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Drummer, Bream & Trevally off the Rocks
By Gary Brown
As with most things fishing, I prefer to keep my tackle as simple as possible and when fishing off the rocks for drummer, bream and trevally it is essential that you keep it simple. This will make your fishing time off the rock much more enjoyable.
Drummer, bream and trevally will use the white water as a form of cover, to come away from their caves and hidey holes to feed. To encourage them out you will need to have some form of berley. Whether it's stale bread, chopped up old prawns and cunje, or smashed up old pilchards, either combined or used singular, you need to berley when fishing for drummer, bream and trevally off the rocks. A few go-to baits include large prawns, peeled in this instance, along with cunjevoi, bread and red crabs.
It doesn't matter where I am fishing in Australia, off the rocks for the above fish, you will always find something down there that it will get snagged on. So, you need to fish as light as the conditions will allow. In slight conditions you may only need the weight of the bait to get it out to where you need it to land, while other times you will need to add only the smallest running ball sinker.
Hence you will only find a small range of ball sinker in my tackle box, including 000, 00, 0, 1 and 2's, this will do. These sinkers can also be used to help weight the float down, ensuring that the resistance that the fish feel when trying to swim off with the bait is minimal.
Hook selection is also kept to a minimum, with size 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0's generally enough. For the bream and trevally I prefer to have a 1 to 2/0 Owner circle bait keepers and Mustad 540's, while for the drummer and groper I prefer to use the Mustad 542 - 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0's, which is a heavy version (rectangle shaped shaft) of the popular 540.
I will also have a small selection of A-Just-A Bubble floats, bobby corks, swivels and float stoppers. All of this can be stored in a small plastic tray tackle box.
Once again, I keep it very simple when it comes to the rigs that I use.
Check them out below:
http://tackletactics.com.au/Rigging-Guides/Gary-Browns-Essential-Bait-Fishing-Rigs/Bobby-Cork-Rig
When targeting large drummer and groper (4 to 10kg) my outfit is an Okuma Flexi-TipZ FT-S-1203SFM, 12' 15-30lb rod, mounted with an Okuma 5500 Azores Blue threadline reel, spooled with 50lb Platypus Super Braid and 40-50lb Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader.
If I am targeting average size drummer and groper, I will still use my FT-S-1203SFM, mounted with an Okuma 5500 Azores threadline reel, however I will change the spool over to one that has been spooled up with 20lb Platypus Platinum monofilament straight through as the low diameter and high knot strength and abrasion resistance are great for chasing fishing in and around the rocks.
My bream/trevally outfit is a 6-12lb rod, mounted with an Okuma 5500 Azores threadline reel, spooled with 12lb Platypus Platinum monofilament straight through. I prefer to not use a fluorocarbon leader as it adds an extra knot to the rig and really you don't need it when fishing off the rocks.
All you need to do now is a bit of research as to where the drummer, bream and trevally are lurking in your neck of the woods. They are great fighting and good eating species that are readily available, so grab your gear and get into them.
GEAR USED.
Okuma Azores Blue 5500 threadline / spinning reel
Okuma Flexi-TipZ Spinning Rods - FT-S-1203SFM 12' 3pce 15-30lb
Platypus Super Braid - 50lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 40-50lb
Platypus Platinum monofilament straight through 20lb & 12lb
Ball sinkers - 000, 00, 0, 1 and 2's
Owner hooks - size 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0's
Mustad 540's
Mustad 542 - 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0's
A-Just-A Bubbles Floats, bobby corks, swivels and float stoppers