since we've been in Tasmania. I did hear there's not a lot of access along the river like there once was.. Caltex wharf was one of my favorite breams spots using blood worms.. They were the good days in the Port..🙂

cheers

Adrian.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...