Fishing Trip #316 2nd - 9th August Team Compleat Angler Villawood
Collected from the Metro liner at Bamaga international (not) airport on the 2nd of August were 9 bleary eyed anglers bearing the telltale inner fore arm stamps of cover charge, mumbling dissections of conquests, lack of memory and lack of sleep after a big night out celebrating Patrick's 21st birthday at the night clubs and table dancing
bars in Cairns. Good thing they are all young and fit. Rather than compiling this report on the steam home as I normally do I am trying a
different approach by doing a little on the laptop daily or every couple of days so please excuse any disjointedness if it is apparent.Day one. Lots of blue salmon on soft plastics grubbed along the bottom at the rubble reefs close inshore. Lots of reef fish including fingermark also caught on the rubble by the guys who dropped a bait. Cobia were also caught trolling these reefs. Tarpon, giant herring and queenfish caught on fly from the beaches at the river mouths.
76yo Gordon, retired Naval Officer and gentleman knew his limits keeping up, he caught as much as the younger anglers like Pat
with a fingermark, caught on day one, the day after his 21st birthday.Day 2. Tunas, lotsa Tunas, Bonito or Mack Tuna and the smaller beautiful Watson's Leaping Bonito. 2 boats had a blinder with Giant Trevally's which took up
residence under the skiffs, birthday boy had one take him over an hour and a half to land.
Pat and James, double on tunas and the two Mikes with the rare and beautiful Watson's Leaping Bonito.Day 3. More Tunas Bonito and GT out the gazoo, some small to medium Barra on the first of the run in tide in the snags. Change in the weather with morning easterly
breezes calming off in the afternoon and Magnificent Queenfish to 8 kilo once again arcing up on the making tide.
Troy (left) and Peter with popper crashing Queenies.Day 4. With the winds down a little and the resultant calmer water allowing us to leave the safe sanctuary of the lee of Cape York and tow the skiffs
wide offshore to some seldom visited reef ground. You can always tell from the sort of birds over a bait school and to a certain extent the type of splashing,
what predators are working the bait. When you see 3 to 6 Frigates and or Gannets circling over a dozen or so Turns, rather than masses of turns alone
you can be guaranteed there is something other than just the Tuna species below them. IT could have been the same school of GT's the boys found the previous
day or another one located under just such a bird combination on the way out to the outer ground with the mothership. Pandemonium and laughter ensued as all
anglers were hooking up, busting off, tangling with each other jumping in and out of the skiffs being towed alongside and behind the mothership, swapping
rods with each other rather than swapping positions in the in the gaggle of boats, all with 15 to 18 kilo Giant Trevalley attached to what ever rod they
happened to grab and jig straight down over the side. I think at one stage we had nine fish on at once, on the back deck, upper deck and bow, eventually we
landing 3, an expensive exercise in lost lures.
Hard to believe but this was nothing compared to what was in store for us when we got to secret spot 101 in 17 metres of water 12 miles off the
coast…Red Emperor, Large mouth Nannygai, some beautiful coastal Coral Trout, Spanish Mackeral and GT's caught fishing from both the anchored mothership and
from the skiffs. At one stage if you could get a bait or jig through the GT's to the bottom you would get a Nannygai every time. Guys were in the skiffs just
about exhausted saying "do I really want to do this again?" as they dropped another offering to be crashed before hitting the bottom resulting in another
15 to 20 minute slug feast with yet another GT or Red fish.
Pete (aka Bubbles) with a thumpin Trout and, my partner Jennie with a beaut Spanish Mackeral she
caught "on the drop" with mono leader straight to a single 5/0 hook from the mothership at anchor, helping hold is Ashley "the fishingest chef in the
business "It sure is great to have not only passionate accomplished guides on the crew but all members of the team knowing how, and what to do to produce
the goods.
Greg (left) and Pete, Black fin trevalley, Barra and Tarpon one afternoon on soft plastics.All anglers this trip were keen soft plastic "chuckers" this being their favoured home turf Sydney choice of tackle for the pursuit of bream. Armed with their
light spin rods and bags of tails and jig heads the boys caught everything they could have asked for and then some. A wonderful relaxed form of fishing
especially in the solitude pristine beauty of the upper reaches of the rivers. Accurate casting to the structures, gentle slow twitching retrieves staying completely focused
feeling for the bite, often with the fish making several enquires increasing your excitement before it all comes together and you get a hook up.
The first ever time Bubbles (left) ever held a fly rod ended with his second or third "cast" hooking a
Long tail Tuna.. he's hooked. James with one of 3 triple hook up Cobias landed and released.Real time again…11.47am day last. We spent the night at Virlya point planning a quick pelagic bash before a mid morning brunch then a session in the fresh
water reaches of Crystal creek looking for Saratogas. There is not an adjective I know to describe the activity we encountered 3 miles off shore Virlya. We could
not travel 50 metres trolling with out hooking up on the RMG scorpions we trolled. While drifting around fighting fish caught trolling fish were boiling all around
us and Cobia, GT's, Goldens, Tunas and Mackerals were seen schooling and flashing under the boats. The 4 skiffs eventually ended up just drifting aimlessly
on the calm morning ocean within a cast of each other dropping metal jigs and large soft plastic squidgys and others straight down hooking up a lucky dip of
the species mentioned.
Troy about to release another Golden and, yet another triple hook up, check the elder statesman in the background with departing line.So sick of catching them now Longtail Tunas that people would give most any thing to catch became a time wasting nuisance and a disappointment to us as we tried to get a
Trevalley, Mackeral or Cobia to take. Phil and "Bubbles" a week ago could even spell fly fishing, now veterans of many fine captures on the long wand. Both bitten badly by the
bug they are going to be over a thousand dollars out of pocket after the purchase of their new passion outfits. After a later than planned brunch half of the team have gone out the
front again for more of the same and I am steaming the Tropic Paradise an hour up the coast where 2 skiffs are going to zing up the river and see what we will see before we will
all meet back at the ship this afternoon when we will hoist the skiffs onto the upper deck for the steam back to Seisia. See you later a report of the last session.We saw several Saratoga and had quite a few enquires in the short hour and a half we had fishing the fresh water. Chef Ashley was literally foaming at the mouth with the mornings action he witnessed through
his binoculars out the galley window came with and was the lucky guy who landed a "toga" (below left) The rest of the pictures below were just too good not to include. Bubbles GT.
Big Phil practising casting from the beach as the sun sets. He caught a 75cm Barra
we had digital photos on his camera, before he lost it (the camera!) over the side! Troy with a Nannygui.
Peter and another Golden Trevalley and The 2 Mikes locked into something.. again.If any one is in Sydney Australia and wants any information on this trip, or to see the 1 hour 20 minute video we took on the trip call into the Compleat Angler tackle store in Villawood and ask for Pat or Mick.
Until next week, be cool, GREG Previous Fishing Trip Reports:
