# More Gummy Sharks



## kingfisher111 (Jun 13, 2006)

Being as I`m still on hols, took another trip to Westernport Bay in search of my old mate the Gummy Shark today. Managed to land a couple more in a spot just 300 metres from my visit earlier in the week. The conditions today were the best I`ve encountered on the bay with a near mirror finish on the surface. Also the total boat traffic for the 2 trips of 6 hours each is 1!! Saw it go past today about 4 kms away. Picked up the first Gummy 1 hr before the top of the tide. Measured in at 800 mm. The second was 2 hrs into the runout and went 1050 mm. Both took baits off the down rigger. Total hookups for the 2 trips is 6 and all 6 were off the down rigger rod. I fish 2 rods the whole time and the LHS rod only got picked up the 1 time but did`nt result in a hookup. Have enclosed some piccies. Steve.


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

What do you do with those things Kingfisher111? Throw em back, use them as bait or do you eat them? If you eat them how best to prepare them?

JT


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## aleg75 (Dec 20, 2005)

Nice work, and good eating, do they have legal lengths and bag limits?


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

That is awesome Kingfisher, great to see how you have increased your gummy catches by using a downrigger - food for thought :wink:

Great catch!


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## kingfisher111 (Jun 13, 2006)

Hi JT, usually I put them back but if they`re in my favorite eating range ie 900mm- 1200mm they are history. They taste as good as fish get and fight like crazy! I`m not very adventurous with cooking, just roll in flour and grill on BBQ. Top with a squeese of lemon. Also can make a batter out of a can of Ginger Beer, some flour and some curry powder, cut into chunks, cook fast and hot. Tastes great.
Hi aleg, Gummy shark is measured by partial length. The partial length is measured from the back of the last gill slit to the base of the tail. The minimum partial length is 450mm. In Victoria anyway these are the only fish that don`t have to be presented intact if challenged by fisheries. The reason is that Gummy shark meat is so highly regarded that you can legally gut and take the head off and the gills out to preserve the meat quality.
Squidder, the downrigger seems to be doing the job.Still early days of course but I think the bait is presenting a lot better. Has been a learning curve and has some frustrations to iron out yet .But I`m encouraged by the results so far. The amount of times I`ve caught myself thinking" That downrigger just paid for itself". Steve.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Hi Steve - am I right in assuming that the downrigger allows you to present deep baits in the fast flowing current without the use of a sinker? Are you setting the downrigger bomb right on the bottom, or slightly above it?

Gatesy, in Victoria gummy sharks need to be 45cm partial length (from rear gill slit to base of tail), bag limit of 2 fish


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## kingfisher111 (Jun 13, 2006)

Hi Squidder, yes thats it. No sinker. I use 2.4metre leader of 60lb tied on ball bearing swivel and a 6/0 circle hook. Thats the rig. The current keeps everything nice and straight. The bomb I keep 200mm above the bottom. The setback from the bomb clip to swivel, well you can please yourself. Great for those days in wind vs tide when the kayak swings around a lot.With nothing on the bottom (anchor excepted ) you dont suffer that annoying false hits noise from your reel when the kayak shifts. When you do get picked up, the line unclips, in a kayak you can actally feel it happen! and you`re fighting your fish weight free. Steve.


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## Fishing Man (Oct 4, 2006)

nice catch mate.

im sure the bay would have been a nice sight with the glassy conditions,

how did you send the baits down on the downrigger, were they unweighted or using a sinker as well, i know how they downrig lures but wouldnt baits go down with a snapper sinker anyways

just interested


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

JT heres a link with some tips kindly offered by dogfish on the preparation of gummy shark for the table.

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php ... ight=gummy

Nice catch Steve, I too only will keep Gummy's that are aminimum of 1 metre in length. Jeez Western Port looked mighty calm and pleasant to paddle.

Milt,


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## PoddyMullet (Aug 29, 2005)

Top effort Steve, applause all around


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## ScottLovig (Aug 7, 2006)

Well done Steve.

You're the gummy king. Great use of the downrigger.

Cheers

Scott


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