Wonky Holes student Ben Weston takes the reins for this week’s blog post. Ben was one of our first “Wonky Holes” online course members and has since gone on to find some fantastic country off the coast of Central Queensland using knowledge gained from Ryan by doing the course. Before doing the course, Ben had heard of these illusive honey holes but had never been able to find one.
Be sure and read to the bottom as we will will have links to Ryan’s live Wonky Holes presentation, filmed at a BCF club night.
Take it away Ben…
Wonky holes have been somewhat of a mystery for me for many, many years.
I distinctly remember back in the mid-nineties my old man talking about fishing these small pot holes of gold which lay on the sea floor, but we never actually managed to fish one.
However that all changed after biting the bullet and doing Ryan’s Wonky Holes course. Ryan lays all of his cards on the table, really making sense of the mysterious ‘Wonky Holes’. Without this kind of in depth step by step knowledge and the electronics to aid in the search of these honey holes, they are very difficult to find. In fact, it’s somewhat of a fluke locating one without the two ingredients mentioned above!
Knowledge is power so keep learning!
Since doing the course and achieving some amazing results, I have fielded many personal messages asking for the best sounder setup on the market to make the search easier. I reluctantly say ‘easier’ because I assure you there is a science in finding them, but as the saying ‘goes a tradesman is useless without his tools’ and a fisherman is no different. But there is an answer, to be honest it’s the easiest part of finding wonkies. GARMIN!
As a Garmin owner and having worked in a tackle shop, in my opinion, there is nothing on the marine electronics market in direct competition or even close to what Garmin has to offer to the offshore market, particularly in Side Vu.
The Garmin GT51 transducer is easily unrivaled in its ability to Side Vu at depth out to 150m either side of your boat. The GT51 has a dual frequency capability in Side Vu, the more traditional 455khz and the deeper water frequency of 260khz.
Since Ryan put together his Wonky Holes Course, there have been many Garmin fish finder packages roll out the door, and as a direct result his students are finding Wonky Holes with little fuss on the back of Ryan’s priceless knowledge laid out in the course.
I currently run a Garmin Fish Finder GPSMAP 7410xsv and GT51 transducer combo in my 6.15m Yaltacraft.
Over the last 12 months I have hosted many mates who swear by other brands and I assure you they leave the boat with a new-found respect for the clarity and capability of this setup in deep water.
Scroll through the screen shots I have attached to the article of the Wonky Holes and isolated structure of have found in recent months. I also encourage you to take note of the depth they are found in. This Garmin Fish Finder combo makes short work of grinding away finding un-fished country.
Whether you have done the Wonky Holes course or not, I believe if you don’t have a Garmin fish finder unit running the GT51 transducer you are well behind the eight ball. Yes, I agree other brands have proved themselves in the past offshore, Furuno being the stand out performer. But in my opinion they come at an inflated price and still run old school sonar technology. Garmin CHIRP gives you superior target separation making painting the picture clear as day, even to the point of counting individual fish through the water column.
If you’re about to search for some illusive Wonky Holes with your fish finder and want to find some untouched new ground, there is an answer to shorten those long days searching the deep blue. Go Garmin, you’d be lost without it!!
Cheers
Want to learn more about Wonky Holes?
Check out Ryan Moody’s free presentation on the topic including Fish Finder screen shots of what to look for – filmed to a 700 strong crowd during a BCF club night.
Additional Resources;
How to make Berley Bombs and catch more reef fish
Releasing fish with Barotrauma
Our online fishing course WONKY HOLES contains step-by-step instructions to find and fish these underwater gems.
Click here to visit our Wonky Holes online fishing course information page.
