LuckyFil

A couple of the boys had connections but couldn't bring them home. One was apparently VW beetle size so I think they were almost glad he didn't stay connected. They were in tight at Pera that day. We hammered that area with stick baits and poppers on a few occasions but they weren't interested. So overall we found it quiet on the GT front although Hookerbruce did well on the GTs on his trip a couple of weeks before us. They are funny fish, we've had them cruising underneath the boat some days but they just don't want to play?

No-one by that name in my crew but Steve that operates the houseboats has 2 so may be he was on the other one? Thanks for all the positive comments from other Fishraiders. I dreamt of getting up there for years and am lucky I can now go each year and I remind myself every time how lucky!! Blackfish - I forgot to comment on the Tusky feedback - yes very unfortunate for them how good they taste…Although the big fella in the epic was sent home as we already had a feed that day. Scratchie - while my arms were only a little longer I had some good bruises on my ribs and under my left arm from the rod butt - a reminder of a good trip!

Got room for another one next year? Cheers. Hi Neil well actually we do some years! I'll put a post up if we have a spare spot if we do. The Trevally species your not sure about I recon it's a Cale Cale/ Longraker Trevally Ulna mentalist Thanks blackfish . I see why you're the fish ID expert! Do you set crab traps or is this the wrong time of the year for them? Bessell 1955 It always seems to be the wrong time of year when we set the crab traps! Seriously though there are usually a few around but we have had only patchy success - spend too much time fishing and forget to check them often enough

Recently returned from the annual pilgrimage to Weipa on the houseboat + 3 tenders with 5 mates. This was our 8th year so starting to get a better understanding of the fishing options if the usuals are around. This year there are shed loads of bluefin, often within 100meters of the shore. We picked them up on the first day just outside the harbour leads. Not huge fish, most around 5kg some more like 8kg. All pull hard with screaming runs- especially when there's a shark up their skirt which was often the case. Then headed down the coast to our usual spot at Boyd Bay where we moored the houseboat for the week and explored various inshore reefs, beaches and the Norman creek on one day. The lack of a wet this year meant the creeks were clear and the barra not too friendly. We scored a couple of small ones - mine was only about 40cm and got monstered by a cod on the way to the boat. The cod eventually opened his mouth and I retrieved a wobbly looking barra in time to remove my soft plastic and return him a little worse for wear to the water - bet he was wondering what the hell happened that day! Had some great fun in the shallows using small feather jigs and poppers over the coral reef in the corner of Boyd Bay picking up small queenies, trevally, coral trout and even a flowery cod - on a popper! Getting the hang of how to catch tusk fish up there which are IMO one of the toughest fish in the sea and would pull a GT the same size backwards. We had to use 80lb braid and 80lb leader to get any off the bottom - and still lost heaps to the reef. The best was 5kg and is in one of the pics included. Also scored a decent spanish one arvo trolling back to the mothershp at sunset, took blistering runs that made it clear we had a mack right from the get go, took maybe 80 metres on the first run, then 50 on the next and thats on 30lb gear with a fair bit of drag. Turned out to be the only spanish we boated for the trip - hooked a few more but lost them either close to the boat or soon after the strike. Had a heap of fun on the ilght gear in the creek despite the lack of barra- plenty of different species of trevally, including tea leaf, diamonds and one weird one none of us had seen before with an undershot lower jaw (see pic) cod, jacks and small queenies. Weather produced quite a few overcast days which were welcome in the heat and even a couple of light showers - very unusual at this time of year. Anyway, another great year and we've already booked for next year! Looks like I've stuffed up the pic attachment size but been on the pc too long already... Cheers Phil

Get Bent Yeah the Norman can be disappointing but can fish well occasionally. I've been going to Weipa for 7 years now (not as long as HookerBruce though!) . If you want to send me a PM I'll pass on what I've learnt. Cheers Phil

Hi Bruce Sounds like a different trip form the usual this year. I'm heading up there next week with a crew on the houseboat. I'd heard the lack of a decent wet this year has made the fishing a bit more tricky. Do you mind passing on whereabouts you found the bigger GT's? We usually get a few in close at Pera but it's a bit and miss. Nice fingermark in the pic - was that at 3 mile? Cheers Phil

Thanks Dogbox that sounds like Westminster reef ! Will give it a go on our way down to Boyd Bay where we usually moor the houseboat for the week.

Hi HookerBruce Sounds like you'll be there just before me. I'll try to remember to give you a PM to see whats biting. Cheers Phil

Nice collection of fish there mate. I'll be up in Weipa in mid June - now you've got me really revved up. Where were you when you got the fingermark? Luckyfil

Wow a beautiful bag of reddies, with some real corkers amongst 'em. Congratulations on the win , sounds like you put in the miles to get to your spot and fished it hard knowing the part of the reef they'll sit - and all on plastics - quite an achievement! Bet you slept well last night Phil

Mike That's a fantastic catch from a kayak and your story makes a great read. Congratulations and good luck with Catch of the Month! Cheers Phil

Thanks guys . Yeah it was quite a tussle - as it is with any drummer but a bit of luck always helps with getting them onto your rock!!

That's great thanks. Yeah someone there said Skeleton Rock was a good place to start - will keep it in mind for next time!

Thanks Scratchie. As it happened a mate came up with his boat on the last weekend but the nor'easter blew 20knots so we canned boat fishing . But we also had no idea where to go as neither of us had fished those waters previously. I gather from talking to locals there is a reef off Yagon that fishes well for reds and jews. Can you offer any tips on areas we should prospect in case we get the chance to go again - not asking for your favourite marks! Cheers Phil

Not often you'll see a report with that title give those 2 species are usually in different climates. Just returned from a van trip up the NSW coast and stopped at a few locations including Broken Head (near Byron) and Seal Rocks. Caught a few good tailer and some small to average GTs from the rocks at Broken Head on metal lures. The best of the GTs went 59cms and while not big as GTs go (I've caught much larger at Weipa but from a boat) I was pretty happy to score him off the rocks. The drummer was from Seal Rocks and is close to my PB. This one went 53cm and weighed 3.5kg. As you can see from his belly he must have been enjoying more than his share of Easter eggs. I was lucky to get him as the hook fell out as soon as I got him onto a ledge and my mate had fortunately climbed down to help lift it in and was able to hold him on the ledge till I got down. Otherwise Seal Rocks is pretty quiet for shore based fishing - plenty of fish in the water from what I could see snorkelling but not much wanting to bite. Cheers Phil

Yeah I agree they are Tarwine. Some guys reckon they are even better than bream for a feed. The difference is the front of their head is more rounded as it comes down to the mouth rather than the more pointy head/mouth of the bream. Also the Tarwine are quite slippery on their skin making them hard to hold when removing the hook. Getting a couple of keeper sized ones is not easy, most I've caught are little fellas that are great bait stealers!

Rick, Juzz and Blackfish yep that looks like it, a Red Bigeye or Bullseye. From the guide it seems to be a long way from its usual habitat "northern Australia tropical offshore waters". Thanks for the quick replies

Can any Fishraider ID this one please. Caught recently in Bantry Bay Middle Harbour Thanks LuckyFil

Nice to back up and get a second round of target species - proves it wasn't a fluke! Any sign of drummer ? I prefer to chase them if they are about. Cheers LuckyFil

Sounds like a fantastic trip with some great fish across a range of species and all the more worthy given you had to locate them yourself with no guide. Good to see the bride getting in on the act with a screamer GT! I was recently up that way bringing a boat back from the Whitsundays. We caught a few good fish (spanish , bluefin, spotted mackerel , coral trout etc) but were confused about the guidelines on what species and what size were safe to eat for ciguatera - can you offer any advice on that? Cheers Phil

Great report Scratchie and bummer about losing the big one but I suspect his days are numbered. Yeah the big ones are in a different league especially on lighter line. I caught my PB snapper (5.3kg) on 20lb braid on an sp down the south coast a couple of years back . We had been getting a few reds around 1- 3kg on the plastics, they were great fun but quite manageable on that rig. Then I got hit by the big one and line just kept running and running off the spool. Luckily for me it wasn't rough reef more gravel and we weren't anchored so could follow him. I still remember the condition of my jig head when I removed it - dents all over the lead from his teeth and the hook looked like a piece of barbed wire - if the fight had gone any longer I reckon he'd have escaped. Good luck for the next snapper trip. Phil

Great report and love the underwater pic! Good to hear the bonnies are finally showing up. Which waterway were you fishing? - not after your spot just generally.

I'll ask about the transducer when they get into Sydney in a couple of weeks - interesting thought. What causes electrolysis?

Yeah can't believe my luck. Two of my mates have shares in the boat and asked me along . I've had plenty of time on different sized boats but am not much of a sailor so just helped out with all the odd jobs and tried to learn a bit about it. The boat has a fantastic chart plotter, auto pilot, depth sounder and radar as well as very comfortable cabins bathrooms galley etc, and the skipper has 40 plus years of sailing including a lot of blue water experience so I was in good hands and tried to learn as much as I could while enjoying the company of good blokes in a top location. Gotta be lucky sometimes!

Yeah apart from one night of sea sickness when it was pretty bumpy. Very lucky with the conditions, 7-10 knot winds every day meant calm seas although that also meant we had to motor/sail a lot of the time. Just got into Hervey Bay before a big southerly front thats due to last 3 days, so the remaining crew will have to sit that out behind Frazer Island till it passes