To find new Wonky Holes in under 20 metres nice and close to home requires searching.
Some days I make it my quest to find new spots and not fish at all.
Often as we are travelling from A to B on the big boat, I just mark them for future reference. Sometimes I head back and inspect those marks in the blue boat with great results.
But the real gems are when you find stacked Wonky Holes in under 20 metres.
I’ve got quite a few around the 25-30 metre mark. These are great for experienced spearos as they are shallow enough to spear a really good nanny.
The best thing about really shallow wonkies is that the area will spook after you catch a couple of fish. This generally stops anyone from fishing the area out, as opposed to deep shoals etc offshore where the fish often just keep biting.
It could have something to do with the extra lighting in shallower waters but thats just my theory as to why it happens. So you have to put in the time to get a portfolio of them, that way you can move from one to another and only take 1 or 2 fish. By looking after these areas with responsible harvesting they will serve you well into the future as it allows foraging and migratory fish to move in and keep the areas topped up.
What is most important is not to give your hard earned marks, such as wonky holes in under 20 metres, to absolutely anyone. I learnt this the hard way a long time ago with people I thought I could trust hence why I no longer do it.
BAROTRAUMA
Another great reason to find Wonky Holes in under 20 metres is you can release fish with no barotrauma.
The deeper you go the more likely a fish will suffer from it.
Barotrauma for those that don’t know, is when the gas inside the fish expands as it is brought to the surface.
In bad cases the fish’s eyes pop out and the stomach is forced out the mouth.
In these extreme cases, the fish won’t survive and is best taken home for dinner.
FISHING FOR WONKY HOLES UNDER 20 METRES
However when fishing shallow waters, fish rarely get barotrauma.
Especially if you bring the fish up slowly over the last 10 metres (one atmosphere) or so.
As you will see in the video, the difference between fish caught in under 20 metres and over 30 metres is significant in terms of barotrauma.
Not that any fish with barotrauma go to waste. As you’ll see in the video as we catch and cook the larger cod.
On this day we were mostly going out for a few hours to just have a look for some new areas. But couldnt resist the temptation for a few quick drops. The reds were a bit quite due to the moon but as usual you cant stop the cod from eating as they are pretty greedy at any stage of the month.
EASILY FIND NEW SPOTS WITH OUR FREE SOUNDER SKILLS TRAINING
Before thrashing the water to foam with lures, or even if you choose live bait or flesh bait, if you’re not fishing on the fish you won’t get the same results in terms of fish catches.
If you haven’t already, jump on our free sounder course below and learn more about getting it right.
FINDING WONKY HOLES ALONG THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Wonky Holes in under 20 metres of water are not that common.
However we find them inside the Great Barrier Reef all the way north from Frazer island out to 50 metres.
20 – 30 metres is the most common.
Our Wonky Holes online fishing course shows you all the tricks to find them quickly and easily.
RMF FISHING LURES
All our lures have been well and truly proven over time on charter with Ryan Moody when he was a fishing guide.
So you can be sure they WILL work – if you put them in front of fish.
FISHING COURSES
Find new spots quickly in areas you have never visited before.
Check out our Fish Smarter courses.
MORE EPISODES
I hope you enjoyed our video on Wonky Holes under 20 metres.
Stay tuned as we head off soon on our long awaited offshore trip in our 40 footer Mood Swings.
