The Mad Hughesy

haha yes it was a dugong. there is a healthy population of them in the passage. last time i had to wait putting the boat on the trailer as two of them were floating by right in front of the boat ramp pontoons
that wake was nuts! such a big animal, gotta love nature

pontoon 21 greedy guts in the black and gold
 

To be honest I just saw some disturbance in the water so decided to go investigate

I was part of a Facebook run kayak comp over the weekend. The target species was Mangrove jack (which no one managed to land)
We launched at about 6:30am from Banksia beach, and myself with a fair few other competitors headed straight up the canals.
I was hit by what I can assume was a jack very early in the day, it hit like a train at full speed and I never had a chance to get him out. He dusted me up in about 10 seconds…straight through 40lb leader! 
From there on it was a quiet day, I managed a small cod and a big eye trevally. Both caught on Zman Swimmerz in motor oil. There plenty of schools of trevally around, but they were hard catch, they weren’t taking much. I sounded out a lot of bait school with fishing surrounding the bait…my guess was more trevally. I trolled through them, threw paddle tails, jigged prawn lures….but could never get a touch.
Finished up around 12:30 when I was knackered from the belting heat.
Also ran into the nessy of the passage on the way home….he/she created a massive wave when it scurried away as I got closer. Vid below too
All in all it was a tough day fishing, 7 hours on the water for 2 fish but I must say, it was great fun to fish in a comp again…maybe the Moreton Bay or Bris River classic might make a come back on day…here’s hoping.
 

FullSizeRender.mov

haha yes it was a dugong. there is a healthy population of them in the passage. last time i had to wait putting the boat on the trailer as two of them were floating by right in front of the boat ramp pontoons
that wake was nuts! such a big animal, gotta love nature

I was part of a Facebook run kayak comp over the weekend. The target species was Mangrove jack (which no one managed to land)
We launched at about 6:30am from Banksia beach, and myself with a fair few other competitors headed straight up the canals.
I was hit by what I can assume was a jack very early in the day, it hit like a train at full speed and I never had a chance to get him out. He dusted me up in about 10 seconds…straight through 40lb leader! 
From there on it was a quiet day, I managed a small cod and a big eye trevally. Both caught on Zman Swimmerz in motor oil. There plenty of schools of trevally around, but they were hard catch, they weren’t taking much. I sounded out a lot of bait school with fishing surrounding the bait…my guess was more trevally. I trolled through them, threw paddle tails, jigged prawn lures….but could never get a touch.
Finished up around 12:30 when I was knackered from the belting heat.
Also ran into the nessy of the passage on the way home….he/she created a massive wave when it scurried away as I got closer. Vid below too
All in all it was a tough day fishing, 7 hours on the water for 2 fish but I must say, it was great fun to fish in a comp again…maybe the Moreton Bay or Bris River classic might make a come back on day…here’s hoping.
 

FullSizeRender.mov

haha yes it was a dugong. there is a healthy population of them in the passage. last time i had to wait putting the boat on the trailer as two of them were floating by right in front of the boat ramp pontoons
that wake was nuts! such a big animal, gotta love nature

I was part of a Facebook run kayak comp over the weekend. The target species was Mangrove jack (which no one managed to land)
We launched at about 6:30am from Banksia beach, and myself with a fair few other competitors headed straight up the canals.
I was hit by what I can assume was a jack very early in the day, it hit like a train at full speed and I never had a chance to get him out. He dusted me up in about 10 seconds…straight through 40lb leader! 
From there on it was a quiet day, I managed a small cod and a big eye trevally. Both caught on Zman Swimmerz in motor oil. There plenty of schools of trevally around, but they were hard catch, they weren’t taking much. I sounded out a lot of bait school with fishing surrounding the bait…my guess was more trevally. I trolled through them, threw paddle tails, jigged prawn lures….but could never get a touch.
Finished up around 12:30 when I was knackered from the belting heat.
Also ran into the nessy of the passage on the way home….he/she created a massive wave when it scurried away as I got closer. Vid below too
All in all it was a tough day fishing, 7 hours on the water for 2 fish but I must say, it was great fun to fish in a comp again…maybe the Moreton Bay or Bris River classic might make a come back on day…here’s hoping.
 

FullSizeRender.mov

I was part of a Facebook run kayak comp over the weekend. The target species was Mangrove jack (which no one managed to land)
We launched at about 6:30am from Banksia beach, and myself with a fair few other competitors headed straight up the canals.
I was hit by what I can assume was a jack very early in the day, it hit like a train at full speed and I never had a chance to get him out. He dusted me up in about 10 seconds…straight through 40lb leader! 
From there on it was a quiet day, I managed a small cod and a big eye trevally. Both caught on Zman Swimmerz in motor oil. There plenty of schools of trevally around, but they were hard catch, they weren’t taking much. I sounded out a lot of bait school with fishing surrounding the bait…my guess was more trevally. I trolled through them, threw paddle tails, jigged prawn lures….but could never get a touch.
Finished up around 12:30 when I was knackered from the belting heat.
Also ran into the nessy of the passage on the way home….he/she created a massive wave when it scurried away as I got closer. Vid below too
All in all it was a tough day fishing, 7 hours on the water for 2 fish but I must say, it was great fun to fish in a comp again…maybe the Moreton Bay or Bris River classic might make a come back on day…here’s hoping.
 

FullSizeRender.mov

I was part of a Facebook run kayak comp over the weekend. The target species was Mangrove jack (which no one managed to land)
We launched at about 6:30am from Banksia beach, and myself with a fair few other competitors headed straight up the canals.
I was hit by what I can assume was a jack very early in the day, it hit like a train at full speed and I never had a chance to get him out. He dusted me up in about 10 seconds…straight through 40lb leader! 
From there on it was a quiet day, I managed a small cod and a big eye trevally. Both caught on Zman Swimmerz in motor oil. There plenty of schools of trevally around, but they were hard catch, they weren’t taking much. I sounded out a lot of bait school with fishing surrounding the bait…my guess was more trevally. I trolled through them, threw paddle tails, jigged prawn lures….but could never get a touch.
Finished up around 12:30 when I was knackered from the belting heat.
Also ran into the nessy of the passage on the way home….he/she created a massive wave when it scurried away as I got closer. Vid below too
All in all it was a tough day fishing, 7 hours on the water for 2 fish but I must say, it was great fun to fish in a comp again…maybe the Moreton Bay or Bris River classic might make a come back on day…here’s hoping.
 

FullSizeRender.mov

never thought of the ropes, great tip, thanks mate
 
ive got a Quintrex 500 coast runner. 

to actually wet a line
Having a baby kind of destroys any concept of free time....loved every bit of it though
feel sorry for my boat collecting cobwebs. Need to learn to go on solo trips, thats all i want for next year, confidence in solo launch and retrieve trips

thats a very light coloured cod. great morning fishing!
 
also holding the shark like a pro now haha nice one man

couple of things mate
1. dont be afraid to make a small cut in the side of the mouth where the hook is to get the hook out. in my eyes, getting the hook out and shark back in the water fast is the most important thing. So a small cut to release the hook fast is a good option
2. depending on the shark size, use your body weight to control the shark. so you can basically have the shark between your legs with a knee on each fin. you will have complete control over the shark and it wont be able to bend around to bite you. (ill try to find a picture of this)
3. otherwise, just pin it on top of its head and push with all your force to pin it on the ground. (ill post a pics up of this too)
once youve got control of it, then juse pliers, dehookers etc to remove the hook. ive found that pliers are fine, just takes a bit of shaking to get it loose sometimes. the smaller sharks are more dangerous in my opinion, they can bend back on themselves alot faster and easier than bigger sharks.

i only ever make the cuts in the mouth if the shark seems really tired and i want it back in the water fast, or as a last resort. i do prefer to just remove the hook but sometimes it isnt that easy. Just make a judgement call on each capture. Just be super careful when you are up close with the knife, those little bullies are deadly quick!

couple of things mate
1. dont be afraid to make a small cut in the side of the mouth where the hook is to get the hook out. in my eyes, getting the hook out and shark back in the water fast is the most important thing. So a small cut to release the hook fast is a good option
2. depending on the shark size, use your body weight to control the shark. so you can basically have the shark between your legs with a knee on each fin. you will have complete control over the shark and it wont be able to bend around to bite you. (ill try to find a picture of this)
3. otherwise, just pin it on top of its head and push with all your force to pin it on the ground. (ill post a pics up of this too)
once youve got control of it, then juse pliers, dehookers etc to remove the hook. ive found that pliers are fine, just takes a bit of shaking to get it loose sometimes. the smaller sharks are more dangerous in my opinion, they can bend back on themselves alot faster and easier than bigger sharks.

Watch this video mate. Skip to 11:30 to watch how to get on top of the shark like I explained above
 

great report mate. those bull sharks can be very acrobatic sometimes. 

Focus on the beacons mate. you can spend all day chasing them but i find just anchoring near a beacon and throwing slugs and floating pillies all day does the trick. There are a few good tutorials on youtube for Moreotn Bay mackerel. below is a good simple tutorial
 

never thought of the ropes, great tip, thanks mate
 
ive got a Quintrex 500 coast runner. 

My tips on this would be to try and launch at harbours or ramps protected from current and wind. I launch and retrieve my Fisher 5.6m solo - I pull the winch hook/cable down towards the end of the trailer before I hop in and reverse down the ramp and use a bow rope to swing the boat around as needed - you could also tie on a stern rope to give more control from the back of the boat if you feel you need it. My boat has a canopy which catches the wind a bit but I manage fine.
When my kids were too young to fish, I found night sessions in the river were a good compromise.

to actually wet a line
Having a baby kind of destroys any concept of free time....loved every bit of it though
feel sorry for my boat collecting cobwebs. Need to learn to go on solo trips, thats all i want for next year, confidence in solo launch and retrieve trips

to actually wet a line
Having a baby kind of destroys any concept of free time....loved every bit of it though
feel sorry for my boat collecting cobwebs. Need to learn to go on solo trips, thats all i want for next year, confidence in solo launch and retrieve trips

to actually wet a line
Having a baby kind of destroys any concept of free time....loved every bit of it though
feel sorry for my boat collecting cobwebs. Need to learn to go on solo trips, thats all i want for next year, confidence in solo launch and retrieve trips

to actually wet a line
Having a baby kind of destroys any concept of free time....loved every bit of it though
feel sorry for my boat collecting cobwebs. Need to learn to go on solo trips, thats all i want for next year, confidence in solo launch and retrieve trips