"Barbie's" #2 and PB Jack.

[Synful]

Well, decided to take Leave Pass out this morning and asked "Barbie" if she'd like to come along for her first fish in the boat to which she jumped at the opportunity.

I might have nicknamed her Barbie but she loves a fishing trip all the same

So off we set at 5:15am to the Bluewater boat ramp here on the northern beaches in Cairns and we were off and in the water by 5:35am with no one else at the boat ramp.

With the weather forecast to be pretty good (I thought anyway) at max 11knot winds and 1.0m swell till about 1:30pm today, and the tide peaking at 9:00am there should have been boats everywhere but no, we had it all to ourselves

We motored off towards the mouth and I had wanted to try the second creek along the way on the high as it looked to hold good fish on previous trips but I hadn't checked it out, we got to the first creek and there was bait getting smashed everywhere, so we dropped anchor and soaked a few mullet baits. Wasn't long before we were getting good bites and getting baited as well.

Soon my rod started to buckle and not long after i brought in a little 29 - 30cm cod.
What is it with these damn fish? All I've managed to catch since getting the boat is undersize bloody cod !?! He was returned to the water to grow a bit bigger (probably catch him again next time).

Not long after Jade (or Barbie) is grabbing her rod and there's a bit of a brute on the end which was a bit bigger than my 29cm cod I initially called it for a small barra when it first showed colour however, after about 40 seconds, she's boated her second ever Jack and 1cm under my PB of 37cm

The Jack seemed close to possible going undersize when we measured him but when I finally got him to sit still, he went 35.2cm before kicking again and slightly spiking my foot into the bargain (the morning just got better). When we got home and re-measured the fish flat from nose to tail it went 36.2cm and I was relieved that it was the extra cm just for good measure.

We both got some good hits after that but no more fish; Jade later got nailed by an absolute brute that tried to trick her into thinking that it was a snag, but I gave a yank on the braid and it took off only to throw the hooks some 5 seconds later, much to Jade's disappointment

We only saw one other boat on the water up until we ran out of bait and decided to burn off some fuel out the front of the headlands for a short run in the open. Ride back in was a bit bumpy but was to be expected coming back into the breeze in just under 1m swell in a 4.2m tinny.

We tried the second creek at it's mouth where there were some massive smashes but we couldn't get anything to take a hook. I couldn't even get the jacks to touch any of my PrawnStar's, gold bombers or any other lure I threw at them; they just wanted flesh baits this morning.

Another day of getting out-fished in my own boat but better than not getting out I guess.

[Pistol_P]

Nce Jack mate....I bet she was wrapped.

Pete

[FNQCairns]

Yeah that's what it's all about! I was going to ask what series of knots you use to keep the kids quiet at home while you and your barbie wife went for a fish. Shal not bother now.

Hey does Jade have the best 'Quality' fish caught so far out of your old tub? ......i bet she does

cheers fnq

[Curmudgeon]

Always good to see the younger generation getting involved in fishing.

My young bloke has a nasty habit of outfishing me when he tags along, too.

Dunno how to escape the little cod. They're not the easiest fish to get your hook back from either.

Thanks for the report.

Brian.

[Synful]

Yeah that's what it's all about! I was going to ask what series of knots you use to keep the kids quiet at home while you and your barbie wife went for a fish. Shal not bother now.

Hey does Jade have the best 'Quality' fish caught so far out of your old tub? ......i bet she does

cheers fnq

Hey Scott,

Might be a bit of a problem mate. Jade is my 15 year old Step daughter; might be doing some time if what you said was true

Well, there has been a 4kg Marwong caught off Double Island, but I rate Jacks pretty highly myself

[Synful]

Nce Jack mate....I bet she was wrapped.

Pete

Yep, She's hooked on Jacks like a lot of people, more so now that she's got her first keeper

[Synful]

Always good to see the younger generation getting involved in fishing.

My young bloke has a nasty habit of outfishing me when he tags along, too.

Dunno how to escape the little cod. They're not the easiest fish to get your hook back from either.

Thanks for the report.

Brian.

Mate, don't I hear about it from the missus every time it happens too


Re the cod, been fortunate up until now, always been able to get the hooks out of 'em.

This one had the hook through his head just below his eye; as they'll rust out in a few days, decided that a hook was cheaper than microsurgery or band-aids and snipped the line at the eye of the hook; better than risking ripping his eye out I thought.

[FNQCairns]

Hey Scott,

Might be a bit of a problem mate. Jade is my 15 year old Step daughter; might be doing some time if what you said was true

Well, there has been a 4kg Marwong caught off Double Island, but I rate Jacks pretty highly myself

Step daughter hey.... so no paternal resemblance, so who's a lucky girl and the family boat fishing fishing champion also, looked up your other report just then, you have some catching up to do so does your FIL.

cheers fnq

PS actually so do I

[Synful]

Step daughter hey.... so no paternal resemblance, so who's a lucky girl

Yeah, it's probably in her best interests

and the family boat fishing fishing champion also, looked up your other report just then, you have some catching up to do so does your FIL.

cheers fnq

PS actually so do I

Not wrong mate, still they are all going down to Brisbane in December so I can see plenty of early mornings chasing Jacks on the weekends trying to to play catch up.

Might see how much it is to get some Nav lights fitted and might do a couple of night time trips as well around BlueWater; that should produce quite well with a bit of luck.

Gotta stop catching all these damn undersize cod and start getting some real fish

[vanurose]

Enjoyed your thread and the nice photos.
One thing though is about the boat ramp at Bluewater. We went for a drive there on Saturday to have a look at the new marina. We had not been down Reed Rd for some time now as time to go boating has been rare of late. We always launched our boat from the ramp there. But to our shock and horror there is now nowhere to park the car and trailer. Where we used to park is now for rigging and no parking zone. My question is where do we park now and also where did you park your car and trailer?
The only other ramp is at Palm Cove and that is too narrow and into treacherous open water. I am dying to get a reply from you.
Cheers
Rose

[Synful]

Enjoyed your thread and the nice photos.
One thing though is about the boat ramp at Bluewater. We went for a drive there on Saturday to have a look at the new marina. We had not been down Reed Rd for some time now as time to go boating has been rare of late. We always launched our boat from the ramp there. But to our shock and horror there is now nowhere to park the car and trailer. Where we used to park is now for rigging and no parking zone. My question is where do we park now and also where did you park your car and trailer?
The only other ramp is at Palm Cove and that is too narrow and into treacherous open water. I am dying to get a reply from you.
Cheers
Rose

Hi Rose,

Yes the parking issue is something that needs to be addressed.
People were parking on the footpath but the Council came along a few weeks back and placed warning infringements on everyone's windscreen that was parked there. The next day they then went and put photocopied letters on everyone's windscreen that was illegally parked; so whatever you do, if you don't want a fine, don't park illegally.

The next thing that comes to mind is your question; where can people park their cars and trailer?

Well there are two immediate options:

• Further up the road there is a vacant lot which a lot of boaties park on and the council don't seem to be placing notices on people's windscreens when they use this block. Only issue is that when it's sold; you will no longer be able to park there.
• The designated boat trailer park back next to the display office on Reed road is where you are supposed to park.

Now this is about 200 - 300m away; so if you are going out on your own, you have to leave your boat unattended all fuelled up or carry a full fuel tank a couple of hundred metres which can get quite heavy (even worse is that I know of one other AusFisher who takes out two or three tanks each time when heading out to the reef). My question is how long before some poor bugger gets their boat nicked while parking their trailer legally?

The people who designed this section of the estate have really made a poor decision with regards to this. I like the idea of the rigging and de-rigging lanes, but there needs to be a much better parking arrangement for boats and trailers as there really wasn't much thought gone into the present system.

[Poodroo]

Fishing in itself is one of the best pastimes anyone could do I reckon but when you can go out with one of the kids who loves it as much as you do then I reckon it becomes a priceless moment. Well done for getting out and top effort to "Barbie" for reeling in a fish I have yet to have any success capturing. To date they have been too clever for me but these days I spend most of my time targeting the Snapper and pelagic species. One day I will head out on a Jack trip.

Poodroo

[vanurose]

Hi Andrew
This is the first time I have been on ausfish since posting my question to you. I am quite upset at this mess at the ramp. The other day my husband Terry read out loud to me a piece about a tavern being built right next to the Marina(for the locals)(haha). If the locals are ever considered, then why dont the owners of the forthcoming tavern and deemable owners of the boat ramp too, make it easier for us all to use. Terry thinks that also the local Bluewater residents are spitting chips about the council charges they are being forced to pay for all the dredging to keep the creek and creek mouth more navigable, they must hate us boaties using their privately owned boat ramp and us not paying a cent. But I would pay to launch if we could park our car and trailer securely and close by.
So do you know who really owns it Andrew. I wonder how we could find out?
I am livid at the moment as the only other ramp is at Palm Cove(closer for us)but the ramp is treacherous and too narrow.
I will log on daily from now on and see what you have also learned. Or should I post a new Topic and see if others know more than us about this problem
Cheers
Rose

[Synful]

Hi Andrew
This is the first time I have been on ausfish since posting my question to you. I am quite upset at this mess at the ramp. The other day my husband Terry read out loud to me a piece about a tavern being built right next to the Marina(for the locals)(haha). If the locals are ever considered, then why dont the owners of the forthcoming tavern and deemable owners of the boat ramp too, make it easier for us all to use. Terry thinks that also the local Bluewater residents are spitting chips about the council charges they are being forced to pay for all the dredging to keep the creek and creek mouth more navigable, they must hate us boaties using their privately owned boat ramp and us not paying a cent. But I would pay to launch if we could park our car and trailer securely and close by.
So do you know who really owns it Andrew. I wonder how we could find out?
I am livid at the moment as the only other ramp is at Palm Cove(closer for us)but the ramp is treacherous and too narrow.
I will log on daily from now on and see what you have also learned. Or should I post a new Topic and see if others know more than us about this problem
Cheers
Rose

Hi Rose,

I have no idea who actually owns the ramp, however the Yorky's knob ramp has a council sign indicating that the ramp is owned by the Council. I intend to go out tomorrow at some stage with one of the kids to give the Minister for Finance a break

As the council can fine people for parking in the rigging lanes; one would assume that they have the jurisdiction over the ramp.

The topic of Pay-for-launch / secure park has been raised before on here with mixed reaction.

Anyway, I'll post again tomorrow as I'm too brain dead after spending the day in the hot sun campaigning for the AFLP

[JJT]

its always great to see the kids getting into catching some fish that people have waited ages to catch lol. great match jade
regards jason