Skip the ice, let’s go billfishing.

[58thecat]

Deep sea fishing and shooting deer what a lifestyle you live!


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[Howard Hutchinson]

I too have been following this thread from the start. You sir, have too many wonderful adventures. The stories of the trials and tribulations adds to the zest along with the huge amount of effort. Never mind the rainbow of beautiful species you have taken and photographed. Amazing and thank you for sharing.

[fish99]

Originally Posted by Howard Hutchinson

I too have been following this thread from the start. You sir, have too many wonderful adventures. The stories of the trials and tribulations adds to the zest along with the huge amount of effort. Never mind the rainbow of beautiful species you have taken and photographed. Amazing and thank you for sharing.

2X

[Coiloil37]

Seems it’s time for a road trip






I’ve got er loaded up and my two sidekicks with me so we are off for a few nights on the reef. With the price of go go juice I’ll have to kill some fish to offset the cost.

[Salavee]

Many thanks for all the time and effort you put in to posting this fantastic thread.
Enjoying it immensely ! I will never tire of watching and reading about your adventures . Keep 'em coming if you can .

[58thecat]

Catch’em up!!!

[Coiloil37]

The trip up was uneventful and we made great time. As the sun popped up it was gloomy




That quickly turned into a pea soup. I took a new “shortcut” which included a single lane bridge across a river approx 400m long. In the fog towing a boat and it being able to see if anyone else was coming toward me really added the element of surprise. I didn’t get a picture until I could see the other side but this is the whole width of the bridge, must be the sketchiest bridge I’ve ever seen.




The fog burnt off as we were heading up the last little dead end road to 1770





The boat got splashed by 09:30 and even after four months of neglect she remembered how to float.







Out through the river we went happy as Larry.










The bar was flat for a change







With the bar behind us we were off for some winter fun.









I wish I could report on all the fish we caught but it wasn’t to be. For some reason they had lock jaw and we struggled to buy a bite. When we hooked up it usually busted us off on the bottom or got sharked on the way up. We also had so many small trash fish (primarily hussar) that would strip the bait or get hooked that we were constantly rebaiting or resetting baits. It was busy but not the right kind of busy. Maybe it’s my fault because I said we were going to kill some fish but it was prob the barometer, the moon phase or maybe the fact it was to calm. I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter. While we didn’t load up on fish we weren’t short of good memories.



All the negativity out of the way. That weather!!! The swell and wind chop finally took a break and we spent a couple of beautiful days on the water.


We hit the reefs on the way out trying to find a bite. Eventually Nolan caught us a trout for lunch






Which I quickly put on the Weber for a snack





He followed that up with a nice red throated emperor










I wanted to release the red throat but after it fell on the floor and because we weren’t catching much I thought we better keep it for dinner. As it was I got a little trout we ate for dinner along with some snags.




Pierce at this point was violently I’ll. I swear he could get sick in a bathtub. I’ll have to get him something for this cause he likes to fish but hates being sick. Prob try some scopoderm patches first.

Anyway, Nolan picked up a tusky which is one of my favourite fish to eat so he too went into the kill tank.







To be continued…

[Coiloil37]

We then poked our nose into the lagoon to chart a course around the coral bommies on the sounder then went wide to try for a red emperor until dark. We watched the sun go down out on the reef without a bite from a red.






I then ran back into the lagoon about 20 minutes after sunset and just before dark. I could see but not well. I got in the lagoon no problem and was still on plane at about 13-15 knots in 7m of water and there in front of me was coral. It looked very, very shallow. Because it was so dark I didn’t see it until it was RIGHT in front of the boat. I was already trimmed most of the way up but I hit the trim and puckered my um, yea and wouldn’t you know it we popped across without touching bottom or taking the leg off. I looked on the sounder afterward and it appears to be about 1m under the surface.








After a good meal and a beer or two… I tied some new rigs onto rods and noticed we had gone through about half of the hooks I had taken on the first day. I made a mental note to take more hooks next time then sat back and enjoyed the view and silence for a while before having a siesta.

Now, I use a bouy to retrieve my anchor. I left the buoy on the anchor line overnight because when I’m using the anchor it’s ALWAYS on the line. When I woke up in the morning it was gone. Idk how the pin rattled out of the shackle during the night but it must have. Because the wind had switched direction during the night I didn’t know where to look for the bouy in the pre dawn ink and with the lagoon being a few miles long and wide (full of coral bommies) I didn’t look for very long before heading out to fish. Knowing full well we were now drift fishermen and anchoring was out of the question.

Heading out




Looking back




So many boats it was a line up to exit




We went wide first and hit reefs from 10 miles east of the lagoon and heading south along the shelf for about 18 miles. No dice. Sure we caught stuff we didn’t want but couldn’t find a red.

This little fella was cool though





The oldest was still sick and I made the deal to go home that evening. I then ran back into our favourite reefs on the inside of Fitzroy to try again.

Nolan caught an undersized red as the ocean continued to glass out.



A range of non edible fish






As the conditions improved P started fishing a bit more




Sharks are always a problem but at one point we had one swim under the boat.




I then caught a red throat and was bringing it up. I looked down and all I saw was shark coming straight at the boat about 5-10 meters under the boat. He looked larger then life. I then saw the fish on my line about 2 meters ahead of the shark and started cranking in overdrive to avoid paying the tax man.






I got a video afterward but didn’t get a really clear shot of him

[Coiloil37]

We continued to fish without much success on the eating fish but saw a ton of whales, dolphins, sea snakes and turtles.

Being in 20-27m of water it was clear enough to look over the side of the boat and see your hook at the bottom. We reef hopped back toward land and eventually gave up and ran home.















On the run in I had one of the best snack ever. Paired with a beer at 30+ knots on a glassy ocean it was about as good as it gets.




And the very modest return for our efforts.










These are the finest eating fish I’ve ever come across. It’s no wonder they cost $65/kg to buy at the fish market.








Until next time

[58thecat]

Good times!!!


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[MoFugger21]

Nice!

[dryflyguy]

Great write up as usual! Always like seeing the reef fish, the colors really are striking

[Coiloil37]

I was going through this thread

http://fishwrecked.com/content/fishwreckapedia

It’s got most of the fish we catch here listed with a photo and description to help identify them. There is some good reading there if your bored one day.




The little fella was a young golden trevally






We also caught about half a doz of these things and I knew they must be an emperor of some sort but they weren’t listed on my chart in the boat so I didn’t know if they made the minimum size limits. As it was they were all more then big enough because these don’t grow that big.






We got a few of these too and I think they’re a “Spanish flag”





These are a hussar. Excellent strip baits and most years we can’t catch enough. This time we kept about six ahead of ourselves in the bait tank and were throwing them back as they were thick.




As always way to many remoras.








One of the boys caught a large for species Moses perch but I didn’t get a pic of it as well as several iodine bream.

[Coiloil37]

Well it’s been a long winter. Double hernia surgery, a trip back to the old country to spread the old man’s ashes and have his funeral, one lone trip up north and way to many 3/1 hitches because we can’t find enough staff.

I also got enough motivation to teach myself how to fix glass and flow coat. I decided the dash wasn’t going to work for me anymore and ripped everything out, filled the holes and replaced some of the equipment.

It looked like this





Then I added another hole for a second sounder





Then I filled it all in






Now I’ve got a little work left but I want to beat it on the ocean for a day to make sure no cracks appear before I give it a final skim coat and sand it all back/ cut and polish/ wax and apply the new stickers and stereo that I bought.




I’ve also got a riser built and sanded that will raise the top of the sounder approx 1.5” and leave the bottom where it is. I want it tipped up a bit so it’s easier to read when I’m sitting down. I’ll probably glass that in next winter but I will finish the flow coat very soon.


I also picked up seven new tiagra 30’s and one talica for pitching live baits.




I got a 80W for deep dropping swords and high speed trolling on the way out. Might take it and a few of its friends north one year for the heavy hitters too. Damn they’re big





This little fella holds 450m of 50lb braid for size comparison.





The little girl and I got out last break twice for gar and managed to put 140 of them in the freezer. It’s not enough but it’ll do for now.







We got 16” of rain last week so the waters so dirty I can’t catch them right now. Try again in a week or two once it’s flushed out again.


I started building carbon fiber gaffs over the winter too. I couldn’t find what I wanted on the market so I built a few. Might be a few things I’ll change on future models but these look like they’ll work for now.








Now it’s about two weeks early here on the local but porter and I are going to head out tomorrow and kick this season off. Idk if anything’s around, haven’t asked and don’t care. Going to go out and dust off the cobwebs, share a few laughs and drink a few beer. Summer showed up a couple days ago with mid 30 deg temps and not a cloud in the sky. Laying in the beach today it’s calm out there for a change and tomorrow is supposed to be the same.




Later next week Nolan and I will head to Hervey Bay for three days if the weather holds. Looks like Thursday though Saturday for the micro blacks. Going to try them on 4kg line this year.

I’ll post up how tomorrow went when we get back.

[58thecat]

Sorry for your loss, I am sure he is proud and please keep posting, a great thread I and many follow.


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[Coiloil37]

Well today was a great fishing day. An absolutely great day out on the water fishing but a very poor catching day. We trolled all over the ocean and saw exactly zero promising sign. No bait, no fish, nothing on the fads, no strikes. We caught four mack and striped tuna that all got thrown back.




It turns out when the locals say late November they mean late November and not October… The wind was awesome, the weather was perfect and we had a good day getting ready for this next season. The water is still pretty cold at 23.5 deg, last spring they were gone when it got down to 25 deg so it’ll need another month before they’re here.

Either way, Hervey Bay later this week if the wind cooperates for some babies and probably some longtail tuna. The bay is known for lots of longtails.

[Coiloil37]

Well we made the annual pilgrimage to Hervey Bay for some micro blacks. The plan was a three day trip and the weather was supposed to be rough the first morning, glass out that arvo then blow hard the next two days but from the south and it would be blowing across the island so we should be protected.

First day was blowing hard. We launched an a guy coming off told me it was “horrible out there”.






We set off and once we got protection from the island it was nice.







A quick 35 mile run and we set a spread out and started trolling amongst the crowd as the wind died off to a beauty afternoon.




We missed a few marlin strikes and then the little man brought us in a little mackerel that we knocked on the head for sashimi




We then started hooking the marlin but for one reason or another he lost them. Some to slack line, some shook the hook while jumping, one he piled the line up and jammed the spool and when it took off the line let go.

Eventually he managed to land one which was number 7 for the day.




We then rolled around the corner for a snooze in protected water as the wind was supposed to kick up that night.

The next morning we started at 04:00 and didn’t have any luck until about 5:30. We then dropped a few more through various mistakes. One got wrapped around the motor, one broke the 4kg line when I thumbed the spool as I was handing the rod to Nolan after retrieving it from the rod holder, one even broke the hook while I was leadering it and trying to plant the tag




Eventually he landed another one





Amongst the billfish we managed another five mackerel of which we kept two for the neighbours. We saw a ton of these things





I wonder what it’s like to be fishing in your 35-40’ game boat and have to troll past a 60-70’er




The wind had kicked up so we popped around the corner for a swim and some lunch. Nolan flicked a lure around while I was cooking







We then got back into it while a storm brewed up over the island. We then caught one more which I landed and then we came back around the island and the wind was nasty. It was kicking up some mad whitecaps and looking like rain





One of the proper game boats with radar and cellular service said it was meant to continue on through the night and be worse the next day. It was about 16:00 and I told Nolan we better pull the pin and get home. If we made it 10 miles to the part of the island that was providing protection from the south east wind we would be able to run home quicker. So we pulled the gear and made a run for it. The first few miles I could only manage 6-7 knots but once we got some protection it was good and we ran hard




We rolled into the boat ramp well after dark and it was disappointing to have to give up a day early but we couldn’t fish in the wind chop that was blowing. Also disappointed the number we lost but all up it was a good trip with a few tagged and a lot learned. Final tally was 12/8/3 on the billfish.

[fishinisgood]

Fantastic, really enjoy reading your adventures.

[Coiloil37]

Couple stills taken out of the videos. I need to get my phone out a bit more when I’m fishing, pretty skimpy on the pictures.

Even though they’re tiny they’re still a fun fish to catch. They’ll smack that lure again and again until they hook themselves and they still pretend they’re a bird while they’re fighting.
The ones that snapped the line, jump out of the water for a while until they throw the hook out of their gob even though they’re not attached to anything.


















And the little man’s new technique. As per igfa rules he’s not allowed to rest the rod on the gunnel so he’s got to hold it up by himself. When your 7 these things are difficult.

[fishnguy]

Amazing trips, Coil!

[MoFugger21]

Great pics and story as usual!

[Coiloil37]

La Niña has been a problem again this summer. There are very few days it’s calm enough to want to get out and most of them are when I’m away at work. It’s supposed to blow itself out early in the new year so fingers crossed it disappears before the fish do. Currently it’s blowing 25 knots with 4-6m swell.

We got out Christmas Eve which would be one of the last days I want to fish but was the only day the swell cooperated. To make matters worse it was the day after the new moon which is typically the worst time for us to fish. We never have any luck on the new or full moon. It was also a day ahead of an approaching low pressure system which could have played into our favour. Regardless the stars weren’t aligned but if we wanted to fish that was the only choice.

We hit the boat ramp at 03:00 amongst the crowd. It was already a zoo with a line up several hundred meters long. Saturday, Christmas Eve, calm seas… everybody with a boat was going fishing that day and it included the people who don’t know how to launch or retrieve. We had to sit in line for about 10-15 min before we got to launch and of course I was in the middle lane when it was my turn. Both of the clowns on either side of me had left their headlights on which makes it much harder to see while trying to reverse… rookies.
Anyway, we got on the water and took off for the banks in the dark. We got out on the grounds just after dawn and started putting the spread out. I got the third line out when we had the first takedown. Nolan took the rod and brought us a nice 9kg cow mahi





I started putting the spread back out and the shotgun went off. I grabbed the rod but the fish was gone. When I checked the hook the gar had been shipped off about 1/8” behind the hook. Spanish or wahoo was the culprit and then I remembered I had brought some stinger hooks to prevent that happening. At that point the new moon was starting to look like a blessing.

It was an illusion.

We then trolled ALL DAY without another strike. We ran up the length of the banks and then trolled east to the dogleg. We worked bait schools and birds, saw pods of dolphins and trolled current lines. Nada. After trolling out to 1100 meters of water we worked our way back in and went past the three subsurface fads then in to the surface fad out in 120m of water. Nothing. We trolled back to the banks and south down the banks without a strike. We did a Hail Mary pass of the area we hooked up that morning and would you believe it we had a strike on the short corner. I passed the rod off to my little sister who’s visiting for a couple months and then the shotgun fired, followed by the long rigger and mid rigger on the starboard side. One line got cut off almost immediately but we still had three hooked up. I yelled for Nolan to wake up and Natalie chose to drive the boat instead of fight fish. We cleared the remaining gear on the starboard side then brought the three fish in. A couple of Spanish to save the day of which two were hooked up on the stinger hook behind the gar.





We then pulled the gear and ran home. On the run in we saw a boil and slowed down to see what was chasing bait. A little black marlin stuck his head and pec fins out of the water with a slimy mackerel speared on his bill. We tried pitching a gar to him but he didn’t want anything to do with it.

For about the sixth time… maybe next time but a day on the water with family was still good for my sanity.

[fish99]

love reading your posts , keep them coming. thanks

[Landshark]

First I've seen this post. I'll be following along for sure. Keep up the great posts.

[MoFugger21]

Great as always! Nice fish!

[58thecat]

Ok gotta ask, the shotgun went off?

Looks like a last other than the launch once out there it’s worth it.

Awesome.


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[Coiloil37]

The shotgun is the furthest back lure, run straight down the center and the rod is kept in the rocket launcher over the bimini. It probably accounts for 25% of the strikes.

This covers the classic five lure spread with the names of the positions.






I run seven lures, so have added one on each outrigger in the middle on its own halyard with its own release clip. I also “occasionally” run another line down the center between the riggers in what I call the mousetrap and or may choose to run some downstairs off a planer or downrigger.
Then there are two or three teasers between the transom and short corner. One surface teaser and at least one subsurface teaser.


Yea once we left the boat ramp we hardly saw a boat. It’s a big ocean.

[DiabeticKripple]

I love this thread. Keep it going!

[58thecat]

Awesome, thx for the brief on your set up, puts things into perspective for us hard water guys, keep the thread going please.


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[Howard Hutchinson]

Crazy man?! How the devil do you keep track of what is where, especially once you have a fish on When the hooked fish is being reeled in, do all the other lines come it fast? The kids must me masters at this point.

As requested, keep sharing when you can. Enjoying the heck out of it.