The Mad Hughesy

17 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

Thanks, yes we had a great trip. Back about 15 years ago we took our kids around Aust for 3 months when they were 9 and 11. It was a great thing to do and I would encourage every family to do something like this. 

As for the car... Its really up to what you want to do. This was our first trip up that way. We wanted to see the place and have an adventure. Our setup was pretty much as basic as you can get with just a standard Hilux and a tent with eskis. We did pretty much everything that most 4wds could do and we saw pretty much everything we wanted to see. I don't regret not spending money on the car. If I went again... I don't know

If you are in a Patrol or Cruiser with a lift kit, big tyres, snorkel and winch you can do every bit of the tracks including CREB and Frenchman's as well as the water crossings at Gunshot and Dulcie River. We were not able to do these. As I type this, I haven't written it yet but we did get to Gunshot and watched people do Dulcie River so saw it all really but didn't do the drop ins. I don't feel that we missed out.

Where do you start and where do you finish? If we had a snorkel we could have done Frenchman's but we still crossed the same rivers just not at the parts as deep as Frenchman's. Even with a snorkel we couldn't do Dulcie and Gunshot. If we had a lift kit We would have been able to continue along the track that I have been calling AFO track, but we saw both ends of it. 

So... If I go again I would either do it with the Hilux as is or go all in and do the cruiser with lift kit, snorkel, winch and big tyres. 

ive heard that you can basically get a 2wd car up there now. good to know a standard spec 4wd can have a great trip up, thanks

great looking trip mate, its always been on my bucket list. maybe when the kids are older and will get some enjoyment out of it
no snorkel on the car? curious as to your thoughts on how the ute went and if youd make any mods for next time?

7 minutes ago, Andrew_P said:

Go into your local tackle store, put the reel on a few and see what feels nice

bingo. will come down to feel more than anything. any of the main brands will be fine, comes down to your preference

id imagine you mean at casting at tuna? not trolling or anything like that

i would think an 8000 would be more than sufficient. having said that, ive never chased the likes of big kings in the bay. i think the smaller reel would allow for more uses.

should provide a few good feeds there. 

i must say over the years since the snapper closures became a thing, ive noticed alot more quality sized snapper being caught in the bay, even in the high traffic areas. so it must be working

@Tuna are fish it was this mob

https://www.noosawatersports.com/noosa-fishing-charters-on-wild-thing-2/

you can buy stick on rollers that you whack on the back of your car. they make it look easy. plenty of them on the internet for varying prices

happy ending with a big knob

maybe some magnet fishing is in order? 

cracking mack tuna

@Old Scaley haha i laughed reading your review. agreed though. cool footage none the less

1 hour ago, Kat said:

Watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.  At the end it shows how this happens.

Well worth a watch.  They are amazing creatures!

agreed. great doco

28 minutes ago, Hweebe said:

Why not try one of the freshwater dams, that will cover bait collection and I'm sure @rayke1938 will give you some tips and tricks to hook up on some fish in the canoe

fresh water gar are always a great option. i know my brother had great fun with his young kids on the gar. tiny hooks and a small piece of bread

i took my 2yo to fish on my kayak in the pine river just near the lawnton boat ramp. was nice and calm and proteced. very minimal traffic too. on the lower tides there are a few sand banks exposed that we could walk on and fish from. we got a few good bream for our trouble. report here

i dont see why not. if prams would be allowed then a fishing cart should be. im pretty sure people have walked on and off with a back[pack and rod in hand. 

maybe try flicking them a message on facebook or giving them a call

could have been a good sized cod too. they can be big lumps and lazy fighters.

this is why i love fishing, those monster mysterious fish are what keeps you going back for more!

ive never known eels to have a "big" head shake and ive caught some monster eels.

20 minutes ago, Bob9863 said:

When land based I found I had to gear up a bit, mostly because you needed about 300-350m of line and you needed heavier gear to turn their heads. 

Anything 1.5m and under wasn't a problem but for anything in the 1.8m-3.5m size you really had to put your back into it to keep them from spooling you. 

The underwater topography changes things too, rocky or coral bottoms posed a big problem or bringing them into a jetty. 

If you bought them into a jetty when they still had fight in them then they would wrap you up and snap you off. 

But if you tired them out and brought them in near the surface then you could hold them there to get a good look before cutting them free. 

you could really go into a lot more details like you've mentioned. I've encountered people having to kayak out mid fight to pull a shark over the drop off as they were essentially stuck on it and couldn't lift it over the drop off

52 minutes ago, Bob9863 said:

That's a pretty good guide, I do things a little different but I mostly only small differences and I tend to fish land based and that changes things quite a bit. 

But we have pulled up 3m tiger sharks on 15lb mono from a boat. 

Do you ever target them from the land? 

ive got no boat now so yeah. only small stuff lately as ive got young kids so sessions are few and far between

@Ed. from what i remember it was a very slow boat, we didnt catch much. just a bit og bottom bashing

worththe extra money to go out s sports fising charter like fraser island guided fishing or Hervey bay sports fishing. the fishing with them is awesome and ive been back a few times with them

there is the SEQ Sports fishing series

also i know the Toorbul fishing club runs monthly comps from memory.