The Week That Was June 2012

[Smithy]

23/6/12
Full Day With Smithys Fishing With Jeff Out of Mooloolaba
This was a hastily thrown together trip after a last minute cancellation. Pete was in from the start but I was able to get Jeff and son Aidan and Dave along. Heading off at 10am was a good plan as all the boats in the morning copped 20+ of southerly.

We sat it our for a bit at Caloundra and as the wind dropped we worked wider. It took a few spots to find them but then we settled in for the dusk session. They bit well and we bagged out and were throwing 65cm snapper back at the end.


22/6/12
Full Day With Justin and Kent With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
This was a thrown together trip at the last minute with two keen crews. We took the 10am start option to let the wind die but that was the wrong option and it actually built from a light NWer to a strong NEer. I think it would have been a cracking nice dawn but we got a good snapper bite all the same. We bagged out on the floaters and plastics, kept a couple for me and were throwing back 69cm fish at the end. The pearlies, tusky, cobia and moses perch were all bonuses. Good crew, good fishing in some roughish weather.



Typical show we were on at anchor pulling the snappers.




21/6/12
Half Day Morning With Ido With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
I had Ido and the scientists back again to chase the mack tuna for broodstock. No joy on the mackerel but first pass on a minnow Ido got this nice spanish.



We hooked a few mack tuna from then on but the bloody sharks ate every one before getting them back to the boat. We lost two brand new minnows and a hook rig from a lure skirt to them the buggas. Beside us another boat caught a 24kg spanish mackerel so they were about.


20/6/12
3/4 Day Afternoon With Adam With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
Adam and the boys were on their second date after a rebooking but they jagged the weather perfect this time. I had a tank of livies from the morning session so we headed straight out. The fish were marking well on the sounder, just not biting. A 59cm pearl perch on the first drift was it then it went quiet. We changed spots and first drift here was a 39cm pearly for one of the boys. Same here, great shows but no action. We headed off closer to settle in for the dusk session. We tried a few spots but had no joy other than right on dark when a 73cm snapper jumped on a soft plastic for Adam.


20/6/12
Morning Snapper Trip With John With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
We started off where we had caught the livies the afternoon before and even with good shows we couldn't get a bite. Back to where I had been getting the odd snapper. I loaded the live bait tank while the boys fished soft plastics. No joy here either. By then I had a tank full so off to the next reef. This one looked good on the sounder too. Got a couple of snapper here and missed a few but by then it was pretty light. We had one drift closer to home on the new ground I was fishing but no joy here either.


19/6/12
Full Day With Fadil With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
Fadil made up the numbers with a couple of Bribie boys. We started off getting livies. We jigged a tank in no time so headed wide. Great shows but not much action. Fadil pulled a nice squobby while the boys fished livies. Off to another spot. Same here. Good shows but no action. We tried a bit of pearl perch country, same here, good shows but no bites. Off to old reliable to settle in for the arvo. Straight away here Fadil was into a few. All on the bottom bashers, not one on the floaters. The boys got a couple and some pearlies but Fadil kept pulling the quality. Once it went dark we pulled the anchor and headed for home.








18/6/12
Morning 1/2 Day With Gav Out Of Mooloolaba With SQCS
Gav, Malcolm and David were on this one. We got away early for a soft plastics snapper bite. It didn't happen straight away but we were on good bait and it was only a matter of time.



Me in the cold.



We ended up with four nice keepers, a bust off and a few little guys from this session in a couple of spots. We headed off to try losing our livies I had been collecting while the boys soft plasticed. We did no good on the trout/aj/kingy spots but joined the drift where mate Luke was fishing and picked up this nice snapper just before we had to come in.



Back at the dock with a nice feed.




17/6/12
Two Full Days With Bill Out Of Mooloolaba With Smithy
Juddi had booked this in ages ago for husband bill and his two boys. Fly-in, fly out mine workers from WA and Central Qld it took a bit of working out but they stayed at the Kawana Waters Hotel Motel part and that is great option for anyone fishing with me. Get off the boat, grab a meal and a beer then head over to the motel to sleep. We struggled getting live baits on the first day and if we would have had more we would have bagged on the kingfish. We got them on the second day and completed the bag. No pearlies on the second day, only squire and kings getting out of the wind in the SWer. We also did a quick troll at

Hutchies for a mack tuna and two missed ones, one when a 9' Bull Shark hit the tuna and launched like a mako shark 5' out of the water with the lure as his momento. The first day we bagged some nice big pearlies and scrapped away getting a good feed.




16/6/12
Half Day Afternoon With Don With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
Don booked this in for visitors Sue and Jim from the US. We started off looking for livies but did no good again. Back to bait.

Early on Don hooked this beauty. Another 82cm one.



We got a small one and a moses as well before heading in closer for the dusk snapper soft plastics bite. Early on Donny was hooked up big time. This was a nice 69cm fish. A bit later Jim got a 40cm. From then on it got quieter even though we got into the better time.



16/6/12
Half Day Morning With Lyle With Smithys Fishing Out Of Mooloolaba
Lyle was back again. Things were pretty topsy turvy after the big swell and everything had changed. It took a while to find a good show but then Lyle pulled this ripper 82cm snapper.



Shortly after Justin hooked this 68cm grassy.



We pulled some hussar and other stuff off this spot but all in all pretty quiet.

[Smithy]

Other recent fishing.


27/5/12
Half Day Morning With Justin With SQCS Out Of Mooloolaba
Justin had organised this for a few of the NAB boys. We started off soft plasticing while I loaded up on livies. The livies were finnaky so we just concentrated on getting a tank of them. We went looking for AJs and kings as I had seen Oddyssey Charters with some in their pics from in close and I had a couple of spots to try in mind. No joy there so I went back to where I did the

Creek to Coast shoot. Sure enough the fish were still in the areas so we ended up with a nice feed.






22/5/12
Dusk Snapper Trip
After the Creek to Coast shoot in the morning and with good weather forecast for the afternoon I put together a crew for an exploratory soft plastics session. We had my father in law Leo, Red and Troy aboard today. At the first spot I got a keeper snapper 2nd cast but it was a bit slow so we tried another spot. Mid drift the boys started hooking up all around. Leo got one nearly to the boat before the hooks pulled. This was a good fish that took well over 20m of line. Troy got owned by one that also ran off 20m or so of line. Red came through and landed one in the 60s whilst my brand new rod snapped in the rod holder as anther snapper jumped on. Leo hooked up again and got one to the boat. We drifted off them so we set up for another drift.

Two drifts later we hadn't found them again so off we went again. Troy was first to hook up here and once again he got a couple of 10m runs before the fish found the bottom. 20lb braid isn't enough some days and today it wasn't.




22/5/12
Creek to Coast Shoot
I had Scotty Hillier back again along with cameraman Punky, producer Kimberley and Andy Gunn the manager of the local Maroochydore BCF store. We stayed in close due to the morning SWer. We did pretty well with a couple of grass sweetlip, a heap of hussar, a big morwong and the gold spot cod Scotty is holding below. Amongst them we let a heap of baby red emperor go. We had enough footage by 10:30 and pulled the pin to head home.




19/5/12
3/4 Day With Tim With SQCS Out Of Mooloolaba
Tim booked this one in. After the great mackerel fishing Friday afternoon we thought this was going to be easy. We filled the live bait tank in no time based on what we found on Friday and we were away. One hit and that was it. It was proving a slow day. We manned up and headed to Cal Wide in the SW slop. It was slow here and hard to get on the spot but the show was good enough. Eventually I got anchored where I was happy. We pulled a few reefies but undersize pearlies seem in plague proportions everywhere I go at the moment. I sent down a livey on big gear ready for an AJ as we caught some rippers at this spot last year and got dusted quite a bit. It only took about 10 seconds on the bottom before I got hooked up. I got him off the bottom then handed the rod across to one of the other boys. The fish had other ideas doing a big run straight back into the bottom and busting him up. I rerigged and very next bait I had the same treatment. I got it up a bit then handed the rod across.

There was still a lot of work to do. It headed under the boat and then toward the anchor but eventually it was ours. Back at the dock it pulled the scales down to 13.85kg. It should have weighed heavier. It was a nice fish with a big head but it got very slender in the body for its size.






13/5/12
Blue Marlin Fishing With Ed
I took Ed out for a blue marlin social fish as there had been a few caught the day before and being Mother's Day, bookings were hard to come by. Ed is 87 years young and I got him hooked up to a blue I judged to be just under 100kg for about 5mins and a run of 300m or so. Unfortunately the hooks pulled out. That was it for the day. Getting ever closer to the first blue for the boat though.





12/5/12
Full Day Mixed Charter With SQCS Out Of Mooloolaba
I had four regulars along on this one but I don't think any of them had fished together previously. Garyth and Ryan were flexible but Greg and Paul couldn't do Sunday. As it transpired Saturday was a cracker weather wise and Sunday ended up a bit breezy.





The fishing was tough as per all the radio reports but we scratched around here and there and caught a few. The only people who did any good were those that overnighted and got a dawn or a dusk bite. At one stage we went to one of my seriola spots and had to share it with another boat but Ryan had a hook snap on a soft plastic to a good AJ and Paul got smashed up on jigs twice so they were there. That spooked them and it went quiet. It would have been good to lob there with some livies but being only my second trip out since being back on the water I had not found them yet.




10/5/12
On the Hardstand
Finishing touches to the boat today after two weeks on the hard stand. All sorts of niggly stuff fixed up and some new additions. It is now ready for the auto electricion to come back and wire up the survey standard TMQ-AP4 autopilot and put in the stereo. My wife can't wait for that. Here are some pics with the new dark navy transom, signwriting and prop speed on the prop, rudder and shaft. Thanks to Jim McKinnon from Aqua Mobile Marine for all the mechanical work including organising the repitching of the propellor and Adam Ashby the boat builder for most of the work, antifoul and painting. Craig Lynch of iSigns did the signage.

[outwide1]

Theres no doubt you put 110% in for your clients Smithy.
Good to see the snapper are biting well.
Cheers Mick

[Smithy]

Got Saturday's pics now.

[Back In Black]

Great report Rob. Always look forward to yours!
Tony

[Goodoo haven]

Great report. You got your clients onto some very nice fish. Well done mate.

[Crisp Bee]

nice report, you got me dreaming again... sorry bosss
some great catches there.
cheers

[Smithy]

Latest pics.

[nathank]

awesome report mate.. thanks for putting in so much time to share, i know where i will be going should i do a charter.

[PinHead]

ok Smithy..how come I don't get any of those big snapper?

was a good trip early june..thanks.

[fisho8]

Great Read Smithy and some real nice catches there mate I know I keep saying it but I really need to pull my finger out and go for a run with you. Well done mate and thanks for the report.

[mattooty]

The thing I like the most about your reports is you're not afraid to call a spade a spade and say "No joy, didn't find what we were after" whereas alot of other charter operations won't mention their quiet days.

[malby]

Thanks so much Smithy for an honest report as Mattooty has pointed out and what's more a very newsy one at that! Some days you get em and some days you don't. That's fishing hey! Thanks also for giving us amateurs some real hope of one day getting that big snapper. That certainly was my plan when I bought my boat and I reckon its not far off now. I can tell from your write ups that you are a firm believer in livies. Do you get most of the big ones on these or the plastics? What about floaters vs bottom bashing? What do you see more success with? I'm guessing on charters of more than a couple of people floaters would be a no go due to tangles etc?? I also notice that most of your sounder shots are out in 60 mtrs. plus. Any tips for us learners most welcome. Cheers.

[Smithy]

The two 82cm fish were on bottom bashers, one probably on a bit of yakka fillet and the other on a yakka skeleton after the fillets had been removed. I have been fishing half yakkas and butterflied yakkas a bit lately as a pro told me the sweeties like the yakka heads with a bit of guts and so far he has been pretty right. They have been going well for me for the grassies. Last week bait beat plastics but certainly some of the quality ones were on plastics. I was doing best dropping whole dead slimeys down on snelled rigs and winding up 5m off the bottom. Didn't matter if it was a spin rod or overhead. One afternoon in particular we could not buy a bite on the floaters and all the fish were on bottom bashers. Certainly didn't have a text book floater session at all last week. On the Friday we had a lot of current and had to run a fair bit of lead on the floaters and the plastics and the fish bit all afternoon but it was easy fishing with the wind and current coming from the same direction. Saturday we got a good dusk bite but less current and fishing less weight didn't get us anymore bites so bombing to the bottom then coming up a bit was working well but we had to fish back down the anchor rope. In close plasticing I drift. The fish were widespread last week. I heard of good catches from Murphys and the Caloundra 12mile as well as the Banks going by Popguns report and Cal Wide.