Cooktown Update 3

[RB]

Smithy here again.

Just in from an overnighter with the Riptide boys if you know em. Steve Canale and Peter "Two Hands Toblerone" Tornabene AKA, Captain Zig Zag and the Choker.

Put in and went Scaley Mackerel fishing. Had our best session doing that on the inner reefs. The bait fishing is tough on the outer Ribbons. Think we were at Marx Reef or something dodging all the bloody pink and green zones and stuff.

Stitched up a few baits watching Ultimate Lady collect bait on its way down from Lizard. A long way north so headed out between Ribbon 7 and Ribbon 8. Put the gear in and trucked north for the day getting a downsea ride in the 20knot SEer.

Got to the bottom of 10 and was teeing up a ride back inside reef behind Viking II on the radio when we had a knockdown. Interesting moments for a sec with the dropback tangling in the rigger. Got that sorted and no weight for a bit. Look back and think we have raised a shark. Anyway it turns out to be a Black trucking with up right in the prop wash and it doesn't even know it has swallowed a loaded bait. Anyway get the second bait in which was closer and steer off a bit. Start getting the tick, tick, tick we were after. Steve gets harnessed up and we keep bringing the drag up 10 secs at a time. We get a jump out of it and Pete calls it for a Billy. Based on its size we only fight it on strike drag but we are now running a pretty heavy strike drag way over the normal 1/3 which would be 13kgs.

Get the fish up and I hand off the tag pole to Steve and grab the leader. We are running 20-24' leaders to keep the big ones away from the boat. I have to leader it into tagging range. Couple of missed shots and then it is in not before a couple of Zorro marks up the side. I keep wrapping bringing it closer for the bill rope. Good fish and hard to hold. Bit tangled in the leader so get the boys to cut me off then I try and hold the fish. Bit hard to do so I ditch here and we are all happy getting a tag off and having a look up close. Seen a few around 100kg down here so I will call it 110kgs (220-250pounds). Measured the tag pole which I adjusted to the length of the fish the other day and it was more like 2.5m short length so I am going it to call it a 330#.

Anyway Viking said he was going to run to the bottom of 9 which meant a headsea troll so we put a Tina Tuna and a CD26 out hoping for a Wahoo, Yellowfin or Doggy. Anyway then he runs downsea again and we are half a mile away then puts her up on the plane. We get the gear in and go for it catching up on the inside of 9 doing 28 knots or something. He dodges and weaves through the bommies and we follow. After he sets his pick we hang off him for the night once again. There was a big party that night on one of the mother boats and we missed an invite but everyone else at Ribbon 9 got one. That was good news for us and we got an early start the next morning though Blue Sky Mine for the 5th time at volume 11 was getting a bit much. Luckily I fell asleep about then but the other boys on our boat complained once the country and western started. We got them back the next morning cranking Live as we floated away.

We put the minnows out till the 1000m contour then set a Scaley Mack on both sides. We took a chopoff and deployed a jelly bean Mack Tuna long on the starboard side. Right at the first pressure point on Ribbon 7 we took a good hit. Peter freespooled and we had the slow tick, tick, tick we wanted to hear. Edging the drag up he got to about 1/2 way to strike and then harnessed up before the drag got too tight to remove from the holder. The line was heading out pretty steady now. Pete was up to strike now and this thing was starting to get motivated. Up to sunset insane drag and this thing didn't ever know it was hooked. We were on our first donkey of the trip, thanks Viking, the early start had payed dividends. A couple of hundred metres into the spool disaster struck. The line was wrapped under 4 or so times. Instant pop off. No jumps so it didn't tease us with its size luckily but the boys wanted to see it. I think it would have hurt if we did. At least we didn't waste hours and hours on it. Dunno how that could have happend a few hundred metres into the spool.

Anyway deploying the next bait Steve watched a Wahoo come out of nowhere and give us a chopoff before we were even set up. Into the little bay on the outside of 7 for a breather and to rig a few more baits. We put the big minnows out again hoping for a Hoo. Castille was on a jigging/popper charter for the week and was going well with a 90#GT, similar Hoo and a few Doggies so we thought we were in with a chance. Getting sick of that I tied a GN popper onto our biggest egg beater loaded with 15kg Stren and sporting a Thunnus 16000. Took a while to work out the rod action for the popper but got it worked out. That is where the Haines excels. Casting from the front and I started working bommies near the surf zone. Had a few follows and chases before one stuck then it swam me straight to the reef. Anyway good fun while it lasted and we were back in action again.

At the bottom of 6 we marked a fish and started doing circles with the fleet. I worked down to the top of 5 then we took a chopoff. Pulling up I took the time to fiddle with the sounder getting 450m or so out of the 600Watter but only at idle and on 100% gain on low freq.

Got into a bit of a chopoffathon then watched Shaka tag a little one beside us before pulling in the gear for the run in at 2:30. We are running an imbedded stinger hook going for the chopoff critters but so far all we got is a Horrorcuda right where Shaka got the Black.

Tea at the bowls club last night. It is all good!

[JasonT]

Nice report mate!

Aside from the wind, cooktown seems like a nice place!
Keep 'em coming!


JT

[REELY]

Good read there Smithy sound like the boys are having a ball.