cruisecraft
-
Posts
188 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Fishing Tips, Advice and Articles
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by cruisecraft
-
-
Dave
Thanks for the great report and pictures of happy lads.I was up that way last week(Wed till Sunday) fishing at Cape Don(200 km NE of Darwin), doing a mixture of blue water and creek fishing.We didn't get as many fish in a day as you did(Wow 101) but the Territory is a fishing paradise.
Regards Kit
-
Thanks everyone.We planned the trip in January. It was for my 50th birthday bash(yes he is an old fart now), so I got to chose the "program" . I've always wanted to catch a barra, hence the trip to the NT.The wife was hesitant initially as she worries about going far offshore and worries about the swell but at Cape Don there was hardly any swell and all the fishing is within 2-3 km offshore.The NT is blessed with remoteness, a pristine environment and fish galore.
There was only 8 staying at the homestead when we were there and 3 boats fishing(2,2 and 4) the whole area.The vessels are 7m centre console with 116 hp four strokes.The guides were excellent and went out of their way. The homestead staff were friendly and the chef fantastic.
Initially I had worries that the place would not be the right place for a couple but we were stoked with the whole place and setup and would definitely consider going back.
Oh, and the fishing wasn't bad either.
Regards Kit
-
Hi fellow raiders
Took a few days off with the wife in tow and headed up to NT for two and half days of fishing in paradise.There was baras, GTs, queenies, golden trevallies, mangrove jacks, estuary cods and even a catfish. It was all lure fishing and a catch and release policy was in place except for the fish meant for the dining table the same day. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Landing at Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in a twin cessna
First glimpse of "home" for the next 4 days and 3 nights.Stayed at the old lighthouse keeper's home.No air conditioning.Boy was it humid
A local welcomes us
Wife in action
I am soon catching up.
The cook prepared this Mangrove Jack that I caught
Alas Sunday the 13th soon comes around and it is back home to Sydney
Regards Kit and Betty
-
Rabs
That fish looks great in the pic,but it tasted better last night.
regards Kit
-
Good work wise one.Nice marlin on 15kg.We went out of port hacking yesterday for no beakies, did land 3 dollies at the fad, largest was a monster bull ~25kg. Rabs reeled him in and I am sure a pic and report will follow soon from Rabs. Temp was 22.0 at FAD and up to 23.1 about 45km off Wollongong
Regards Kit
-
Well done mate. Absolutely sensational.
And what makes it all the more impressive is the fact that you only had 2 rods out! Unbelievable. I know guys who troll 6 and 7 lures around all day and get nothing! Myself being one of them many a times! lol lol
Hi Keeping Tabs(its Ant, ain't it)
We didn't bring our full full arsenal that day because I have been busy with work and not had time to spool the 2 new TLD50 thats been sitting in their boxes since Xmas. I also left a spooled up TLD50 at home because we had too much gear for fishing dollies and could not carry much more gear.The 2 Penns were Rabs weapons.
The fishing gods were looking after us that day, incredible seas, incredible conditions and unbelievable fishing.
Regards Kit
-
Thanks everyone for the kind words. Daniel(Le Pasha) ,Sammy0884 and Grant(JewHunter), thanks for pointing out it is a stripe marlin, I have amended the report.Just can't get over the colour of that milpond and on the fish.
Regards Kit
ps pommy ben keep a day or two free over Easter, it looks fishy.
-
Date:Sunday 9th March
Time:6.30am
Crew:Cruisecraft,Rabs,Splinters and Carey
We launch the 20ft half cabin, powered by 4stroke 140HP Johnson(aka Suzuki), from Burraneer Bay with a crew of 4. At the mouth of the Port Hacking we are greeted by the first rays of the sun,a light breeze and smooth conditions, so I push the throttle down a bit further and we are cruising at 22knots for the next half hour... destination the Port Hacking FAD. Nearing the FAD we noticed another boat has beaten us to the FAD and as we get nearer, we are "impressed" by the eagerness of 2 of the 3 occupants of the other vessel.These 2 were having an early morning swim at the FAD, I think they were holding something elongated in their hands.We let them frolicked in wet suits and flippers whilst we got our livies ready.
First drift pass the FAD, we throw the cut up pillies in but no dollies come up, only the ever hungry jackets come sniffing. No matter, we throw our yellowtail livies in for a swim.(The yellowtails were acquired the day before and kept alive in a wire cage hanging off a pontoon.) Thats all that happens, as the early morning swimmers may have put the dollies off breakfast.We do a second and a third pass and see some dollies hiding deep in the very clear and calm conditions. There was virtually no current and minimal breeze.Next pass we put on a couple of jelly bean size lead sinkers and send the yellowtails down about 80-100 feet and whammo we are on. We pull up 14 dollies, largest about 80cm over the next 40 mins or so. The swimmers left while the bite was on.Then a charter boat comes close to the FAD and trolls near the FAD and then does a slow circle back and pulls up close to us at the FAD. By now the dollies have gone off the chew . We hang around for another 45 mins or so and more boats arrive, probably up to 8 boats around the FAD. Someone on the charter hooks up a jacket(I think) and one of the earlier boats gets onto some dollies but the dolphinfish went off the bite after 8.30am. Now that we had the day's dinner taken care of the boys decided to target the next item on the agenda.
We headed east for the shelf and put the 2X24kg outfit out and trolled a pakula sproket in the long corner and a Black Bart Hot Breakfast(did I get that right Rabs) in the short corner.The colour of the ocean is an incredible blue and it is a near dead calm.We remark to ourselves that the conditions are very fishable and as we finish the sentence the long corner goes ZZZZZZZZ....... and the pakula gets a run but it fails to hook up. We look back and there is a small stripe marlin eyeing the pakula.Splinters who is at wheel gives the throttle a bit of juice and this stirs the stripey and it hits the pakula again ZZZZZZZZZZ,........ but again it fails to hook up. It then swims off.
We continued to troll east and there are heaps of bait fish in the water with sauries breaking the surface very often and the water temp is 24C.
Not 20 mins, after the stripey miss, the long corner sings that beautiful note of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.........This time we have a hook up, Rabs is on strike and he grabs the outfit whilst the rest of the crew gets into action.Line peels away at alarming knots from the 24kg Penn International and 300-400meters is stripped off within 30 secs. The short corner is brought in, Splinters maneuvers the boat to chase down the line and another of the crew grabs the lie detector(aka camera).
Rabs battles the beast whilst the crew puts the gimble and harness on him.The team works as one. About 5-10 mins into the battle, the line starts to go towards the horizon and the camera is readied as Rabs winds furiously to take the slack out of the line lest the beast lands on the line during the acrobatics.Below is a picture of Rabs in battle fatigues and his marlin doing the acrobatics.It is a blue which we estimate to be 300lb.
The battle rages for 40mins and Splinters suggest to me(camera man) that we get the telephoto lens onto the Canon 400D to get better close ups.He helps with the telephoto lens and then hops back to the helm, the marlin which was holding deep 40metres to starboard suddenly swim towards and under the boat very quickly and Rabs is yelling #@$*, alas the forward momentum of the boat, despite Splinters disengaging the gears, has the leg of the engine catching the 24kg low stretch platypus. Rabs is gutted. This was his cherry moment for marlin and it was a premature eja....tion(self imposed censorship here). We pull the line in and discover that it had broken off at the sampo swivel. The leader was 2 m, so hopefully it will not tail wrap the marlin.We gather ourselves and Rabs puts a new lure on, his hands are shaking from the adrenaline rush of the battle.He puts a hollowpoint Goblin on the long corner and we set the lures again.In the distance we see another trailer boat battling the mighty marlin.It jumps a several times and we are re enthused and hopeful again.
I am on strike next, another marlin virgin.We wait, we troll, we remark again to ourselves how fishy the conditions are, and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the long corner goes off. Everyone again does their part. I pull the rod out as a second marlin, albeit smaller, leaps high into the air, I wind furiously remembering to spread the line evenly.The others bark orders to me, to keep my eye on the reel and to keep the line taut.The harness and gimble goes on, the battle begins.I strain and pull and pump whenever the marlin allows me to.
Whenever I gain line, it turns away and pulls line out easily. Splinters drive the boat to head it off and I wind furiously to take the belly out of the line. The beast goes deep and stays there, it tries to swim away from the boat and peels line off, we drive and get ahead of it and wind line back. The battle rages for an hour then I see colour, I can see the hollowpoint goblin in its mouth .The water is so still and calm and I see it clearly. it is subdued.
I see a magnificent fish. I see all its glory and colour. As it nears the boat,Splinters grabs the gloves and he and Rabs removes the lure, whilst Carey drives the boat at walking pace
I go over and admire the fish, we swim it for a little while and waved it off the back of the boat.
I feel elated and priviledged to have got so close to such a magnificent fish.
3 marlin raised, in under 2 hours, 2 hook ups and 1 boated, all less than 30 km off a city of 4 million under glorious skies and in a deep blue sea.
What a wonderful day.
Regards Kit
ps we estimate my stripe marlin around 200lbs
-
Hi Louis
Excellent catch. Looks like the Sun Herald's fishing reporter,David Lockwood, reads the forum here as your report got a mention in today's Sun Herald page 58.
Regards Kit
-
davemmm
Don't despair there are fish in the Hacking. I fished Sunday over near Mainbar in a tinny for whiting(largest 40cm) and garfish galore(got 15, largest went 38cm). Look for nipper holes in the sand as you drift about and the whiting will be there. For garfish look for weed beds that are away from boat traffic. I used a tiny bit of peeled prawns with no weight on a tiny hook. Some people berley with bread to bring them around.
Regards Kit
-
Thanks fellow raiders,
It is a 4 stroke 140hp Johnson(aka Suzuki) pushing a 20 ft half cabin. We started at 5am and returned to Cronulla just after 1.30pm. We started trolling well before the shelf, probably about 10miles out and trolled at 6-7 knots till about 12.30pm and then came in at ~ 18-20 knots. I looked at the fuel transducer this evening and we burned close to 90litres.There was 3 on board and the tank was full(240 litres) at the start.
Regards Kit
-
Hi all
As Fishlexic said go with someone experienced as it is a long way to Browns and it is a looong way back. I have had my boat for 2 years but my ventures off to Browns have been few and sporadic due to not being able to go with someone with the right experience. Many thanks today to Rabs and his brother who traced and gaff this fellow in one fluid motion. My smile in breaking my cherry for yellow fin says it all.
regards Kit
-
it was definelty an unreal fishing session but they look like street lights to me.
i think an UFO would have more than topped the session off, but wasnt to be.
Hi frankp
And I was justing starting to believe in UFOs,.........you saved me from a life of fruitless pursuit looking for things that are just not there.
Regards Kit
-
frankp
Congratulations and well done on the kingie, but did you guys noticed that there is either a UFO or there are 2 moons in the shot where your brother is holding the kingie. or were you guys fishing on another planet hence the 2 moons.
ps you guys were over the moons or is it under.
Regards Kit
-
Mate they were dead by the time we got to botany...at first we were downrigging them whole and then we got a hood back after getting a king so we tried strips and they hit that as well, then we tried heads and strips and they als got hit.
Mate we troll as slow as we can....pretty much just in gear
Thanks Netic for the info and all the best in fatherhood
Regards Kit
-
Hi Big Steve/Sal/Netic
Well done on the kingies and thanks for posting it. I noticed the squids were dead(am I right there) so did you down rigged squid strips or whole? If strips how long do you have the strips and how fast do you troll the strips at? With live squids I believe 2-3 knots is the trick.
Regards Kit
-
First time for me in this spot and all I know is Chris calls the ramp we launched at Wallys Wharf ? does that ring a bell to you.
Cheers Stewy
Hi Stew
Yes, Wallys wharf is at Dolans Bay but east of Wallys Wharf(towards right hand side on the map) is where the weed beds are. What time of the day were you guys squiding.
Regards Kit
-
Hi Stewy
When you said you were squiding over the weed beds at Dolans Bay, you don't mean Burraneer Bay, do you? I normally squid(from land) over the weed beds in Burraneer Bay across from Shiprock but find the squid very shy during the day and have had more success at night time.
However 2 nights ago when I was squidding using Egimax, I scored zilch even though I could see the squid, they would not touch the Yamashita 2inch in pink.
Regards Kit
ps I live in the street with the target sight in the map and can squid from land, using the neighbours' hospitality.
-
FRESH FROZEN.
APPLY APPROX EVERY HALF HOUR
EGIMAX has fish attractants and a powder which reacts to light to emit ultraviolet rays, making it a daytime spray. Packed with Squids favourite concentrated natural attractants. Simply spray the lure for a strong coating of "taste and scent". Also the ultraviolet emitting powder included in the spray cuts through clouded daytime water, to give a clear bright colour to the squid lure and strong presence.
** HOT TIP *** ECOGEAR Pro Anglers use EGIMAX on their bream lures when fishing in high pressure waters. Try using EGIMAX on standard hardbody lures when the fish seem to turn their nose up at everything you cast. It will give any lure that bit of extra impact to drag a bite out of even the most pressured fish.
Thanks Mrs Watto
Regards Kit
-
Hi Mrs Watto
How do you keep the squid "fresh" till Easter and does Egimax come in a tube like Stimulate ultrabite. I got a can of Egimax yesterday and will give it a go the next few days.How often and how much Egimax do you apply on the jig?
Regards Kit
-
As the rest of the boys have said, this year it is a bit of a lucky dip as far the dollies are concerned.
Regards Kit
-
Hi njsconst
Did you see any dollies at all or were they just too "shy" to take your offerrings. When I was there 3 weeks ago we got 4 dollies(around60-70cm)at the far FAD but it was hard work and there was hardly any dollies that we could "call" up from the depths despite cubing a fair bit of pillies on each drift past the FAD.
Regards Kit
-
I know Tony won't mind answering this subject. Tony has burleyed for kings very successfully. Cubes, bread...etc. I on the other hand very rarely burley. ONly seems to bring about the pickers like bream and squire.
I also find that burley attracts the smaller kings. IF the kings are there and they are in the mood they will hit the baits like a freight train.
The BEST "burley" for a king is a hooked fish.!!! If you hook a king or a tailer or a salmon or just about anything else, keep the hooked fish in the water as long as you can as you will see kings sniffing around. CHeers kelvin
Thanks Kelvin and Tony for the info on burley. Yes, I too have noticed that kings are inquisitive and hang around if there is a hooked king in the water. I try and leave one in the water if I see another king following a hooked one.
Regards Kit
-
hi R_Zee and Kelvin
Some very nice fish there,congrats. Tell me when you are anchored close to structure(as you were on Sunday at the Wedding cakes)and the sounder is showing lots of big fish and bait balls, do you still burley or is it superfluous?
Regards Kit
Took The Wife Fishing
in Fishing Reports
Posted · Edited by cruisecraft
Matt
I have pencilled the long weekend in June for you,Splinters and the Dubai connection. That weekend the wife will be on a "girlie weekend" in Perth and as long as I am there to do a pickup from Mascot on Monday late, we have nearly 3 days of fishun.
Regards Kit