queensland 21 nights on moreton - 7/12 - 27/12 - photo links added

benno573 · January 11

Hi all,

Was hoping to wait until the photo issue was rectified but some of you may enjoy the story regardless.

On 7th Dec with a very fully loaded car and trailer we jumped on the morning MiCat to Moreton Island with 21 nights of relaxation in my favourite place to look forward to. I let the tyres down as far as I dare with the load on, had the obligatory smiley pie and coffee and soon we were on the beach at Tangalooma. After a bit of a challenge getting to the top of middle road, we had a beautiful run up the eastern beach towards cape moreton. Unfortunately, I was pretty much run off the road by a peanut coming down the hill from the lighthouse and the trailer then developed a mind of its own when trying to reverse out and I ended up needing to deploy the recovery boards to get me back on the straight and narrow and have another crack at the hill. No dramas the second time and we were soon picking out a site at North Point campground. A few hours of work followed and soon we had a camp set up that would survive anything but the worst weather in a fairly shady and sheltered corner of the campground.

Next morning I was up at early AM and went for a bit of a walk around to check the gutters on the beach and all that, had a cast but wasn't successful. After breakfast we headed off down the beach with the kids to some beautiful little low tide gutters that were about knee deep and calm. While playing around, I noticed some birds circling in the surf break and then saw some fishy-shapes chasing bait in the waves. I grabbed the only rod I had with me (the 2-4kg flick stick with 10lb) and threw a 20g halco twisty on. Second cast I was away. After a very good argument on the light gear, I had the first fish tacos of the trip sorted with a 53cm tailor. About an hour later he was sizzling away in a frypan back at camp.

Next few days were a bit tough on the fishing front. Early morning starts up the rocks spinning were mildly successful, however, I did work out I could put the little fella in his backpack carrier and take him along with me. And the best part was he absolutely loved it... well.... for the first 90 minutes or so anyway. But was still pretty cool hanging out with him and managing to catch a couple of fish along the way.

Morning 4 was a complete bust on the fishing front, could not get a hit on a slug or a plastic anywhere so I was walking back across kind of a swampy section near camp and my morning took a massive turn - for the good! There at my feet was my lunch, now if I could just get hold of him with all 10 fingers still in tact... A few interesting moments and near misses later and eventually I had my prize - a 1.7kg full as buck muddie. Even the young fella appreciated this - I held it up to show him which was met with a "Wooooowwwwww" from him. Glad I had strapped him in to the backpack well though. A crab wrap for lunch was a very unexpected but welcome addition to the menu that's for sure. After the crab wrap, during the midday nap period, I went for a walk down to the rocks given the swell was picking up a bit and landed 3 mid 40's tailor in the first three casts. Then a surfer paddled right over where the fish were sitting, sat there was a minute and then paddled off again. Needless to say, the fish disappeared thereafter. Maybe the surfer was a vegan or something and that was his idea of a protest. Still, three tailor was ample for dinner.

Next day I had collected some pippies and headed over to a favourite rock fishing spot of mine, however, it was very quiet but I managed to pull three nice dart out, the best one going 43cm. There's another dinner sorted!

After 7 days, the outlaws headed home and were replaced by @ellicat and my mum. After a new false starts, ECat and I finally found where the flathead were hiding. I was first on the board with a lovely 63cm model. While it was only 1 or 2 each time we tried the spot, they were all quality fish in the mid 50's.

The weather finally became good enough for me to try a kayak trip which saw me throw the tub in early and head on out. It took me a while to to find them but I managed 3 snapper 43-49cm, one just legal spangled and a 38cm grassy. I then hooked something huge that had me scrambling to get on top of it to try and pull it out of the rocky rubbly bottom. A good battle ensued and a stud 53cm grassy surfaced, much to ECat's distain as he is yet to crack the 50cm mark on a grassy and I have now 4 times in his presence. Sorry mate - oh wait, no I'm not... I headed back in and watched ECat land a legal flatty from the beach as I was coming back in.

All too soon, ECat had to head home - hope you had a good trip mate. Glad you got to witness the might BT50 recovering a brand spanking 300 series jsut before getting on the barge - that was a bit of fun.

The day after he left, it was forecast to be 20kn+ northerlies but they never showed up and the ocean completely glassed out around lunch time. I grabbed the kayak and headed out, not knowing the carnage that was about to unfold.

Things started slowly, it took me a good 1/2 hr before I got my first decent hit - and what a hit it was. Ripped 20lb line off the reel under fairly heavy drag and ended up busting me off on the rubbly bottom about 100m away, my best guess was a GT or a kingy - or so i thought... maybe another culprit was to blame as will soon be revealed. I soon after I found a patch with some nice snapper, and put three 40-48cm models and a bonus grassy into the box. I tried a different area and first cast hooked the 3:14 express from central that had me chasing after it flat out while it peeled line from the reel. Surely this couldn't be a shark, I would have been busted off ages ago... what could this be? After about 10 minutes I got sight of the fish and about 10 minutes after that I had 85cm of cobia doing it's best to escape from under my legs on the kayak. A very quick brain spike and bleed and a louder than necessary yahoo and then a minute to recover, check leader, plastic etc and we were back into it. Next cast a 43cm grassy came to play. Followed shortly after by a cracking 55cm snapper that gave me a real run around and completed my bag out. I decided that was enough and just one more cast... wholly hell. Seconds after the lure hitting the water two things happened. A manta ray surfaced just near where my lure landed and my rod was just about ripped out of my hands. For a second I thought I had hooked the manta but it zigged and whatever i had zagged. Knowing cobia love hanging around mantas i quickly worked my way out over sand and settled in for the battle. This one was far heavier and more stubborn than the first one and was slugging it out down deep, I would make a metre of line and he would take 2 back. This went on and on. About 1/2 hour later I finally had the fish yakside - now how the hell do I land this thing? I ended up tailing it and lifting by the line as well and got it on my lap. A quick spike and bleed and a rather nose heavy and slimy, bloody kayak headed back to the beach. The big cobia went 110cm - not huge by cobia standards sure but everything seems bigger on a floating bit of plastic. It also meant a double bag out for the first time ever on the yak.

At this point I will mention that ECat had been kind enough to loan me his 60L freezer which was a very welcome item in the campsite after such a trip - on top of my 80L fridge/freezer. approx 11kg of fillets were recovered from the days captures - a day of kayak fishing I will not forget in a hurry.

Other than that day, a few more nice flatties found their way into the box but the fishing effort was rather half hearted - I was happy to finish on a high.

Roast turkey and potato bake made for an awesome Xmas dinner, plenty of time spent with the small people at the beach. Luckily, we only copped one storm on Xmas eve with a fair bit of wind and 57mm of rain in 1/2 hour, got the edge of a few others but nothing too bad. Everything stayed standing and dry on the inside at least.

All too soon - even after such an extended stay - we were packing up and heading back to the MiCat for the trip home. Middle road had washouts about 1/2m deep in some spots from the storms the previous two days which was pretty crazy to see.

I will attempt to add some photos when the site is fixed if people are interested, I didn't take heaps but there's a few that people might like.

Hope you enjoyed the read, I tried not to make it too long.

Cheers,

Benno <'><

ellicat · January 11

Excellent read/story. I would love to replicate your yak sessions in the boat one day. Horse grassy had me envious for sure.

I had a great time as usual hanging with you and the family. Pretty happy with my biggest flattie, too.

What about the size of that dugong on the SW of the island the day of the 300 series recovery ?!

AUS-BNE-FISHO · January 11

Great report Benno, sounds like an awesome trip. Good work on the big cobia and all other fish that session on the kayak too.

benno573 · January 11

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

Excellent read/story. I would love to replicate your yak sessions in the boat one day. Horse grassy had me envious for sure.

I had a great time as usual hanging with you and the family. Pretty happy with my biggest flattie, too.

What about the size of that dugong on the SW of the island the day of the 300 series recovery ?!

Yeah, pretty crazy seeing such a large solitary adult in so close to the island.

crazywalrus · January 11

Good stuff Benno, always good to get out with the @ellicat

mangajack · January 11

Moreton is probably the most overlooked quality getaway in Australia....probably just as well the fees and barge are so damn high.

benno573 · January 11

1 hour ago, mangajack said:

Moreton is probably the most overlooked quality getaway in Australia....probably just as well the fees and barge are so damn high.

They are high… but when you take into account barge, camping fees, vehicle permit, food and my bourbon bill a 21 night family holiday for about $1600 isn’t too bad. Especially when about $400 of that was bourbon…

Old Scaley · January 11

Ripping yarn @benno573 you’ve really got that area nailed! Looking forward to the photos.

Rebel · January 11

queensland 21 nights on moreton - 7/12 - 27/12 - photo links added

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Latest Posts

Most Viewed Topics Last 30 Days

Similar Content

Popular Contributors

Upcoming Events

Newest Clubs