How to soft-bait around small reef structures

Recently, Kirk Davis has started to explore the possibilities that exist around “bommies” – small reef structures that can hold great fish. Kirk explains…

There are a number of options at your disposal when soft-baiting from a ‘ski. The most common are fishing mid-depth water over sand with an appropriately weighted jig head, or casting into the wash. Both methods are very different but both can work very well at different times of the year and on different tides, depending on the location. There are, however, a few other less common places to soft-bait that can produce some great results.

Something I have done a little of, but have recently started exploring more passionately, is fishing ‘bommies’. A ‘bommie’ is an outcrop of reef or minor structure surrounded by a large area of sand. Often there are multiple bommies spread across a large area, and they can range from the size of a table to the size of a house. In many places it is common that they consist largely of low lying weed rather than significant rock or other structure. They can usually be found in shallow water by sighting them through polarized sunglasses, typically appearing as dark patches in the water.

Because the water is often clear and shallow – between 3 and 10 metres deep – stealth is the key and the Waverunner is perfect for that. The quiet four-stroke engine in combination with the small hull is perfect for making as little disturbance as possible.

When soft-baiting in these locations, positioning is everything. The key is to work out the drift direction with the wind and current, and park nice and quietly at the top end of it. The drift should take you as close as possible to the bommie, preferably within casting range. Once you start drifting you don’t want to start up the ski (or boat) until you have drifted past the bommies so as to keep the noise low.

Once you are set up on your drift, casting is key. You want to be casting as far forward as you can ahead of your drift. The reason for this is that you want to be fishing new ground that you haven’t been over yet. You should be looking for the dark patches in the water as these are the bommies and this is where the fish will be hanging. Sometimes the fish will be on the edges on the sand; other times they will be further into the bommie. Once you start getting hits, you will be able to work out whether there is a pattern to where the fish are sitting, and then target those areas.

The soft-baits and jigheads you use can vary, but I have a few favourites. I will almost always use 1/4 ounce or less for the jighead. I am all about making the soft-bait look as natural as possible, and the lighter the jig head, the more natural the bait will look. Often the fish will grab the soft-bait on the drop; they spy it hit the water and swim up off the bottom to be the first to get the meal!

I use seven-inch or larger soft-baits almost exclusively now, and I tailor the colours to the conditions. If the conditions are bright, I find the bright coloured soft-baits work well. Something like the Z-Man Atomic Sunrise is very hard to go past for targeting large snapper on a bright day. If it is a little overcast, I switch to the Z-Man Bruised Banana. The Bruised Banana is my go-to on most days in any depth. Z-Mans are my first-choice brand because of their durability for this style of fishing – if it is slow then it is not uncommon to get leatherjackets or other small reef fish having a nibble, and other soft-baits just get obliterated. I find that the only time I typically change my Z-Man is to change the colour, or if I have been busted off by something large!

The other advantage of Z-Man for this style of fishing is that the soft-baits float. This slows down the descent of the soft-bait on the 1/4 ounce jighead even more, giving the bait maximum hang time in the strike zone.

Once the soft-bait has been cast as far forward as possible, only half the job is done. You need to keep in touch with the bait at all times and remember that a lot of the hits will be on the initial drop, so be alert! If it makes it to the bottom, work it slowly back to the ski or boat. This means the soft-bait is constantly moving, bouncing and jiggling over and between the bommies and sand patches, enticing the bite from the predatory fish that are taking cover there.

Once back to the ski (this should only take 30-60 seconds depending on the depth and how far you are casting), start the process again. It may seem like you are spending more time with your soft-bait out of the water than in, but constant movement and constant recasting are the key to success with this type of fishing and will see all sorts of species landed. Remember, a large percentage of your hook ups will come on the drop or initial arrival, so the more you recast the better