Steve07

I think any of the following 6000 size shimano threadline's such as Stradic,Sustain or Spheros would be perfect for any type of landbased fishing.All come with 2 spools so you can fish different lines such as monofilament on 1 & braid on the other.What fish are you trying to target? as all these would be ideal for fish such as flathead,tailor,salmon,jewfish, even bream,trevally & drummer from the rocks. cheers Steve

Nice bag of quality fish,a great feed too. Well done!! Steve

Well done,the first jewie is always a prize catch.Hopefully next time you get a bigger one!! Steve

Badluck on the lost kings,always heartbreaking to put in all the effort only to loose them at the boat. Mate you definately have to learn to tie on a two hook snell & put them in the squid baits,your hookup rate will not only be better,but its a much stronger connection than a set of gangs. Learn to tie it good through knot books then go out & try it on the kings next time. cheers Steve

Pete looks like the new boat is killing them buddy.Big jew one day,yellowfin & marlin the week after. Mate gotta come with you one of these days to learn a few tricks Awesome fishing as usual Pete!! Cheers Steve

Small cubes of salted frigate mack are my favourite bream bait to fish in close to the washes by boat or off the rocks.Lay the fillets on a few sheets of newspaper,skin side down & salt the flesh side of the fish with rock salt,leave in fridge for a couple of days then you can freeze them.Will last you for 5 months as a top bait. Steve

Up north? do you mean southwest rocks,North queensland or somewhere in between Well done on some very nice cobia & bonito!! Steve

Sounds like you found some serious carp,great fun on light tackle but not too many people realise what power they have.Good size fish & Nice spot to wet a line you have there, well done!! Steve

Top bag of squid & nice breambo, well done. Steve

Well done on getting out wide off eden & into a few yellowfin on the troll.Always great fun when the tuna are on & you find a good patch of fish.Just got to make the most of it & enjoy it when it comes along as not too many trips out wide are like that.Remember too that when you do find a patch of yellowfin that you stay in the area & work it continously for a good hour as usually a few more bite's will come.No good catching one,putting the lures back out & keep going away from that area or out wider.Many times off sydney or down south we have trolled out to 20miles beyond the shelf & back,only to catch half a dozen yellowfin in an area just the size of a football field. cheers Steve

Unfortunately all the dollies off the sydney fads seem to be undersize lately,good fun still but a bit dissappointing when going all the way out & cant keep a few of these great eating fish for the table.Hopefully might see a run of bigger fish in april if its anything like last season. cheers Steve

Well done catching your first Marlin on the Boat,thats a nice fish at 60kg to start with. Steve

Great to see it all happening up there finally,with some good captures big Black & Striped Marlin for you guy's.Good report & photo's of all the action too!! Steve

Great little session on the plastics there mate, well done. Steve

Nice fish boys,well done.I agree with you about the longliner's cleaning up the area of these precious gamefish to make a quick buck.Hopefully the govt might get its act together before there is none left to catch.Love to see both my young girls catch just one of these beautiful striped marlin one day. cheers Steve

Nice breambo John.How have you been mate? cheers Steve

That's marlin fishing for you,can either be a great day out with a hookup or very quiet when the fish don't want to play.You can have the the best baits or lure's & the best looking conditions but things can still shut down on the day.Still always great to get out wide on the bluewater in perfect weather. Nice way to spend a bithday too!! Steve

Always a thrill chasing & catching bass of any size, great fun on fly tackle too.Nice photo's of them. Well done!! Steve

Got to be happy with a nice bag of kings,badluck luck on busting off the bigger one. They always find a way to escape or destroy tackle. Well done!! Steve

Well done on a good bass session in a very nice looking spot. Always great fishing an area away from the crowds! Steve

Great day out boys,gotta be happy with a hot bite like that. Nice photo's too! Steve

Nice afternoon on the water & badluck on missing the jewie bite. Nice to get a few fish anyway,good photo's too! Steve

12inch Pakula Lumo sprocket & the another in the evil colour gets them pretty often,marlin i mean. Probably been apart of at least 20 marlin captures when ive been out on those 2 lures alone!! cheers Steve

Congratulations & very well done boys,hope you got to use & fly the tag flag you got off me. Should get easier from now on mate!! cheers Steve

Sorry guys got no photo's of this awesome fish as luck would have it on this trip for me it was captured & landed after dark,but unfortunately my friends camera on the boat that day has a problem with the flash & nothing comes out with night photo's.So the memories of its capture & the 30 seconds to admire it will have to do but it will last for good.Got other photo's of the trip but at the moment only have access to a computer at work so i cant download photo's for now. Anyway for some facts that might interest or help anyone thinking of this trip to Awoonga here they are. The aluminium boat that we used for the trip along with the 4 stroke outboard which its powered by cost us only $70 fuel for the whole week which included morning,afteroon,all day & night sessions, with the odd session missed because of either very strong winds or very heavy rain from cyclone hamish. We towed it up in a nissan patrol 4wd,taking around 18 hours each way plus the odd 20km trip to gladstone during the week for a break or to the big tackle store there,fuel for the prado cost us $680 for the trip. Accomodation at the Awoonga park cabin lodge cost us $85 a night,over the 5 nights $425.00.They are very new & super clean cabins,with nice kitchens,bathroom,big double bedroom & double bunks,there is a pool in the park which is well maintained by the owner's which are nice people & i can tell you very happy for me to finally land that big fish on the last night out. The lake is pretty big area to cover,there are many places with standing timber & very shallow weed banks that can get very dangerous for people new to the area or out there at night.We in fact had a very scary night out there when we ended up going way down to the long Boyne river where some friends we made in the park Lodge caught 2 nice fish the day before.We planned to fish it late afteroon & then do some trolling when the sun went down but once it got dark the place just goes pitch black with no lights anywhere to help you see.The moon was behind thick cloud which we were relying on to help,so it was a case of cruising very,very slowly along watching the sounder & trying to watch for the land,standing timber & weedbanks that are in the middle of the lake in many area's.I can honestly say we were lost out there as tree's appeared suddenly then turn away left or right into just 2 or 3mt of water up onto a weed bank.It took us 2 hours just to get back to the main basin of the lake which is only a 15 minute run in daylight hours. They say it takes 1000 casts for every big barra & they are bloody right there,you do need to make many, many casts to get fish.Water temps were as high as 29 degree's but you need to find cooler spots to fish were the temp might be say 26degrees.In winter or cooler months its the opposite thing look for warmer water. From experience now & picking up tips from many more fisho's who hepled me with vital info,going out all day is too long & gets very hot as we found later in our week as the weather got better.Get out about 2pm in the arvo & flick lures around till 5pm then start trolling with hardbody lures that dive to 10ft plus until 10pm if you want.The full moon period is best for trolling,with suprising many more fish getting caught in my opinion this way than casting over our stay. Good plastics for the barra are either 110mm slick rigs,also the 130mm size,plus both tsunami,storm & hollowbelly shads.Casting plastics frogs in the shallow weed area's is good,but the hookup rate is not the best as the weedless hooks are buried deep in the zoom or squdgie frogs. You must use either 30lb or 50lb braid,i prefer 50lb but 30lb casts better on threadline gear & trust me only 80lb leader like black magic or jinkaii is a must or you will lose most fish.These fish fight so hard its just unbelievable,the first run is just like hooking a 5 to 8kg kingie,you will take a good 15 to 20minutes to subdue most fish,with quality hooks & rings needed on all lures.Dont worry about flurocarbon leader here. I tied my 30 & 50lb braid to the 80lb leader with the albright knot using 12 turns down & another 12 turns back up,then lubricate well before tightening up.It held all my 3 hookups to big barra without fail,i always use the knot in all my fishing with braid & its never failed me. You need quality spin gear for casting long distance's with the plastic's,so you can reach the barra in both the shallow weed banks or colour changes where they hang.Baitcaster's are good for flicking hardbodies near snags,deeper weed beds or trolling lures during arvo/night sessions. Most barra i saw either caught or heard of being caught were 85cm & up,they are mostly big fish,the one i lost that broke straight through the big snapper net i use was at least 110 to 115cm,much bigger than the 102cm fish i caught. My friends that we made next door to us have fished the place 6 or 7 times,the day we fished next to them the girl on board hooked & played the biggest barra i have seen,its head that came out of the water was like a big bucket,a monster fish that was easily 130cm,or 25 to 30kg,but it got caught up in the shallow weed where it was hooked & broke off after a very brutal fight on 30lb gear.We were only 40m away & saw the whole thing,just awesome stuff.That was on one of the storm suspending shads in a clear colour with the treble below & single hook on top. I can tell you now that just about every full moon period in most months this year are already booked out, i am looking to go back october/november with both times already full at the lodge. So there it is guys,you can watch video's,read articles or get told about big barra at lake awoong,but nothing prepare's you for when that big fish is finally hooked up.its very addictive but at the same time gets you very nervous when that huge barra come up to the surface with your lure in its mouth & trying to scoop that big head into that net,with half of the fish only fitting inside it. It is hard work,many casts for nothing & things wont go your way,also fish will jump off the hooks & even snag you up somewhere breaking the line,but when it all comes together & that big barra is captured,just like me you will be looking to go back again for more. All fuel & accomodation for the trip was $1175,just throw in your food & some tackle,a trip like this will only cost 3 people around $450each.A pretty good value trip i reckon or like some other mate's i have who have been up there on a 4day trip with a guide paying $1500 each plus airfares to gladstone.But there is no guarantee you will catch a fish,as one charter He done while we were there failed to produce a single fish for the 3 fisho's. Most fisho's had trouble getting fish,with many saying its the toughest that they have seen it for a long time, i think the tough condtions of cyclone hamish maybe put the fish off the bight,so i think we done ok considering it being a first time & in bad weather. I think its a good trip & well worth doing it. cheers Steve