samsteele115

Hey guys,

I've been up north past Lockhart River since last Friday with a mate and doing a bit of fishing. Currently having a rest day after 4 long magical weather days out on the reef and in the cooking sun. 

Its been neap tides and hardly any flow so far (thus fishing has been a little slow for some species) but things are starting to move a bit more now and should be firing in a few days time for the next reef trip. 

Here are a few pics! 

The shack 

The ramp

Restoration rock 

The town 

The rig (Liams renegade 420, same as what I used to own. Love those things!)

Day 1 on middle reef. Caught about 15 trout on the flats and 4 of the 7 species up here so far. All on Gobblers lures ripped past the shallow bommies. 

Day 2 on outer reef 50km offshore. Some bigger fish around and subsequent dustings. Lots of trout and co again. Nice bluefin trevally off the top. 

Amazing sights many sharks 

day 3 outer reef. Passionfruit trout and coronation trout. 

Day 4 Bligh Reef. Not many pics, but a stunning day! No wind all morning, it was HOT (Suffered heat stress later that day). Had a 100kg+ black marlin followed stickbait to the boat. Same with Wahoo. Caught 4 species of tuna so far (longtail, mac, skipjack, yellowfin) as well as 3 species of mackerel. Some big yellowfin 60km offshore but could only get small ones past the sharks. 

Lockhart River ramp

yellowfin sashimi. The best I've had 

Rest day feat. Iced filter coffee

Still over a week to go, will post more as the trip unfolds. 

Cheers,

Sam

Not my photos but spot the different species. 

I was watching Cobia peel away from their manta rays and smash up bait. Kingfish, GT and mackerel I also spotted. 

There were dozens of sharks! And multiple giant bait balls. Amazing viewing! 

Hey guys, been a bit quiet on the fishing fronts. Tried a few times but no success in the past couple of weeks! Today looked good, threw around a 100g microjig on a new GT popping combo (Penn slammer + Penn ocean assassin rod PE6-8). It was my first time catching a fish on gear this heavy. Its a tussle! Got one small GT and lost 3 others. 

Yes I am taking part in Movember! I've had amazing support so far. Please feel free to check out my profile  https://au.movember.com/mospace/14332106

The garden has been producing the goods

Some kayaking with Wilson too

Plenty of bait balls around the other day! 

Also getting ready for a trip up north visiting a mate

Hes got a nice spot.

Thanks,

Sam 

33 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi Sam

That is good work on the GT. I wonder if it will taste any good or be mushy/dry. Do the storms/rain effect the fishery over that way much?

Cheers Hamish

 

Tasted good mate! Not amazing. Not quite as white as the smaller ones, but definitely worth keeping another at that size as it wasnt too bad at all

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

Gee, you're game on those rocks. Lucky you are still young and agile.

Your neighbour must've been stoked to see you eventually get the gaff in.

I think years of fishing the same rocks I've learnt what little spots are the safest and when. However NEVER being complacent. Always expect the unexpected wave. Some areas of the rocks are simply safer than others and I've learnt that over time. I cringe when I see people on the 'danger' spots 

Had a landbased go pre storm and post storm. Pre storm got dusted by something large! Post storm I went down with my neighbour and he hooked up to a nice fish that put him to the test. A microjig got the bite and he needed to scramble along the face of the wall a couple of times to keep the braid safe and angle the fish to a desired vantage point. To and fro tug of war ensued. Rock fishing really makes you understand why it's called "angling". He got it's head up and rested the GT against the rock. I climbed down in between the sets and gaffed it... NO I DIDNT, I panicked and missed the fish and whacked his leader with the gaff  Thank goodness the fish was still attached and I slid the gaff under it's gills, second time lucky. Just in time before the next set rolled in. 

78cm, let's see what it tastes like at this size. I'll report back!

Cheers,

Sam 

Long casts, long drifts, shallow water weed beds, coffee rock and reef in clean water. They are visual feeders so might chill out deeper when it's too dirty or something, as success doesn't seem as good. Hence winter being the best time to target in the shallows along with being at their peak in numbers of the ideal meal size. Once you find one there's usually a patch of them around so mark the GPS and give the area a good go. Definitely no secret spots, so the more ground you cover the better your chances. 

They only live for 10 months or so and this time of year they tend to be larger but not as numerous as the past few months. Definitely worth a go though on any of the bay islands. Keep an eye out for the little squidly eggs and as they hatch over the next few months. Very cute 

29 minutes ago, Andrew_P said:

Only the blood of freshly caught giant fish he told me

And pink cruisers