Ram Road Trip Part 13

My RAM road trip continues as I hit Highway One on Australia’s East Coast.

And my RAM 1500 Laramie’s the leader of the pack in cabin space and luxury. It easily tows my boat as I head toward Scotts Point in New South Wales.

I then move out further south-east to join the flotilla of small craft hunting baitfish on the South West Rocks grounds.

Hopefully they are slimy mackerel the top bait for many large fish species including spotty and Spanish mackerel. The Garmin shows heaps of bait but sadly not the slimeys I’m seeking.

Although Yakkas are good live bait they don’t quite rate up there with slimeys.

With the hard yakka of bait gathering complete I have to settle for second best. I troll a live yakka slowly and watch the Garmin hoping it will indicate large predators.

After all my disappointment at only gathering yakkas they’re proving to be really up to the job. And this one has been gobbled up by a true speedster.

Scotts Head in New South Wales is one of my favourite places to fish for Mackerel and although I’ve landed one good spotty sharks are out in force.

Mate Tony Didio has hooked up next to me. Tony is in a monumental tug of war with a whopper.

He is battling a monster bull shark, trying to cut it free without losing a finger or even an arm.

That’s the cue for me to change to plan B and seek less shark-infested waters.

Yakkas, alive or dead are tougher than slimeys. They’re an ideal bait for reef fishing.

The live yakkas are working too. But this fish feels different. Loads of power and punch it could be a Snapper or if im lucky one of the best eating fish found on the reefs, a parrot or tusk fish.

As it gets closer to the boat the colours of a tusky are hard not to see with its greens, pearl white and brilliant blue, purple and red Markings. Yahoo !

So Plan B is working as are the live yakkas.

With the sun is rapidly sinking we decide to call it a day. So with a few kilometres to travel and a river bar crossing on the plate it’s time to fire up the motor and travel the briny highway back to home base.

I’m out before sunrise chasing mackerel again. And I’m ever hopeful that those savage sharks are prowling elsewhere.

This morning there are a lot of boats out here chasing livies and I’m hoping to catch plenty of slimey mackerel.

With the live well loaded with slimies I’m powering off shore in my boat. I keep a check on the Garmin’s for large fish displays which I hope will be mackerel.

The sea is calm and I start to come across some vertical schools of bait on my sounder, which usually means that the baitfish are being harassed by a big predator.

I slow my troll down and knock the motor into neutral to sink the live slimey mackerel down deeper in the water column.

As soon as I get into gear and the forward movement of the boat lifts my live baits up, the Shimano Stella reel squeals as line is torn away from the spool.

Like most Mackerel when hooked they race away at a rate of knots. Once the run has been slowed it’s a simple matter of keeping a bend in your rod so that constant pressure keeps the hooks fastened tight in the fishes jaw.

Any slack line is the quickest way to lose your prize. Just keep winding all the way until the fish swims into the net. Don’t stop.

Spotted Mackerel are delicious eating and are great on the bbq. If you want to keep the fish ensure that you bleed the Mack and put the fish in an ice slurry, made up of ice and salt water. This combo really cools down the fish ready for eating. This Mackerel does all the right things and ends up sliding into the net.

With the live well loaded with slimies I’m powering off shore in my boat. I keep a check on the Garmin’s for large fish displays which I hope will be mackerel.

The sea is calm and I start to come across some vertical schools of bait on my sounder, which usually means that the baitfish are being harassed by a big predator.

I slow my troll down and knock the motor into neutral to sink the live slimey mackerel down deeper in the water column.

As soon as I get into gear and the forward movement of the boat lifts my live baits up, the Shimano Stella reel squeals as line is torn away from the spool.

Like most Mackerel when hooked they race away at a rate of knots. Once the run has been slowed it’s a simple matter of keeping a bend in your rod so that constant pressure keeps the hooks fastened tight in the fishes jaw.

Any slack line is the quickest way to lose your prize. Just keep winding all the way until the fish swims into the net. Don’t stop.

Spotted Mackerel are delicious eating and are great on the bbq. If you want to keep the fish ensure that you bleed the Mack and put the fish in an ice slurry, made up of ice and salt water. This combo really cools down the fish ready for eating. This Mackerel does all the right things and ends up sliding into the net.

We have found that the North Coast Mackerel hang around over summer right through until May. If there is warm water offshore combined with a plentiful amount of baitfish the conditions are right.

We fish with relatively light tackle, as Mackerel don’t bust you off. It’s important to use a 42lb wire trace of around 30cm with 2 x 5/0 suicide hooks attached.

Generally the live baits go into the water without a sinker attached or you may use one rig with a sinker and the other without to cover different depths.

My rod and reel are a Shimano 4-8 kilo stick with a 5000 Saragosa reel that holds plenty of 20 pound power pro braid with a 20 pound leader. This is all you need to battle your catch.

It’s exciting fishing and every once and a while you may catch a mixed bag of other species like Marlin, Dolphinfish, Cobia and Tuna.

The Scotts Head reefs hold all manner of travelling fish and being there at the right time of year with the right boat, bait, tackle and weather will give you every chance to land your trophy Mackerel.

This rig has taken me to so many great fishing destinations and my next Ram Road Trip is just down the NSW Highway, so catch you then.

I’m whooshing off as well. I’ll see you out on the water next week when my I continue my RAM road trip.