hervey

[mackmauler]

What a run of weather we have had [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] myself and Nick left urangan early saturday tanks full and boat chockas with essentials including the odd bit of fishing gear :o ;D a long wk end spent camped at wathumba creek was the plan.

After the plast trip with northerlies it was good to be back in hervey with the millpond conditions it turns on, we were about 15 miles out off the triangle cliffs before surface fish were sighted, we got stuck into small tunas which were destined for bait.

Up near wathumba the first longtailed were sighted and it wasnt long before i was on, one of lucky phills 20 gram slugs was put to the test in white finish btw Phill ;) nice one about 10 kilos boatside in 15min. Nick backed that up with another and we were off to make camp.

The bream were in the usual huge schools as we motored up the creek, rays and flatties scattered and bait rippled, there was a lot of life. Camp and tummys settled in we stared out into the arvo setting sun it was decided to make a run out this would mean finding our way back through the sandbars in the creek mouth in darkness but worth a gamble ;D as usual the area north of the creek was holding some schools, they were hungry and showed no sign of the timidness so often noticed in moreton bay.

One of the spinfishers had braid the other 8 kilo mono, for extra hand to hand combat value the braid was far ahead though the hooks pulled more often, we landed 6 bluefins that session including one in the dark, hervey was glassed out it was an exciting session, the gps proved quiet accurate as well, didbnt get stuck on the way in [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

next day was aimed at sandy cape shoal, the fishing can be spectacular and with some good fresh bait and top weather expectations were brimming, the only draw back for small boats is distance and the spit bar but on a good day its worth it. i crossed at the cape itself not the 4 mile and it wasnt to bad on the run in tide with a gutter running se from the point.

The bottom formations on the way out and sounder readouts are amazing, fish life in this area is very healthy, once at the shoal the lines went out and minutes later a nice little spanish was connected, with fish stacked high on the ledges that was enough trollin, sent a bottom basher down instant parrot, 5 drops 5 reefies all different. next drop a double header parrot, my deckie was not in a good way, and unable to move or talk :o never seen seasickness like it :o had to leave :(

back to the tunas we went and had top fun, just south of rooney down to wathumba was the best area.

the dingoes left our gear alone for a change.

Rob

[Lucky_Phill]

Bloody hell Rob, hitting Hervey without me >:(

Yes Rob, have been thinking about those slugs. Interesting that the 20 went well, I would have been banking on the 40. Maybe the 40 for the Spotties eh ?

I presume you rigged it up the way we talked about ?

Cheers Phill

[mackmauler]

Yes Phill, someone had to do it ;D didnt get around to testing the others up there and yes rigged them with the fat end at the hook. we got some big mactuna on the 40 gram the other day again in white.

Rob

ps this is what u missed :P

[DaneCross]

Sounds like a great weekend Rob, pitty about the severely seasick decky - must've been pretty bad to have to turn away from such a productive spot :o Weather was awesome down here aswell... maybe not as perfect as that though :o :o Need more weekends like that one ;)
DC

[mackmauler]

end result.

[mackmauler]

yes dc it was hard but such a long way from anywhere doesnt pay to put the fishing first, lookin at the reports there are heaps :o good to here you had a top wk end

[mackmauler]

this was just off wathumba, the last few fish were caught very close to land.

[mackmauler]

another of the afternoon ones

[mackmauler]

spanish

[mackmauler]

the gutter is on the left side of pic, in small swell highly recommend this crossing, less distance to swim than the 4mile ;D

[mackmauler]

blue with the slug.

[Big_Kev]

Way to go Rob.
Looks like a great week end. Can't get over tha calm conditions

[JB]

Top photos rob, did you weigh any of the bluefin? if so how big did u get? Love the night shot of them, and the glassy water photo... making me drool. :P

[mackmauler]

thanks kev, did you get out at all..jason we kept 3 of the 20 or so that did the tuna version of deep throat, the others were released, might be able to see the gills in that last pic after the slug came forward anyway didnt weigh any but have weighed plenty over the years so i can give a fair guestimate ;D smallest 6 kilos biggest 14 kilos.

[northsboy]

ROB once again mate you do it!!!!!!!Top fish mate not to mention the weather....it looks very ordinary what was it about 25-30knts ;) ;)
I'm still dreaming of that weather up here at the moment!!! :'( :'( It's raining and windy!! Well done though mate
CHeers
Liam

[SeaSaw]

Rob,

Great pics and what a millpond :D. That is a trip I would love to do one day. How much fuel did you use getting out there. I expect yuou would need to take a lot of extra fuel to travel the distances.

Mark

[wannabe]

Great Pictures Rob. Must have been a lot of fun ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[smerl]

Severely sea sick in those conditions??? Was there much rum involved?

[Brissyguy]

Well done Rob and Nick...

Mate anyone would think you have a license to convert fishos into Burley boys lol...
Maybe itsa your drivin' :-/

Top effort mate and some nice fish too...

Cheers,
Rich.

[Smithy]

When that gutter is there it is the home of jumbo Greenbacks. These in turn are hunted by jumbo pelagics, especially Spaniards. Had you used this crossing before or was it a suck and see idea?

[Dylan_Rylatt]

rob,
A great read mate. it sounds like a top weekend. what are those bluefin like for chewin??

Dyl

[agnes_jack]

Hey Rob!
How in the hell did your decky get crook in those sort of conditions?
Looks like ya had a ball mate!
Good on ya

Regards Tony

[mackmauler]

Thanks Liam, wont be long till the winds ease up there and the macks come on strong, just as we start freezing down here! Mark, is that a 680 you've got? what sort of donk pushes it? i used about 100 litres for the trip ;D if your running a 2 stroke 200 on a 680 id expect youd need 400 litres plus, Smithy is the one to ask about fuel consumption up there on bigger boats.

LMAO Rich, the strange part was he wasnt berlying, yes my driving could cause it ;D but dam its fun 8) Smerl no rum involved, ive spoken to the ambos today and they said it could be from lack of water or type of food or alcohol, nothing out of the ordinary that i noticed, this was some sort of stroke or full body cramp, put nick off outside fishn ;D

Smithy, that was the first time id taken the boat through that gutter, it looked ok from the beach in past trips and a mate gave it the thumbs up as well, there are some breakers to contend with but not much different to beach launching in many areas, in small swell in a small seaworthy boat worth a look.

Dylan, they are ok eating cut thin and breifly cooked with some sauces you wouldnt knock it back, a good fish for fancy recipes imo, Tony, my deckie was fine all trip inside the bay just the breif outside run, but yes conditions were pretty good!

Rob

[SNELLY]

Rob,

Good to see some people are getting some good weather. It's been that long since I've been off shore I'll forget how to get the the reef up here

Looks like great fun to be had by all

Snelly

[Maria]

Looks like you had a top weekend of it Rob! Beautiful conditions and some nice fish there. Shame to hear about your deckie.

Headed to Straddie for the weekend. Will post report when I get photos/videos.

[cHiCo]

I envy you >:( >:(

[craigie]

Rob,

'You Rock' but your boat is stable ;D

Great story and Pics (as usual). Are you sure your not pulling out that 'Dead Calm' postcard every time ?? ;)

Any 'Spotties' up that way at the moment ?

Cheers
Craig.

[Billo]

[smiley=laola.gif]


Top write up and awesome pics Rob [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Looks like you fellas had lady luck on your side , those conditions are UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!
One of those rare occasions that would have to pinch yourself to make sure your awake [smiley=drunk.gif]

Good to see the home made slugs are doing the treat !!!!....good work on those too Phill ! got me hook ups the other week too ! [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

[SeaSaw]

Well Spotted Rob. I do have a 680sf with a 200hp 2 stroke. Great boat but a fuel guzler. Has a 350 litre tank so a reasonable range but I would need to carry at least an extra 100 litres or so. Shouldn't have really asked how much fuel you used as there is no comparison (100 litres for the trip is unbelievable :)). Do you know how many nautical miles (or kilometres) you travelled and/or engine hours. This would give me a rough guide for estimating fuel consumption.

Thanks for the great report and pics. [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

Mark

[mackmauler]

LOL Craig, didnt see any spotties mate. Billo, how was the LBG trip? Mark,there good boats, used to fish off one a bit. we did about 140 nm, straight line it to the gutters or the shoals east of the spit its approx 100 miles return, staying on the boat out there would be the way to go to get the best out of a couple of days.

Rob

[northsboy]

Have you got any pictures of it mark?? What is it a half cab or something??
Cheers
Liam

[SeaSaw]

Gidday Liam,

The 680 is a walkaround cabin setup. Pretty good for overnighting as the cabin is quite large and has the added benefit of the walkaround for going forward to anchor or to chase that big fish that is circling the boat. ;D

Here's a pic.

Mark

[Smithy]

Try some of these to get an idea.

http://www.pakula.com/marlin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1894&highlight=sandy


http://www.pakula.com/marlin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1809&highlight=sandy

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/board/YaBB.cgi?board=Saltwater;action=display;num=103768 4319;start=0#0

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/board/YaBB.cgi?board=Reports;action=display;num=10147241 33;start=0#0

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/board/YaBB.cgi?board=Reports;action=display;num=10063232 90;start=2#2

I am sure there are others if you keep searching on Ausfish and the Pakula site.