junglejunky

Had an absolute ball yesterday with Barry mundi and a mate out at Hinchenbrook and surrounding islands yesterday. It was a stinking hot, but beautiful day. We even swam on some fringing reef. Plenty of fish were caught, mostly estuary cod, stripey, coral trout, largemouth nannygai, and other reefies. Barry mundi also took a nice GT. Highlight of the day for me was this fella below taken on my light casting outfit. The fight was insane, with several spectacular leaps. It took loads of line so we had to chase it down with the boat. My legs were trembling like jelly, and my arms were about to fall off, but I finally managed to land him. 104cm Queenfish. We hooked up to several more but a few were dropped and the others dusted us around the pylons. I had another one at the boat but I caught my leader knot on a guide and dropped him. What an idiot…. Ill learn from that mistake…….. Anyway, thanks again Barry Mundi for another fantastic day on the water…….. Matt

Hey Yellow Sub, Sounds like a great trip! I was up at Hinchenbrook for a day, two weeks ago, but we only managed cod, jacks, and cuda. Probably heading out again on the weekend. Were you luring or using livies? Did you fish mostly within the channel? Gimme some details on Jessons tactics....... hee hee.... Apparently the fishing has been really tough as of late. Even the guides have been struggling...... You did well!!!!! Nice barra...... Matt.

Yep, Halco Laser pro 120dd 2m+ Rob. Im told you catch more on liveys though. Pat Ive heard that about the small barra going nuts when the fresh pours over the weirs. I cant wait. Hasn't been much rain up here this season, so I dont know if its gonna happen. The river's all choked up with weed. Reminds me of the nepean.

Hey fellas, Swoff. New outfit is a loomis CR663IMX and a Daiwa Alphas, spooled with 20lb Bionic. Its a sweet little combo. On the lighter side of things for barra (traditionally), but I prefer it that way. It easily subdued the 2 today. So should be spot on for some decent sized ones. The rod has a really short butt which is great to hold, and is awesome for fishing around cover. The blank is slender (as thin or thiner than my bream rods!), yet has plenty of balls..... Its pretty fast action too, so I can throw unweighted stickbaits as well as traditional barra cranks. And the reel, well you know how good it is, Ive read your previous posts. I cant stop looking at it, amazing....... Pedro. Yes there are Crocs in there! But only freshies. Apparently they're really timid. You're unlikely to ever see one, let alone bump into one. Either way. You wont see me dangling my feet in the water to cool down...... Matt.

Yeah Jo, its the Ross in Townsville. Apparently there are plenty of em in there, some big metre plus ones aswell. Weirs divide sections of the river and they are stocked fairly regularly. The weeds a bit of a bugger though. Its sometimes hard to get a good run. Gonna bury my head in the books now.......try to free up some time for tomorrow....

New outfit in hand, I launched the canoe down at the Ross this morning at the crack of dawn. I was workin shallow running hardbodies along the weed dropoffs for the first 40 min, with no sniffs. Switched to some slightly deeper divers and instant success. Took two in about 15 minutes. 59cm and about 55cm. They didnt take long to subdue, and didnt jump either. They both just plugged away deep under the canoe. Absolutely awesome fun!!!!!! Somehow I think Ill find an excuse to get back on the water again tomorrow. Matt.

Hey Fellas, I'll be happy to sacrifice a few lures to see the jacks, trevs, and queenies going nuts!!!!! Cant wait! Hee hee, sorry Rich and JD, you only have to put up with hearing about sleep for a few more days..... next week theres a new bunch being launched.... Ill try and post a little more often, when I find the fish!!!! Cheers, matt.

Hi Joe, Jocool, swoff, and BENT. I can't wait to really start exploring. The Sootys, JPs, Barra are all on the list! Most of the stuff Ive caught so far has been small. Javelin, fingermark, cod, bream. The sxs held up well! Although on dark last night I misjudged a cast by about a foot and buried one in a mangrove. Knew I should have called stumps the previous cast! Damn..... and I certainly wasnt wading in to get it, not with all the creatures that roam these waterways. I actually had a box jellyfish tentacle stuck on a halco scorpion the other day. Took me ages to try and get the bugger off. One thing Im noticing up here is that the tackle stores are quite, well, empty... Not a huge supply or variety of lures, particularly plastics....... Im gonna have to stock up when Im back in Sydney. matt.

Hey guys, Havn't posted in a while, been busy settling into the new home in FNQ. The humidity is a killer.... but the creeks down the road make it worth the sweat. I havn't had loads of time to fish and I'm still trying to work it all out up here. Landed a few Jacks this arvo worth a mention, off a rock bar in a little mangrove lined creek. Biggest was around 26-28cm, but even at that size they still kick, especially on 4lb bream gear! All taken on sx40s and 48s. cheers, matt.

Hey lizard, I use a Vision 12 volt, 75amphr, deep cycle sealed marine battery on my Vantage. It runs a 30lb minkota endura. The battery lasts for ages. A mate runs a 55amphr on his and he has no probs either. Will set you back about $200 from Birkenhead batteries and is completely waterproof, so getting it wet isnt an issue. The charger I use is a sinergex pure charge 10 (intelligent 3 stage charger), will set you back about $200 as well. Have never had a problem with either product. I certainly wouldn't pay $400 for a 80amphr. Good luck. Matt.