Exploring the deep can be electric experience

ONE of the types of fishing that has really started to grow in popularity among southerners in recent years is deep dropping.

The huge Bass Groper on display at Mures Fish Centre on the Hobart Waterfront

ONE of the types of fishing that has really started to grow in popularity among southerners in recent years is deep dropping.

I’m referring to fishing in depths of hundreds of metres, for deepwater species that are rarely caught on the shallow side of the Continental Shelf.

These are usually top-quality table fish of considerable size and include previously little-known species from the depths such as hapuka, blue-eye trevalla, eight-bar cod, bass groper and ruby snapper.

I have to admit it’s not the sort of fishing I personally enjoy, but there is no doubt it is steadily catching on in the wider angling community.

Deep dropping is not new, but recent advances in fishing tackle have made it much more accessible to more anglers, including those in the metro area. It’s not just modern tackle that is helping either, with fast, modern boats fitted with quality electronics making these offshore missions easier.

When fishing in 150m of water or more, traditional spinning and overhead reels can be very hard work on the retrieve, but there are now quite a few electric reels on the market that make this style of fishing much easier.

Braided lines are essential as they allow baits, and sometimes even metal jigs, to be fished much more effectively at these sorts of depths. The thinner diameter of these lines reduces the problem of big bows in the line that would otherwise keep a traditional mono line off the bottom at these sorts of depths.

It also enables enough sensitivity to detect bites when doing so with hundreds of metres of line out that would be almost impossible with mono. It’s usually a style that requires very heavy sinkers over a kilo in weight and big baits, and this is where electric reels come into their own.

These reels are powered by large 12-volt batteries and make the process of deploying the rig, and retrieving it again, hopefully with a fish attached, much easier.

You flick a switch to let the line down and then watch the rod tip, waiting for a fish or two to get on. When that happens, you flick the switch again to pull the fish up.

It’s not very sporting, but it can certainly be effective.