Targeting Western Port gummy sharks

by Jarrod Day on 13 Jun 2012 Western Port, on Victoria’s South East coast is home to one of the most productive Gummy shark fisheries in Australia.

Gummy sharks are quite wide spread and can be found extending along the coast from WA to QLD, although rare captures in these states, they are still a possibility for those willing to explore the bottom.

Victoria’s rugged coast is well known for its gummy shark population but for some of the best gummy fishing you can’t slip past the murky waters of Western Port, oh and did I mention they are a year round affair!

These grey torpedos are the most sought after species in our southern state, providing a challenge for those searching for them as well as putting on a great battle of thumping head shakes and line screaming runs.

Though for some, the patience may wear thin, others don’t hesitate to back the boat down the ramp for another shot at a title.

Those who continue to find success have their techniques down to a fine art, knowing certain tides, times, baits, tackle and locations to fish for the best results. Though sometimes they feel like there elusive, it is hours on the water that can provide an angler with consistent success.

Fish on the edge: Searching for gummies isn’t as easy as searching for other species. Being an opportunistic bottom feeder, anglers wishing to tangle with one need to be up to speed with their sounding devices. This means understanding the sounder to study the contour lines of the sea floor. Contour lines play a major part in finding a suitable location. They can show you steep drop-offs into a channel or show a distinct deep hole which fish may hold in.

Gummy sharks are constantly on the move so if you found success at one location, you may have stumbled upon a frequented area.

When searching out likely haunts, I look for small reef patches adjacent to the edge of a channel or contour line. Putting in the time looking at your GPS Map can give you a good indication where to try your luck.

Gummies swim along contour lines as food is washed along with the force of the current. Anglers need to set anchor near or next to them and fish their baits back onto the drop off. During a flood tide, I recommend casting the selected baits a little higher onto the banks as gummies will begin to explore the flats as the water covers it. There has been a few times where I have been fishing in shallow water only to see a dorsal fin poking out of the water as a gummy search’s for food. So in this case, if you cast onto the bank your more likely to encounter a hook up rather than concentrating in the deep.

Getting down to business: Fishing for gummies doesn’t require the elite in fishing equipment; rather it is up to you how far you can stretch the budget.

The standard setup should consist of a seven foot rod rated to either 12 or 15 kilos. The heavier of the two is ideal in deep water situations whereby you may require a substantial amount of weight to keep your baits on the bottom.

Western Port is known for having strong tidal variation and if you want success then you have to fish heavy sinkers. The sinker weight is determined on the day by the strength of the tide. If you lift your rod tip and can’t feel the sinker hit the bottom, you’ll need to attach a heavier sinker. Often, I stick with a 20oz bomb sinker but it is recommended that you reduce the weight as the tide slackens.

Reels capable of holding 300 metres of 30 pound braid are adequate and you’ll often encounter seven-gill, bronze whaler and school sharks as a by-catch. Having good line capacity can pay off, big gummies tend to peel quite a bit of line and when under anchor in a raging current you’ll pleased you have enough.

There is always going to be the argument of wether you should use braid or mono as you mainline. I’m all for braided lines and in the fast strong current they aren’t affected as much by the pressure of the water. Braided lines also aid in better bite detection and setting of the hooks when fishing circles with a fair amount of drag pressure.

Being of the shark family, it is a misbelief that wire traces are required to catch them, though some anglers continue to do so and have continuing success.

Gummies have rather coarse gums similar to tire tread on your cars wheels and when hooked up and thrashing around can wear through leader material. When choosing trace, I suggest either 60 or 80lb. I use Black Magic tough trace in these strengths and find them to be abrasive resistant enough to land even the biggest gummies I have encountered.

My standard setup consists of 30lb braid with a four metre length of 60lb leader attached via an Albright knot. The reason for the four metre length is so the Ezy rig sinker clip can run along it. In the past, I ran the Ezy rig along the braid, when the sinker became snagged while tight to a fish, the braid scuffed and busted off. Ever since I attached the length of leader, the amount of lost fish has dramatically decreased ten fold.

On the end of the leader, I attach a size five ball bearing swivel to avoid line twist to which a 1 metre length of 80lb trace is tied. The hooks are then attached to the end of the 80lb trace and away I go.

The standard suicide pattern hook can be used but I suggest using circles. I use a 6/0 KL hook which I wrap the shank with bate mate enabling the hook to freely slide up and down the leader with force. A 5/0 suicide hook is then tied onto the end of the leader as a stinger hook.

Having the sliding circle hook enables adjustment between the two hooks for the size of the bait used. Alternatively you can Snell on the circle but then you have to cut the bait to suit the size of the spacing between the hooks.

Dinner is served: Gummy sharks are demersal feeders, meaning like stingrays they feed mostly on the sea floor sniffing potential meals. In doing so, they have adapted to having a very acute sense of smell.

Mostly a scavenger, gummy sharks will take nearly any bait offered providing they are oily. They particularly like eating small crabs and this has been found in every gummy that I have kept and cleaned for the table. The stomach contents are full of crushed crabs, testament of feeding on the shallow banks during the flood tide. In saying that, I have had best success when using fresh calamari, freshwater eel fillet and my favourite, fresh salmon fillet. I know of many anglers using a variety of baits but if you’re armed with the above selections you’re in with a very good chance providing you’re in the correct location.

With no teeth, gummies can’t chew bulky or cubed baits as such, so stick with soft fleshy fillet baits for best success.

I know it sounds weird using freshwater eel fillet but for years commercial fishers have used eel because of its resilience against the pickers. The skin is as thought as leather and doesn’t come off the hook. I have even caught a gummy on a piece of eel only to toss it back out and hook another a short time later. It is strong, very oily and the majority of the larger versions will snack on an eel fillet rather than any other bait offered. Though the eel is purchased frozen, I still take it on every gummy fishing session.

Salmon and calamari are the highest on the fresh bait list and are readily caught in the waters of Western Port. Often, we venture out before we begin gummy fishing to collect our baits. Salmon can be caught throughout the port by trolling lures or setting up a berley trail in the shallows as can calamari when using silver whiting rigged on a squid prong over the weed beds.

Though these are the number one baits you still can’t underestimate the power of the humble pilchard or mullie. These little pocket rockets pack a punch in their oil content and have resulted in many captures over the years.

Anglers wishing to use a berley blend can do so but tend to attract unwanted species like toothy sharks and ray’s. In avoiding this, oily baits without the berley are by far the best option, you may have to sit and wait but when you get a bite it is more like to result in a gummy rather than a bite off or stingray.

Touchdown: Battling it out with a gummy shark is hard enough, attempting to put one in the boat is almost impossible. For those willing to keep a fish for the table, I suggest using a very large net. Gaffing will only make the fish go berserk and often you can loose the fish boat side if it gets off. As it stands, most fish are lost along side of the boat and with a net you can safely place them into it.

When hooked, gummies take a few big runs, then once tired, swim up current. When you have them next to the boat you can lead them like puppies. If it is a big fish, you’ll need to quickly place the net over their head and in a swift lift, swing them into the boat. Big gummies don’t often fit into most nets and often slide in and straight back out again so you’ll need to get them over the gunwales very quickly.

Once in the boat, you can subdue or just pick up, photograph and release.

The one thing we are very passionate about in Victoria is the respect for these over sized fish. They are quite slow growing and only grow to about 30 kilos or so. In saying that, a fish over 20 kilos is considered a trophy fish. At this size, the majority of gummies (nine out of ten) are in fact female. Usually when caught, they are very fat and in most cases are in pup.