BLOG: Prospecting for Territory gold

IN England last week a media event was held to signify that the London Olympics were only a year away. Unlike previous host countries, the Brits have ensured that all their sporting venues are ready well in advance to avoid embarrassment most recently experienced by the organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

In fact, the Poms are so ready that colourful London mayor Boris Johnson quipped that they could start the games now and get a jump on the rest of the world, thus guaranteeing a medal gold rush of epic proportions for the home side. However, I'm not sure you can get away with anything these days in England given the track record of their tabloid papers and one in particular which had a heavy addiction to illegal telecommunication practices...
On a more positive note, hopefully the Brits can do what we Aussies did in Sydney and score plenty of gold at their home Olympics.

Up here in Darwin every second year we have our own Arafura Games where fit and committed local and visiting sports people chase gold at sporting venues around our friendly host city. However, athletes and mining companies aren't the only ones addicted to gold in the Territory. Every weekend many of us less athletic specimens head out on the waters around Darwin in search of a more edible variety, in the form of big golden snapper – which for most represents the pinnacle of captures due to their relative scarcity, fighting prowess and top shelf eating qualities.

Brian Mappas with an impressive golden snapper jigged up on a Reidy's knife jig
Picture: Peter Zeroni

For those who want to catch decent-sized goldies on a regular basis, the most effective technique would be anchoring over good ground (e.g.rubble, reef or wrecks) and using fresh baits in the form of squid, sardines, pillies or prawns. Fishing at night is often the most productive time and snapper usually bite better when there is plenty of run in the tide.

As a one-eyed jigger, I personally leave the bait at home and instead drop lures vertically down to prospect the bottom in search of a few good goldies for the esky. In such drift fishing scenarios you need to keep a sharp eye on your sounder to try and spot good structure that might hold fish or even see the fish themselves. If you do come across some schools (whether they are snapper or bait fish), then immediately mark them on your GPS plotter so you can find them again for another drift pass.

When it comes to using jigs for goldies and other reef fish, many are surprised by how effective metals jigs are in catching bottom dwelling species. This is particularly so, given that unlike bait o rmany soft plastics, metals lures are not at all scented. This just goes to prove that a lure's profile and movement are fish attractors in their own right.
In addition to metal knife jigs and using scented plastics like Gulps, Snap-backs and the new Z-Man range, octopus-style jigs made by Reidy's, Gillies and Shimano can also be effective. Whatever jig you use, it is very important that you try and keep it bumping along the bottom as you drift. Because after all you won't uncover a big nugget just anywhere!

The author with another tasty victim of some heavy metal.
Picture:Brian Mappas