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NAGG
25-10-2007, 07:14 PM
Hi All ..... Well we have just got back from our North Queensland sojourn .... 5240km later a little tired & but none too worst for wear. Anyhow I just wanted to share with you our report.
We (my mate Whitey & I) arrived in Lucinda last Wednesday (12pm) & after a quick check in + unpack at Wanderers ... we were off to get the good oil from fellow Ausfisher (Luigi -- Lucinda Lures) ... After a bit of a chat & the purchase of a few of his lures we were off for a afternoon session up in the Bridge Creek area. The conditions were just about perfect & rather than a fish out of the loader ... we decided to hit the channel ( a decision that would haunt us over the next 4 days) .. On the way out through Enterprise channel while navigating the sand bars on a lowish tide we had a surprise look at a 10ft Tiger shark in 2m of water:o ... This was our point of discussion as we ran up the channel. 30 mins later we were dropping our crab pots in a little feeder creek .... & then looked for some likely snags to throw some lures at ...... It was a fairly uneventful session which saw us land a few small GTs & miss what we thought was a barra. The sesh was terminated at around 6pm for our run back down to Lucinda. With water temps of 28 Deg , I was pretty confident of some great sessions to come!.
That night a great feed followed by some park chat & a few beers with a few other fishoes saw our day out. (general consensus around the park was that fishing had been tough).
Day 2 had had us up bright & early to deteriorating conditions ( 15 knot SE winds) ... And after a quick S,S&S + a good breaky, we hit the water at 5.30am. The plan was to head up to the Nemes Inlet system for the day ... + pick up our pots. As we entered the channel it was clear that we were in for a bit of a wet ride .... regardless we were keen.
We arrived at the Nemes & were blown away with remoteness of the place & fishy feel. However after fishing a couple of small feeders with only a hook pulled on a smallish barra & a few estuary cod including this pretty fella 15028 we decided to head back up the channel to retrieve our traps. Bingo 6 good muddies & only one female:P After a few anxious moments trying to tie them ( I knew I should have learnt the correct method) .... we were off back to Nemes .... As we entered the channel proper it was clear that it was going to be a rough & wet ride home ..... back into Nemes saw us catch our first Jack 15029 & miss another small barra ...... We reset the pots & continued to fish the system. We decided to give up around 6pm & after a quick check of the pots ( 2 more) we were on our way out of a feeder , when a 12 ft mud gecko crashed off a grassy bank into the water just 30m in front of us:o ..... So back we go into what was a fairly stiff wind ( guess who left their wet weather gear back in Sydney:clown: ) .... We got back to the ramp ( a little wet) & decided to celebrate with a fish upstream of the ramp ..... all to no avail! ..... The camp ground chat revealed that most had struggled to catch fish.
Day 3 We woke to pouring rain & a 20 knot SE wind ... so we thought that a trip into Ingham to resupply & to purchase some wet weather gear for me would be the go! ... That out of the way , were heading out of Enterprise at 12pm with another session at Nemes in mind ! .... The ride was pretty bumpy & wet ... but we were fishin ! ..... The previous day we were discussing the merits of fishing weedless SPs in the snags ... but no one tried it. Today Whitey was determined to give it a go after obtaining some recon the night before from some guys that had some success using this method ..... So he asked for some help in rigging one up on 14lb spin gear ...... The rest is history 3 x 40cm+ Jacks15032 ... a couple lost due to poor hook up & a lost barra saw Whitey on top ( 4" Dropshot minnows in pumpkin seed & 75mm Squidgy Foxy Shads did the trick) ...... I persevered with HBs with my only hook up for the day ... a nice barra lost:'( ..... Our return trip saw us SMASHED by high winds rain & even a hailstorm ( while small ... they still stung , specially when hit on the nose)
Day 4 ... Had us look at a change in Tactics with our efforts being directed at the larger cleaner creeks around Sunday creek rather than the smaller feeders ..... For the first time we had good tides & improving conditions ..... Though short rain showers through the morning were common place:vrolijk_1: ...... Well the change in tactics & reverting to my old favorite Flatz rat in gold did the trick for me with the morning session providing a couple of GTs , a barracuda , a 41cm Jack 15036 & the first barra @ 70cm 15037 + a few more cod ...... As we called it , "The day of the RAT!" ( Flatz rat) ...... 8-) Whitey did manage a couple of Cod in the afternoon .... but with the tide pushing in hard we decided to call it a day at around 4.30pm as we were leaving in the morning!

Once again Hinchinbrook proved a difficult place to fish ... specially when water temps dropped from 28 to 25 deg + the influx of fresh water:( We were unable to fish the flats on the rising tides or the loader due to the conditions. We did learn that we needed to fish our lures ultra slow & try an assortment of techniques ...... Yes a hard place to Fish! ... but we will be back ( just maybe later in the year to have the higher temps ---- Though the barra would have to go back) .... Nagg
PS ... It was great to meet fellow Ausfishers ( Luigi & Stuie62)
PPS .... Cat food (pilchards in tins) rule as the best Mud crab baits & at $0.40 / tin ... a bargain .
Oh & the midges & sand flies .... hammered us ... regardless of the amount of bushmans used

jackextracter
25-10-2007, 10:53 PM
some nice photos and a good read mate, aleast you got some fish with the bad weather like that, i head up in 3 weeks so hopefully its good for as then, last year one day out at the end of the loader there were sharks every were and one monster tiger that was just hanging around our boat all day just kept following as around, they are a scary site when there alot bigger then the boat your in.Cheers for the report mate.

NAGG
26-10-2007, 07:42 AM
some nice photos and a good read mate, aleast you got some fish with the bad weather like that, i head up in 3 weeks so hopefully its good for as then, last year one day out at the end of the loader there were sharks every were and one monster tiger that was just hanging around our boat all day just kept following as around, they are a scary site when there alot bigger then the boat your in.Cheers for the report mate.

Cheers jackextracter ....... Mate We must have upset the weather gods prior to leaving ---- Except for our drive up to Cania & the two days there (perfect conditions) .... We were dogged by south easters which shut down Peter Faust & Monduran on the way back ...... Even our o'nighter at Yamba was effected ............ But hey "Thats fishin"
The fish we did get were well & truly earnt as we braved (while not dangerous) conditions that kept most boaties in the park. Also I dont think I've thrown that many casts over 4 days ...... So while we didn't get (land) more barra & jacks .... we certainly had our chance! ..
For me the only real disappointment was not having the chance to fish the loader :'( We even brought with us the elephant guns to try to stop some of the local GTs & Fingermark ........ So that buggered up what was going to be 25% of our fishing time! ... worst still some big fish had been pulled over the previous week.
SHARKs ..... not what I expected to see in crystal clear 2m of water ...... We more or less drove over the top of it ...... So no doubt there would be some bigguns off the loader
Anyhow .... best of luck with your trip , by then the water temps should be up in the high 20s .... & that will fire things up:P .... cheers , Nagg

Scott nthQld
26-10-2007, 10:28 AM
Some good fish there NAGG, well done. Yes fishing with lures is a very hard game to play, the fish seem to get used to them as people relentlesly harrass them, often as you said, its just a matter of finding the right technique, being flexible and just plain stubborn to brave the conditions, as you have certainly proven yourself.

And also, yes the tiger sharks are being a real menace at the moment, as it the sea turtles breeding season, so they're all waiting for an easy feed of an exhausted turtle. Here in Townsville, they have been closing our beaches because there are so many being sighted, which is 100% absoluteyl wonderful (sarcasm there), is its not crocs closing our beaches, it bloody sharks!!

Hopefully, if you make another trip up here, it will prove more fruitful for you.

NAGG
26-10-2007, 11:08 AM
Thanks Scott .... Mate if I wasn't lure casting I'd be bored SH_TLESS .... Also my mate Whitey & I have a great banter going with big whoo hoos for a great cast & abuse for everyone that lands in a mangrove tree ( which more than a few did:-[ ) ... Nagg
Yep & we have every intention of returning ( probably Nov 08) ..... but I might try for March / April 08 .. if I can get someone else to get some parole for 2 weeks

luigi
26-10-2007, 03:14 PM
Hey NAGG, great meeting you & Whitey the other day. You did pretty well considering the weather. Those high pressure systems in the Bight & Bass Straight sure stuff us around up here.

Mate, I won't mention the session one of my customers had on Wednesday using purple Hinchinbrook Hunters in Neames.::)

Look forward to seeing you again next year when hopefully, the weather Gods will be kind.

Cheers - Lou

NAGG
26-10-2007, 03:52 PM
Hey NAGG, great meeting you & Whitey the other day. You did pretty well considering the weather. Those high pressure systems in the Bight & Bass Straight sure stuff us around up here.

Mate, I won't mention the session one of my customers had on Wednesday using purple Hinchinbrook Hunters in Neames.::)

Look forward to seeing you again next year when hopefully, the weather Gods will be kind.

Cheers - Lou

Likewise Lou ...... Nah dont tell me about it :'( Actually we were pretty happy with the result - considering
Yes we will be back & I'm sure we'll catch up again !

Nagg
PS Did some other guys ( from Townsville I think ???) go & see you ? They asked for your address

NAGG
26-10-2007, 03:58 PM
Hey NAGG, great meeting you & Whitey the other day. You did pretty well considering the weather. Those high pressure systems in the Bight & Bass Straight sure stuff us around up here.

Mate, I won't mention the session one of my customers had on Wednesday using purple Hinchinbrook Hunters in Neames.::)

Look forward to seeing you again next year when hopefully, the weather Gods will be kind.

Cheers - Lou

By the way Lou ..... Those Hunters would have to be the most snag resistant hardbody lure I've ever used ....... Well done on the design :thumbsup: .... Nagg

Toppy
26-10-2007, 06:10 PM
Another entertaining read Naggs!
You sure did some km's in that road trip & all top locations, better luck with the weather next year mate.

Cheers
Toppy

NAGG
26-10-2007, 06:40 PM
Another entertaining read Naggs!
You sure did some km's in that road trip & all top locations, better luck with the weather next year mate.

Cheers
Toppy

Cheers Toppy ..... It was a big trip , though it was cut short by 5 days ( I think Whitey needed to get home to Kill his son ...... or something like that;) ) .... The destinations have been great ..... Its my Third time to the Hinchinbrook area & second to Peter Faust ..... but I was a newby to Cania , Monduran & Teemburra - - - So we were not expecting a great deal.
I reckon the next trip might be even better:) .... Nagg

Dunco
27-10-2007, 02:09 PM
Nice report Naggs, Lotta travel but good reading

NAGG
27-10-2007, 05:53 PM
Nice report Naggs, Lotta travel but good reading

Ta Dunco .... & great fun too