NQ M&G Reports

[nonibbles]

Let me start:
weather - overcast with rainy patches an squalls
water - sloppy at best
Victoria creek/inlet nice place heaps of sand bars. Difficult ramp if sandbar on out going side covered with moving water from incoming tide (Janny's O.K. just a bit sore and bruised ), otherwise forms a great breakwall. When we win Lotto we'll pay for a short jetty and loading pontoon. Handy wash down area.
Great to meet up with some top blokes Wild_Side and Richard, Mick & After 7, Nathan, Dicko and the girls. Didn't meet up with Cooky but heard you were there and a bit of a story (which I'm sure you will tell all) . Bosunsmate - did you end up coming? We sorta missed ya there.
Dinner Sat night was beautiful, my family dined on coral trout and chilli mudcrab (thanks Mick and Jason). The homemade chilli sauce from the shop did the trick very well. Not knowing how strong it was, Janny threw the whole lot into the pan and the fumes made us have to evacuate the cabin 'cos it was so hard to breath (I think there was a fair bit of vinigar in it as well as the chilli). But the taste was just special. Dicko put on a BBQ for us all that night too which was also very much appreciated by all.

Dive report to follow from Mick/After 7 I'm sure.
Fishing - well, for me (& family) not so good. Some nice species Red Emporer, Rosy Job Fish, Long Tom (1m-ish heaps of fun on James's little Scooby Doo rod), Sand Crab, Muddies (Jennies x2).
Burley - I'm sure the fish have never seen so much of it. Unfortunately I don't think gastric acids are the best flavour for them.

[Mad_Barry]

Fishing ???? oh, forgot about that.

Between having a few drinks sat night, then taking the kids on a sightseeing mission around Orpheus Island, we hardly wet a line. Most of the time just hanging around Yanks Jetty feeding the fish & staying out of the wind.

That bloody northerly is about the worst direction you can pick for the palms area.

Had a good weekend though (short as it was for me) meeting up with you lot.

[Mad_Barry]

Mick, Dave & my tribe feeding the fish At Yanks Jetty.

[Mad_Barry]

Too bad it's a no fishing zone, a few legal sized coral trout coming up under that lot

[Mad_Barry]

Good move in leaving early Nathan, if you stayed out you wouldn't have had a chance in hell of being back to T'ville to catch a plane at 4pm.

This was the ramp at about 3pm, a couple of hrs after low.

(I had still had a bit of a wait for enough water for the kids to push me to the ramp)

[Mick]

Well well well. What a week end!

I have been thinking about what to write since Sunday and I still haven't come up with anything, so I thought I would just put a few things in point form.

Weather for the trip was very under estimated by BOM. (by 15 knots at stages)
Caught plenty of fish but nothing of the size, quality and numbers of what we hoped.
Had an absolute blast.
Everyone I met were champions and great company.
Nathan is smart man. (Best decision ever to turn around mate)
Cooky is dead set crazy! Dicko is not far behind him. (In a good way guys)
If everyone had children like Dicko's we would be a very happy (and drunk) nation.
Dicko does not look like his avatar.
I had a big hissy fit after I couldn't get my spear out of a cray which was lodged into a rock. Dave was laughing in hysterics! This was my first Dive, so my gun was out of action for the remainder of the day.
Northerly winds are crappy!
Daves boat took on about 3 full sized swimming pools of water for the trip.
Mackerel were being caught the lead up til when we arrived and then stopped biting. As Dave and I left Monday morning (all packed up) some guys came over to us and said "get out there, mackerel everywhere!"
We looked at each other, laughed (more like crying) and just headed home.

Anyhow, I had a fantastic time still and so did dave. It was good to meet all of you and look forward to a more productive trip in the near future.

Mick

PS If cooky tells you half of his story it will still be unbeleivable!

PSS Diving on the Sunday was terrible. The northerly picked up and made the water filthy. We found one spot to dive just before we headed home but the current was whipping through the islands faster then i could swim. It wasn't diving but more like swimming to the bottom and just holding on for dear life. Here is a cray that Dave got right at the end.

[nonibbles]

Nice cray there. Geez the water looks real bad . Obviously within one of the channels between the islands. Can still see some of the swell there but once mixed with the weather and tide in open water it was a lot different hey guys. Probably had to search around for a calm spot just to take the photo. Current would've been hideous in those small funnel like channels.

[Mick]

Yeah, just looked at that and the photo doesn't do the conditions justice. Under the boat in that spot I could of swam over 100meters under water with one breath because of the current. Every meter I went down it got stronger and stronger.
When I shot my cray one of the legs broke off and I gave it to one of Dicko's daughters to keep. The leg would of been twice the size of the legs on Dave's cray, so you could imagine how upset I was too lose the big fella. I actualy saw the feeler of the cray sticking out under the rock and I thought it was the tail of a big sting ray. When i looked under the rock i was met by one of the biggest crays I have ever seen. My spear is still down there. Might get it next time I am at the palms.

[Mad_Barry]

If everyone had children like Dicko's we would be a very happy (and drunk) nation.

Don't worry mate, they are learning to be like real women, they butter me up by doing nice things like playing the perfect little hostesses & keeping my drinks topped up during a BBQ, but they always want something in return

[cooky]

i tell my story when I get time, but it's not a great idea to leave at night 10pm and decide F*k it we'll head to the reef - it got rougher the further we went - rain squalls, etc. Navigating by chart - sick deckhands - soaked, cold - 2 hrs sleep. rough still in morning. Then calmed off for most of day UNTIL WE LEFT TO GO HOME. northerly - 15 kts or more - soaked again and rough as guts.

Lost anchor (including chain) on the reef as an example of the great luck we were having.

Caught a few coral trout, 2 x decent GTs, 1 x decent Spaniard. Missed 4 hits.

Almost lost my finger getting caught in handline at one stage.

3 of us had a bit of fun with a large shark on handline (powerful bastards).

[stunnedmullet]

There is always one. More often than not that one is Cooky
The mullet

[whiteman]

I wondered how you guys would get on at that ramp. At least you don't have to go too far to see if there is enough water to get out.

50km south things weren't much better. Kept most of our fleet on their trailers for the weekend. You really have to stick with Cardwell or Lucinda if you want to get out in just about all conditions.

[Leo_N.]

Sorry I missed you guys. I left from Dungeness on Sunday thinking we were heading to the reef. Ended up fishing fringing reef around Palm for about 13 trout between the four of us and a whole lot of gold-spot trevally up to 76cm. The pair that were spearing complained a lot about the vis as well, but we figured they were just dirty at catching less fish.

[Mick]

Where abouts were you Leo? We only saw 6 boats out there, the research boat, the marine parks, the people being issued a ticket for fishing in the green zone by the marine parks, Dicko, ourselves and a boat near great palm (only had 2 on board). You must of been in an exposed area where we did not dare to tread.
Go easy on your spearo friends as it was definately a day not for diving (or line fishing for that matter) and well done, as you outfished everyone at the Palms on Sunday.

[Nathanrb4]

Yeah even with out the fishing being to flash it was still a good weekend. Was really good to meet everyone and have afew drinks saturday night. Thanks heaps for taking me out saturday dave and mick. I`ll be down to bowen one weekend to head out with you guys again. Just tell me when the weathers looking good down there and i`ll be there. This time it`ll be my shout!

I was pretty dirty about heading back sunday morning but i`m feeling alot better after seeing those pics dicko.
The palms are definately a place you need to visit if you`ve got a boat and live up this way. Just make sure you do it on a calm day. That jetty on Orphaus is still sticking in my mind and i`ll be back over there with my gf when i get a chance.

Micks right about those girls of yours dicko. I`m not so scared of having kids after seeing yours. You`ll have to start a post called "How to train your kids".

I bet your little fella was excited when you got that long tom paul.

We`ll have to organise a trip over to rattlesnake or somewhere one weekend for the townsville guys.

Thanks guys.
Nathan.

PS. the only pic i`ve got from the weekend is of where i slept had to move my tent with all the rain.