# SA the barges, controversial discussion :P.



## L3GACY

G'day all, my GPS should be landing here early next week so its time to organise a REAL fishing trip. We will be heading nearly 7km offshore so we will be at the mercy of the elements and i can see this trip being postponed a number of times. It will take us a while to get out there so we will need to launch pre-dawn and it has been suggested we stay out there until about 1pm then high tail it out of there. Lights will be essential. Weekend is a good idea as more boats will be fishing out there should something go wrong. Considering it will be our first ever attempt at this i think we should aim to be there at sunrise rather than before.

Now for the tricky part. There are very frequent shark sightings out there, i believe this is a shark feeding ground. The good news is this summer there havent been too many white pointer sightings, mainly bronzies and hammerheads. I'm not sure how to deal with it if they become a problem (most likely problem will be attacking fish yakside) but i'm considering taking some big snook or salmon (or maybe some stingray?) with me to distract them with if they start schooling. I have no idea what the odds of us having problems with them are by the way. All i've managed to get out of Todd from Todd's tackle is that we will probably find sharks out there and he thinks we're idiots . Either way you've been warned. Who's interested? O'sullies boat ramp is the launch site by the way.


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## water_baby

when i first got my yak from the Mariner, i mentioned going out there and he said in no uncertain terms that i was crazy. so has everyone else.

that said, i still want to go. i wouldn't do it without at least 1 support vessel for safety - i dont mind losing my yak and gear if it means i (or a mate) will be safe. thats obviously a worst-case scenario.

investigating a lift out or a tow in a tinny would be good, i might do some tests to see if this is even feasible to tow behind to find out before hand.

pro's - good fish a lot of the time, but not every time. not tooooo far from land, while still being a fair way out, if you know what im getting at..

i would also like to go to "sneaky snapper spot 1" as discussed with you at rapids, if you remember... the jetty.

ill see if the boys want to accompany a bunch of nutters in yaks out to the barges...


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## L3GACY

Yeah see if you can nut out the boat idea. I might toss the idea over to Todd and see if we get any locals that wouldnt mind some beer or petty money in exchange for a tow. I'm not so sure about the sneaky snapper spot but i'll put it this way, if you go... I sure as hell aint gonna miss it . The barges is pretty popular so if we go on a weekend with nice weather there should be quite a few boats there. I would not under ANY circumstances be relying on that though.


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## L3GACY

Good man Leftiant. Even if this trip doesnt coincide we'll definitely organise something for ya. Lost of snapper around, hint hint .


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## fishnfreak

of course im keen at the moment. Isn't there somewhere we could try, out of a GPS book that is, nowhere too special :lol: , a bit closer than 7km, maybe start at 4km out to see where peoples limits are? But yeah we'll be right in numbers.

I might even have my Yak all setup with sounder by then!


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## fisher

My view is that its crazy talk :lol: The barges is not an area for boats much under 16 foot, let alone a kayak. Its 'big water', and great whites do frequent the area, particularly during snapper season (i.e. now!). The swell, current and deep water will make it very difficult to fish, and it is a long way, especially when the wind picks up. Guys, I love my fishing and do my fair share of 'risky' things to get me near fish, but this is one trip that I would not do. The saviour is that there should be plenty of boats about if something does go wrong, but many of those same boats will be hooting along which adds to the danger particularly during that pre-dawn period. I would only recommend that trip if you've attempted it in a boat first so that you know what to expect with the conditions. I don't think I'm a wuss on this one, but I reckon its just dangerous (and I've never experienced good enough fishing out there for me to even consider something like that). But if you go, prepare well and be safe - I think you might legally need an EPIRB once you're that far offshore to (??)

Oh - and the sneaky snapper spot has lots of salmon, bream and occasional snapper there at the moment (if we're talking the same spot, nudge, nudge, wink, wink...)


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## L3GACY

50/50 fisher, regulations say you need an epirb if you are more than 4km offshore, they also say that kayaks are exempt somewhere . I'd say that if fisheries stopped you they would tell you to get one. And yeah we'd most likely be talking the same place fisher, we're just not mentioning any places for obvious reasons.

Fishnfreak: I'm personally building myself up, last time i went out i reckon i hit about the 3km mark before i simply turned around and went home without dropping a line, i'm getting fussy these days lol. I'm hoping to get approx 4km off on monday but will be hard to judge without a gps i reckon.


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## fishnfreak

yeah, i have only been out about 1km from Pt hughes and yeah no fishing out there though. Although i did get hitch a ride 10km with dad's boat, but thats cheating.


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## L3GACY

Lol, for me i'm happy to paddle out to any distance, i feel my fitness is up enough to hit any mark i have so far and return safely too. The thing i have an issue with at the moment is anchoring up in swell, i dont feel that comfortable yet so i'm trying to teach myself that even if i'm getting tossed around i'm not going over .


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## fishnfreak

something i do to lessen the jolting that anchoring in swell creates, is to use a "shock absorber," in otherwords a lenght of strechy cord between the anchor rope and the yak, it works for me


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## L3GACY

I've heard of boats doing something like that, i might have to give it a go.


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## waldo

No can do boys. Il be in sunny Thailand. Not sure which is more dangerous ?


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## water_baby

i have to side with fisher on this one. i have fished it in boats up to 22 feet and it still throws you around a bit when it picks up. and like i said earlier, its not guaranteed of producing fish every time.

im going to try either the sneaky snapper spot (yes fisher, you were spot on 8) ) or a spot at upper yorkes ive been told about (someone has been dumping car bodies in a bay...) before ill paddle 7km straight out to sea in some of the more dangerous water our metro coast holds..

we definitely dont need to go out to the barges to satisfy our snapper craving.. that said, we are young and silly enough to get away with it with the proper precautions..

ill talk to a mate tonight about getting a boat to take me out for a fish there soon, and if its not producing enough to justify the risk then ill abandon the idea and go with "sneaky spot"..

on another note - for those that want to tackle other big fish (which is what this is about, and pushing our limits) there are metre long mulloway in the mundoo channel at the moment for pre-dawn raiders. tauwitcheries wasnt holding (or they werent biting).


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## L3GACY

Mulloway isnt snapper fishing while surrounded by sharks in 30m of water 7km out to sea . Barges is the best spot for snapper at the moment (apparently) but glenelg tyre reef has been pulling in a few apparently, perhaps that is more realistic?


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## fisher

I reckon the cassons off Glenelg produces enough fish to keep a kayak fisherman interested in snapper - theres good structure, food (mussels), its close to shore and in the absence of snapper theres still a good chance of tangling with salmon and bream - pick the right tides and conditions and you're in with a chance. Some very good fish get taken in that area.


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## L3GACY

Noobie to boating spots here fisher, what's the cassons?


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## Crazy_Horse

I'm on the side of the naysayers in this one. I fished there with my brother one pre-dawn in swelly conditions and he fell overboard!!! We didn't get anything and it was a long way out. The seabreeze can come on very strong very suddenly down that way and I reckon we are asking for trouble.

For the adventurous, I have a spot about 500m off shore towards the bottom of Yorkes where I have pulled 20lb snapper in a boat, pre-kayak. If anyone is up for a 3am start, we drive over, hit the spot for a few hours (or longer) then drive home. All in one day and much less risk. However, the snapper won't start running through there until around the beginning of May so we have a few months to wait it out.

In the meantime, I'm up for sneaky spot!


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## L3GACY

I cant find any info on the sneaky spot so i reckon we need to organise a recon day out there (unless someone has some solid info), u free for that any time soon water_baby?


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## L3GACY

At the gaff fishnut? I'm thinking that would mean they'd have no issues poking their heads out the water while we haul a snapper over the side?


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## L3GACY

If i do do it from a yak i'm definitely taking a ray with me then . Should buy me enough time to get to the nearest boat .


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## L3GACY

The stingray idea was a joke . If i did do it i wouldnt use a flap, i'd use a 4 foot eagle . There havent been any white pointers out there reported to my local tackle shop when he had a few a week last summer, that doesnt mean they're not there though, because they will be.


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## Gator

I shall decline from any thought of this trip! Too Old! and intend to get Older


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## fishnfreak

i'd personally be more keen to try any spot upto 4km out rather than 7km. I dont think i can even run 7km anymore  I still neeed to give the new SOL rod a good work out so mulloway or snapper, im in!!

5weeks and i have my sounder though


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