A mate of mine is cleaning up out off ocean reef. With 5 pots in over the last few days they have gotten 13, 15 and 24 yesterday..... My week off is in 8 days so I'm hoping they are still marching when I'm home!!

 When you throw those pots in make sure you cable tie the bait doors shut.  Some critters were busting mine open

 Got our limit every day for the last week.. Mostly only pulling one or two pots to get the limit also.. They are cranking!!!

got a few from rotto yesterday

 Any tips for the novices like me Belly?  Depth??  Terrain??  I presume you are going off ocean reef?  

 Sounds like north side of town has started first still nothing down my way yet. No good reports from other boats out n about either!

 Yeah at hillarys yesterday the fisheries guy said that he had seen a few big reds and some whites  but wasn't talking bag limits.  

 Now all we need is for this wind to play nicely! 

Plenty in 2 pots this morning off Hillarys. Whites in 16m, reds in 30.

Tips are hard to write about, i could talk for hours about different  little tips but ill try a few easy ones to get ya started. Craying is like normal fishing it takes years to get it completely wired.

Firstly more of an observation then tip this year, you should have got your pots in 2 weeks ago but i know this is not always possible with work and what not.

My reason in saying this is its anyones guess what will happen to them after this swell buggers off. The swell normally shuts them down on the edges and normally makes them move off faster but they are pretty thick this year so anything could happen, fingers crossed they will still be there for another couple of weeks. we have only been pulling one of our amature pots a day since the swell to get our limit so tomorrow will be the first pull on fresh pots since the swell and we moved all our pro pots off the edges  before the swell aand into the sand in 20odd meters behind the second bank(they were full today)

.Anyways tips wise.

At the start of the run fish on the sand as close to the edge as you can and gradully step them out every couple of days we are about 3 or 4meters out from the edge at the moment.

When setting pots always set on more west faceing edges or edges running to the west(or which ever what is ocean faceing in your area).

Try to always fish extremities (cracks or points on your chosen edge of reef)

When starting try a couple of different edges see which ones work best in this year then pot harder in the best spot.

Use good pots and good bait. This is the biggest tip! (we use all pine pots and bluemackeral foir bait)

If i was to be putting my pots in for the first time in a week i would put 2 on edges and 2 in about 18m on the back edge of the 3mile and just see what works.

Last of all make sure you have enough but not to much rope and that your pots are heavy so they dont move.

Hope this helps and if anyone wants more info just ask :-)

Cheers Belly

Forgot to mention we are potting off tworocks but my old boy is off ocean reef and they are also getting plenty.

thanks for the tips Belly88, appreciate you sharing your experience.

           Thanks guys, all is looking good.

               Now lets hope this wind buggers off

             Rig, In reguards to the katipo pots a mate of mine said  his bait door popped open when he dropped it over the side, will cable tie closed

 One undersized white and a chewed out head from 4 pots in 8-15m off Mindarie on Sunday.

My first season potting so a lot still to learn.

back to work for 8 days but when I get back plan to drop them around 30-35m.

I have heard at this depth you can keep getting crays right through summer,have good slat/steel base pots with extra weight.

Anyone have advise for when you can't see the bottom and are going off your sounder to place your pots?

Would appreciate any advice about setting deeper.

 Same problem with the kalico pots. Will drill some holes in the them and zip tie the tops closed.  Pretty poor really. I'm not sure if mine openned on the way down. Given the scratch marks in the plastic I reckon they got down to the bottom ok and some toothy critter had a crack at them. 

 Yeah I only have one of them and at the moment it is lost at sea thanks to some mongrel who decided to steal it or lift and dump it. 

3 big whites and 3 reds tday for us. 5 in 1 pot

Hi any Mandurah potters getting any james service area?

spoke to some dudes today they say five fathom behind the service is bagging out.

Seems as if they have dissapeared now. A mate of mine was bagging out every day last week near ocean reef and now they arent getting anything!! I havnt heard of any good reports south of rottnest tho!

went for a dive on the james service out from Mandurah two days ago only saw 2 whites and a gazillion mini reds. that was in about 7 to 10 meters.

 At hillarys this morning a guy at the ramp told me he got 17 in one pot.  He is in 15m. I got 2 in 20m. 

 Been doing very well off ocean reef with some days baggin out in 17 m however went out this morning only got 1 but others got their limit today will keep on going till Xmas 

 Been doing very well off ocean reef with some days baggin out in 17 m however went out this morning only got 1 but others got their limit today will keep on going till Xmas 

 Got my first couple whites for the season on FFB 

 Have managed 27 whites in the last week out off safety bay, had 10 in a pot on two occasions, all have been pretty good sizes too

 Went out this morning got 9 whites out of 3 pots our last pot was about 300m away from my gps spot would love to catch the scum who pulled my pot any way happy with 9 nice size too

 Got 20 in 2 pots today off Hillarys. Only a couple of small ones and a couple of big reds which were berried.

Glad to hear your getting a few now Westy.. Feels good when your catching.. Hope my advice helped :-)

Belly

Little brag for myself should crack 400 for the season next time out(only counting what we bring in).. Been unreal for us this year :-)

 if you can get your pots around rotto plenty of decent sized ones there

 My question is what can u do about other people pulling ur pots or other people's... I ask because I had my pots near rotto and a boat came up and pulled 3 pots near mine and as he went to pull the fourth I drove over near him to ask how he was going and he sheepishly drove away from the pot he was going to pull.... I caught up with him and asked if they were his pots and said that they were actually mine (which they weren't) and he just said "ohh mistook my pots for those ones" .....

what can u actually do if u catch people or suspect people of doing it??

cheers

 I think if you contacted fisheries with the registration and a statement you would probably find they would be willing to prosecute them, especially if you had extra evidence like video/photos.  This is what police do for vehicle hoons.  If they wanted to fight it you would probably have to be willing to appear in court.

 Pulled pots for the first time today off Hillary's, be it 3 weeks after I put them in whoops. Was 30 in the 2 pots. 11 keepers, kept  the 8 biggest. All keepers were whites. The rest were big buried and tar spot reds

 Geez Gray. They would have been skinny and bored mate if they were in there for 3 weeks. I  got nothing today in my 2 pots off Hillarys.  Moved them back on to reef in 15m. Was hard to find a spot to put them though. Pots everywhere. Seems the whites are slowing but a few at the ramp still getting their limits. 

 They were so skinny and bored I had to bring them home and put them out of their misery haha. 

another 8 today out of 1 pot all whites the other 5 pots had nothing in them so we end up moving them to a new spot at narrow neck the 8 we kept were all stonkers  the young bloke was a bit pieved they came from my brothers pots not his for a change