queensland Island Life

[samsteele115]

Hey everyone! Just an update. It's been a while since I've drifted onto here, but it crossed my mind. Plenty of familiar members and many new ones it seems! What a community. 

Anyways I work for QFES now at straddie part time after over a year of training and study, and also a barista on the side. This leaves lots of spare time for fishing and gardening (I try to be self sufficient with about half of my meals). To aid in this I've purchased a brand new offshore kayak weapon! Coulda bought a boat with that money but it falls into place with my sustainability project; I can go out for free if I'm hungry

A few pics from recent times 

[ellicat]

You're looking well, Sam.

With that lifestyle it's no wonder.

Some nice captures and that yak looks a real weapon for offshore work.

Remember us more often. haha

[GregOug]

When I saw the pic with your shirt off I thought it was me for a second. Then I woke up.

[samsteele115]

3 hours ago, ellicat said:

You're looking well, Sam.

With that lifestyle it's no wonder.

Some nice captures and that yak looks a real weapon for offshore work.

Remember us more often. haha

Thanks Brian, 

Yes it certainly keeps me active and I'm grateful I took the plunge to make it happen. 

Good to see you're out fishing mate! 

[kmcrosby78]

Great looking rig there Sam (unlike the other two to respond, I'm talking about your kayak ..... ), should give you plenty of fun times. Looks like you've got a few species sussed out over there already. That's a big longie - great work!!

[samsteele115]

Thanks Kelvin! 

Haha yep it's a beaut kayak. 

Apart from that flathead, no success offshore yet. 0 from 6 on the Spanish

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi samsteele115

Those are some stunning fish. A great feed of tailor at the top (looks like a trev snuck in too), and some massive macks and tuna!

I am a fellow yakker, and that rig is sick. We mainly go close in the bay and in the Brisbane River. 

Keep telling us how you go, and I think that tuna would make a pretty good profile pic...

Cheers Hamish

[samsteele115]

Tailor and trevs were yesterday. Trevally being probably the most underrated table fish in my opinion. 

Yes the stealth pro fisha is basically a surf ski designed for fishing. Everything packs in the 7ft fish hatch so my gear stays dry in a surf launch. Or when I flip it half the time on the way in it's also very fast and glides well. What is your kayak?

Thanks mate! Yes they are both 20kg mackerel and tuna. Nice fish. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

24 minutes ago, samsteele115 said:

Tailor and trevs were yesterday. Trevally being probably the most underrated table fish in my opinion. 

Yes the stealth pro fisha is basically a surf ski designed for fishing. Everything packs in the 7ft fish hatch so my gear stays dry in a surf launch. Or when I flip it half the time on the way in it's also very fast and glides well. What is your kayak?

Thanks mate! Yes they are both 20kg mackerel and tuna. Nice fish. 

Yep, totally agree with you on that one samsteele115. They taste bloody good! I find they are far better fresh than anything else. 

It looks and sounds like an excellent kayak. I'm assuming it would be out of my budget (I'm saving for a small tinny/kayak in the future so I'll look at any option) but it looks great... My balance isn't good either. I don't think being a surf ski would help it. Haha

We have a double Kayaks2Fish kayak. Probably not the best one out there, but it does the job pretty good. There's not much space around my house, so we can't really add to our kayak arsenal at the moment. 

Cheers Hamish

[samsteele115]

Balance isn't tooo bad, certainly better than what a normal ski is. 

Yeah it's about 6k including sounder and safety gear. Not cheap

Absolutely would do the job nicely mate! That's awesome 

[rayke1938]

You still wielding the willow or no opportunity over there?

 Cheers Ray

[samsteele115]

19 minutes ago, rayke1938 said:

You still wielding the willow or no opportunity over there?

 Cheers Ray

G'day Ray! Great to hear from you. 

No mate, the passion for cricket faded a few years back (in terms of playing). I don't even want to know how many bass have holes in their lips since last time we spoke! 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

2 hours ago, samsteele115 said:

Balance isn't tooo bad, certainly better than what a normal ski is. 

Yeah it's about 6k including sounder and safety gear. Not cheap

Absolutely would do the job nicely mate! That's awesome 

Hey samsteele115

Jeez, there's no mucking around there. You are very serious with your yak fishing.

I did a 7Km paddle on the river with my dad this arvo. Mainly a scouting mission for another time. No fish, but we learnt a few new spots! 

Cheers Hamish  

[samsteele115]

Quick bag out today on Gobblers soft plastics and slugs. Protein for the week sorted. All around the 50cm mark and lost a nice 70cm ish greenback   

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi samsteele115

Holy Moly! 70cm is massive! I wouldn't be able to beat one that size if I tried for yonks! Good job

Cheers Hamish

[samsteele115]

5 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi samsteele115

Holy Moly! 70cm is massive! I wouldn't be able to beat one that size if I tried for yonks! Good job

Cheers Hamish

Didn't catch it though so it's just another fisherman's story

[samsteele115]

Zero food kilometers. We can all do this from time to time 

[Old Scaley]

That must be very satisfying @samsteele115. I was over there last week, just in time for the bad weather. I took some gear over but ended up just fishing the beach at Cylinder to stay out of the wind. Only did a couple of short sessions with plastics for no result, but did see a huge run of mullet passing through. It is a beautiful part of the world, Sam. I hope you continue to enjoy it. I admire your commitment to sustainability.

[samsteele115]

Thanks @Old Scaley! Beauty of being an island is there's always somewhere to fish. Cylinder is nice, but not often fishy it seems. Good spot to launch the kayak.

Even in 25 knots there are a couple of spots on the rocks either protected from wind or able to cast with the wind (still potentially dangerous mind you). In these times I cast down to the backing on my 5000 reel unfortunately for us, the wilder the weather the more fish seem to come in close. Dirty and rough water gets my hands shaking in anticipation. I don't remember the last time I caught a decent fish here landbased in 'nice' conditions. But always safety first 

[benno573]

Hey mate.

good to hear from you. Looks like you are living the dream over there. I too have been getting into a bit of home grown food - bit space limited but doing pretty well.

 

must be awesome just popping down the road, harvesting and heading home. Totally agree re trevally - I really enjoy them when fresh.

 

and which month are you getting in the calendar next year mate?

[samsteele115]

Great to hear benno! We can all do a little bit! 

Not allowed in the calendar til I've rescued a cat from a tree, and can slide down a pole better. I'll keep you posted 

[samsteele115]

70cm before work tonight! Productive 20 mins with a couple more around 50cm.

Slug on surface, it had a few goes at it!

[ellicat]

Looks like you have 'local knowledge' already. Haha

Nice tailor.

[kmcrosby78]

Wow, now that's a great 20 minutes of fishing, nice work Sam!!

[samsteele115]

Thankyou, 

Local knowledge is starting to creep in! It's amazing how we can get a feel for a place 

[Drop Bear]

Hey Sam,

Great stuff mate. I just saw this and trolled through. I'm a bit like you and am a lot quieter in here these days. 

Great to see you have the Taylor nailed and I love the 0 food KM meals that you are doing. We are trying to do that a bit too.

I love Straddie and have had loads of great trips there. I cant wait to get back. 

Do you want to let people know where you are catching? I understand if you prefer to keep it under your hat. 

I am still making great use of some of the stuff I bought from you. Most the tackle has gone but I still use the net and the Gerry cans most weeks. 

[Drop Bear]

That pro fisher looks the business mate. 

What coffee shop you at? I might drop in next week to say hi.

[samsteele115]

@Drop Bear yeah of course mate! Nice to hear from you. I forget how to do the report thing haha, need to add more details thanks for the reminder.

Yesterday was a quick spin with slugs before work, just about a fish a cast but lost most when they go aerial. Deadmans beach, casting in the dirty fast moving water. Clean water over here I almost don't bother landbased... gimme 20 knots and 2m swell any day haha.

Went out today in the kayak with a mate, again from deadmans beach. Got livies behind the breakers and put them out in Shark Alley (the channel with fast moving current between all the rocks. So fishy!) Within 5 mins my mate hooked up, but quickly took on a lot of water due to the fish pulling him in odd directions. 

I gaffed his fish and slid it in the hatch. First one in! Blooded! Shame it wasn't mine but a team effort all the same. 

Anyways we bailed out some of the water and headed back in because it was not floating too well; kind of important. Brief but successful mission. I'm sure I would have got one too if I stayed out.... or at least I'll keep telling myself that

Filleting fish and got a firecall for a car fire on flinders. Wasn't major thankfully. But a perk of the job to drive a nice landcruiser firetruck along the beach on such a beautiful day.

Cheers

[ellicat]

Ho ho ho. You'll be learning Spanish in no time. Great fish.

How heavy is the gear you're using for these monsters ?

[GregOug]

Great fish!

[samsteele115]

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

Ho ho ho. You'll be learning Spanish in no time. Great fish.

How heavy is the gear you're using for these monsters ?

This was caught on 40lb braid 50lb leader. I think 30lb seems to be enough for these guys to knock them over under 5 mins, providing there's enough line on the spool for that first run  

[kmcrosby78]

Great fish - geez you're doing it tough over there!! Might need to organise a social in Sam's backyard ....... 

[samsteele115]

14 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Great fish - geez you're doing it tough over there!! Might need to organise a social in Sam's backyard ....... 

It's really hard mate, thanks for reaching out 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey samsteele115

those are both some trophy fish. You'll have to catch a bigger one than your mate's too rub it in!  

A very nice tailor as well. I've never even caught one.

Cheers Hamish

[Drop Bear]

On 12/08/2020 at 8:28 PM, kmcrosby78 said:

Great fish - geez you're doing it tough over there!! Might need to organise a social in Sam's backyard ....... 

Just checked my diary and I'm available that day. Oh did you mention when it is?

[Drop Bear]

On 13/08/2020 at 6:53 AM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hey samsteele115

those are both some trophy fish. You'll have to catch a bigger one than your mate's too rub it in!  

A very nice tailor as well. I've never even caught one.

Cheers Hamish

Next time you are at the beach cast some metal slugs and fast retrieve. Winter is best but you can get them all year if you are lucky. Dawn and dusk and high tide are best times. 

[GregOug]

2 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

Just checked my diary and I'm available that day. Oh did you mention when it is?

Yeah. My diary is a bit like that these days too.