Allnighter

Got a call from a long time mate who i haven't seen for awhile, who only fishes with fly rod gear and catches all sorts on fly in the bay including snapper, jacks, jew, threadies and even a metre long barra!. Anyway the plan was to chase jewies on fly the other night in the southern bay. After being introduced to using fly gear with Uncle Tony catching Rainbow Trout awhile ago, i was keen to both catch up with him and also to maybe improve my fly casting abilities. To be honest i would have just been happy to be a passenger in his boat to watch and witness his skills. 
But being the mate he is, when we got to spot x, he proceeded to position his boat nicely with the minny and then handed me one of his fly rods and gave me instructions on when and where to cast the fly. He's the sort of fella who gets just as much of a thrill and satisfaction letting the deckie catch while he enjoys watching their excitement. 
It wasn't long before we could hear and see the jew busting the bait near and on the surface under the moonlight. 
It really is exciting to sight cast a fly to where the action is, slowly retrieve it and then watch a jew inhale the fly on the surface!  The visual anticipation is addictive for sure.
Once hooked i was advised to give them nothing, no line at all if possible, otherwise they would swim straight back into the structure and it would be game over. Well that would be easier said than done on a 25kg model - that i'd like to see lol. Definately different for me from being used to bait fishing and letting the drag scream.
Not monsters but all up we caught three jew and two big tailor, all released and i had a ball !. 
 
 

That's something I wish I could do, fly fish. I've wanted an arapima on the fly for years but every time I buy a rod and give it a go my shoulder fails. 
It's definitely the type of fishing where every fish makes you feel you have earned it. 
If you have the opportunity to learn from a skilled teacher, then jump on it, it's bound to give you a lot satisfaction for many years to come. 

Something a bit different. I can imagine the thrill of it. 1 point bait, 10 points lure, 100 points fly is what a mate said to me when I first gave it a go (unsuccessfully).

Got a call from a long time mate who i haven't seen for awhile, who only fishes with fly rod gear and catches all sorts on fly in the bay including snapper, jacks, jew, threadies and even a metre long barra!. Anyway the plan was to chase jewies on fly the other night in the southern bay. After being introduced to using fly gear with Uncle Tony catching Rainbow Trout awhile ago, i was keen to both catch up with him and also to maybe improve my fly casting abilities. To be honest i would have just been happy to be a passenger in his boat to watch and witness his skills. 
But being the mate he is, when we got to spot x, he proceeded to position his boat nicely with the minny and then handed me one of his fly rods and gave me instructions on when and where to cast the fly. He's the sort of fella who gets just as much of a thrill and satisfaction letting the deckie catch while he enjoys watching their excitement. 
It wasn't long before we could hear and see the jew busting the bait near and on the surface under the moonlight. 
It really is exciting to sight cast a fly to where the action is, slowly retrieve it and then watch a jew inhale the fly on the surface!  The visual anticipation is addictive for sure.
Once hooked i was advised to give them nothing, no line at all if possible, otherwise they would swim straight back into the structure and it would be game over. Well that would be easier said than done on a 25kg model - that i'd like to see lol. Definately different for me from being used to bait fishing and letting the drag scream.
Not monsters but all up we caught three jew and two big tailor, all released and i had a ball !. 
 
 

Got a call from a long time mate who i haven't seen for awhile, who only fishes with fly rod gear and catches all sorts on fly in the bay including snapper, jacks, jew, threadies and even a metre long barra!. Anyway the plan was to chase jewies on fly the other night in the southern bay. After being introduced to using fly gear with Uncle Tony catching Rainbow Trout awhile ago, i was keen to both catch up with him and also to maybe improve my fly casting abilities. To be honest i would have just been happy to be a passenger in his boat to watch and witness his skills. 
But being the mate he is, when we got to spot x, he proceeded to position his boat nicely with the minny and then handed me one of his fly rods and gave me instructions on when and where to cast the fly. He's the sort of fella who gets just as much of a thrill and satisfaction letting the deckie catch while he enjoys watching their excitement. 
It wasn't long before we could hear and see the jew busting the bait near and on the surface under the moonlight. 
It really is exciting to sight cast a fly to where the action is, slowly retrieve it and then watch a jew inhale the fly on the surface!  The visual anticipation is addictive for sure.
Once hooked i was advised to give them nothing, no line at all if possible, otherwise they would swim straight back into the structure and it would be game over. Well that would be easier said than done on a 25kg model - that i'd like to see lol. Definately different for me from being used to bait fishing and letting the drag scream.
Not monsters but all up we caught three jew and two big tailor, all released and i had a ball !. 
 
 

Thought I’d better have a mackerel fish on the last day before the next closure.Started trolling at 745am and it didn’t take long to find some.In fact the Spanish were absolutely on fire this morning , but unfortunately had to feed the sharks well to put a few specimens in the ice box . Came away with a nice feed and a sore back. Had to sacrifice probably 10 fish to get 3  but managed to break in my new  fishing shirt! 
 

Well said @Andrew P. @Drop Bear and I were lucky enough to attend the World Recreational Fishing Conference in Melbourne last week. The emphasis was on the role science plays in maintaining a sustainable fishery, and how citizen science contributes to that effort. It was very reassuring to hear speakers from around the world talking about how much science goes into managing fish stocks. Australia is right up there in terms of fisheries management and we are so lucky to have a great fishery and a comparatively low population. We still have the opportunity to make sure that rec fishing is a viable pastime into the future. Despite what you might read from keyboard warriors claiming that fishing regulations are made up by desk-bound greenies, all these very smart researchers are very keen fishermen themselves who have a vested interest in maintaining fish stocks for future generations.
Congrats on the catch @Neil Stratford and good on you for contributing to the science of fisheries management.

Yep gimme a grassie for dinner anyday! 
Yummmoooooo

Some delicious eating to be had there !
(The cookies i mean) 🤣 🙄🥳

Yep gimme a grassie for dinner anyday! 
Yummmoooooo

Yep gimme a grassie for dinner anyday! 
Yummmoooooo

Some delicious eating to be had there !
(The cookies i mean) 🤣 🙄🥳

I have a plan to go out with Steve this Wednesday, with the weather looking good. Then I was having a text conversation with Kat on Friday or Saturday and discovered she had Monday free from work. So, with the weather looking even better on Monday we decided it was too good to miss. Twice a week is doable at my age. haha
Plan was to launch at Manly, hit Mud for some bait then head over to Harry's. We didn't make it to Harry's. After we got some bait, I just spotlocked on a mark out of habit and completely forgot to go to Harry's. 😲 Must have been the bad night's sleep...
Anyway, the day started well with a legal grassie first up, then some other unders, all on my side of the boat. Knowing Kat had not been for a fish for awhile, I did the gentlemanly thing and swapped sides. Well, didn't she show me up, bringing in a few good ones whilst all I got were snags. So I went up the front of the boat and we both fished the good side.

And we both caught more fish. Mainly grassies, some legal, some not as well as a few undersize squire and a little tusky just for good measure. I wasn't sure if the bag limit on grassies was 5 or 10. I tried to check on the Queensland Fishing App, but the wifi reception at Mud is atrocious, so I put out the question to both @Old Scaley and @benno573 via text. I thought we had 9 and a bream.
With that in mind and at an opportune time, i.e. when I got a knot in my braid and didn't feel like retying my leader, we headed off to do some trolling for spotties again. The conditions at this point were excellent, with the surface of the water like an oil slick. So we sped up to the M8 where we started trolling, headed towards Moreton, then down to Shark Spit, then back towards Mud.
A large school of Bonito sprung up in front of us so I just trolled straight into them. Shortly after, the trolling board popped up and Kat brought in little bonito to be vacuum sealed for bait at a later date. We didn't see much other action, other than a suspected school of spotties doing little bust ups. We tried to get in front of them without joy. We had to be careful as we were right on the edge of the green zone.
Back to Mud we went for 1 more legal grassie and a few unders before pulling the pin at 1.50pm
Kat caught the most for the day, which was good to see after her long layoff. It wasn't until taking the photo at the end of the day that we realised we had 1 less than we thought. 9 grassies (from 31 to 37), 1 bream (29) and the bonito.

Thanks for coming out Kat. A very pleasant day. 👍
 

Originally i'm sure i said i would prefer to go on saturday 🙄
Nah, i had a great time with ya Brian, you're great company mate and it was good to share some laughs with you again, and onya Benno! 
So sorry i wasnt more organised with the net.. wasn't really expecting double hookups 🙈
 

I was gonna ask about the net but didn't want to be rude 😸

And in any event - given Brian's snapper tutorials you have nothing to be sorry about!

Originally i'm sure i said i would prefer to go on saturday 🙄
Nah, i had a great time with ya Brian, you're great company mate and it was good to share some laughs with you again, and onya Benno! 
So sorry i wasnt more organised with the net.. wasn't really expecting double hookups 🙈
 

Originally i'm sure i said i would prefer to go on saturday 🙄
Nah, i had a great time with ya Brian, you're great company mate and it was good to share some laughs with you again, and onya Benno! 
So sorry i wasnt more organised with the net.. wasn't really expecting double hookups 🙈
 

Originally i'm sure i said i would prefer to go on saturday 🙄
Nah, i had a great time with ya Brian, you're great company mate and it was good to share some laughs with you again, and onya Benno! 
So sorry i wasnt more organised with the net.. wasn't really expecting double hookups 🙈
 

Got my mackerel bait  all sorted , they’re all cryovaced , and frozen down ready for the reopening of the Spanish Mackerel season . Let the count down begin!

Thanks for the encouragement !  @Hweebe
i will give you an update though...
I went back a week later to the same spot.... guess what.... DONUT ! 🤪
But i didnt realise until i motored away at the end of the session that i was about 20 metres off the gps mark!! 
Duh 🙄🙄🙄

Thanks for the encouragement !  @Hweebe
i will give you an update though...
I went back a week later to the same spot.... guess what.... DONUT ! 🤪
But i didnt realise until i motored away at the end of the session that i was about 20 metres off the gps mark!! 
Duh 🙄🙄🙄

Thanks for the encouragement !  @Hweebe
i will give you an update though...
I went back a week later to the same spot.... guess what.... DONUT ! 🤪
But i didnt realise until i motored away at the end of the session that i was about 20 metres off the gps mark!! 
Duh 🙄🙄🙄

Thanks for the encouragement !  @Hweebe
i will give you an update though...
I went back a week later to the same spot.... guess what.... DONUT ! 🤪
But i didnt realise until i motored away at the end of the session that i was about 20 metres off the gps mark!! 
Duh 🙄🙄🙄

Thanks for the encouragement !  @Hweebe
i will give you an update though...
I went back a week later to the same spot.... guess what.... DONUT ! 🤪
But i didnt realise until i motored away at the end of the session that i was about 20 metres off the gps mark!! 
Duh 🙄🙄🙄