# Fraser Island Gear List



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

So Im heading over to Fraser Island At Easter Time, Its my first time going over there and I've got the basics: Surf Rod, 6000 sized Reel 7kg braid etc.
But I'm wondering what sort of hooks, Leader, swivels, sinkers, lures? and anything else that i might need. I really want to catch a reasonable shark 20 - 30kg so i'll need gear for that too.

Can Someone who has fished the area before or knows a bit about that style of fishing knock up a quick list for me?

Thanks in Advance,
Jack


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Where are you staying? Are you taking a kayak?

Night time is a great time for sharks at Fraser, they really come into the surf gutters just on dark in numbers, make sure to use some wire for a trace, there are plenty of youtube vids showing how to rig wire so start practising. Any bait will generally do, whole dart, whiting, bream, whatever you catch really or you can take some whole frozen baits such as mullet or bonito etc.

The headlands will fish well for trevally and dart, tailor will be very hard to come by but you never know your luck, bream will be in the wash as well as drummer and can be berleyed up with bread. Make sure you fish early before the crowds arrive, and then fish late in the afternoons. When I say early I mean an hour before sunrise to an hour or so after. If fishing the rocky headlands look for deeper water at the base of the rocks where there is a ledge where you can fish straight down. There are a couple of spots like this on the southern side of waddy. Big cod, mangrove jacks, trevally and various reefies including coral trout have been pulled out from the base of these rocks by simply vertically jigging plastics etc. Be prepared for monumental bust offs if you find the right spots. Just exploring around the rocks is half the fun in my opinion.

Daytime fishing opportunities will be limited with the beach traffic slowing things down but whiting are almost always available on pipis and worms. The western side can fish very well and you never know what is going to cruise through. Wathumba is a great spot but has become a mainstay for most visitors to the island now and consequently cops a flogging and fishes nowhere near as well as it used to. Daytime for me at Fraser is sight seeing, bush walks, exploring dunes and swimming in the numerous creeks, lakes and shallow tidal pools such as at Waddy Point and champagne pools, we NEVER swim in the surf! Seen way too many bities cruising in the shore break in water barely deep enough to cover their backs.....

Pipis can be found at low tide as the sand dries out around them and compacts the sand on top forming a small mound giving away their location (see picture) Or you can do the pipi dance in the wash as Liam has said but it is much easier to collect them like this.









Worms are a different proposition altogether and I'm sure you'll have hours of fun trying to catch them. Low tide again is the best time to chase them, look for a section of beach that is quite flat and takes a long time for the wave to receed, use some fish frames on a rope or in an onion bag etc to get them excited and looking for a feed as the smell of the fish wafts back toward them with a receeding wave. Contrary to some opinions, you don't need smelly rotting fish frames for this, I find fresh frames work just as well and are much more pleasant to use. When you see their heads sticking out move over to them carefully and present your bait, I position myself at right angles to the waves with the hand holding the bait on the land side and the hand grabbing the worm on the surf side. My best advise is to be patient, allow the worm to taste your bait whilst slowly drawing it away and luring it just that bit further from it's hole. Position your fingers just wider than the worm in behind it while it is trying to steal your bait and slowly squeeze the worm, when you first touch it, it will be rigid and tense, this is where you stop until you feel the worm completely relax in your fingers and then squeeze again until you are squeezing your thumb and index finger as tightly together as you possibly can, this is when you have got your worm, then draw it sideways and up in the same smooth motion, never snatch at them, move slowly always. (See vid) 




I really love Fraser, we just keep going back each year and still find something new each time. Good luck, I hope the weather man is nice to you. Enjoy!

Kev


----------



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

BigKev, we'll be at waddy point, is all that on the bay side or the oceanic side?


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

This is straight out to the open ocean, but there is a small bay formed by the Waddy Point headland that provides excellent protection from the south easterly winds. From Waddy you can travel south across indian head to reach the 75mile beach and north towards the cape or west across the island to Wathumba. Simply an awesome spot with heaps of options.

So are you taking a yak? There is a wreck just 400m offshore in front of Orchid Beach which is probably only 1-2klm from Waddy. Good fishing there, and heaps of pelagics cruising through too.

Kev


----------



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

BIGKEV said:


> This is straight out to the open ocean, but there is a small bay formed by the Waddy Point headland that provides excellent protection from the south easterly winds. From Waddy you can travel south across indian head to reach the 75mile beach and north towards the cape or west across the island to Wathumba. Simply an awesome spot with heaps of options.
> 
> So are you taking a yak? There is a wreck just 400m offshore in front of Orchid Beach which is probably only 1-2klm from Waddy. Good fishing there, and heaps of pelagics cruising through too.
> 
> Kev


Mum won't let me take the kayak :lol:


----------



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

Any particular brands of wire trace. Surecatch have some cheap stuff for 3 bucks a spool, Or should I get some more expensive stuff? What Weight rating for the wire should I get, Should i use some big Suicides or Circles?


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Use circle hooks and then you can scale down a bit on the wire as the circle hook _should_ hook into the corner of the mouth and then the wire is simply to stop them rubbing you off with their skin.


----------



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

BIGKEV said:


> Use circle hooks and then you can scale down a bit on the wire as the circle hook _should_ hook into the corner of the mouth and then the wire is simply to stop them rubbing you off with their skin.


30lb, 40lb, 50lb? i dont have much experience in this, i've got some black magic 6/0 circles, reckon they'll do?


----------



## rino88 (Sep 10, 2011)

I'm heading up to Fraser in October with the olds, been about 2 years since I have been up so I am itching to get up for a bit of fishing...might even throw the kayak in too ;-)

My outfits consists of - 1). 7 foot rod, 4000 size spinner and 14lb low-stretch platypus mono, 2). 6 foot rod, 6600 Abu Bait Caster and 14lb platypus mono. I think I'll give braid a go this year as I am not intending on taking bait 

I always use lures - soft plastics, metal slugs (the halco ones with the holes in are the best) and poppers.

Here's a video to show you some inspiration - 




I sometimes take up a heap of salted pippies with me, I get my hands on as many pippies I can and salt them down before I go. This turns them into leathery jewels that the Dart, Whiting and Flathead can't resist; plus they last a hell of a lot longer than just plain bait as you can keep them out of the esky. You can also do this with pilchards but they tend to take too long to dry out...and they'll stink your house out too :lol:

I fish off Waddy Point, off the rocks early morning at about 4:00AM to get amongst the fish before too many people get out there. Other than that, cruising up the beach in search of a good gutter to throw a line in works just as good.


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

RackRaider said:


> 30lb, 40lb, 50lb? i dont have much experience in this, i've got some black magic 6/0 circles, reckon they'll do?


6/0 sounds good, could possibly go a bit bigger but a small hook will still catch a big fish. 40lb will be OK for your wire as it really only trying to stop you getting rubbed off by the rough skin if the circle hook does it's job correctly.



ryanmoken10 said:


> Here's a video to show you some inspiration -


That is a good vid of an exceptional capture, there is also another of Dave 'Nugget' Downey catching a spanish mackeral off the beach with a slug. Both vids come from the same general location which is the beach between the tip of the cape and the lighthouse, there is quite a good gutter in there that holds heaps of bait at low tide and the predators move in a cause havoc on the high tides. I've only ever been up around the low tides and found the fishing slow. We would travel up at half way through the run out to get around all the rocks and travel home half way through the run in to miss the rocks again, never really stayed up for a high tide cycle but have been told that the fishing is much better around the top half of the tides. So this year we might be looking at going early in the making tide and stranding ourselves up there until the tide lets us out again.



ryanmoken10 said:


> I sometimes take up a heap of salted pippies with me, they last a hell of a lot longer than just plain bait as you can keep them out of the esky.


I've never had a problem keeping pipis, I don't keep them in an esky either, just a bucket with a bit of water and a sealed lid, trying to keep it out of direct sun, under a towel etc, I give them a dunk of fresh water regularly with a holy bucket. I have kept pipis fresh like this for days, but now only grab enough for an immediate session for the kids who chase the dart and we return any we don't use. I still believe when using bait that fresh is best but live is better.

Kev


----------



## RackRaider (Nov 10, 2010)

I Just Put about 300m of 30lb braid on my 10kg 6ft spinning rod, will that be right for 20-30kg sharks?

ANd i did'nt know you could get KingFIsh off Fraser i thought about Long Reef was the Top of Their distribution range


----------



## Mzuri (Jan 19, 2010)

G'day Jack, I have only been on Fraser once, and sadly I didn't have the excellent advise as given by other yak members.

Sadly the week that I was there camping along the eastern shore, there was red weed washed up along the beaches from a storm a few days before. It was pretty impossible to fish in, the weed just clogged up the line guides on my rod during every retrieve, and the only way to escape the weed was by fishing the northern side of the rocky headlands.

I had more of a ball using metal slices than I did bait fishing, caught heaps of tailor, dart, and was even bust off by a huge black kingfish (cobia) which took my tiny little lure. I was regularly taking short cuts to the rocks by wading waste deep in the shallow backwater from the beach, well, I soon stopped that after having a shark fly out and beaching itself at my feet whilst chasing mullet, and it wasn't a once off, as all you needed to do was tap your feet when they were feeding and they would fly out again to beach themselves thinking that your feet were mullet which were regularly jumping onto the beach to avoid em.

You may think I am joking, and when you see it you still won't believe it. They were only 6 footers but still had teeth and pity any silly person taking a toddler for a dip. Just take care, and this beaching event only appears when the mullet schools are being chased. I did manage to hook a 10 footer off the beach in the same spot and it was the first shark other than a mako that I have seen leap side on 8 feet up into the air and then bust me off, I was totally awe struck.

Plenty of big rays were there to grab my free lined bait too, absolutely time consuming back breaking work getting em in, but still fun to catch and release, just watch the tail barbs.

One thing that you will surely need to take is some type of sand fly combating insect repellent as they are pretty bad in the sand dune camping areas.

Also, if you are bored and decide to chase the ghost crabs over the sand dunes just for fun, be extremely watchful as I almost landed on a 7 foot King Brown snake which was sun baking. I could have sworn that I didn't touch the ground during my leap after coming face to face with it, but twisted mid air like a cat and somehow ended up a fair distance back to safety. The brown also in shock took off elsewhere at great haste.

My cousin went up on a later date, he caught a 7 foot hammerhead shark off the beach and decided that he wanted it's jaws and subsequently donged it on the head to kill it. As he had to shoot off elsewhere, he didn't have time to clean it, so he thought he would put it out of the sun in the lounge/cooking room of his tent until his return. Well thank god he didn't put it in the bedroom as the shark wasn't dead, but just concussed, and tore a hole in his tent wall after damaging some of his equipment. Yep, he learnt a lesson from that.

Then another mate had his esky of food stolen from the annex area of his tent, he returned from fishing and discovered drag marks in the sand which led up over a nearby sand dune, and along with the drag marks were dingo prints. He go his esky back with the contents, though the dingo had chewed the corner off it, so it was no longer air tight, hence worthless.

The dingoes up there are scrawny skinny things that you wouldn't think could drag anything, but when something is hungry it can develop amazing strength.

Either way, enjoy yourself

Tight Lines

Rob


----------

