Scratchie

All I can say to anyone reading this topic is this, lead by example and don’t put yourself in that statistic list!

Thanks mate! They were on the chew that’s for sure! Cheers Gordo! Guess you can only catch what’s in front of you! 🤣🤣

Awesome Bruce! Probably the only time I don’t mind being out fished is when one of my kids do it to me! Just like the other day. Although don’t let it happen to you too many times. The banter on the way home is not funny! 🤔 cheers scratchie!!!

😋😋😋 and drool in that too!

This story and many like it, are all tragic regardless of the circumstances. My sincere condolences to their family and friends. Being aware of your surroundings and having the right safety equipment goes a long way to protecting your well being. This goes for all fisherman! River, rock, beach, boat, inshore, offshore all come with an element of risk on the calmest of days. At the end of the day......NO fish is worth dying for! Stay safe fishraiders and check your safety gear! cheers scratchie!!!

Cheers Sam! It was an awesome day and the fishing red hot. I was disappointed in the breakdown as I’ve spent the last 6 months updating the boat to have it in perfect order. But this was something that was unforeseeable and just had to be dealt with at the time! All’s well that ends well. 🤙

@big Neil 17 kilometres of holding this in open ocean, keeping it on the plane and making sure that the backwash doesn’t flood the motor is nerve wracking! But I had all my safety gear and procedures in place should worse come to worse!

Thanks Rick! My kids love it especially when they show their dad up! 🤬🤣 Cheers mate! Yes they are very keen and good anglers the lot of them! Little scratchie Jnr! (Brandon) And I was worried about that yesterday (whiskers) cause he was on fire and we were fishing that area. Don’t worry, I had a pair of scissors ready! 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks 🙏 That’s true. But he’s definitely fitter faster and stronger than I was at that age! And a better angler! Thanks yowie! Yeah they all love it. They enjoy the whole journey. Boy was copping it yesterday how good he was! Damn, he’s usually netting for me! 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks. He was happy I was the net boy for a change! Thanks! Isn’t he what. Even looking at the photos I thought it was Tyran! Haha Cheers Zoran. And I agree. Fishing with the family is always the moments I actually look forward to the most! And it’s something I hope they do with their family in the future. Thanks BN. It was an awesome day up until then. I’m no mechanic but I am pretty good at problem solving. It was still a long trip back 😩😩😝

Looks like a great day out! Smiles all round. Well done Bob 🤙 cheers scratchie!!!

I reckon my shoulder would be good for 50 casts on that one! Lol 😝 But if one of my snapper took that, I’d be scared! 😬😬

G’day raiders, Headed out this morning with my second son in tow. A bit of an early get up for him but he shook off the sleep eyes and off we went. Picked up some bait pretty easy at cabbage tree and left for our first mark. Got the drift sorted and first cast the young fella was onto a screamer. Netted that one and continued our drift. I managed a nice pannie then it was time to move. Got to our next mark and it was all happening. Live bait everywhere, the boys hooked up again, livie goes off, then I’m hooked up! Left the live bait rod, got mine in, netted the boys, picked up the rod and it was gone but we were still smiling. A few more for the box. Changed locations again and with a perfect drift anticipation was high! And we had every right to be, the boys reel is singing again and after a decent fight, onboard comes another cracker. Then we see some kings and huge ones rounding up garfish. So we troll our livie around the area but the throttle didn’t seem to be engaging properly. We stop fishing and check the motor to find a clip that holds the throttle open had broke. 😩😩😩Now I needed to manually feather it as we called it a day and headed home. Just a small plastic bit ruined what was a cracking morning on the water but we didn’t let it take the smile off ours faces! Made it back safely. Although it did take a bit of time but still a great day to share with my boy! Thanks for reading, cheers scratchie!!!

Yewwwwww Sam! That’s a beauty! Congrats on the PB. You put in the hours and the marlin will come. There has been plenty caught on the East Coast so far. The sound of the screaming reel is always in the back of my thoughts too! You’ll have to share that feast with your sister! Well done again mate and don’t forget the gaff next time 🤣🤣 cheers scratchie!!!

Have too agree! The net got me too 🤣🤣🤣

My bad. I wrote that without re-reading it. Drop bail arm and increase drag! Cheers Luke

Thanks Sam. Terrible conditions for snapper fishing 😩 As for whiskers, same area but unfortunately not him! You’ll know when I get him because you Sydney folk will hear me from up here! 🤣

That’s a great first report! Well done to you and keep persisting and the fish will follow. cheers scratchie!!!

@zmk1962 Im looking at April for a meet up if everything is good!!! Shhhh 🤭🤭

Thanks Zoran. But actually it’s a very good point. And I’m not sure if I wrote it in my article. But when I’m fishing with soft plastics I always drift a livie behind me. Why, because it’s an extra line in the water and you never know what you’ve missed or is going to turn up. You often forget that it’s even there until the line starts screaming. Also due to the fact of the areas I fish are renown for big kings, cobia etc. Woodsy and I even landed a mako in front of Rickmarlin one day! Lol. Last year I managed 3 snapper on livies and the year before the count was about 25. Some huge ones in that too! Too add, as I approach my intended drift I deploy them unweighted about 40m from the boat before I cut the engine to start my drift. The perfect drift is between 0.6-1.0knot and that will keep the livie on the surface and maintain its distance from the boat. The drag is set very loose and allows the live bait to swim freely but hindered at the same time. This creates panic at any approaching predators and often induces a bite. Once the bait is taken, I will open the bail arm and count to 10 if I have the patience. Tighten the drag with a bit of pressure and flip over the bail arm. But I do not strike. Let the circle do it’s work! This fish was never coming off and was perfectly hooked. So I hope that helps explain the capture in this instance! cheers scratchie!!!

Cheers buddy! Think I’m away that weekend for kids sport 😩

Enjoy mate! Hopefully hold you over until you can catch em yourself! 🤙

Nah mate, definitely Broughton. My boat doesn’t have the range for seals.

Cheers mate Thanks KC. If you had the same fishing grounds as me, you probably would. Haha! Caught my fair share of those bream over the years too. Thanks Yowie! That’s not good mate. Bloody clam day out there and my feet and back are feeling it. We can’t stop old age 😩

Thanks champ! You know I try hard. I have two snapper here with your name on it! Might try get them to you tomorrow 🤙

All good mate. The surge at the ramp today was a bugger. Good to see you out and about. Will catch up with you soon 🤙

G’day raiders, Just a quick report from up here. With all the tourists headed home, a mate and me @Rodeoheaded up to Broughton early. Filled up with livies really easy this time. Got to our mark and started the drift. First cast I was on to a nice 50+ pannie. The drift was slow due to a lack of wind but we kept at it. Lots of casts but the whole time drifting a livey behind us. As we headed into whiskers territory, the livey gets nervous and away she goes. I drop the bail arm, count to 5 and lock it up! This thing took a bit of string but once it stopped you could feel the tail beat of a good snapper. A bit underwhelming on the gear that I was on but still fun all the same. The day got calmer and the drift much slower. Changed a few locations and added another few pannies to the box. Then it glassed out, so we trolled some slimies around for no hits! So we pulled the plug and headed home. Got to the ramp and @Peter Nelson was trying to put his boat on solo, so I gave him hand and had a chat! Great morning on the water with the Island very quiet compared to the last 6 weeks. Can’t wait to get back out there and do it all again. cheers scratchie!!!