slinkymalinky Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 A hot bite... a bunch of great guys… perfect weather… spectacular scenery… succeeding at challenging fishing… catching PBs… a great boat… unusual captures. Any one of these things can turn an ordinary fishing day into a great day. When all of them coincide it becomes a day that burns into your memory with laser sharp clarity. And I just had one. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I just had the best single day’s fishing of my life. I’ve had days where I’ve caught more fish. I’ve had days when I’ve caught bigger fish. But I’ve never had a day that has left me so awestruck, excited, exhausted, exhilarated and desperate to get straight back out there. I organised a day out from Magnetic Island while staying there last week and I’m already checking out cheap air fares to try to get back there. Kerry and his son, Josh arrived at the Nelly Bay ramp at a comfortable 7am and I immediately fell in lust with their rig. An 8.2m, custom built, centre-console longboat, powered by a pair of shiny white E-Tecs. The rod holders were full of outfits sporting Spheros 14000’s with a couple of extra trolling rigs and some serious T-Curve jig sticks. I could already tell this was going to be a good day. These boys love their fishing. 8.2m of dream fishing rig I decided to bring along a 6-10kg T-Curve spin rod with a Fireblood, loaded with 20lb braid and 40lb leader… Kerry has recently started throwing a few plastics around (he nailed a Sailfish on plastic just before I arrived on the island) and I was keen to give it a good hard go. Kerry couldn’t join us for the day but Josh was in charge and joining me were 5 other visitors to the island. Josh took the longboat out through the harbour entrance, pointed her South towards some marks for collecting livies, and put the boot in. If I could have any boat to fish from to suit what I like to do on the water, then this is it. The E-Tecs were a throaty purr at the stern and the water was a hypnotic hiss… the hull rode so quietly and softly that it felt like it was caressing the water rather than blasting across it at 20+ knots. After picking up some livies (Yellowtail Trevally and a few other odds and ends) we made a quick detour to pick up a bottle of oil to top up the motors and then rocketed to our first mark… about 6 or 7 miles East of Magnetic Island. Not all the marks are hard to find To say that the weather was benign is an incredible understatement. I could have used the mirror surface to shave. The water was that typical tropical greeny-blue as Josh found his mark, did a test drift and dropped the pick with the auto winch (another thing I love about the boat!). I rigged up a 145mm Flick Bait on a 5/8oz head and while the anchor was still on its way to the bottom, fired out a couple of casts… a bit hard with the boat still moving so I curbed my impatience and held fire. Finally the boat settled on the pick and Josh was kept busy sorting out the rest of the crew with the smelly stuff (bait). Now, Josh had raised eyebrows at my 20lb outfit and to be honest, even I was feeling a little like I’d brought a knife to a gunfight (to quote the sage words of Hodgey). Nevertheless I fired out my third cast and waited with high hopes as my plastic settled to the bottom 25m down. I started with an aggressive double and triple rip style retrieve, letting the Flick Bait settle back to the bottom each time and wondering what sort of action would work best for the day. Apparently, this one! After my third set of rips I felt the characteristic, gentle plucks of a tropical reefie. Anyone who’s fished up north will tell you that even huge fish bite like little bream so it wasn’t really a surprise when I set the hook and suddenly had a T-Curve that looked like a pretzel as 20lb Bionic Braid howled off the reel under a really hard drag. 7 or 8 minutes later about 6kg of gleaming red Large Mouth Nannygai hit the net. Not bad for my 3rd cast I thought. The next cast goes out. This one only lasted 2 rips before being hammered. Heads were certainly turning as I landed my 2nd good red of about 7kg just about at the same time as most of the other guys were getting their first baits to the bottom. Consecutive casts prove that plastics work in the tropics. After that, the other boys on board started hooking a few nice fish… Terry from Bendigo brought another nice red on board but the fishing had gone strangely quiet after a hot start. The plastics stopped being hit and everyone else started losing good fish to the ‘reef’. Josh isn’t without a few tricks. He quickly rigged up an 80lb jig outfit and handed it to an unsuspecting Terry. The big bait was barely on the bottom when the ‘reef’ snaffled it, which signalled the start of an epic battle. What followed was 30-40 minutes of pain for Terry, encouragement from Josh, howls of ‘advice’ from the rest of us, and unrelenting grunt from the ‘reef’. When the ‘reef’ finally made the surface it turned into a cod that was big enough to have its own postcode. 130 odd kilos of fish that looked more like a rhino finned on the surface beside the boat, accompanied by its own eco system… schools of fish swam around the behemoth wondering why their living home was visiting the surface. 130+kg of living reef After happy snaps, the big cod decided to spit out 3 or 4 kilos of Coral Trout (complete with hook) that was his last victim before taking the wrong bait. The Trout went into the icebox, Terry collapsed in an exhausted heap in the bow while the great fish was coaxed back to the bottom to terrorise the next boat-load of fishos. Next we headed out across the tropical glass towards some more distant marks. On the way there Josh spotted a couple of tuna chasing bait in a scum line so we pulled up and while the tuna didn’t cooperate, the sounder showed an isolated bump holding some fish that turned out to be mackerel. While a few of the boys landed about half a dozen Spotties on gang hooks, I reduced my collection of jig heads and soft plastic tails, getting repeatedly zipped off. One bigger mackerel was lost on bait but we were quickly on our way to try to find some more serious opponents. Around 14 or 15 miles out Josh pulled up to another mark that was showing a mass of fish. He expertly positioned the boat (and believe me, even 4 or 5m off can make all the difference) and the rigs went down. In 35m of water I went up to a 1oz head and eventually, as the current increased, 1.5 and even 2oz heads. I didn’t use anything other than 145mm flick baits and for the next couple of hours went through packet after packet of them. A PB Queenfish was followed by a PB Tealeaf Trevally, was followed by a PB Golden Trevally, was followed by a first lure caught Cobe, was followed by more Trevally, Mangrove Jack (on bait for something different), etc, etc, etc. PB Queenie PB Tealeaf Trevally PB Golden What passes for rats at Magnetic Island My arms were sore, I had bruises from the rod butt, my jaw was sore from smiling so much… I was in heaven. My outfit was being brutalised but performed faultlessly. Not 1 fish made it back to the reef… no knots failed… no hooks pulled. At one point I started handing around my plastics outfit and got to watch as a succession of guys with varying levels of experience got to have a go at an awesome way to catch fish. PBs kept coming over the side for everyone. I got an amazing kick out of watching eyes go wide as each of them took hold of what looked like my ‘toy’ outfit only to realize how much of a mini elephant-gun it is once a good fish climbed on. The last fish hooked for the day was a suspected cobe of seriously big proportions. I’ve caught cobes to 26kg and this one was way bigger than that. It was hooked on the plastics outfit again by one of my mates for a day. After half an hour and despite heaps of ‘encouragement’ from the rest of us (eg… howls of ‘HARDEN UP!’ and other useful advice), the big cobe decided to go for another bullocking run. When about 200m of line was gone, the 40lb leader finally succumbed to the sandpaper teeth. While we’d been out there we’d had sea snakes pop up next to the boat; a whale so close we not only got a good look but could clearly hear it blowing; dolphins periodically popping up; and even a big mass of tuna turning the water to foam about 300m from our spot for a while. Eventually though it was time to head back in… but our full day had us fishing right up until dusk. The run back in was magical. The air was warm despite it being a mid winter evening, the remarkable longboat was soft, dry and comfortable as it loped along at speed, the sunset was spectacular, and I was in awe of the day I’d just experienced. Having only 300m to walk from the boat ramp to my parents place on the island at the end of the day was a great bonus and by the time I’d filled their fridge and freezer with premium fillets I just collapsed into bed. No prizes for guessing what I dreamed about. If I could only have one more day fishing in my life… that’s where I’d go. Magnetic Island is remarkably untouched from a fishing perspective. Josh and Kerry will be hearing from me again as soon as I can get some cheap flights, so that I can go back and experience it again… and again… and again………. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 What an awsome read Slinky, congrats on all your new pbs to, some quality fish taken there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tan the fisherman Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Loved it Slinky - like I was there myself. Seems like like caught your PB- Day out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Onya Tony, great report mate I'm feeling very green with envy, top shots of you and your fish.. Congrats.. Cheers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerko Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 What an awesome report! Wish I was there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat-as-trophy Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Fantastic read there Tony, and to think I used to think you where a nice guy, now I am not so sure, making us all green with envy. Hope to read more about your terrific time up north in future reports. Cheers Mrs Flightmanager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erroll Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 wow, very jealous, top effort there slinky. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 What a cracker of a day!!!!! you definitely won't be forgetting that in a hurry. Nice report too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennmreid Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Well done Tony on catching some great fish. Looks like you are having a great time. Weather looks awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Wow!! That is an awesome report there,Slinky - a PB in itself!! The pics are magnificent (that last sunset is to die for!) and you had such a terrific time terrorising the fish & putting your new buddies onto fish - FABULOUS!! And all those PBs as well!! We are all envious! Magnetic Island looks & sounds terrific!! We'll have to add that to the list of 'must do' places next time, along with Great Keppel & others! Hey - I think you are in LURV ........ with that boat!! Centre consoles are so good when you get into big fish - so much easier to just walk around the boat - my brother had one up in Gove when he was the Dentist there (not as nice & shiny as that one tho!) Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Awesome fishing slinky made our take home hawkesbury jew the average sea sponge catch up there Top journalism by the way Cheers jewgaffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monch Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 That is the stuff of dreams Slinky.... actually.. even better than my dreams , you have spoilt us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roffo Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Mate, You must feel guilty about posting stuff like that teezing us.lol What a cracker of a report. Well done Slink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 top report Tony, well done on the fishing mate john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squid hunter Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 awesome read Tony some amazing fish n pics thanks for that regards Squid Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I spoke to Tony the day after his trip, and you could still hear the excitement in his voice! That's one hell of a day on the water mate. I plethora of new PB's and the thrill of watching relative novices experience champagne fishing ... it doesn't get much better than that. Fantastic photos, and a tremendous report. Congrats also on the new Raider records as well Cheers Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 That's one perfect day allright! Great report & pics Slinky. Thanks for the call as well while I was at work. How are you going to cope with the crappy Gold Coast fishing from now on? If I ever hear you mention the words magnet, magnetic, magnetised or even magnificent while we're fishing I'm going to throw you overboard! Well done mate. Wish I was there. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 WOW! What a report! Talk about a great day! (I'm very jealous!) And fantastic pictures too! You sure set a high standard Slinky! My reports suddenly seem very boring! Cheers and thanks Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olitay Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Slinky, you have to write for a mag mate!!! top story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewdreamer Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Hi Slinky I cant believe that place!! And what about that "Reef" that moves around - bit of a danger to shipping what? Fantastic read mate. Would you consider running a guided trip?? Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim77 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Fantastic report Slinky. Really felt like i was there when i was reading it! If you get a minute can you pm me the details of the charter that you went on. You got me thinking about doing a little trip up there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robust Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 G'Day Slinky, what a fantastic report and what an awesome haul of fish you got there......hope you had plenty of good eating there too......awesome location , was up there a few years ago and hoping to go back up there for some fish some time soon. Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewiehaven Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 WOW! What a great day Slinky. Love the piccies, its almost too nice up there isnt it??? Ah, one day I will get my butt there and get me one of those nice Cobia. Fantastic read mate, loved every second of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahajo Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Great report slinky felt like i was there in amongst the action Great fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Cam Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Congrats Slinky and Mrs Slinky on a memorable holiday I think you have inadvertently created a mass FR desire to visit Magnetic Island, myself included. I think for your parents sake you need to visit them on a more regular basis Welcome back! Cheers, Cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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