Kayak fishing Raper Shoal, QLD

Author: dunebuggy

Category: Destinations

Created on Saturday, 19 June 2010 22:38

Written by Stuart Whitehouse

If you are looking at fishing an offshore reef in your kayak but don't want to venture too far off shore, and you have already tried Brays Rock, why not give Raper Shoal a go. With photographs and directions that even I could follow, you should find your way there with relative ease. Wurtulla is a Sunshine Coast suburb located along the Nicklin Way north of Caloundra and Currimundi.

The inside edge of Raper Shoal is barely a kilometre off Wurtulla beach and is home to a number of species. It is also on the list of stops for the professional mackeral fishermen. I have only fished there 3 or four times myself and have caught my 2 biggest snapper there. The biggest measuring 67cms. My first trip there I had 4 legal snapper on hardbody lures and I hadn't even got past the shark nets. It's amazing how quickly you can be brought to a halt when you get a double hook up on two 40+ cm snapper that want to go the opposite direction. I have not yet fully explored Raper Shoal  so I can't tell you exactly how big it is but, if you head ESE from the shark nets (assuming they are roughly in the same place each time) it won't be too long before you start to see a rough bottom on your sounder. The shallowest part of the reef is approximately 4 metres at low water and aparently it breaks in rough weather.

So, how do you get there? Well, if you are comfortable with doing a surf launch you
can drive to beach entry number 52 which is opposite number 418 Oceanic Drive Sth. at Wurtulla. If you don't like the breakers then I am afraid it's a case of launching from Moffat Beach and a 30 to 40 minute paddle/pedal north. The time will depend on how fit you are and whether or not you troll lures on the way. When you arrive at Beach access 52 you will see 2 signs which will confirm that you are at the correct location. One says "Dorothy Anderson Park" (Photo A) and the other says "Beach Access 52"

If you don't see these signs you must have gone wrong somewhere.
There are cold showers near the start of the path and, if you carry a hose to clean your gear, there are threaded taps too. Look to the left of the path in photo (B). If nature calls before you go out, or on your return, there are toilets (photo C) about a 3rd of the way along the path on your left. (coming from the road)

You will see from the photos that there is a nice concrete path which takes you all the way to the sand which is about 150 metres from the road.(my guess) When you get to the beach you either leave all your gear unattended and run your yak trolley back to the car or, take it with you.

In photo (D) you will see the lifesavers watchtower which is usually only manned on weekends. As you get further offshore, keep looking back at it and get familiar with that and any other useful landmarks. You will notice that as you get further offshore that there are more identical watchtowers north and south of this one.

Situational awareness - take notice of your position regularly. There is not much else that I can tell you about Raper Shoal except where to find it and where to park etc. If you plan to give it a go I would suggest as always, plan your trip, think safe, be safe.

As you near the end of the path (photo E) you will see a turn to the left leading to the watchtower and a boardwalk veering right. It will be blindingly obvious when you are there that you need veer to the left of the boardwalk and hit the sand.

Going down to the water isn't so bad as it's downhill but coming back, if you plan it right and return on the top of the tide there will be a lot less sand to drag your yak up. I should learn to carry less gear and make my yak lighter. Photo (F) was taken on a lowish tide and believe me, the water was a lot further away than it looks in the photo.

So there you have it. Instructions even I can follow. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to fish here and want some company but, I must warn you, I am not fussed on surf launches myself so I might whimp out if the surf is up and I will launch at Moffat instead. The troll from Moffat to Raper and back can produce a surprise or two. For example; my fishing companion one day hooked an 8kg cod on the trip back to Moffats.

Well, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed the read and, as always, feedback is always appreciated. Please enjoy yourself on the water and above all, be safe. Thanks for reading.