FISHING the bottom layers of the water column has always been a popular past time, but in recent years a lot of the more traditional methods used have changed from traditional bait fishing rigs to using soft plastics, slow jigs and octopus style jigs. Where I live on the Gold Coast yellowtail kingfish, amberjack, cobia, samson fish, snapper, mulloway and pearl perch make up the majority of recreational catches in deep water. Bottom fishing is no longer dragging a few hooks and a heavy lead on mono line. Over
the past few seasons, we have changed our tactics and tackle a bit and greatly improved our success when fishing the deeper grounds for a wide variety of species.
The catalyst for these tackle changes began over a decade ago with the increasing popularity of jigging with heavy metal lures for kingies, amberjacks and samsons. The catch rates on the jigs were often double that of live bait in the early years. With braided line and a good jig outfit, the hits were brick wall stops, the fights brutal and the fish angry. Over about ten years in the more popular spots jigging became less effective, but as new deeper grounds were explored large schools of kingfish were found in depths up to 250 metres, and these fish responded well to metal jigs. Jigging outfits
evolved over time, and newer ‘slow’ jig methods greatly increased the effectiveness of metal jigs in deeper water. These outfits have also proved themselves to be great for live baiting and dropping baits into the depths.
A long time ago I bought a Shimano Trinidad 40N on a T Curve 400 rod. Filled with 70 pound braid this outfit has proved itself to be extremely versatile. I now own several similar outfits, and I can jig in depths up to 300 metres. These outfits are the ultimate marine protein extractor. Although I jig a fair bit, the jig outfits I use have caught a lot more pearl perch, samson and snapper on bait than it has fish on metal lures. We generally fish in around 65 to 90 metres of water, and at this depth it is very hard to feel bites through mono line. This can make it hard to hook fish effectively, or to know if you’ve been baited. With braid, I can feel a leatherjacket gently peck at bait 50 fathoms below.
I have a love of pearl perch fillets! For pearl perch we generally fish with a paternoster rig, consisting of a 10-ounce lumo dipped snapper lead and a couple of droppers. On one dropper,
I have a gang of 3x 5/0 hooks and the other has a 6/0 circle hook. We tart this up a bit with the addition of a few soft lumo beads on the droppers, which, in conjunction with the lumo sinker, increases the visibility of the bait. We generally use a pilchard on the gang and squid, cuttlefish or strip bait on the circle hook. Pearlies also respond well to “slow” jigs worked close to the bottom. Pearl Perch aren’t classified in the game fish section of IGFA. They fight a bit like a wet sock. They are a very pretty fish that has a well-deserved reputation as being one of the best eating fish in the ocean.
Deep dropping using electric reels has become increasingly popular.
Jig outfits are nice and light. Braid is finer than mono and is less effected by current. This means less lead is required to get to the bottom. With such an outfit, bottom fishing becomes a pleasure, and on my favourite pearlie spot, we usually have our bag limit of five in quick time. However, a lot more than Pearl Perch get involved in the action, and we’ve caught plenty of snapper, amberjacks, parrot, big kingies and sharks on baited hooks. With heavy braid and a lethal jig rod, it is possible to put some serious drag on these underwater express trains. These pockets sized 80-pound rated outfits have lethal pulling power while at the same time being light and a pleasure to use. I’ve been so impressed with the jig rods versatility when it comes to deep-water work that we now own three similar outfits. When mates fished with their more conventional bottom fishing gear in my boat, the jig rods out fished them by a wide margin. The new model Shimano slow jig rods look very light but are incredibly powerful. My B664 model is a deadly weapon. Coupled with an Ocea Jigger 200 it is a brilliant outfit in deep water. Deep-water bottom fishing produces some beautiful eating fish in Southern Queensland
waters. I love eating fresh fish, and pearl perch, rosy jobfish, venus tusk fish and pigfish all give delicious white meat fillets. While fish numbers have decreased in recent years, reduced bag limits and closed seasons for snapper and pearl perch should help restore fish numbers. The sea itself protects these fish, as in general the grounds are well offshore and fishing is dictated by wind and current. Most pearl perch spots in my local waters are 40 kilometres from the Seaway. Since we started fishing with electric reels, we have found good patches of pearl perch well beyond the hundred metre line.
Deep dropping using electric reels has become increasingly popular throughout the country. What I have found is that some of the more common species thought to live on the inshore grounds actually spend a lot of time in much deeper water. We’ve caught snapper and pearl perch in depths over 200 metres, yellowtail kingfish in depths of 300 metres and found a whole range of new species that used to be unfamiliar to us. These include flame snapper, bar cod, big nannygai, squirrel fish and trevalla. While using electric reel doesn’t appeal to everyone, it is an interesting way to fish and is very effective in deep water. Mullet fillets, squid, bonito and whole slimy mackerel all work well. I’ve found that using smaller circle pattern hooks increases the range of fish caught. It is hard
to catch flame snapper on big hooks. My outfit has a portable lithium battery that sits on the foregrip of the rod. It is about 30cm long and has a diameter of around 12 centimetres. When fully charged this gives enough power to deep drop all day. Most of our deep dropping takes place in depths of 250 to 350 metres. I find quite a few spots when I am trolling for blue marlin in the same depth. You need at least a 1KW transducer to get a good reading in these depths.
Prior preparation is the key to good bottom fishing. If you pre prepare your rigs, it is easy to change from jigs to bait rigs and back again. My deep drop rigs consist of a 150 pound mainline and 100-pound droppers. These are attached by inline swivels crimped to the main line which gives a neat rig that minimises tangling. The end of the rig has a length of 60 pound mono to which the sinker is attached. This lighter line will break free in the event of snagging. I carry a box full of made-up rigs in zip lock bags to cover all of these options. The live bait rigs consist of an 8/0 to 10/0 Octopus or Suicide pattern hook with a 250 to 300gm lead about 45cm above it. We use a single hook through the back or nose of the bait. Circle hooks are a good alternative. The jig outfits I use has a leader 80-pound heavy abrasion resistant leader attached via an FG knot. A strong clip at the end of the leader allows quick change between rigs. The paternoster rig, consisting of a snapper lead at the bottom of the line and hooks on droppers above it, is effective for some species such as pearl perch. I like to use luminous tubing on the droppers of these rigs when fishing in deep water. With my deep dropping rigs, I attach a clip on underwater light, as are used in the long line industry. In the distant past, such rigs also caught plenty of big snapper, but it seems that today’s snapper are an educated bunch and have learnt about the dangers of such basic rigs. To catch big snapper consistently requires a bit more finesse, and the best way to do this is by “float lining” (aka “straylining” by Kiwi snapper anglers).
Float lining is a method that lets a bait slowly drift down into the depths in as natural a fashion as possible. The secret is to use just enough lead that runs freely up the line, slowly dragging the bait to the depth the snapper is hunting. Unlike the direct feel of braid that works so well with paternoster rigs, float lining works better with monofilament nylon lines. The line is fed out continually until the bait is at the feeding fish’s depth, and big snapper often pick up a bait midwater. A fast increase in line speed usually means a fish has intercepted the bait and can be struck hard. Float lining works well in conjunction with a good berley slick. This encourages snapper to feed far up from the bottom. While this is the best method for bigger snapper, it also attracts plenty of other species. Amberjack, Samsons, Mulloway and Kings all fall for a float lined pilchard or tuna strip. I’ve hooked quite a few black marlin on floating pilchards over the years, and it is a popular and effective way to catch snapper I usually float line with threadline tackle and 8 to 10 kilo mono. I tried float lining with braid but noticed that many fish dropped the bait instead of running off with it. Braid is great stuff for feeling bites through, but at the other end of the line the fish can also sense that something isn’t quite right with the bait it has just picked up. Perhaps this is why they seem to drop the bait more often on the braid. For all those deep water methods where a fish is hooked as soon as it bites (paternoster rigs, jigging etc.) braid works very well. Where a shy fish picks up a bait and runs with it I’ve found monofilament seems more effective, as the fish rarely drops the bait and can be hooked after it has swallowed it. Interestingly, fish seem to fight less on monofilament than on braid. The stretch in nylon monofilament seems to create less panic when the fish is hooked.
Soft plastics are deadly on snapper, and are very popular on most of the inshore reefs in depths out to about 60 metres. Jerk shads, paddle tails and Berkley Gulps all work very well. Most fish take the lure as it sinks down to the bottom. Use just enough weight in your jig heads so the lure sinks slowly. In contrast, heavy “Octa” style jigs can be suspended a few metres from the bottom. The small tentacles work in absolutely minimal current, and the rise and fall of the boat with the swell gives sufficient action to the lure. The rod can be set in a rod holder and the fish will hook itself.
As the water temperature drops and we move into the colder part of the year, I find I am spending a lot more time fishing for bottom fish rather than marlin and other pelagic species. In my local waters, anglers are pushing out to fish even deeper water out to 500 metres catching gem fish, blue eye trevalla and huge bass groper. Some of the bass groper have been over 80 kilos and are being caught on conventional jigging gear using 30-pound braid! While I’m much more interested in the smaller highly edible species, I am constantly amazed by whet can turn up in these depths. Bottom fishing has become quite a complicated way to fish now, with expensive jig rods, electric reels and new lure styles. Despite this, the aim remains the same. Tasty white fillets!
