# Verona Sands Tassie



## jimmy34 (Apr 20, 2007)

Had planned a much earlier start but being a Sunday just had to bag those extra couple of hours sleep. Left Hobart at 7:30 and was at Verona Sands / Gordon by 8.30. Hung round for a while to suss out the breeze that was pitching up from the sou-west, shooting across the wide mouth of the Huon River and up the D'entrecasteau Channel. I nearly turned round to go back and find a sheltered part of the Channel because the breeze was picking up but not to the extent that it was going to be risky. I would only be fishing a few hundred meters from the launch spot. So I set up and slipped the ship into the drink.

Left all the lures at home today, it was going to be a bait day, the first time I have bait fished in several years. Lots of old sinkers and rusty hooks, and a 6 month old frozen tub of squid heads - good gear for this weedy reef area. I am not familiar with the area at all but every time I went to this place, it was beautiful and I wanted to fish here for ages. My target would be flathead, ling, atlantic salmon, squid etc. Wasn't really sure what would turn up.

Started using a fancy paternoster rig but I lost so many rigs that I ended up using a running ball sinker to the hook. Both wrasse and ling grab your bait and take it into thir crusty hidey-hole, or wrap you round the kelp. After a while I found where the reef was, where the fish were sitting on the reef. Bugger it I left the landing net at home and managed to lose the first two pink ling at the side of the boat as I was using light gear and the fish were flapping round at the surface, then easily bit thru the line. For 5 hours i did a few dozen drifts over the reef and ended up with 1 legal flathead (40 cm) 5 pink ling (boated 3), a dozen good size blue throat wrasse and several other species of wrasse. I had to accept that today was a learning experience because the blue throat wrasse were all returned to the water and i later found out (on the net) that they are actually a good eating fish and worth keeping. I reckon I got busted off at least 20 times during the day. Next time I will upgrade to 30lb mono with a wire trace.

After one of my rods snapped in half trying to de-snag, I reverted to a handline. I can see myself doing much more of this now, it was a lot of fun going back to basics and when the tide turned it was on. Large wrasse on nearly every drop. I am now a handline convert (for the saltwater stuff anyway).

Packed it in about 2:30 and headed home. Here are a couple of pics.


----------



## AndyC (Feb 29, 2008)

Great report and pics. Sounds like you had a blast out there.

Hope I might get to join you sometime.

Cheers,

AndyC


----------



## wrasseman (Jul 28, 2006)

Good stuff, sounds like a fun session getting back to basics. I'm a big wrasse fan here and you'll find that if you give them some slack when they reef you often they swim back out. Reckon I might have to join you next time.
Col.


----------



## Blaen (Jul 4, 2006)

Great report James,

I reckon we should spend a lot more time exploring the Channell it's full of great fishing spots.

BTW how do those Cod taste? I have caught plenty but never kept any.


----------



## jimmy34 (Apr 20, 2007)

COD! I thought they were pink ling?? Don't tell me they are crap fish because I just poached two of them and mixed it into a pasta bake and now cooking in the oven. Crikey please don't tell me I am wasting my time, or they are poisonous or something......

Damn it I am going to see what happens next. If you don't hear back from me on this forum, I am dead!! Blame the cod.

I should have just targeted the flathead, I know they won't kill me.


----------



## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

I catch the ling/cod things where I fish too.

I've eaten them and they aren't bad eating. Considering how squishy and slimy they feel when you hold them, their meat is quite firm and tastes okay. 
Oh, and I'm not dead yet.


----------



## Duane (Oct 20, 2007)

Thanks for the report Jimmy.

It looks and sounds likes it's near one of my sure fire abalone spots. If i manage to leave home at 7am I can be home with my bag limit by 10am. Definitely a bitch of a spot in the wrong winds. I've driven down there for an ab hunt and turned around and gone home some days.

Will have to give fishing a try on my next trip :lol:

For those that are interested the bottom in that area is largely rocky with bits of seaweed growing from it. No serious kelp, but plenty of stuff to snag your tackle on.


----------



## Blaen (Jul 4, 2006)

jimmy34 said:


> COD! I thought they were pink ling?? Don't tell me they are crap fish because I just poached two of them and mixed it into a pasta bake and now cooking in the oven. Crikey please don't tell me I am wasting my time, or they are poisonous or something......
> 
> Damn it I am going to see what happens next. If you don't hear back from me on this forum, I am dead!! Blame the cod.
> 
> I should have just targeted the flathead, I know they won't kill me.


 :lol: :lol:

Yep mate they are Cod, they say they are pretty good to eat if you cook them right. Whoever "they" are?

Personally I have never eaten one, what were they like?


----------



## Baldy (Oct 1, 2007)

Nice report mate, geez I havnt been down that way for a while[15yrs or so] .....I blame Arthurs lake!!

I agree that the Cod are ok if you get them from clean water like down there and put some effort into cooking them, they are no good just rolled in flour and chucked in with the flathead fillets though.

My roast meal consists of beans and burnt toast....so I tend to CnR anything I just cant throw in a frying pan 

Cheers
Baldy


----------



## vertigrator (Jul 25, 2006)

Sounds like a good trip James. How did the cod taste?

Does anyone know the best way to prepare/cook them? Do they go alright in a smoker?


----------



## jimmy34 (Apr 20, 2007)

Well I made it through unscathed, the cod didn't kill me, in fact they were fine to eat. thanks for the replies. I don't usually do anything too fancy with seafood but I made up a pasta bake with pasta, sauce from a jar, tinned tuna and cheese and asparagus, with the flesh of two poached cod mixed in. It just tasted like a tuna pasta bake and couldn't taste the cod, it just bulked it out. But I did taste a bit of the cod by itself and it was fine, not first class seafood but perfectly edible. If it is edible and reduces my supermarket bill, I will eat it.....

Looking forward to the June bash wherever that may be.

Duane, the water was 11 degrees on the sounder, I don't get in the water anything less than about 15-16 so the abalone are safe. It looked like good reef for abs and crays tho. Maybe in summer a snorkel would be on the cards.

Next time i am going to keep one of the big blue throat wrasse that I caught, and see if that will kill me instead!!

james


----------



## Biggles (Jan 6, 2008)

Great little feed, nothin wrong with Tassy Cod either, very soft flesh but taste just nice.

Regards

Al


----------



## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

When I had the cod things, I filleted, beer battered and deep fried (fish and chip shop style) and whilst not as nice as mulloway or whiting, were on par with bream or salmon.


----------

