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Bear On Tour - Report Added

Drop Bear

By Drop Bear
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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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2 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

Good onya, looks like fun was had pulling them in.

Surprised the weather was good as it blew like hell here for the whole week,

we're only 80k's direct line from the coast. The weather Gods must have been behaving.

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

Thanks mate,

Yep we didn't have anything over 15knots. Most of the time it was 10 or less. we couldn't have asked for better. 

 

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kmcrosby78 Mentor

kmcrosby78

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Epic trip, report and fish there Robbie, got a few of us forward planning no doubt!!!  I'll be doing something like that with my boys and hopefully my three brothers for my 50th. Well, either that or a trip to somewhere like Fiji or Vanuatu and include some fishing charters. 

So ....... the menu for the OzFish Xmas party is looking good ......... 😁

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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2 hours ago, ellicat said:

Did you get through all your rigs ? and which outfit was your favourite ?

yep I used everything.

The Tyranos 20 with 80lb braid on a 5.6 foot Ugly Stick was awesome. I didn't use much else. 

Everyone else had TLD 20s or Saragosa 10ks and I out gunned them by so much. 

I loved the longer rod with the 25k saragosa as well but it has limited uses from a crowded big boat. 

The Saragosa SW 8000 with 40 lb braid on a Rovex Sabiki and as a spare reel was a bit of a pain. The Sabiki was fantastic but the 8000 is way too big. I will probably dust off an old abu over head level wind that I have as the spinning reel was very clunky to use due to the hole in the sabiki being so close. 

The little rods were fun and I caught some nice little reef fish on them but not much use up there. 

I didn't catch a thing on the large soft plastics but to be fair I was pretty beaten up after the first day of shark fishing so mostly stuck with baits and the Tyranos 20. 

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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1 hour ago, Junky said:

Yeehaaa. Nice jack. 

I hate sharks. Dead set pita, and they always take the good bit and leave you with the guts. 

Perhaps their population needs to be controlled again...😉

Thanks mate,

I am stoked with it. Worth the trip just for that.

The skipper agrees with you regarding the sharks........... 

Suspicious Monkey GIF by MOODMAN

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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54 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Epic trip, report and fish there Robbie, got a few of us forward planning no doubt!!!  I'll be doing something like that with my boys and hopefully my three brothers for my 50th. Well, either that or a trip to somewhere like Fiji or Vanuatu and include some fishing charters. 

So ....... the menu for the OzFish Xmas party is looking good ......... 😁

haha yep. We need to set a date for it. Sadly I feel that the fish will be gone by then... or hidden in the freezer. haha.

 

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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56 minutes ago, Nirvana said:

Sounds like a cracker trip mate. So you reckon there are a few noahs out there? I am suprised more people dont get eaten by sharks to be honest. Good to see you got a few fish away from them, you will be eating like a king with 20kg of fillets!

Sharks are crazy thick up there at least. 

Yep eating well for a while now. So is the family. 🙂

 

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

Yeah, someone got bit by a shark out off Townsville

yesterday but no details as yet.

Sounded like it was while diving or on one of the islands.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/shark-attack-victim-named-as-rick-bettua-britomart-reef-townsville/1e0156f2-9a15-4371-8313-9cac40e2f049

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matty74 Newbie

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8 hours ago, Junky said:

Yeehaaa. Nice jack. 

I hate sharks. Dead set pita, and they always take the good bit and leave you with the guts. 

Perhaps their population needs to be controlled again...😉

Sharks populations Have plummeted 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/14/queensland-shark-numbers-down-by-90-per-cent-in-55-years-for-some-species

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GregOug Mentor

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5 minutes ago, matty74 said:

Sharks populations Have plummeted 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/14/queensland-shark-numbers-down-by-90-per-cent-in-55-years-for-some-species

Unfortunately, if you actually read the article, instead of just referencing it, you realise that the study only refers to a few of the top of the tree sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks. I am not surprised they have declined. The other species of sharks below them have exploded in numbers to the point where the largest species are fighting to get enough food. Never fear though, whale populations have also exploded since whaling was banned and when these huge, long lived creatures start to die, there will be plenty of their previously primary source of food available for the top predatory sharks, and their numbers can then increase to the point where the lesser sharks already are. 

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Kat Mentor

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On 25/10/2020 at 6:30 PM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

 

 

12 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Nice Report @Drop Bear. Funny how everyone in the individual photo has an OzFish cap on, but in the group photo they all have different headwear??? 🤣  @Kat, that is a funny looking boy in the red tough toad t shirt.

I knew it was the deckie.  She didn't count as it is her job 🤪 

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matty74 Newbie

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2 hours ago, GregOug said:

Unfortunately, if you actually read the article, instead of just referencing it, you realise that the study only refers to a few of the top of the tree sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks. I am not surprised they have declined. The other species of sharks below them have exploded in numbers to the point where the largest species are fighting to get enough food. Never fear though, whale populations have also exploded since whaling was banned and when these huge, long lived creatures start to die, there will be plenty of their previously primary source of food available for the top predatory sharks, and their numbers can then increase to the point where the lesser sharks already are. 

Really show me your source as that article states nothing in relation to an “explosion” in numbers of other sharks 

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23 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

The forecast was superb. 10 knots max that on the 55 foot boat is nothing at all. 

IMG20201019173324.thumb.jpg.48ee58bd16f4a9e21c6a4aa69313a3cb.jpg

We flew into Townsville and had few frothy ones at the Seaview Hotel before sleeping on the boat for the night. Well sleeping is a word... I got unlucky and grabbed the front bunk room. It is tiny and hard to get into and contained a walrus snorer. So not much sleep but at least I was up and ready when the motors kicked into life for the 4am leave. 

Lures were put out the back in the dark with skirted and bibbed in a spread of 3. The boat does about 9 knots so only the short billed diving lures would stay in the water. 

Grey dawn soon became a pink glow and the sun popped up as we passed the last of the ships waiting to dock. 

A few frothy chops later the drags screamed and we pulled in a couple of good sized Mac Tuna. I cut up one half for a sashimi breakfast and the rest went to hard baits. 

We steamed for about 3 hours and landed at the first spot where we dropped 100lb paternosters in 45m of water. The Nannies were waiting for us and we pulled in about 12. I got the best at 84cm but Rob got a cracking Red. They went off the chew and we moved to the next spot. 

IMG20201020125609.thumb.jpg.85da1a2e7da522b33dbaad153adec643.jpg

IMG20201020125737.thumb.jpg.ccf83869315615c43a04b26d632fdc5f.jpgIMG20201020125744.thumb.jpg.e0db7805b1e1dcd55d4a7134dc8c4f5c.jpgIMG20201020091446.thumb.jpg.51105d02f167607dafc7eb2c71d77027.jpgIMG20201020090016.thumb.jpg.9f68c717effe6a2775f5f3484417cbf2.jpg

That was pretty much us for the day. They men in grey suits were thick everywhere. We moved about 6 times and didn't bring in another whole fish. I know I had on some thumping Reds and pulled in 2 heads that proved this. 

IMG20201020093145.thumb.jpg.393efe472e6a049dc26273504ec1afcb.jpgIMG20201021084629.thumb.jpg.c5cc0d3221b2669c03608656dc45664f.jpg

We moved to the anchorage and caught a great Spanish and Wahoo on the lures. Even the decky wanted a photo with the hoo.

IMG20201020150231.thumb.jpg.830cdac47cfe64cdddabce297ee939b3.jpgIMG20201020155735.thumb.jpg.46a0a9a65f005f0ff8e333e78039ed57.jpgIMG20201020151437.thumb.jpg.ded3e6402cbb8ac72e5633ce3121e4a1.jpg

As we approached the anchorage the Shark Mackerel were thick. Everyone on the boat had a go at bringing them in. 

IMG20201020152620.thumb.jpg.56350ab41140934f5b427f640f333e7e.jpg

Day 2 started out pretty much the same. Shark Shark Shark...

IMG20201020145439.thumb.jpg.4c0713d98045c901be80be697a6a102b.jpg

This was getting crazy frustrating. The skipper moved a few times but we didn't do very well at all. The skipper said to relax as we were to travel for over an hour to try and escape the sharks. We went to a mark called "Loads of F%$#$%g huge fish" that sounded nice. 

We pulled up and were straight on! Big Large mouth nannies and I finally got a Red. Not a big one but it made the eski. (one of my mates took a photo... so I will post it later)

We pulled lots of good fish off this spot. Mostly Large Mouth Nannies but a few Small Mouth Nannies too. 

Then the sharks moved in. They came up to the boat. there were about 12 of them circling and looking for dinner. Such big machines. It was hard to identify them, besides I am not very good at it yet but hope to get better. The skipper tied some mono to the tail of a large Shark Mackerel and threw it over. They came in closer and they were formidable to see. One of them effortlessly and with no fuss turned to the Mackerel and before the skipper had time to pull it out of the way engulfed the whole thing. The skipper was keeping the fish away from the sharks hoping to entice them closer but the way this brute closed the gap on the big bait was eerily cool and ominously fast. No swimming here...

We went into a shallower spot, about 25m, for the night. A few trout were caught but we waited for the sun to dip. Pretty much on que the fishing started to heat up. RT Emps, Pink Cheaked Emps lots of tea leaf and bluger trevallies hit the decks. I was busted off so many times. I was using Hussar heads and big chunks of Mac Tuna and Shark Mackerel for baits on my Tyrnos 20 on a short ugly stick with 80lb line. Leader was 100lb mono tied with a FG and made into a paternoster with single hook and #8 snapper lead. 

Then all hell broke loose. thumping head shakes buckled the rod. I had been catching big fish for 2 days (well hooking them and loosing to sharks mostly) so knew to get a few desperate winds in to get it off the bottom, but in the shallower water the fish takes on another dimension, running sideways and the short rod made it hard to stop the line from touching the boat. I had the drag set to STOP so lost very little line but the head shakes thumped down hard, testing the already torched back and arms. After a few mins I started getting line back and soon the fish made it to the surface. The skipper yelled REEF JACK and sprinted for the gaff. He hit is perfectly in the head and it was on board. Such an epic fish. My first big Jack and one I am very happy with. IMG20201023062452.thumb.jpg.5ea3b25f173d3d973d6fa0eda6d87da8.jpgThis photo was taken the next day, you can see it's eyes are cloudy, it had spent the night in the ice slurry.  I have more photos on other people's cameras that I hope to get back soon including one on a brag mat. Yep POIDH.... coming haha. 

The fish went off the chew and we settled into some serious drinking. 

I got up early and floated out a pilly and fished the bottom with only one run but no success. 

IMG20201023054312.thumb.jpg.69a375ffb7a55455d9e94ce5414201b6.jpg

this was our last day now. We had 5 hours of steaming and flights booked for about 5.30pm. 

We went to the same spot that had produced the fish the day before without the sharks and picked up another 20 good fish including, Nannies, one smaller Red Emp, trevs and some Frying Pan Snapper. 

IMG20201022174230.thumb.jpg.be402eae7e12492611de33324c5aad0c.jpg

There was only one more stop on the list and we hit it and caught a few more fish but nothing remarkable. We had a very nice looking eski for the day already.

IMG20201023082902.thumb.jpg.186664b24ccf20d9211601fe1b1c6f15.jpg

The steam home saw a Mac Tuna on the troll on a Skirted Lure and a few beers.

Over all it was a great trip. I took about 20kg of fillets home including the big dog that has mostly been eaten. I spent a bit of time cutting out its jaw and have it on an ants nest in a besser block with another on top so the dog and crows wont get it. 

We all caught good fish but man I was sore. The number of fish that got eaten by sharks was crazy. It is so exhausting to try and hold up a rod at full drag when a shark is tearing off... But worth it haha. 

I will do it again. 🙂

IMG20201023083528.thumb.jpg.0b9ad79f3e47793ef50b5e405c755e5d.jpg

Here are a few more photos.  

 

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We were on Sir Reel from Northern Conquest. 

https://www.nccharters.com.au/

How good would life be if you could go out and do that every day ! Awesome pics Drop Bear 

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tugger Enthusiast

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Wow that is an awesome trip Robbie so many great fish but I see the pinnacle for you was the big jack and rightly so. This is why I like fishing up north so many fish species to catch and see on the great barrier reef.

I bet this trip will stay in the memory bank forever it was epic fishing. I reckon your already trying to work out if and when you can do another 1 like this.

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Drop Bear Community Regular

Drop Bear

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2 hours ago, tugger said:

Wow that is an awesome trip Robbie so many great fish but I see the pinnacle for you was the big jack and rightly so. This is why I like fishing up north so many fish species to catch and see on the great barrier reef.

I bet this trip will stay in the memory bank forever it was epic fishing. I reckon your already trying to work out if and when you can do another 1 like this.

Yep awesome fish. So many biggens really tested out the gear. Most fishing was in 40-50m. I am keen to do this again very soon. 🙂

 

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AUS-BNE-FISHO Grand Master

AUS-BNE-FISHO

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4 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

Thanks mate. Yep stoked. I just put the jaws on an ants nest this morning. I can't wait to see how they come out. 

Hey Drop Bear

This is someone who caught a 77cm jack who got the jaws - hopefully it turns out similar!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9yQyMYny4U/

Cheers Hamish

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