queensland Crazy n Ellicats Big Day on the Bay

[ellicat]

It started with a call from Ted to see if I was keen for a fish.

Having been forced by circumstance to turn down an invite from Jason Faulked for a session on Friday and not having been in the salt water for what seems an eternity (not this year) I was happy to finally have the stars align for me to enable an “I’m in !†answer. :woohoo: :woohoo:

Got the gear all ready late Sunday night and then set about trying to get to sleep fighting the usual excitement and expectation. :pinch: The limited 1am to 3am sleep time passed like 5 minutes. Ted turned up, gear was loaded and off we went to launch at Viccy Point in the dark.

We motored slowly over to get some live bait in the net and there was a lot of surface action from hardy heads getting smashed. So Ted puts the netting thoughts down and we pick up the SP outfits to have a go at the suspected trevally without success. Threw the net for about 20 hardys and then motored off to the north marking a few spots on the way to the Myer Sale at South West Peel Island. :S

Having located the last spot at the car park we set about picking through the remains of the bargain bins. Ted was off to a flying start. Well actually his braid was off to a flying start with the section from his reel to the terminal end flying through the air as it drifted away with the first bit of tension when he stuck at a fish. Ted’s glare and straight tight mouth, only broken by some unclear mumblings, was matched by my own tight mouth and glare into the distance as I struggled to retain the first chuckle of the session for the benefit of the skipper’s mindset. :whistle: :dry:

Whatever brand of braid it was it was supposed to be quality but had proven itself not be to Ted’s liking on a few occasions prior. So that was the last straw and Ted removed the remainder and replaced it with some of his new Takeda braid from Austackle. I held the spool between finger and thumb while Ted wound it on over a minimal covering of the backing. Ted’s reel spool filled but there was still some braid left on the supply spool. Ted felt that was a waste so took the supply spool and by hand wound the Takeda back onto the spool. I think I mentioned that it would twist up doing this but I was happy to see my theory tested by someone else. :dry: Eventually he got to the end and removed some more backing before I grabbed up the supply spool and once again risked burning thumb and finger as Ted picked up the pace putting the line back on the reel. Still there was line left when the reel had the right amount. Being somewhat devious I said “Go on you can squeeze the extra bit onâ€. He did.

Thoughts of a Facebook prize from Zim Man saw a Damiki Monster Micky find it’s way onto Ted’s jig head. First cast and bang !, a good hit but no hookup. Just half a plastic left though. Oh, and a tangle in the braid hehehe :evil: . The first unrestrained chuckle from me and another one of those mumbles from Ted, soothed somewhat by the instant attention the SP received. Line was cut and rerigged with another monster SP.

This time Ted hooks up ! First entry to the Damiki comp landed and a happy Ted.

A little Grassy.

Chuckle 2. The excess line on the spool strikes again with another knot. Did I mention Ted actually wound his first fish in by hand hahahahahaha. I fessed up to deviously encouraging him to get that last bit on his reel. What a prick, but sometimes it’s good to create your own fun. :silly:

I think Ted may have made some derogatory names up for me at that point when he saw me pointing the camera not quite at the fish. :evil:

Next up Ted foul hooked a decent sized bream (but still added it to his count)

Feeling a bit of pressure from not catching a fish worth photographing and Ted also having a few in the same category, I was glad to get a decent hit and land this little tusky, that gladly agreed to 2 poses for the camera.

They certainly are stylish photogenic creatures.

A few more from the nursery provided a bit of a giggle before we upped anchor and headed back to have a go at one of the previously marked spots. I was excited to be first on but disappointed to find I had managed my first ever cattie in the bay. :sick: Ted was getting pleased with the results from his Squidgie S Factor.

The best was yet to come for him though…..

And wasn’t he proudly over the moon to pick up his first ever Ellicatus Peniatus :woohoo: :woohoo:

Even more thrilled at the opportunity to have a new avatar. :side:

We brought in quite a few more fish after pulling the anchor and having a few drifts at this spot, but it was going to be hard to beat the EP. With that in mind we headed off to one of the other marks and again Ted was on first with a little reef shark. I initially thought it was going to be one of the turtles that had been rising for air around us. It was caught on a soft plastic but it tail whipped his line boatside for a lucky escape as I stumbled trying to get the net there in time as well as catching the moment on video. Accepting of the loss Ted was still happy with the effect the S Factor was having.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C07psDMCFik

Not being one to give up easily, Crazy went back onto the field of play and got his smaller brother next cast.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enk5JjcfX9Q

Well when he brought it on board all hell broke loose !

/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqDI30QysRo

Then I landed one and brought it on board as well…….
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP0NEGSXBGk

I caught it on a pillie but somehow these Damiki lures kept showing up randomly in the photos of my fish

When reviewing the videos, our reactions reminded me a bit of one of AFO’s legends – RyanG. It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to you Ryan and once again thank you for your inspiration.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xEzyhO64X8

We hung around here for a while landing a variety of small stuff including one of the locally manufactured Lancers, but not photo worthy.

Sometime early to mid afternoon we hit up Dunwich where there were plenty of mullet hardy heads contemplating which way they would prefer to die – eaten by a trevally or a kingie.

Ted discovered next to one of the pylons a very good trev or a kingie had already figured out his death choice – a SP grub with S Factor. Ted was standing on the bow and we were just drifting. I was sitting at the back amongst what could be described as a rather cluttered floor when Ted had the hit of the day so far ! Woohoo. It was close to the pylon and Ted was struggling a bit to turn it away and keep it on our side. I made my way and kicked over the engine as Ted said back, forwards, left, other side, forward….and with the last shout of “forward†the fish changed its mind about how it would like to die and busted the line on the pylon. Instantaneously I revved (maybe a little too much) the motor into forward gear. The man upfront decided he would sit down quickly and somewhat painfully on his backside right next to the rod racks on the front of his console with his legs entangled in the bow mount shaft and anchor rope. Bugger ! I didn’t laugh but Ted suspects the large gathering on the jetty may have enjoyed the spectacle from a safe distance.

With no more touches after a while we headed up to Amity where the swell and current was a nice contrast to where we had fished so far. The squire we brought onboard here weren’t much different in size but they hit a lot harder and seemed eager to get back to where they came from. So we had a bit of fun there and lost a bit of tackle to the structure below us. Then a dolphin and it’s calf turned up and the fish quietened off a bit.

I was fishing with my barra outfit – Barra Raider and Calcutta 200 with 40lb braid – as my lighter rod with a 2000 Tierra had jumped overboard for a quick dip earlier in the day and the reel eventually seized up . I got a monster hit as we drifted along and called it for a good fish as it peeled line at will with drag hard on and thumb pressed firmly against the spool. I looked up and saw a dolphin about 50 metres away and prayed it would not interfere with my fun or steel my fish.

With the dolphin still in sight my line peeled away from the boat, my catch stopping and slowing at its will, then nearly pulling me overboard when it decided to move again. Finally it surfaced - another bloody dolphin with calf still alongside. So we chased it and retrieved line and it took off again and we chased it and retrieved line and so on. Eventually getting close enough to retrieve most of the line before hitting the braid with the knife. I’m still a little sore in places from the fight that probably lasted 10 to 15 minutes.

We stopped in at Amity and I went up the street to grab a feed for us for dinner while Ted hung around just out from the ramp. I asked Ted what he wanted for dinner and he said anything so I bought him a brushed potato from the fruit section and a ginger beer. There seemed to be a lack of appreciation for the food on Ted’s part.

The sun was setting so we made our way back to one of the spots south of Peel for the night session. We started with a drift and were getting plenty of hits. I landed another reef shark on a squid. Eventually my rod went off with gusto and after a nice drag peeling fight in came a mid 50’s snapper

Photo 1830

Again the Damiki range made an appearance for the Facebook comp despite squid proving to be the fresh bait of the day for me. This squid was very fresh – Ted having landed it inadvertently on a pillie. It had already survived catching the shark lol.

You might notice some of Ted’s excess braid in this shot haha

We re-did the drift and another legal squire was boated on squid with a Damiki 5 inch jerk shad in white stuck to its dorsal

We were going through a few unders but I was happy with the opportunity for a new avatar for myself as well

Then a monster appeared from the darkness

Turns out it was just a tired crazy walrus holding a 122cm cat shark he had landed on some light gear after a 4 hour struggle.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOGweklt9o

Eventually the demons left Ted much to my relief

Turns out it was a nice female

The squire kept coming in just under or over after we eventually anchored up

A bit of blood running out the back of the boat attracted some rather large toothy critters under the boat on several occasions. I was very glad Ted didn’t rock the boat while I was leaking off the bow.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buT8mK8sg5k

Sitting there getting little unfamiliar nibbles on my soft squid I began to slowly work it up and down in an endeavour to entice strike. It worked and bang !! down the rod went ! Another good tussle and My first morwong in Queensland came aboard. It was still rather green and I must have dropped it 3 or 4 times before grabbing the red rag to get a better grip on the slippery sucker. Mmmm they have nice lips I must say.

That is the end of chapter 1.

MS Word tells me if you have made it this far without just looking at the pics you have read almost 2200 words and are to be congratulated lol.

Absolutely a top day Ted !!! Almost 24 hours from pickup to drop off and I had an absolute ripper of a time with many laughs, jibes and great fishing-buddy memories. Not bad considering you don’t smoke, drink coffee, coke, or even eat chocolate. ….or even raw spuds haha

[ellicat]

Pics and videos are now up and some emoticons to help with the struggle to read it all.

[Manni79]

Wow massive report!! Too much to read on the I phone so will check it out at home,

Looks like a cracker though

[fishingnut]

So what happened?

[Orca]

My poor braid ! lol

[hulk]

Fantastic read and seems like a great time had by you both. Ted, it seems like you just can't take a trick with your rods and reels etc at the moment. I really liked the catr shark you pulled in. Good to see such a great variety of fish caught.

Well done

Hulk

[straddiebrad]

good report ellicat and yes i read the whole thing great 24hrs boys fun had by all good bay snapper too,if you had too take a stab at it what size was the kingie that busted tangles off

[wesfish]

that is the most epic report for length and pics!! looked like a great fun day out with some very nice fish caught!! i got the pic of the same sunset from mud island lol

[tacklebox]

That didn't seem like 2200 words at all. Very entertaining as per usual.

I wondered whether Damiki had started making fresh squid soft plastics when you said you had some photos in the other thread

[tugger]

Great report Brian i'm just tired having read it all you guys are keen to fish from predawn to after dark you must be getting practise for the MBC and thats a top snapper from the bay

[Manni79]

Read the whole thing... hmmmmm 10 minutes I will never get back hahaha

Seriously great report mate and looked like an awesome day with good mates and fun fishing !!

I cracked up laughing from the "put it in the bucket" vids and the Damiki soft plastics popping up randomly was a classic

Thanks for the good read, are moderators eligable for ROTM ? It's definitely worthy mate

[fishing_teen]

good read mate, i can still see that ryan is getting bagged out about the eel thing

cheers

nathan

[Manni79]

Oh yeah, love the profile pic Ellicat, you remind me of "Doc" from back to the future :silly: :silly: :silly:

[tomca]

those kingies of death at dunwich are pure evil Ted. I'm sure you will settle the score soon.

Brian, you're a bad man on many levels :evil:

[Guest]

Great report, some great pictures taken

[Keen-as-fisho]

Sounds like an action packed day aboard crazycat adventures, laughed my way through the endless words So what was the actual keeper tally apart from the Ellicatus Peniatus

[Eug]

good times. bit of bromance happening with the amount of hours you two spent together watching the sunset

[yoyo]

well.....ROTM comp for May is over i guess.................

[ellicat]

Thanks for the comments so far guys. It was great to get out and have the opportunity to contribute a report for a change.

Brad, no idea on the size of the kingy or trev – my vision was impeded as I lay stretched across some gear on the floor and over the back of his seat one hand on the wheel, one on the stick and one leg in the air lol

Orca, It proved to be good stuff once it was down to the correct amount for the spool haha

Wes, It was a toss up if we invested the day hunting fish in some old “spots†or just shadowed you all day after you broadcast you’d be at Mud I think your shot is better and more symmetrical than mine, but what a great sight the sunset over the bay is. Don’t see it often enough unfortunately.

T/Box, It felt like 22,000 when I was typing it up lol Cheers :kiss:

Mark, Cheers, There’s a few good ones showing up early in the reports so will probably be a good season. If only I could afford to replace the Force I’d be out there a lot more. :pinch:

Manni, Cheers, Mods are eligible but there’s some stiff competition for only the 4th day of the month – yours included ! Thanks for the nomination. I was telling the wife that with that jaw-line I could replace Heath Ledger as the next joker with a bit of red lipstick…..she didn’t quite see it that way but Doc will probably meet with her acceptance lol

Nathan, I hope he isn’t cut about it. Taking the P is a just another way of being friendly – and showing the enjoyment from his eel antics.

Tom, I only mentioned the net matter from our last trip less than 5 times so I can’t be all bad. I couldn’t find the little net from home to stash in my tackle bag to bring out at an appropriate time though which was a bit disappointing.

Den, I don’t know why you discount the PE so swiftly, but apart from that I kept about 1.5 metres of snapper and morwong and Ted kept about the same amount of other stuff.

Eug, Early in the day Ted kept saying “_____ me !†for some reason. I kept replying “Better than kissing yaâ€â€¦but there’s nothing in it I can assure you

Shannon, See the comments to Manni above. This will be an epic month and you too are a great contender. The irony of yoyo going up and down in that swell has not been missed haha :silly:

[51MPL]

Awsome awsome report, great write-up and pictures =]

[Davo_Dinkum]

a good entertaining report ,it had a bit of everything .

[Bluevien]

Epic report with great fish and photos. Fishing can be such a laugh and its fun to see it in the reports. Good onya chaps.

[madmullet]

very good report and good mixed bag

[kmcrosby78]

Top report Ellicat - sounds like what goes on when I'm fishing with my mates!!!! Ted sure was looking tired towards the end but to be expected after such an epic day.

Ted - let us know next time you are heading that way. Peel is the next stop in my Bay education so would be good to follow someone that knows there way around.

Well done both of you.

[fishguru5]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH! that is the funniest thing i have seen since the actualy event! hahahaaha. nice work fellas

pat

[sweresy]

awesome read, thanks

[kreel]

I think you have single-handedly brought back the much unappreciated "freckle-first" position in posing for a fishing photo. Love the shot of the Tuskie.

[crazywalrus]

wow that was a read. Just got back form the bay tonight - just a quick one. That had me in stitches and I knew what was coming. The Vids came up well. Not sure what the kingie /Trevally was but it had some serious go to it. I had my hand on the spool trying to turn it and it was not having a bar of it. It was awesome while it lasted. I have o say the new braid held up to the challenge well as I tried to put some hurt on it. Unfortunately Braid and Barnacles do not mix.

I do not know what was up with the fireline I got but it kept breaking randomly along it when you put any strain on it. Got frustrated with it and decided to respool mid-fish to get the rod working.

Thanks Brian for coming out. I had a ball. Gratz on the Snapper and the Morwong mate.

Kelvin I am no expert with peel but i am always happy to go for a fish and explore new areas. This spot was one we happened to come across by chance running between marks.

Cheers Guys

[eg_vtec]

long report!. haha i only read half of it but looks like you guys had a good day. well done

[rayke1938]

Great report and real inspiration as I am on the way to NPD for my regular donuts.

Cheers

Ray

[RyanG45]

ahahahaha ellicat good read

cheers ryan

[Eug]

I do not know what was up with the fireline I got but it kept breaking randomly along it when you put any strain on it.

I've had the same problem Ted, once it gets a little old and begins to fray it'll start doing that.

[Do$tylz]

nice one Brian I had to set time aside for that epic. I saw the report lat yesterday and bookmarked it to come back when I had time

Great session there guys. Magic weather to be able to get all the way to Dunwich in the tinny too.

Ted - what does that trip tell you... don't trust Ellicat

[crazywalrus]

I do not know what was up with the fireline I got but it kept breaking randomly along it when you put any strain on it.

I've had the same problem Ted, once it gets a little old and begins to fray it'll start doing that.

This stuff was new only 5 times out chasing Tilapia. Got to say I am very disappointed. The takeda on the other hand is shaping up well. very supple and good to cast.

[crazywalrus]

Ted - what does that trip tell you... don't trust Ellicat

Yep Especially when he has a camera in hand

[ellicat]

Henry it wasn't all one way. I've been waiting for Ted to fess up, but looks like I'll have to start that ball rolling.....for instance at the start of the day and maybe until half way through Ted kept positioning the boat so the fish were all on his side ! :pinch: When I started catching fisj he deliberately fell onto his sounder and tried to break it so I wouldn't see what was going on. :whistle: Fortunately he only snapped the mount Also did you notice the pics of me are oblique and the video is sideways

Kel, If you'd risk it I know that area of the bay pretty well and would be happy for a deckie spot one time while the Force is still out of action.

[Scope]

Great read guys! Had me in stitches

[RyanG45]

ellicat i sent you a pm

cheers ryan

[Surfingant]

Cheers for the report was a great read

[Guest]

Well Done this has been a great report, and a great read...Thankyou