queensland 4 anglers, 9 days on moreton

[benno573]

Hi all,

The decision was made a couple of weeks ago for a 9-day adventure to Moreton Island featuring that bloke Tacklebox, Kreel, Sparksie and me.

Day 1

We headed over on the Micat on Saturday 5th and headed over to North Point campground to set up our base for the week.

the rig

We quickly set up camp and headed over to the rocks at Cape Cliff for the arvo session. It was a fantastic afternoon conditions-wise, a little tricky to fish as there was quite a fast sweep running but some good fish were landed. Sparksie and I bagged a few good tarwhine, Kreel then chipped in with a nice little GT that acted up a treat at the base of the rocks. We added a few white trevally and a dart to the bag for the afternoon and called it a job well done. As you can see from the photos it is a really nasty place to spend some time...

Kreel's GT

"yeah mate, i reckon we should try in that wet looking stuff down there"

nice car...

nice place...

nice sunset... (would be romantic if only sparksie was better looking)

nice catch!

[Joel Eadie]

nice fish and report

car is ok, lets be honest though, its no patrol :laugh:

[benno573]

Day 2

We dropped the kayaks off at the beach (please remember the paddles and seats next time guys... ) and they headed off with the intent to fish the rocks at the base of Cape Moreton. This is a great place to drift around on the yaks, good structure and a great variety of fish on offer. After watching them safely negociate the surf break, Sparksie and I headed over to Cape Cliff again. The swell was well up on the previous day making fishing much more difficult. Sparksie managed to nail a few dart and a nice white trev, I managed a couple of dart and a couple of bust offs which made me sad.

We headed back to camp around lunch time to find the yakking trip for the day had not exactly gone to plan and an early return was in order.

After we all regrouped, we headed down to a nice gutter we had seen on the eastern beach for the afternoon session. Upon arrival we were all keen to get stuck in as we could see a big school of good sized dart in the waves. Ummm... who grabbed the bait esky? "Insert expletive here". She be right, we have some plastics! Kreel and Tacklebox were straight into it while Sparksie and I couldn't turn a scale! I went off spinning to see if there was any tailor about (answer = no), Tacklebox and Kreel kept racking up the dart. Sparksie had a fail.

the yak catch for the morning

[benno573]

Day 3

I got motivated and got out of bed and up to the rocks at North Point in time to see the sun come up. I was spinning with a halco 55g gold twistie and quickly picked up a couple of bonito that were destined for the bait esky. I hooked up to something massive that was really giving the brand new saltist a fair old workout until I had a lure-related fail (see picture). I was NOT impressed!

We all headed up to the rocks at North Point for the morning session and noticed a few flathead lies along the edge of a gutter on the walk up. Put that in the memory bank... The morning consisted of plenty of undersized fish for all, conditions just made it a very pleasent place to be!

The afternoon session consisted of Sparksie sleeping (previous night alcohol related) and Kreel, Tacklebox and I walking the beach flicking plastics into any likely looking flathead haunts. We landed a few nice pan sized duskies and lost many a good plastic to the teeth of...

[benno573]

Day 4

After a morning trip to Bulwer to pick up those things ineviatably forgotten, the afternoon session was spent with Sparksie borrowing the good ship Mao and Tacklebox, Kreel and I repeating our efforts from the previous afternoon in a different location based on the advice from the bloke at the Bulwer Tackle shop. We covered a lot more ground and put in a lot more casts before I pulled out a nice 47cm lizard, followed shortly by Kreel with a 28cm bream. We moved slightly and I hit the big mother on the head with a 4" gulp minnow in nuculer (it's pronounced nuculer) chicken. She went a whopping 72cm and was kept for the table as we had 4 hungry anglers to feed. It put up fantastic fight on my 2-4kg dropshot and bent the crap out of the TT 1/4 oz jig head! We headed back to find that Sparksie had had an aboration on the yak and had our first snapper for the trip! Dinner is looking great tonight for sure.

on the lie detector

sparksie's snap

Kreel's shiny shiny bream

[benno573]

Day 5

Sparksie and I wrestled the yaks off TB and Kreel and headed out to Cape Moreton in ideal conditions. First drop I pulled up a nice bream at 29cm, Sparksie grabbed a few tarwhine. I then chipped in with a 43cm snapper and a really nice moses perch around the 30cm mark. We caught an awesome amount of fish, unfortunately all undersized or undesired! Species included: brown trigger fish, black-tip rock cod, spangled emperor, moon wrasse, tuskys, stripies and a red emperor which was a big surprise! A whale even did a wicked flip about 50m away from our yaks, they are a LOT bigger when you are sitting on 15ft of plastic trust me! We peddled back in and gave a wave to TB and Kreel fishing off the North Point rocks on our way past. I managed to surf to good ship Jinx to shore with no mishap, unfortunately, Sparksie had a bit of a spill that cost him a pair of sunnies. Ok, maybe it was a little funny to watch standing on the beach...

We dragged the yaks back to camp and TB and Kreel joined us shortly after with a couple of nice white trevally for their morning's work.

the catch... a little skinny if truth be told

the afternoon was spent flicking plastics again, no love from the flatties unfortunately but i did manage to land the first tailor of the trip on a plastic! another first on plastics for me!

some "my camera works underwater" shots from a rock pool at the north point rocks...

[benno573]

Day 6

Sparksie's last day on the island was unfortunately dominated by a howling 30kn+ SW. This made fishing virtually impossible for the most part of the day. After huddling together in the surprisingly cosy tent, we jumped in the prado for a tour of moreton.

We visited Blue Lagoon which did not have a coffee shop...

And then continued down the eastern beach to the Mirapool Lagoon area, and back again. Having not been down that end of the island for about 10 years, I really enjoyed the scenery. I then loaded sparskie up and took him over to the barge for his trip home.

I came back and headed up to the rocks where Kreel had just landed his first tailor for the trip on a plastic! I really enjoyed sitting there and not catching anything, just watching the world go by.

[benno573]

Day 7

I headed up to the rocks at early am again and was straight onto the bonito again. I kept 3 for bait and released about 20 more. I only came back as my arms were exhausted!

TB and Kreel decided that some yakking was in order and they headed to the rocks out from yellowpatch, while I headed up to the rocks at North Point. I bagged a couple of nice tarwhine and a tailor in quick succession, I was unfortunately bricked to the max by a decent kingie. Fishing light is good sometimes, this is not one of those times!

I headed back to the camp, the yakkers eventually arrived back, Kreel looking a little peterbed which could mean only one thing... TB has outfished him AGAIN! I'll let the pictures do the talking...

and she threw in a moses and a flattie for a bit of variety.

Kreel's catch is pictured below...

ahh... you get the point...

[benno573]

Day 8

I headed up and grabbed some more bonito/bait on sunrise, we headed back up after some breakfast to fight the long weekend crowds for a spot on the rocks. It was very very quiet as wave action was virtually non-existent on the low tide. Now all we need is that dam NW to sod off and we can launch the yaks! about lunchtime, the NW did back off sufficiently for a yakking adventure, Kreel opting to continue on the stones while TB and I headed out to the new super secret snapper spot, that isn't really secret. TB was straight into it again quickly bagging her first, the second, then a grassy and finally a third snapper! i caught... a black tip rock cod, 1 undersized snapper and got totally owned by something massive that smashed the plastic on the drop. in other words, TB outfished me as well. now I know how kreel felt! Catch photo below... including a couple from Kreel off the stones

Day 9

I was in denial. It surely couldn't be all over already. So i flicked through some carpawn...

and then we packed up the campsite. we found this cute little fellow trying to help us out

and then that was it. into the car and over to the 4:30pm micat home.

thanks to all those who came along, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, I am still completely relaxed and still enjoying the freezer fodder from our successes! :woohoo:

cheers for reading if you got this far through,

benno <'>-<

[benno573]

Joel Eadie wrote:

nice fish and report

car is ok, lets be honest though, its no patrol :laugh:

sure it's not. i'm glad. I prefer the badge on mine...

[ellicat]

I knew there was supposed to be a trip starting on the 5th, but must have missed the call :whistle:

Not that I could've made it anyway :laugh:

I've only looked at the pics, but looks like a hoot as usual

[Angus]

Awesome work guys!!!

Love the mixed bags very interesting.

Really has me motivated to get my act together and get another yak for straddy.

I think very similar results could be achieved at the group!

Thanks for the efforts writing that report Benno she's a beauty!

Angus

[wesfish]

now thats an adventure awesome report mate of the fun and fishing times on moreton, great read with wicked pics!!!

[tugger]

great report and photo shots as well, tacklebox you have a habit of out fishing the competion well done. will have to get over there myself soon thanks for the read

mark

[mick fillet]

well that was a great read cheers.

great photos. some fantastic fish taken,well done TB.

mick

[kriso]

entertaining report well done!

[rosstralia46]

top work guys sounds like u had a mad time and a good feed as well

[jon]

awseome trip guys well done again, great pics too that photo of the turtle was excellent

[crazywalrus]

thoroughly enjoyed the read benno. A Great read thanks. Looks like a great way to spend a few days. I have never been to moreton looks great. Why is it that the girls always outfish the boys????

[sweresy]

great report !!!!!

[Scope]

Looks like a great time there guys and girl! Nice pics too

[dassa]

Tacklebox's strikes again.You boy's need to get your act together and hide the yak .That is a great report and some stunning photo's but please keep kreel out of them

cheers dassa

[benno573]

Ha ha ha... We tried to keep his ugly mug out of them but to no avail. We will try and do better next trip.

[Keen-as-fisho]

Great fish guys. I love moreton and can't wait to head back over with the yak again

[jeff f]

nice one benno and crew looks like a good trip

[crazywalrus]

benno573 wrote:

Hi guys - never thought about using SPs for Dart. Were u using a Gulp SP or what where u using if you do not mind. Cheer Ted

[kreel]

dassa wrote:

Tacklebox's strikes again.You boy's need to get your act together and hide the yak .That is a great report and some stunning photo's but please keep kreel out of them

cheers dassa

Ha ha ha... We tried to keep his ugly mug out of them but to no avail. We will try and do better next trip.

[br]

[benno573]

ha ha ha ha......

it was early, i was hungover as a mo fo... any single ladies out there??? :silly:

[tacklebox]

crazywalrus wrote:

Hi guys - never thought about using SPs for Dart. Were u using a Gulp SP or what where u using if you do not mind. Cheer Ted

The gun SP was a 3" gulp fry in nuclear chicken and gulp sandworms also worked. Thread it on a long shank hook like you would on a jighead so the point comes out near the middle of it. You can see the rig we used in my photo. It also accounted for my trevally off the rocks.

[kreel]

some "my camera works underwater" shots from a rock pool at the north point rocks...

Whose photos... ?

[benno573]

yours...

i never claimed them to be mine!

[kreel]

Joel Eadie wrote:

nice fish and report

car is ok, lets be honest though, its no patrol :laugh:

Joel how unkind of you, the Prado is a fine vehicle - comfortable for long trips on the Highway, a very capable off-roader and as you can see the perfect work car.

[br]

[benno573]

ahhhhh gid away...

[waldo]

When you are at a place like Moreton catching fish is just a bonus and you guys got a damn nice bonus. Looks like it was a great trip, good one fella's.

[crazywalrus]

Thanks TB - Will give it a go - Cheers Ted

[Joel Eadie]

kreel wrote:

Joel Eadie wrote:

nice fish and report

car is ok, lets be honest though, its no patrol :laugh:

Joel how unkind of you, the Prado is a fine vehicle - comfortable for long trips on the Highway, a very capable off-roader and as you can see the perfect work car.

[br]

sure, its fine, just not the best you know? when you want a real 4WD cant go past the patrol

[crazywalrus]

Hi Joel - I agree that in some conditions the Patrol will be better however the prado and the like have their place especially when u do not want the weight of the Patrol. Also I would not want to fuel a Patrol - Maybe we should start another thread so this does not highjack this one.

[adambris]

awesome week guys!! some nice snapper TB!

[kriso]

kreel wrote:

dassa wrote:

Tacklebox's strikes again.You boy's need to get your act together and hide the yak .That is a great report and some stunning photo's but please keep kreel out of them

cheers dassa

Ha ha ha... We tried to keep his ugly mug out of them but to no avail. We will try and do better next trip.

[br]

hahah didnt know you took milo from fast forward fishing with you? rofl! :silly:

[Joel Eadie]

crazywalrus wrote:

Hi Joel - I agree that in some conditions the Patrol will be better however the prado and the like have their place especially when u do not want the weight of the Patrol. Also I would not want to fuel a Patrol - Maybe we should start another thread so this does not highjack this one.

haha perhaps even a new website.

did not mean to take away from the awesome report and quality fish