I will happily donate the frame for research. Rubble bottom. As another member suggested, get a Cairns to Byron Bay GPS book which has plenty of spots for both Rainbow and 1770. Many of my students are now suffering the same illness and finding themselves getting addicted to finding these honey holes. There is much confusion surrounding the common names of our Tropical reef fish and its no wonder when you can catch a “Sweetlip“, a “Tricky Snapper“, a “Red Throat Emperor” an “Emperor”, a “Spangled Emperor”, and even a “Long Nosed Emperor”, all of which are members of the Lethinus family. Those who make regular big fish captures fish heavy with 50lb mono and 80lb leader or 80lb braid with a long 10m 80-100lb leader. More commonly caught at night, charter operators in the know have secret locations where these prized fish can be caught during daylight hours, jealously guarding there whereabouts. Deeper isolated structures, small rises and rubble bottom are the favoured haunts of mature reds. Juveniles are typically found in shallower nearshore and offshore waters while mature adults tend to inhabit deeper offshore rocky and coral reefs and adjacent sand areas. If you're loving our tips and would like to see more, sign up for fortnightly tips - some we only share with our email subscribers! Cairns is the start of the region where the ranges get pretty close to the ocean which can pronounce the effects that cause Wonky Holes to form very close to shore. A nice 5 to 6 kg Scarlet seas perch popped up and we moved on and anchored up at Fitzroy for the night.
North Queensland's own fishing community forum. Red Throat Emperor are a worthy sport fish and can play dirty by easily running for coral and rock holes busting off a unprepared angler!

This fish is one of Heavy gear may seem unsporting but reduces bust offs, long drawn out fights and the inevitable loss of good fish to sharks. Fish heavy for big fish. I would be happy to donate the frames from last weekend.

Here are a couple of students having great success in this area... Wonky Holes online fishing course produces some lovely large mouth nannygai near Cairns. And then someone will even call it a Snapper. That’s well over 2 kilometres of metre plus barra! Red emperor inhabit marine waters generally between the depths of 10-140m. Don't however base your project on my ability to supply you with frames. Best part is you can do it in a SMALL BOAT. Yes seriously the inshore angler now has a chance to catch good fish without upgrading his boat! find out when new spots are added, Obviously though you'll still have to play it safe with the weather regardless and only go when its good. Ryan retired from charters in 2017 so this is one of the few chances left to fish with the him. Emperors will take soft plastic lures and metal jigs in deep water, when the conditions are right sub surface and surface lures like stick baits work well since Red Throats are a shallow water species. I swear one day I will run into something (charter boat, what charter boat?? these marks are readily available via google I would imagine some are quite old & may be in Current Green Zones.Please use as a Guide Only. Red throat emperor are commonly found in shallow reef around 5-50m deep however they can also be found around sand and mud areas. With all the confusion surrounding the specific names and variety of our tropical reef fish, Grant’s Fishes of Australia best clarifies the issue thus: “It has been known as a Red Emperor for decades before I started fishing for it; and the Red Emperor it remains. While Wonky Holes are found right down to Fraser island and there are other areas (e.g. When targeting big reds its best to try to over power them.
Red throat emperor grow up to 6kg in weight, although a typical sized Red Throat is around 45cm in most locations. A basic running ball rig consisting of a set of three gangs or two snelled octopus style hooks, running sinker, leader and crane swivel (as pictured right) is simply tied to the mainline. When targeting mature fish look for deeper isolated reef and coral structures, small rises and rubble bottom.

By clicking "Submit" you agree to Fishing Spots's. A very handsome fish, the prime adults frequent the deeper waters and channels during the cooler months from May to September and can reach a credible 40+ pounds (20 kg).