Bit of a late report due to illness but on the mend now. Our yearly trip has once again been and gone and we can't wait until next year to do it all again as every trip is getting better and better as we understand the area and methods better. Left 4am Saturday morning for the full day trip up to Stanage Bay which is a 12 hour drive from Brisbane sitting on 90klm/h. Boat fully loaded with camping gear, esky’s, 4 x tackle shops etc etc. Think we would have definitely been nudging the 3.5tonne limit. Taped up with builder plastic and duct tape then applied the shade cloth to the boat at the Stanage turn off which we now have down pat. Slept and the free camp just up from the ramp in anticipation for Sundays trip out to Middle Percy were we spent the next 4 nights camping.
Left the ramp early and you could feel the weight on the boat as we only just got on the plane. Think next year I will take a smaller prop. Arrived at Percy's and set up camp in no time flat. We had so much more gear this time with solar panels fridges tents etc but it was so much better to get off the boat at days end and have a few luxuries rather than staying on the boat for 4 days straight. The rest of the day saw us fishing around middle Percy’s and a few trout, nannies, grassies etc were caught.
Monday morning I got a got a weather report from the Thirsty Sound Coast Guard 10 to 15 knots in the morning with 15 to 20knots in the afternoon. The rest of the week was going to blow harder and the game plan all along for this trip was to get out to the Swains so the call was made to go. Logged in with the Coast Guard of which I got the reply they don’t monitor that far out. So advised the time we would be back and if we weren’t back by then something was a miss. Had an awesome trip out sitting on 50klm/h and got there in just over an hour. It’s approximately 60klm past Percy group which is 60klm from the main land.
Started throwing big popper to the reef edge and for the first hour all we saw was on GT about 20kgs have a look but that was it so we started trolling and had a few strikes but no hook ups. About ½ an hour into it I saw a big bombie in between the 2 reef systems so moved over towards it and let fire. The sight of a big Gt screaming at your lure with a mouth the size of a saucer is something you never forget and instantly the hook up was attained. 3 seconds later and all over as it made its way to the reef. Now fishing with Shimano GT Specials, Stella 18000 and 90lb braid coupled to 150lb leaders is some serious gear and to get smoked by these brutes is some thing that every one should have a go at. More casts followed and more hook ups and finally fish were landed. We found big bommies with huge caves in the sides in between the 2 major reef systems and almost every one had Gt’s on them. These bommies were coming up to within 2 meters of the surface out of 25 meters of water. Can’t wait till next year when we take the dive gear read crays. By the end of 6 hours all our arms were aching.
We had to be back at Percy’s by 5pm to log off with the Coast Guard so by 3 we were on our way. It was a 2 hour trip home as the wind had gotten up a bit however the trip was well worth it. The next couple of days was spent around the Percy group catching reefies and hitting the points for more GT’s. This place is magic and up there as one of the best places in Australia.
Thursday midday saw us back at the ramp and taping the boat up again for the trip home. The call was made to leave and camp at Calliopie on the way home to break up the return trip. Man is gets cold there with frost on our swags in the morning. Friday saw us cleaning fish and washing boats and gear. Can’t wait till next year and now that I am moving up to Gladstone I am that much closer. Yippie.
I’d also like to give a special thanks to Chris AKA Yalta (Ausfish Member) for the awesome wind on leader he made for 3 of the 4 guys on the trip. They held up 100% and worked a treat so if you are looking for an excellent product and good prices get in touch with him.
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Originally Posted by 3rd degree
