Tybo

Definitely wild country the scenery would have been enough for most punters then throw in bass that want to pull you out of the boat for the whole experience

Me likum kiki buai

Yes!
That is all I can think to say right now...
Yes!!!

On the 25th March, Stu and myself set out on a trip deep into the jungles of West Papua in search of the mighty Black Bass in some river systems that have never really been fished except for the local villagers in the area.
This was a trip of epic proportions with months of planning and 3 days of travel to reach our destination.
Our journey seen us fly to Bali and then Makassar where we spent the night in a motel and then we boarded another plane at 2am to fly across to Biak where we met up with our local mate Teddy.
We were supposed to jump on another plane the next morning for Serui on the island of Pulau Japen but bad weather seen all planes and ferries cancelled so we sat this out for 2 days.
This gave us a chance to have a look around Biak so we could  visit the local fish market and check out the different sights around the city.

 

 
On the
On the second day we got to hike deep into the most beautiful valley that you could ever wish to see to catch a Spot Tail Bass but unfortunately the fishing was very quiet.
The scenery and the waterfalls were just spectacular to see and not catching any fish here really did not matter.





Some local villagers that lived downstream paddled their way up river in their dugout canoes and picked us up and took us downstream through a series of rapids and log jams to where they had a long boat waiting to ferry us out of this insane prehistoric looking valley.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular with heavy rainforest reaching right to the water.
As dark fell, the fire flies came out which was just amazing to see.
On the third day, we decided to jump on a fast passenger ferry to Serui  instead of flying over due to the excess luggage and camping gear that we had to take with us.
This was a 5 hour boat trip and it gave us a chance to see some of the local islands and coastline which was a very enjoyable part of the trip.

We finally arrived in Serui  where we arranged a driver with a small truck to run us around to find a motel for the night and to do the necessary food shopping and fuel purchases that we needed to arrange.
After purchasing  1200 liters of fuel and enough 2 stroke oil for the trip and a ute load of food and water, we had dinner and then headed back to the motel  where we settled in for a hard earned rest before the huge trip into the jungle the next day.
Life in Serui is vastly different to other parts of Indonesia that we have travelled through.
The rubbish and filth around the city is unimaginable and really has to be seen to be believed.
No one uses a rubbish bin or takes their rubbish home, they just drop it where they have finished with it and the water’s  edge around the small harbour was a tip site on its own.
It is one place that I would be very happy to never see again.



The following morning we struck our first major hurdle when the guy supplying one of the boats went missing  so we were left with only one  boatman with his 6.5m long boat to take us fishing for the week.
We loaded this poor boat up with all the camping gear, food, water,  fuel and 6 people and  I estimated that we had over  a 2 ton payload all up but she went like a rocket ship with the twin tiller steer 40hp Yamahas.
Our  boat trip was around 150km to where we wanted to camp but our plans changed when our  boatman grew up in a small village on an adjacent waterway.
It just happened that they also owned the river system that we wanted to fish in so on our way into the jungle we stopped at the village where he grew up so he could introduce us to the chief and also so he could catch up with his family and friends.
After meeting the chief and the other village elders over a coffee, the chief invited us to stay the night in his house with his family.
As it was getting late in the day and with no chance of reaching our campsite before dark, we kindly accepted his offer and we spent an amazing night with some of the nicest people you could ever  wish to meet.



Up bright and early the next morning, we headed off through this long and narrow waterway where we eventually popped out into the river system that we wanted to search for the elusive Black Bass.


Spread throughout the river system were these  little fishing shanties on stilts over the water that the villagers have built for their fishing trips and we were offered the opportunity to use any of these that we wanted.
We checked one out down near the river mouth but it was a bit small for us all so we ventured further back up river where we found this amazing little shack sitting proudly over the river with its own little jetty at the front door.
This was now going to be our campsite for the week so we unloaded the boat and then ventured off to have a look around and to have an arvo fish.





We ventured upstream into a small lake system that was 3.5km long and it had 5 separate entrances from the main river.
These creek entrances all held Black Bass, Mangrove Jacks,  Trevally and Tarpon and then inside this lake was hundreds of small palm islands, trees and stumps,  which many had good numbers of fish around them.
This was an amazing little waterway to begin our week of Black Bass fishing.



The next 2 days were spent down around the river mouth in the pure salt water looking for the bigger Black Bass.
We fished many miles of creeks and anabranches and even the adjacent river system but sadly we couldn’t find any fish down in this area.
They would have to be there as the water looked good but they were either shut down or maybe there at another time of the year.
The next few days we decided to stay well up river in the lake area where we caught our fish on the first day.
This proved to be a bonanza with many fish being hooked, landed and lost.
Most of the fish caught this trip were on the topwater  using mullet poppers and just a few were caught on deep divers.
Tarpon were everywhere this trip and were fun to catch when the bass fishing was quite.
You could see the schools of Tarpon finning on the surface and their bubble trails in the water everywhere.
A quick cast over their heads soon stirred multiple strikes at the popper.




















 
The last day we had some bad weather coming in so we decided to get out of the jungle and start the journey back to Serui.
We spent the night in a boatmans hut at the village again as the spring tides had made the creek too shallow to navigate in the dark.
After a good nights sleep, we headed off at 4.30am to beat the falling tide.
This time we hit many stumps and also had to drive the boat over whole trees to reach the deeper section of the creek.
Once out it was full stick down the river and across the bar to the open water where it was quite choppy for the first 50km.
About half way back to Serui we pulled into a small village where our boatmans wife lived so we managed to get a nice jug of hot coffee and buy an extra drum of fuel to complete the trip.


 
Hugging the coastline to avoid the choppy waters, the  trip back was beautiful as we navigated through a series of tropical islands and over some shallow coral reefs.





Once back to Serui, we found a motel for the night and we all enjoyed a good feed and a few cold Bintangs.
The next morning we boarded the ferry for another 5 hour journey back to Biak
Here we stayed another night at Teddy’s house before the final 2 day journey back home.
Overall it was an amazing trip and venturing so deep into the jungle with no support and no idea of what to expect added to the thrill of this adventure.
The people we met and the places we got to experience will be something that all of us will never forget.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I had to google Marlo. Wow that place looks mint. 
I have not had any luck with Diawa Reels. I bought a Sienna at the same time and the Diawa went grindy after first fish. Both reels were treated the same. Not a good enough sample size so only anecdotal. 

I like reading that people are going fishing and then I am always hanging out for the report. @Luvit is really good at building that anticipation. 
I love seeing pictures of different places like the creeks and rocky headlands and wondering where they are and why I haven’t been there.
I like  information about different techniques and styles of fishing. I have learnt so much from people on this site over the past 10 years.
i enjoy reading donut reports and what went wrong just a little more than I enjoy writing them.
I like the comraderie and the friendly banter and happy that we don’t see the “one upmanship” that you see on some sites.
Just keep them coming people because life is just a bit more boring when the site goes quiet.

Great input guys...
Some additons to my first list...
Good title
Food pictures
@Dinodadog not trying to convert mate. I just know some people will enjoy the chat and I ofted get asked "what should I report"?
Angus

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

For me I like progression reports, such as when someone targets something, then takes awhile to achieve that goal, then soon becomes a bit of an expert by all the time and experience they've learnt. I also like to hear reports that coincide with seasons and weather events. For instance I love hearing how one species is starting to come on, how they were better(or not) last season, how things changed, they're in different spots, or were here last week, but are gone now. The hit and miss, which usually coincides with how I'm fishing, is what I like.
Mind you I read whatever when it comes to fishing.

I like any report. Pics and videos are a bonus. Everyone's different reporting styles keeps things interesting.
Any activity on the forum is a good thing.

I try to keep it short and sweet with a bit of info for others, I am a one finger typer. To each their own lets not try and covert people to be academics.

Pictures are really great. they put context to where people are. I like context pictures more than brag mat photos but if there is a really good fish a brag mat is great to see the size. I won't get tired of seeing people in great or interesting places hold up fish. 
Narrative is fun. The stories from this week were really fun to read -  grinners and marlin and a bit of bird watching all gave me a smile or a chuckle. Stories do need to have some context for where they are especially for newer members that might not know the people in the story or what they have done in the past. I still love reading them even if I don't really know what is going on.
Information is good. I am rubbish at remembering tech. stuff so its good to be reminded. It's especially great when I am thinking of buying some new gear and working out what to get. 
Successful or not is not too important to me. I am happy to hear what people did and what they were chasing and where they were more than a blood bath (although... that's pretty cool too...). But in saying that I do love seeing catches. I am a bit of a foodie so love to see the seafood caught. 
Locations. I love seeing places I've never been or fish or fishing styles I've not done. This is a big one for me, probably my favourite thing really. I really enjoyed seeing the creek @Angus fishing in, hearing about how far out @Luvit went, hearing where @kmcrosby78 and @Old Scaley traveled around the middle of the bay as well as @rayke1938 and @Dinodadog do all there fresh water jaunts. It makes me want to go to these places. 
What else?
Well if people are eating there catch I love to see what they do with it and how they eat. A simple idea of a recipe is great too. The Narrative around who ate with them or how they like to store it is great too. 
Now I know what I like to read I can write that sort of stuff too...
 
 

So after such a increase in reports lately (probably due to @Drop Bear setting such a high bar) I thought it would be really worth asking this question...
We all write in different ways and with differnet styles but what do we as readers want?
My style changes massively depending whether I am on phone or computer with a lot more effort going into computer reports.
It can be a despondent feeling putting in a solid chunk of time to a report to only have 1 or 2 comments... It is not a vain thing, just a hope the info is appreciated.
So what do we want?
Lots of pictures? Lots of narrative? (a fishing story). Lots of information? (lure types, tides, etc). Successful and failed missions? Locations (this is always an interesting point of contention) What else is there?
For me I like a narrative, but do appreciate hearing about gear and how it goes that I am unaware of.
Pictures is a plus of course but would prefer a report sans pictures than no report at all.
Locations: I am happy to know the hows and whys of fishing, and try and work out locations for myself. I think giving away spots prevents a lot of anglers reporting as (and we have all seen it) other try and pressure them for spots. Although I am fairly free with my information I respect that some people have put a lot of effort into finding and working out spots. A good report with pictures and no location is the fuel I need to get out and explore so I will take it!
Please discuss
Angus

This is for ALL members, new or not so new.
A few of us discussed in @Doyley's "New Tow Rig" thread about having a get together somewhere on the beach.
I'm proposing the weekend of Friday 16th - Sunday 18th February as dates when we have high tides around 8.30 - 9.30am at Cooloola/Teewah.
EDIT 29/1/18 Settled at Teewah 9/2/18 - 11/2/18
EDIT 1/2/18 Cancelled
Alternative place of Bribie Island has high tides 1.30 - 2.30pm.
It would be good if you could indicate your location preference and any alternate dates. Once we've thrashed it out and settled on a place and time we can organize the finer details.

A guy I know fishes for them in the Albert quite often, he uses corn too. However between October and November is when the mulberry plants start to fruit, during this period he swears by mulberries, and even uses plastics that look like mulberries.

A guy I know fishes for them in the Albert quite often, he uses corn too. However between October and November is when the mulberry plants start to fruit, during this period he swears by mulberries, and even uses plastics that look like mulberries.

I used to try and fish everything, at any time. It took me awhile, but I realised this doesn't really work that well. As I've gotten older, I've narrowed my species, and hence my gear to suit.
I fish:
boat offshore> summer=pelagics, winter= bottom fish
boat bay> squire, whiting, mackerel, sandcrabs
boat estuary> flathead, cod, prawns, mudcrabs
Out of these, a few I'm still very much learning, others I'm quite confident in. For me, it's about recognising patterns and achieving what I set out to catch, always learning.

I used to try and fish everything, at any time. It took me awhile, but I realised this doesn't really work that well. As I've gotten older, I've narrowed my species, and hence my gear to suit.
I fish:
boat offshore> summer=pelagics, winter= bottom fish
boat bay> squire, whiting, mackerel, sandcrabs
boat estuary> flathead, cod, prawns, mudcrabs
Out of these, a few I'm still very much learning, others I'm quite confident in. For me, it's about recognising patterns and achieving what I set out to catch, always learning.

I hope one day I will grow up. I admire the likes of Ray who target one type of thing but the grass is always greener so want it all!!!

I used to try and fish everything, at any time. It took me awhile, but I realised this doesn't really work that well. As I've gotten older, I've narrowed my species, and hence my gear to suit.
I fish:
boat offshore> summer=pelagics, winter= bottom fish
boat bay> squire, whiting, mackerel, sandcrabs
boat estuary> flathead, cod, prawns, mudcrabs
Out of these, a few I'm still very much learning, others I'm quite confident in. For me, it's about recognising patterns and achieving what I set out to catch, always learning.

I used to try and fish everything, at any time. It took me awhile, but I realised this doesn't really work that well. As I've gotten older, I've narrowed my species, and hence my gear to suit.
I fish:
boat offshore> summer=pelagics, winter= bottom fish
boat bay> squire, whiting, mackerel, sandcrabs
boat estuary> flathead, cod, prawns, mudcrabs
Out of these, a few I'm still very much learning, others I'm quite confident in. For me, it's about recognising patterns and achieving what I set out to catch, always learning.