Longtail and Mack Tuna

[lachrdr]

I have learnt a lot reading the reports on here, so thought it's about time I contribute one. Also, I rarely have much to report, so this was a good change!

We spent the weekend camping at Moreton Island with the plan to do some fishing in the bay, and hopefully head out around the cape if the weather played the game.

Conditions were pretty nice Saturday morning heading across, and after setting up camp we spent some time trolling the beacons with a paravane.

It took a while to get it to swim right, but we did catch a 55cm school mackerel just before dusk, which was a very nice dinner. 

The grinners were also thicker than I have ever seen and were keen to take just about any lure.

After a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning, we decided to head North, to explore new ground for us and maybe troll for a Spanish.

It was a bit sloppy around Comboyuro but once through there the conditions were perfect. Big swells but very clean. 

We spotted some birds working and started casting slugs. Not long after I hooked a decent sized Mack Tuna. 

Next my mate hooked one as well. We were pretty happy to have those two in the boat. These were bigger than any of the Mack Tuna I have caught in the bay.

After that schools seemed to be popping up everywhere, but were fairly easily spooked. My mate managed to catch another Mack Tuna. 

Then the fun started. I cast into a school but noticed I had a bit of a tangle in my line at the reel, so spent a little while sorting that.

I cranked the lure back in from under the school that were still boiling, and it got smashed.

The first run took me by surprise and I was quickly losing line. 

After a good fight I managed to get the fish near the boat and saw that it was a longtail. A species I have been hoping to catch for some time. 

The fish took one final run and managed to go around and under the boat. The line rubbed the side and snapped, which was pretty devastating. 

After retying we found another big school and I tried the same technique.

The lure got chomped again and the drag was screaming. I couldn't believe I managed to hook another Longie. 

This time we were ready and maneuvered the boat during the fight and managed to land it. Big smiles all round.

We headed back to camp very happy and the bay was glassed out. 

Heading home on Sunday was a different story with the bay pretty choppy with the westerly. 

All in all a great trip and cant wait to get amongst the longtails again. 

Got some amazing fillets off the Longtail, and contrary to popular opinion we also eat the Mack Tuna.

Usually in a curry or stir fry, and as long as the fish is bled well and the lateral line is removed we find them to be good eating.

Cheers, Lachlan

 

[ellicat]

Success !

Sounds like a great time and a good way to spend a weekend.

What size slugs did the damage ?

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Great report Lachlan, nice work on those tuna!

[lachrdr]

28 minutes ago, ellicat said:

Success !

Sounds like a great time and a good way to spend a weekend.

What size slugs did the damage ?

The Macks took a range from 30 gram to 55 gram, and the longtail took a 40 gram. 

Interestingly the bait fish they were eating were tiny.  

[Old Scaley]

Great report @lachrdr. If you are catching grinders on the paravane, try running it a bit deeper or closer to the boat. Those longtail would have been a nice surprise.

[Junky]

5 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Great report @lachrdr. If you are catching grinders on the paravane, try running it a bit deeper or closer to the boat. Those longtail would have been a nice surprise.

 

 

Can I borrow that paravane @lachrdr?

I need a new grinder. 

My makita just pooped itself. 

What lure do you recommend for 5 inch 18v brushless Milwaukee? 

 

 

Good job on the tuna BTW. 

Those longies go hard. 

 

[Angry51]

@lachrdr that's a good session, and a good few feeds.

Good that the weather was kind enough for you.

With winter coming on we can expect some windy days, mostly

weekends.

[Old Scaley]

3 hours ago, Junky said:

 

 

Can I borrow that paravane @lachrdr?

I need a new grinder. 

My makita just pooped itself. 

What lure do you recommend for 5 inch 24v brushless Milwaukee? 

 

 

Good job on the tuna BTW. 

Those longies go hard. 

 

Damn predictive text got me again!

[Bretto77]

Nice fish. Well done. Sounds like a good weekend and nobody can ever have too many of those

[Rebel]

Great Team effort.

Well done.

[kmcrosby78]

Congrats on the longie mate, they're great fun to catch and sounds like you've worked out a trick to hook them . Beautiful time of the year to be camping and fishing over there. Do you mind if I ask where you camped and what mooring the boat was like - does the tide go out far?

[lachrdr]

16 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Congrats on the longie mate, they're great fun to catch and sounds like you've worked out a trick to hook them . Beautiful time of the year to be camping and fishing over there. Do you mind if I ask where you camped and what mooring the boat was like - does the tide go out far?

This time we were camped down near Shark Spit. We always camp on the Western side anywhere from Comboyuro to Shark Spit. The tides do go out a bit but not too big. Just need to keep a close eye on the boat if you anchor in close on a high tide. I think the campsites south of shark spit are worse with big mangrove flats. 

The only issue is if you anchor deep one arvo and want to go for an early fish in the morning, it can be a pretty brisk wade/swim out to the boat! Especially this time of year.

[Neil Stratford]

You should have tried converting the Longtail into sashimi  - bit of soy sauce + wasabi = yum !

Well done those bigger Mac tuna and Longtails  they certainly go hard.

regards, Neil