The guides life

[dirvin21]

 

First of all I'm definetly not a professional fishing guide.

This story started just over a year ago in the Amazon, whilst over there Amy and I connected with an American father and son, Dan and Shawn aka @BoostedAngler. They were goping to meet some Aussies as turns out Australia was a dream destination, after talking to us murray cod suddenly hit the top of their list. We were really excited when they rrached out after our return home and the planning began.

Their plan chase barra in Gladstone for a week then spend a week chasing cod with us. Solid plans were made but NSW national parks destroyed with achange to their aerial shoot, with only a week out new plans were made. I did a quick recon mission searching for mew areas, all I really found was a weed choked piece of river and a gnarly storm

And 1 small cod

With desperation sinking in my cousin managed to connect me with a land owner, and new plans were made.

With great enthusiasm the boys finally arrived in Port Macquarie, they had a hard week on the barra and very questionable unaustralian treatment from their guide Amy and I were really upset by it so it highlighted I needed to give 110%, as a spirit raiser we took them to a local zoo to feed wallabies and a tour around the port area seeing wildlife and sights

It was definetly a hit 

Then it was packing and off pre dawn on pur cod adventure, there was loads of excitement and the aussie bush turned on the bird chorus, we made a quick stop at a platypus spot I know, a long shot but...

They managed to photograph and film 3 platypus, hell of a start

It was a long 5 hour drive but plenty of wildlife and beautiful Australian landscape kept the boys going, we finally reached our destination the farmer was more than happy for us to camp.

We wasted no time unloading kayaks and hitting the water, and so the grind began, I got belted twice on a soft plastic early on but otherwise nothing, I soon matched the boys lures with my own but the fish just wouldn't comply, finally I had a fish breach the water over a log to eat my lure and surprisingly 

A yellabelly, funnily enough the farmer had only seen 5  in 14 years 

Feeling the guides pressure I called snags for them changed their lures, back at camp dejected Shawn ties on a 8inch surface walker, literally second cast it gets annihilated, unfortunately missed the hooks, while I set up camp the boys cast 

Shawn cast into the dark, multiple surface hits and dropping an absolute monster, tgey only wanted surface.

I was up pre dawn casting for zip hut the local platypus made up for it.

Again Shawn was into the surface luring unfortunately dropping an 80 right at his feet, I near cried, the surfaces hits went on until lunchtime, 

The birds atleast conplied

Then after a bit of a lay down in the swags Dan and I woke to Shawn wandering around except it wasn't 

A monster echidna got amongst our swags after a thorny battle getting him out the boys were lucky enough to get a very rare opportunity 

So everyone is aware the echidnas safety was always my priority, I've been handling wildlife since I could walk

Unfortunately the afternoon bight didn't eventuate, we packed up the next morning and started our journey to Copeton where we wouod meet up with Amy,  the boys were a real novelty amongst the locals, they don't see many foreigners and really showed incredible Aussie friendliness 

With no cod on the board and heading to Copeton I was really feeling the pressure, we swapped the trailer and kayaks for the boat (at my cousins) and Shawn and I were on Copeton, we cast for awhile but aftercdays of hard fishing we switched to trolling

You can't imagine my relief

Shawn's first cod not big but who cares, there was yahooing and plenty of beers after, 

The next morning we were greeted by Copeton at her best

After a quick run up the gorge we had a quick troll to finish off before heading for home and sure enough

A beautifully marked cod

Couldn't resist a "guide photo"

Then it was heading for home stopping at a few sights on the way.

The final day was spent on the Hastings river chasing bream and flathead 

Dan had a particularly good day landing loads of fish

Their final night in Australia soent with plenty of food, tequila and rum.

Although the fishing was hard the boys had a blast apparently my knowledge of wildlife and the Australian bush was what made their trip unforgettable and the first of many, they're already planning on hosting Amy and I in the USA for a similar trip

Guiding these guys was definetly one of the most unique experiences I've had with fishing

Cheers for reading 

Dave

[DrRaymondSnapper]

Red-winged Parrots are gorgeous in the wild and that`s the biggest Echidna that I`ve ever seen [ and I`ve seen a lot ]. Oh , you were fishing too. Sorry , got carried away by the wildlife. Its a shame that some tour guides are more into exploitation than providing people from overseas with a great experience. Thanks for shoring up AUS-US relations.

Edited April 1 by DrRaymondSnapper

[Mike Sydney]

Stunning photos Dave and what hospitality. I’m not sure which is prettier, the sunrise or sunset photo. What a beautiful part of the country. 

The other birds nesting, are they apostlebirds? 

[dirvin21]

10 minutes ago, Mike Sydney said:

 

The other birds nesting, are they apostlebirds? 

Yep, one of my favourites 

[Little_Flatty]

Epic report Dave and great story. You did great as a guide, not just putting your mates on fish but also giving them a great adventure exploring your area as well. Love it!

[DrRaymondSnapper]

Yes Mike they are lousyjacks  aka Apostlebirds

[mrsswordfisherman]

Outstanding report Dave.

What an amazing job you did as their guide!! When they start sending all the USA mates over you could take a break from nursing and start a guide business  
Shawn and Dan must have had a ball. The smiles tell the story. Fish and amazing Aussie wildlife. I have never even seen a Platypus in the wild. 

Thanks for sharing this @dirvin21

[Yowie]

A great detailed report, good fish, wildlife, scenery, and happy faces.

Echidnas look like you could pick them up easily, however, not the case. They roll up, squirm around and those spikes penetrate most clothing and gloves.

[James Clain]

Excellent report Dave, great job getting the guests on some fish and teaching them about aussie bush! 

[Pickles]

Brilliant stuff Dave, having been the recipient of your guiding skills and hospitality in the past, I m sure you and Amy did much as Oz ambassadors to cement relationships with your guiding skills. What an experience - catching target species and seeing wildlife that most Australians wouldn’t have experienced.

A great read (as always)

[Hill373737]

Dave, great photos and write up - its always very satisfying to take someone out and get them onto some fish, especially when its american fishos onto an iconic aussie fish. Well done mate!!