Reef Fishing :
Reef fishing hot spots around Groote Eylandt offer anglers the chance to do battle with a large variety of hard fighting species. The beautiful “red fish” like Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Large Mouth Nannygai, Mangrove Jack and Fingermark “Golden Snapper” are found in large numbers around the many islands and reef systems that surround Groote. Mixed in with Black Jewfish, Spangled and Long nose Emperor, Parrot fish, Chinamen, and Cod are a host of Trevally, Cobia, Queenfish, and Mackerel. Everything ends up in the mix as a feeding frenzy brings in predators of all sizes. There are too many awesome looking spots to try, but generally our Lowrance sounder shows up the bait schools and when active predators can be seen around these, it’s time to drop the pick.
In the winter months when the South Easterly winds dominate, we fish the northern protected bays and reef systems. Most of the time we will start jigging at a spot until the bite gets a little quite and then we bait up with Tuna chunks and get ready to hang on tight. The reef fish hit hard and bolt straight for the structure so if you’re not concentrating either your bait will be gone or your entire rig literally reefed. When fish like Coral Trout or Red Emperor are boated we often keep one for the plate but as we are a Sportfishing operation we aim to put as many fish back in a healthy condition as possible. The quality fish we keep are prepared and cooked up at the end of the day back at the Lodge. “Sensational” !!
Often when the reefies are feeding a berley slick is created down deep. This is when other hard fighting fish like Trevally turn up. It could be a school of Giant Trevally, Golden Trevally or Gold Spot Trevally or even Black Trevally or several other species of these hard fighting fish. Mackerel hit your baits on the drop and before long you have to swap over to a small wire trace just to get your rigs back in one piece. At times triple hook ups on Macks send the boat into chaos as the fish make line burning runs. Anglers need to cross over just to stop the tangles. If sharks enter the fray it is time to move on, as while it’s sometimes exciting to do battle with a 6 foot Whaler they sure make a mess of every other species caught.
There are loads of species to battle on a reef fishing session and you never know what may hit next. One thing for sure is that if the fish are on the bite you will have sore arms from pulling in all the fish.
In the warmer months we often make the trip down south to fish the reef structures that dot this remote section of coastline. The fishing here can be sensational with the chance to combine the many options this area has to offer in one day. You can mix up your bottom fishing by chasing Tuna, Mackerel, Sailfish and Black Marlin all within a few minutes from your reef fishing spot. Each of our 8 metre Sportfishing boats carry a multitude of rods all rigged up for a quick change. A couple of hours trolling around bait balls at the Southern end of the Island can have anglers hooked up for some terrific Billfish action. A couple of hours later you can be back on the reef getting your arms stretched by some reef crunching beasties.
Our guides are happy to look after your rigs and can teach you how to rig up yourself, tie knots and bait up if you’re keen to learn. We have all the gear ready to use on board so you don’t miss out. Reef fishing is a great way to hook up to some terrific eating and tough fighting species and there is always something to catch and somewhere to fish around Groote Eylandt and it’s coral reef systems.
