Wal outfished me using his lures. But I did get a few follows and short strikes.

Keep them coming Martin. 

By the way am i right Wal also outfished you in the last report 

    Knaek & Break to both off you

             Per

That is a larger then normal tail, it seems that the tail grows first during a growth spurt.

Coral trout come in a lot of beautiful colours, the bright red with blue spots are stunning to look at.

And yes, Wal has outfished me lately. 

I lost a big giant trevally when it cut me off with it's tail scutes.I was also hit twice by what I think was Spanish mackeral (judging by the bites in Richard Lee;s "big mack trap" lure) and lost a lure made by Seaweed - lost it once to coral, floated up, then snagged it for good a second time

Wal's big giant trevally on one of his poppers.

 

My effort for the day - a tomato cod on a Fugly Martin's Minnow

Cheers,

Dave

Now that is something I'd like to see

On the reef today-

First photo- a long Tom on a Cam Cupitt Headland lure. The others are of some of Wal's coral trout.

Oh yes, I also lost a Lee's Lure Mega Mack Trap to the reef

  

Cheers,

Dave

Yeah I had a mega huge popper on that rod just beforehand. The only other snaps I had with me were on wire traces and  the gap on them were so small they were restricting the lures' actions. Usually don't like using wire, but the bigger mackeral have been attacking the head of the lure (Wal found out that even a 15 cm wire trace is too short).

Wal got a 12 kg Spanish mackeral, 4 bludger trevally at around 5 kgs each and an over 50 cm coral trout on his lures.

I got a 15 kg giant trevally and a bludger trevally on a Mark A Lures bibless, a bludger trevally on a Cam Cupitt Headland Lures bibless, 2 lutjanid reef species and a 40 cm coral trout on a Lees Lure.

      

Great report 

Keep posting 

      Knaek&Break

              Per

Now the weather reports were saying - 10 kilometre/ hour easterly winds until 10 am swinging to east south eastery to 15 kilometre/ hour. Now the south easterly winds seemed to be over 25 kilometres / hour and must have been blowing all night as the rise and fall between the waves were close to a metre with a sometimes aggressive surface chop. But we had been out in similar before and survived.

Anyway .... results-

Wal - 2 big bludger trevally (at this size these things pull hard, and a school mackeral. Wal also lost a huge giant trevally near the boat that he had on for about 10 minutes.

Me - 3 bludger trevally on lures from Richard Lee (Lee's Lures), Cam Cupitt (Headland Lures) and Ollie Hardt (Stingray Lurres).

Wal and I also had numerous brief hook ups on what were are sure were huge Spanish mackerel - savage strikes and gunning the boat for 10 - 20 metres, 30 metres of line peeling off and they still "drop off" sometimes leaving a tooth in the lure.

  

Wal now- 

I thought just the same when i saw the Pict.  Another great report thanks 

      Knaek&Break

              Per

Except for - Tom Hanks wanted to be rescued

The problem with feeding crocs is that they then expect it and associate humans with food - not what you want when you are fishing or close to the water's edge.

I have only ever seen one crocodile at Croc Bend and that was a 4 metre one about 15 years ago, but the signs are always there. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean that they don't know where you are.

this photo - the distance between those claw marks going up the beach is about 1.3 metres. Just after this photo was taken, a boat stopped off and people got out to check out these tracks, this gave me something to judge the width of the tracks. Clear tracks on the left as it ambled out of the water lifting it's belly up, less defined tracks on the right as it scurried back into the water dragging it's belly.

This photo shows some old fish frames, and recent tracks of a croc that came up for a feed. 

For about 3 weeks we had a 12 footer swimming around the mouth, in front of the wharf and boat ramp, until he decided to go back home (somewhere).

Wal - 126 cm cobia, about a 60 cm gold spot cod, a large ocean long tom and a 50 cm coastal (coral) trout on his Illusion Lures.

Me - 2 stripeys (Fugly Martin's Minnow), an undersized spanish mackerel (Murphy mackerel lure, no photo), a large bludger trevally (Fugly Martin's Minnow) and my biggest coral trout at 62 cm (Headland Lures popper).

Wal's cobia

 

 Gold spot cod

Long tom

Coral trout

My coral trout, this thing moved so much water when it hit the popper, both Wal and I thought it was a giant trevally

Bludger trevally, this hit my Martin's Minnow just after I was bitten off on a new deep diving version of a Martin's Minnow before I had a chance to catch a fish on it. Wal and I put the bite off down to a small barracuda as there were a few about. I promised Chris that I would get a trout on the deep diver but ..... smelly stuff happens.

The biggest of the stripeys, the other was to small to photograph

No, he outfished me

cheers

bazz

Wal is a very good fisherman, always thinking, always trying something new and actually fishes till he drops or about to drop. No shame in being outfished by him, but his knowledge is rubbing off on me - soon the grasshopper will outfish the master

Would like to Mick but I  have a few comps up here I'll be entering with friends.

aarrrrhhhhh but mine is thicker ........ does that count?

Wayne - 3 undersized spotty mackerel, no photos (using plastic lures, that's why I beat him)

Me - 2 small wire netting cod (no photo) on a Steiny lure, a 103 cm cobia, 2 spotty mackerel (one photo) and an undersized one, a 56 cm coral trout, a big bludger trevally (no photo) and a small barracuda all on a Murphy mackerel lure that was taken from me when IO got hit by something big that broke my wire trace (single strand 27 pound wire).

cobia

 

a Horrorhead

one of the spotty mackerel

coral (coastal) trout

Te (Ray) Murphy lure

barracuda

If you can get any of Ray's mackerel lures, get them. I lost a similar one a couple of weeks ago to a big something. That lure was also hit by big mackerel and had raised me a big cobia that I lost beside the boat.

Cheers,

Dave

HA HA Dave, I think my sister would unleash her wrath on Wayne f he grew another beard.

No worries about that colour scheme

Enjoying the pics, thank you 

Any  lures reaching the stage where they need to rest in Nicho's  roof . (Final resting area)

Regards  John

Wal told him that he will find it on the beach again soon as I will lose it again

Anyway, Wal's first cast was resulted in a hit as soon as the lure splashed down - caught Wal by surprise and he missed the hook up.

I  had a few fly byes passed my popper and a massive boil, but by 7 am, it was all over.

An earlier start tomorrow I think.

Even though the conditions are not too good at the moment, we need more rain to give us a proper wet season. Last real good wet season was about 20 years ago.

I hit the rocks this morning  for nil result but a slash off a mackerel leaving some tooth marks in the lure (one of Wal's Wedgetails).

In the afternoon I returned with Wal. On the same lure IO scored this golden trevally, and Wal scored a small golden snapper (on a Jester of the same colour) which was released.

This was my view this morning.

My golden trevally-

Wal's golden snapper-

BUT I BEAT WAL - I got 6 barracuda and Wal got 1 out of the 2 trips he had

I got my 'cuda on a Headland Lure. Wal put his back in on his lure tempting one of the bigger cudas (close to 2 meters long) that were chomping through some of them. One cuda took his "bait" and another bit his trace off at the swivel.

We had multiple takes by big mackerel - amazing how they can leave teeth in the lures without hooking up and without feeling it through the line.

I used a Fugly Martin's Minnow in an attempt for a coral trout. I got hit big time and was bullying it to the boat over reef. It found a bommie to duck into and reefed me. I also trolled a Bryan Power's "CODPION" before it to managed to spit out the lure. But it left some very deep marks in the lure. We don't know what hit this lure as the teeth marks were obviously from very blunt teeth and were spaced quite far apart. I am thinking maybe a tusk fish?

 yep 

Over 3 nights we hit the mid night / early morning low tide. The amount of bait determined how switched on the fish were. First night, some bait so a few hits. Wal with 1 undersized rat barra.

Second night - hardiheads everywhere, but the barra and jacks were fixated on these only. Matching the hatch as best we could - me with 2 undersized barra. Wal with one just legal barra, dropped another as well as dropping a jack.

Third night - no bait. I had 4 barra "roll" under my lure for no hits.

All the fish were caught on Wal's 6 cm wedgetail lures.

Flash was off and it went unnoticed for a while. Me with my biggest barra - about 50 cm.

 

Wal with his 60 cm barra.

Wal's fish really wanted his lure.

A quick run down of some fish photos. Things are a little quiet due to the rivers going in and out of flood making it hard to know where the fish are going to be. Plus also the westerly winds which seem to have put the dampeners on the reef fishing - this is what other fishos and spear fishermen have told me and it seems to be the case.

We also have tilapia up her, this 41 cm model was caught on a Headland Lure

The westerly winds clear flatten out the water, this is Vicki Harriott Reef. Water this clear make the fish very wary

Wal with a big spotty mackerel on one of his lures

 

Wal with another mackerel on the same lure - before he lost it to an even bigger mackerel.

Me with a 120+ cm spanish mackerel on a Fugly Martin's Minnow

A close up of that lure and the mackerel's head - nice teeth

 

We also did a bit of bait fishing, but I didn't take photos of those fish - coral trout, morwong, trevally, red throat sweet lip.

Mad Dog

Hard man you are Mick

Safe enough for overnighters Chris, but I would want a bigger boat just in case it blows up a  bit - or the winds change direction. Plenty of people go out over night.

At this time of year the crocs are on the move with their breeding activities so we are seeing quite a few around the place. Some of the closer reefs are commonly visited all year around by them - google Drapers Patches, Blackbird Patches, Dawsons and Cowlinshaws Reefs, Archer Point. All of these have quite a few croc encounters by spear fishermen (plus Archer's is a tiger shark breeding ground).

Last week end I went into the Barra Bonanza at Youngaburra / Tinaroo last week end. All I got were 5 catfish on Wal's and Cam's lures. I dropped near the boat what would have been the biggest catfish of the comp. (Biggest went 58 cm).

Cam got 2 mussels on his Headland Lures, an 93.5 cm barra and dropped another around 80 cm near the boat.

Back at "camp"

I'll be going to South Australia next month fishing and annoying friends and family along the way. 

One of the live baits used for sharks in the Logan River down your way is a small cattie with the spines cut off - might be worth while for barra in the salt as well.

This morning was an early start to try the wharf. I had 4 nudges and over 20 follows. When these barra "touch" your lure, or follows your lure a few times, they work out what it is and they won't be back - so you change your lure. After about 10 lure changes I managed to hook a nice little 63 cm model on a Cam Cupitt "Headland Lure". These things are chasing hardiheads so matching them in lures size and colours is a must.

 

Went for another session this evening and found this guy - one of the smaller groper at about 170 to 200 cm long. No barra is going to hang around with this guy there. The bigger ones are around 250 to 300 cm long.

WHY???

Still too rough to get out and rivers still  too dirty for the pelagics to come into the rivers.

Went out today and Wal got a little cod and an undersized barra of about 50 cm.

...... hmmmm, maybe I ought to audition

cheers

bazz

You jealous of this head on handsomeness Barry?

cheers

bazz