Who else gets a buz from planning a fishing trip ?

[Noelm]

New spots can be great fun, because not being a local, you tend to fish places that are "fished out" and sometimes turn up a good catch, of course, they can be a dud too!

[Corry]

Oh hell yeah, love planning trips, and exploring new areas. We've just moved to Cairns from our house at Seaforth (QLD), so we're currently exploring FNQ, and loving it.

First few trips were around the local estuaries, then we hit Daintree River, last weekend was up at Annan River, this weekend is Hinchinbrook if we can get somewhere to stay for a couple of nights, if not, Cooktown and Endeavor River. We're trying to make the most out of the last couple of weekends of Barra season.
Haven't had too much luck up here as yet, exploring is paying off though, dropping more than boating, but that's the way it goes

Our fishing at Seaforth has been OK so far in the last few months, pics of some of the catch's , and the pic of the boat was towards the mouth of Annan River over the weekend. I should put more posts up here of our adventures, there's a lot more to come while we're exploring our new back yard
Boat Annan Rvr.jpg Fish 1.jpg Fish 2.jpg Fish 3.jpg

[NAGG]

Love fishing new areas, a bit limited to me these days but still finding new grounds and some have only been just under 2 hours from home.
You might have to wait for SA snapper, isn't there a no take ban on them or has that finished?

Not sure about SA atm - but it's something that I want to look at in the next 2-3 years ....... I'll certainly be looking at the timing of such a trip..

That's my problem - I like seeing what is on the other side of the fence ..... & beyond

Chris

[NAGG]

Oh hell yeah, love planning trips, and exploring new areas. We've just moved to Cairns from our house at Seaforth (QLD), so we're currently exploring FNQ, and loving it.

First few trips were around the local estuaries, then we hit Daintree River, last weekend was up at Annan River, this weekend is Hinchinbrook if we can get somewhere to stay for a couple of nights, if not, Cooktown and Endeavor River. We're trying to make the most out of the last couple of weekends of Barra season.
Haven't had too much luck up here as yet, exploring is paying off though, dropping more than boating, but that's the way it goes

Our fishing at Seaforth has been OK so far in the last few months, pics of some of the catch's , and the pic of the boat was towards the mouth of Annan River over the weekend. I should put more posts up here of our adventures, there's a lot more to come while we're exploring our new back yard
Boat Annan Rvr.jpg Fish 1.jpg Fish 2.jpg Fish 3.jpg

Wow - Cairns as a base would be amazing . That's a place to own a couple of boats - one for inshore & offshore

Head south & fish the Russel / Mulgrave system ...... it' s an amazing system & has some good fishing .

Dont forget to say hello to Boris (big croc).

I hooked the biggest barra I've ever seen in that system .... 1.4m at a guess as it blasted past the boat & ripped the lure out of its mouth on some pandanus roots

[Corry]

Wow - Cairns as a base would be amazing . That's a place to own a couple of boats - one for inshore & offshore

Head south & fish the Russel / Mulgrave system ...... it' s an amazing system & has some good fishing .

Dont forget to say hello to Boris (big croc).

I hooked the biggest barra I've ever seen in that system .... 1.4m at a guess as it blasted past the boat & ripped the lure out of its mouth on some pandanus roots

Have looked at Russell/Mulgrave, but haven't fished it as yet. We looked at buying a house on the Mulgrave up past the boat ramp, had it's own jetty, but the house was too small . We're considering a bigger boat for offshore and it would have suited something of a size that would need to be moored.
It's a pity that we got up here so late in the Barra season, gunna be a long wait till February to chase again, but will give us plenty of time to explore, inshore and off.

[NAGG]

Have looked at Russell/Mulgrave, but haven't fished it as yet. We looked at buying a house on the Mulgrave up past the boat ramp, had it's own jetty, but the house was too small . We're considering a bigger boat for offshore and it would have suited something of a size that would need to be moored.
It's a pity that we got up here so late in the Barra season, gunna be a long wait till February to chase again, but will give us plenty of time to explore, inshore and off.

The RM has some good jacks & fingermark - down toward the mouth on the left hand side is a great place to live bait or drift & cast lures.

Chris

[NAGG]

whoo hoo - Palachook has just announced that we'll be able to cross the border ...... Gee I like planning a trip - Whitsundays here we come

Chris

[stevej]

I found the more gear I have the harder it is to decide what or where to go
Also being a shift worker I’ll make plans and my first day off after night shift I’m wrecked and that makes it unsafe to drive the distances I have too on the other days off

so plenty of times I’ve had it all packed and not gone as just too tired to drive solo

it’s funny the trips I would like to do are the every day fishing spots I first use to go too
Hawkesbury berowra botany Nepean and so on

the postcard dream locations just seem too much hassle

[NAGG]

I found the more gear I have the harder it is to decide what or where to go
Also being a shift worker I’ll make plans and my first day off after night shift I’m wrecked and that makes it unsafe to drive the distances I have too on the other days off

so plenty of times I’ve had it all packed and not gone as just too tired to drive solo

it’s funny the trips I would like to do are the every day fishing spots I first use to go too
Hawkesbury berowra botany Nepean and so on

the postcard dream locations just seem too much hassle

Yep that shift work is tough .... there are a couple of blokes who I do trips away with that for some unknown reason would always be finishing a night shift or on call - I usually do most of the driving & they sleep

I live within a few k of the Nepean & I've not had a boat on it for 3 years & that was just to test out a new sounder & transducer . I do put it on the Hawkesbury occasionally & there may be a few trips in the new year as back 20 plus years ago I had a very productive jewie spot a few ks off the mouth . I'd love to find that spot again & run the side scan over it.

On the gear front - with the exception of game gear ...... I've got my bass , barra which dont get used any more - some jigging gear & then it's light , medium & heavy snapper / jew ...... Oh & there is a couple of bad ass GT spin outfits which just haven't been used .
I've pretty well always focused on a target species (currently snapper) & that was the go with my holiday destinations - I spent over a decade focusing on impoundment barra & most of my holidays involved going to the various dams . Now it's going to places to chase shallow water demersal fish like snapper & jew . The Qld trips these days are all about getting out to the reef if at all possible ...... it's a special place with amazing fishing options - the downside being that I need to take the tackle store with me. I'm going through that process now ..... what outfits to take & it's doing my head in - particularly as I'm taking my young bloke with me .

So Steve how do you decide where you'll put your efforts into ?

Chris

[blacklab]

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[Dignity]

Packing Gear and deciding what to take out......
I'm fricken hopeless, I used to head out mid week for a day session, take the phone for work calls, but even though I would have been just going for Quiet flatty or whiting session, the boat had to be packed with enough gear for just about any encounter. I just couldn't head out for a simple session, without it running through my head, I might hear on the radio the kingies are running at the heads, or even worse, hearing someone latched on to a decent Tuna out through the heads. You would swear looking at the gear in the boat at the ramp, there were 4 blokes heading out.
It has paid off occasionally, indeed one brilliant session on the kings, which I had no plans at all to even go up there, But in all honesty, my OCD is making sure, every possible situation is covered..
It's probably way different down here in the two bays, compared to further north, you pretty well know what's about, depending on the time of the year, pretty boring really, hence my excitement of heading to the NSW south coast. The only real time I get my jollies on, are the trips away, ie Bermy or Portland, a heap of planning as it's normally minimum 4 odd days away and we pretty much pack every hour of fishing into the time we are there, even when the weather has turned to custard...
We have some nice lakes here in country Victoria, some accessible with boats, used to go out with a mate that was never keen on the salt water, very enjoyable, but haven't really continued with it since owning this current boat. Probably some of my most enjoyable days on the water have been on some of the small lakes down here....

Col

Yep, overthinking it was a big problem for me. I checked the tinnie a couple of trips back and got rid of at least 20 kg from the nose of the boat. Will replace it at some stage when the prawns start running, maybe as I have plenty left over from last year for bait. Only did the one bait session this year.
Pulled 30 kg from the front of the big boat. Mostly jigs for 90m + of water, been fishing in 20+. Big heavy snapper leads, some for deep dropping etc. Amazing how much space I've got now as well.

[NAGG]

Yep, overthinking it was a big problem for me. I checked the tinnie a couple of trips back and got rid of at least 20 kg from the nose of the boat. Will replace it at some stage when the prawns start running, maybe as I have plenty left over from last year for bait. Only did the one bait session this year.
Pulled 30 kg from the front of the big boat. Mostly jigs for 90m + of water, been fishing in 20+. Big heavy snapper leads, some for deep dropping etc. Amazing how much space I've got now as well.

I pulled out the bream & EP lures the other day

Contingency - Plan B ????? . ...... Always needs to be considered for a multiple day trip away IMO. That's where the problem starts.

I know when I head up to Lucinda - the barra / jack gear comes too .....
Fishing down on the Clyde River would see bass / bream & snapper gear .

What the problem these days is that I could go snapper fishing & take bait , soft plastics & micro jigs ...... that's 5 outfits (was 6) . Then I would have two heavier jig outfits & possibly another for throwing topwater for kings - then there needs to be a rigged rod to throw slugs at Tuna . I struggle to keep it below 10 outfits for even a basic trip.

Chris

[stevej]

So Steve how do you decide where you'll put your efforts into ?

Chris

the other issue with shift work is people have days off when your working, i get one weekend off a month
if i take the kids i focus on easy to catch species
freshwater redfin yellass and even carp
saltwater bait fish for bream flathead trevally whiting

im going to blowering dam tomorrow by myself and will take
for yellas grubbing outfit blade outfit soft vibe outfit
for cod two rods to troll and throw spinnerbaits and hardboides and two swimbait outfits for soft and hard swimbaits

so thats 7 rigged outfits

[blacklab]

pppppppppppppppppppp

[Dignity]

the other issue with shift work is people have days off when your working, i get one weekend off a month
if i take the kids i focus on easy to catch species
freshwater redfin yellass and even carp
saltwater bait fish for bream flathead trevally whiting

im going to blowering dam tomorrow by myself and will take
for yellas grubbing outfit blade outfit soft vibe outfit
for cod two rods to troll and throw spinnerbaits and hardboides and two swimbait outfits for soft and hard swimbaits

so thats 7 rigged outfits

Yep, one is in WA, not due back for a week or so, one in Nauru, not due back till 7th Dec, Funchy due back tomorrow, oh! that's a bonus. 🤣