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View Full Version : Awoonga ! another great trip



tednted
04-11-2010, 08:48 AM
Well another great trip has been run & won 8-)
This year there was no great drama getting there & back , no Kangaroos hit !!
We headed for Cania gorge for a spot of bass fishin first up with an overnight stop at Dalby . We made it to Dalby & fluked accomodation in a motel that was only 12 mths old with near palatial rooms but the only trouble was we had to take the boats off & park them outside other peoples rooms . With so much gear in the boats , me mate John jerry rigged up a motion detector alarm for the boat before we left . So we thought we 'd set it up at the motel with the boat being so far away . John is a bit of a electronic whizz , so I should've realised this was not just gunna be a normal alarm !! when it goes off it actually goes off with a sonic boom !! After settling in & gettin a few froffies into us we ordered room service for tea (Rump surf & turf) so we're sittin at the table diggin in & all of a sudden there's almighty ear piercing siren goin off outside this poor bastards room !! We didnt tighten up the draw string on the cover & the wind was blowin it around a bit . So I did the big bolt across the courtyard to disarm the the alarm . As I was walkin back to my room I looked back & there was this poor prick standin in his doorway rubbin his eyes sayin WTF was that >:( >:( .Next mornin up @ 4.30 ,a slow & steady get ready to get on the road everything good ,untill I went to unlock the trailer lock :-[ No KEY !!! No probs I've got bolt cutters ! just manged to get the jaws of the cutters onto the lock & gave it the heave ho & yep you guessed it , broke the jaws of the bolt cutters . Good locks them Lockwood Padlocks ;)
Luckily there was a guy with his work van there & offered to cut it off with an angle grinder
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/dolby1.jpg
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/dalby3.jpg


After a bit of Breaky we set off for Cania on the tar that they put over dirt & call roads in QLD ::) After arriving at the tourist park & checking in & upacking the boats & utes we finally make it down to the water & launch the boats & set about fishin. Overcast conditions & the lake with quite a bit more water that last year I decided to do a bit of trolling 1st to see what was on the sounder ! Set the minn kota on a course & tied on a little 50ml purple halco lure and before I had a chance to set the drag I was on , a lovely 65 cm saratoga !! to say these fish put on a bit of a show is an understatement !! 10mins later & about 8 jumps & tailwalks across the water we had him landed !!
I stuck me hand in its gob to dislodge the lure & found out that they have teeth ::)

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/awoonga001.jpg

Another 15 mins of trollin & the sun going down a bit we thought we'd have a go at a bit of flicking . flicking around a rock wall with jackalls & me mate Mick who's a bit new to flickin gets hit & lands our first Bass A little 29cm model (sorry didn't get photos of the bass) Mick now likes this flickin caper !! Another 30 mins of flickin & Mick again lands another little bass ! but this one goes 33cm & is a keeper . Darkness sets in & absolutely no more action on the flick we decided to go on the troll , with so many fish showing up on the thermocline we put on bibbed lures to see if we can entice them to have a go ,but Mick stays with his jackall & as the night goes on picked up another keeper & put back another 4 fish . So of course we all go to jackalls then the next one to hook up was me other mate Clarkie ! too small so another release .
that was it for night no. 1 The boys in Pauls boat had got onto a couple of keepers aswell & also through a few back . At this stage I'm still yet to hook my first bass !! Next mornin up & on the water before day break & as the day breaks the water is boiling in a few spots close to the bank so we concentrate on flicking these boils . Mick is on fire & still catchin fish on the flick albeit undersize & me & Clarkie are getting jack shit . after the sun ios up we go on the troll again & Clarkie gets a couple of undersize & some spangled perch & I've had 1 hit for 1 drop when we pulled the pin & head back for some brunch & a few froffies & a snooze . Clarkie decides that the froffies are more important than a snooze & food !!!! So by the time we set off for the evening & night session Clarkie 's a mess & decides to have the night off . Me & Mick set off & start flicking straight away for an hour for no hits , so again we go on the troll & finally I crack it for my first Bass !!! 29 cm back he goes ! 10 mins later Mick is onto a cracker ,easily a 40-45 cm bass but goes a bit too hard on him at the boat & loses him . another 2 hours & we get My first keeper 31cm & I'm finally contributing to the barbie cookup for awoonga . 10 mins later & Mick lands another keeper . Another 20 mins & again my rod goes & this time this fish has got a lot of weight about it ! I get it to the boat & see the size of this thing & call for the net . We get in the net & I yell out a"You f###ing beauty "that anyone back at the park could have heard & upon close inspection under the light To be followed by "F##k 1600 kms for a F##king Yella " Yep 1600 kilometers for a 47 cm Yella :-[
With the boys in Pauly's boat ,gettin 4 keepers & with my boat with 5 keepers , we have enough fish for a cook up at Awoonga . As for Deiter & Col in the 3 rd boat well , they got their fair share of fish, but no keepers at all :-[
Part 2 to come Guys !!! I've got to do some work & I've got sore fingers

Pauly with one of their bass
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga11.jpg

At this stage , Team Cortina 6 team, Datsun 4, team Gemini zip

darylive
04-11-2010, 09:21 AM
Grerat yarn Ted look forward to the next installment thanks.

Boomi Boy
04-11-2010, 02:19 PM
Top report. Gotta love them toga. Not trying to rain on the barra boys parade but IMO toga are our No1 freshwater sportsfish, and that one is a beauty.

tednted
09-11-2010, 07:19 AM
Sorry About the delay guys, but its a bloody long story & after being bac aat work for 4 days I had to go fishing again::)
Part 2
We left Cania for a short 2 hour drive to Gladstone & straight to see Kurt at the hatchery to show the new guys the great work he does there 8-) & he has some great plans for the future he shared with us . Then onto Awoonga Gateway lodges where we unloaded the utes & boats & set up home for the week . After a bit of socialising & a few froffies we thought we had better get out on the lake to suss it out & map a few tracks for our night session.
Man what a different place it is now . We spent the afternoon flicking to no avail but I had a plan & some tracks to follow for the night session . After a good feed for tea & a few froffies we decide to head back out for a fish under the moon , without Clarkie who again had too many froffies ::) ::)
We headed for an area that i knew fairley well wich we gave a go for a couple of hours without any luck . Seeing it was such a great night I thought I'll go to another spot that I know & set a track on the ipilot & just keep workin it . On the 3rd run of my recorded track, Paydirt !!!! Mick was on ! Now those that know Mick ,know that he goes pretty hard on a fish , so while I'm winding in the other rods & clearing us a work place I'm also shoutin instructions to him ! Well after much confusion a broken rod & the line wrapped around the motor & eventuallyI'm able to get micks line clear & hope like shit he doesn't lose it whilst I'm goin for the net , fortunately he only had 1 more little run left in him
& we got him in 8-) 8-)
I know its not a great pic but I only had the I phone to take it with . Micks First ever Barra
If my memory serves me right ,I think it was 93 cm
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga25.jpg

Well It needs to be said if ya catch ya 1 st barra then the next thing to do is drink & celebrate which we did till 3 in the mornin when we started getting low on battery power with the minn kota so headed back in & to the the lodges where all the others were well & truly tucked in for the night . Next morn we decide to head to gladstone & launch the boats for some salt water trolling around the islands . Big day on the water with no result we checked out a cause way that we were told A few salty barra congregate when the tide is high enough ! So we found that & planned our next morning working in with the tide . back at the lodge we had a bit of a nanna nap & went out to the same spot as the night before & Mick Hooked up again but this time we lost him . In the meantime Dieter in team gemini had hooked his first barra & broke his cherry on his first trip 8-)
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/photo.jpg
The next mornin was an easy run into gladstone without the boats to this causeway that we were gunna flick ! However the tide didn't come up as much as thought & the barra didn't play the game So again back to the lodge & some froffies .That night we were back in the water well before dark to try a new area which was showing masses of large fish around the thermocline but again even getting deeper lures down in the zone none of them would have a bar of it !! so well after dark i decided to head over to where we'd done well the previous nights . Pauly decided to follow us across & when we got there I again setup the minn kota for the same tracks'. With Pauly trollin behind us we were nearly to the end of the run when Mick & my Lure Hook up again !!! this time a nice 97 cm job
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga20.jpg

Sorry about the quality of the pics guys But my I phone doesnt have a flash & takes crap photos

Well as if we didn't have enough drama a couple of nights earlier with the broken rod ! This time mick has his new barra master rod , & half way through the battle while I''m steerin the kota tryin to keep this fish at the side of the boat Mick yells out "Al the reels commin loose " followed by
"Al the reels fallen off " so here i am on me knees on the deck with his reel in one hand trying to wind it in & Micks standin beside me playin big game fisherman liftin his rod up & down :o I said stuff it & backed the drag off just slightly & got his reel back on his rod & he finished winding him in

We set off again on the troll on the same run & by rhe time we get back to within 20yards of the same spot, Mick the prick is on again !! so again Clarkie gets all the other rods out of the way & i concentrate on steerin the boat ! We get it to the boat & Clarkie gets the net & pulls the handle straight out of it ! So this this time we've got the fish waiting & Clarkie is still trying to put the handle in the net ::) ::) Finally he hands the net to me & we get it netted only to lift it out & he hasn't clicked the net into its locator ,so the nets just turning in my hands ::) What a fairdinkum circus & damn unlucky Barra !! This time I think he was a 91 cm job
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/awoonga0032.jpg We pulled the pin about an hour later & headed back with a few froffies
to be cont.

tednted
09-11-2010, 07:43 AM
Ok fresh from a good 5 hrs sleep we had planned to be on the saltwater by daybreak at gladstone the next day & we were launching the boats just as the sun was comming up . this days plan was to just go out & fish a few marks & bottom bounce to see if we could pick up a few edible fish for a feed ! Last year on the same marks we were pullin up all sorts of unusual fish but this time we had to settle for a few small sharks which was ok because they cooked up beautifully

the boys in Pauly's boat got onto a large shark & managed to get him to the boat after a good 1/2 hour fight tag teaming on the $8.50 ebay rod !! They couldn't identify it & let it go .
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/awoonga002.jpg
While the boys in Deiter's boat got onto a mackerel but lost him at the side of the boat
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/awoonga004.jpg
After a great day on the salt & gettin told to piss off by port security for fishin too close to one of their jetties we headed back for a nanna nap so we could launch another assault on the Awoonga barra that night .
We arrived back at the lodges & I came up with the bright idea of darting up to the lake & prerecording a new run in a different bay on the i pilot while there was still a bit of daylight left ;D Clarkie said f**k that , I'm gunna have a few froffies & a nap ! so Mick & me headed up & carried out my plan .
We got back & had a bit of a snooze & I was feelin pretty good about my plan coz we plotted a good looking trolling run & i'm thinkin surely it must be Clarkie's or my turn to get a barra !! We were really happy for Mick's success but it was startin to get monotonous :-[ We had a quick look & troll around a little bay on the way to our destination & then decided to troll the open water across to our recorded run . About half way agross & mick yells " I'm on " only to find that he is actually snagged & ends up losing my gun lure !!! I did have 2 of these lures ,But Clarkie's got the other one on & there's no way he's gunna give it to Mick , so mick ends up putting on the lure that I'd be dragging around for 4 nights !!
It ended up a pretty good plan because 20 mins later , we were at our recorded run & set off on our pre recorded track & only about 20 mins into it when we hooked up another Barra (Mick Again >:( ) on my lure >:(
a nice solid 98 cm model
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/awoonga0014.jpg
Clarkie & I are now thinkin about throwin Mick over the side & tellin his missus he just set off for a walk & did'nt come back ::) So after another succesfull release Clarkie says to Mick ,if you get another one you'll be gettin your own effin net & ya own effin torch & windin in the other effiin rods yaself !! After another hour & a half & 1 more hit & drop ::) the lack of sleep was catchin up & I pulled the pin & said to the boys "we have a sleep in tomorrow boys " To which Mick & clarkie said F*ck that we're havin the day off !! Ya killin us !!
Geez this is a bloody long story ::)
to be cont.
cheers AL

NAGG
09-11-2010, 08:53 AM
Sounds like you boys had a top adventure - certainly some nice fish caught 8-)

Good one

Chris

gunna
09-11-2010, 02:27 PM
Great yarn so far Ted. Did ya eat the yella - and what was the secret barra lure ?

stevo
09-11-2010, 07:05 PM
Great story to read right before we head up to Gladstone tomorrow for a week. Will try our luck on Awoonga for the big Barra, also heading out to some salty fish too. Thanks again for the report, very enjoyable read.

stevo

tednted
10-11-2010, 05:46 AM
Great yarn so far Ted. Did ya eat the yella - and what was the secret barra lure ?


The one that did all the damage was a Halco Scorpian ! crimson colour on top & rounding to a chrome belly .
Funny thing was we went to tackleworld in Gladdy to replace the one we lost & got told there "Ya wont catch a Barra on them " ::) ::)
We did keep & eat the Yella for the cook up @ Awoonga ! I don't personally like Yella's as a table fish but others did ,the bass were great though

cheers AL

tednted
10-11-2010, 07:55 AM
cont again ::) time to close this story.
While Mick couldn't seem to do anything wrong , the rest of us were struggling & although there were plenty of hits on all boats , we needed to lift our game on the hook up rate . Pauly in team datsun was the first to come good with a nice 94cm barra 8-) Finally all the hard work had produced another result
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga19.jpg

So with Pauly commin good the night before & my crew wanting a lay day I got Mick to drop the boat in for me & set off on my own for the day . I set off to an area that we had success in the previous year & cast me arms off for a solid 2 hours without result . So I decided it was froffie time & set the rods in the holders for a trolling run . Isn't it always the way , head down in the waeco, pourin a southern & bang !! the rod on the far side goes off ,I spilt me can & done the bolt for the rod & the bloody thing had turned in the holder & I had a bit of trouble getting it out of the holder Eventually I get it out & yes I drop the fish :-[ . A bit later Pauly turns up with his crew & transfers Roger over to my boat to join me . So me & Rog after a bit of flickin & trollin end up back near where Mick caught the barra the previuos night . Thres a couple of nice points to work & a little bay in between , so I decided to work one of the points & Pauly & John setup about 150 mtrs away . Everything lookin good ! Weed ,wind swept dirty water on the bank ,water temp good , so I'm thinkin we could be in for something here . Over in Pauly's boat Johnny catches his first fish :'( Catfish . Rog & I are casting away & we notice a big front comming across looking very dark !! Pauly without his bimini packs up & pisses off real quick & I says to Rog , we'll stick it out mate ! I actually like fishing in the rain & particulary on a change . Well it was a real Qld change !! It belted down from every direction , lightning , thunder & several different wind changes . No bimini was ever keep me & Rog dry ! After the change had passed I noticed that the air temp was a bit cooler & the wind was blowing in a slighty different direction & directly into the little bay to our left , so in we go & set the I pilot for another cast session ! Again it all looks good so we start casin & in 5 mins Rog yells I'm on ! getting all excited , but to his dissapointment only ends up pullin a cattie :'( 2 casts later I get a tap to which I stupidly just lightly set the hook & say to Rog I'm on , with just a gentle pulling on the rod I say to Rog ,don't get excited another cattie i reckon . Then all of a sudden my line starts spooling off at a million miles per hour & I say tro Rog , It aint no cat fish !! its now pullin like a frieght train & rog is clearin the deck & getting shit out of the way & i said Rog ,can you drive the minn kota & chase this down ! just then this monster of a fish does the big jump out of the water & throws the lure straight back at me :( Rog is gob smacked & says f#ck Al did you see the size of that thing !!! & I'm devastated with the words of Johnny Mitchell (our guide last year) ringing in my ear "NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU THINK THE TOUCH IS !! STRIKE IT & STRIKE IT HARD " it doesn't matter if it's only weed go hard .::) I said to Rog ,I'm gunna sit down , have a smoke ,pour a drink & regroup . Rog keeps casting with new found vigour & I'm sittin down sulkin with them words still ringin in my ear . I finish my smoke & drink & say to Rog ,ok im back !first cast back into the same area & bang I'm on & this time I struck hard & there was no way this one was gettin away >:( Finally , I get him in & all that work has been worth it 8-) 96 cm
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga29.jpg

So now the froffies are tastin much better & we're both back casting for the next hour & a half untill it's nearly dark & decided to pull the pin again & get back & rest up for the night session .
That night Clarkie gets in before Mick & grabs the only other lure thats the same as the one mick has caught most of his fish on & is determined that it's his turn . No stuffin around back to the area that had been producing for most nights & set the troll . You wouldn't believe it , Micks on again !! we get it to the boat & again Clarkie stuffs the net procedure up!! we end up losin this one because he had'nt extended the net handle & upon trying to net it consequently it wouldn't fit into the net because of the handle . He's laughing I'm laughing but Mick was'nt . All's not lost because next run he's on again & this time we get him in
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga4.jpg
That was it for that night & the next day was spent flicking & trolling to no avail in our boat . But Pauly & Deiter in the other boats both had sucess With Paul getting one on the cast 8-) 90 cm
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga27.jpg

And then Deiter cracking the magic meter mark on his first trip !!! what an effort
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd132/tednted/Awoonga12.jpg & with that said this story is now at its end with all the boys making the commitment to return in November next year !! This time I booked a few extra cabins incase we got some more participants
Sorry the story was so long but there so many incidents that happen on a trip like this , ya just cant fit them all in !! So they'll be in me book when I write it !

C#### I've fished with ;D
cheers AL

Young Gun
10-11-2010, 09:48 AM
What an awesome trip! The ending of this story has made me so excited, as I am heading up there in a weeks time for 4 days. I can't wait for my first Barra!! So happy for you guys in having a successful trip! AWOONGA HERE WE COME!!!!!!

LittleSkipper
11-11-2010, 04:06 PM
Some great fishing photos gentlemen.