THE forecast was for a 15-20 knot southeasterly wind and a 2-3m swell. As you can imagine I didn’t set the alarm and, being a Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed at the leisurely hour of 7.30am. As I was munching my cereal, I looked at the webcam site on my phone and, to my surprise, the bar was …
Read More »Rainbow Beach red emperor trip
CLUB member John Hooker has finally moved to Rainbow Beach to enjoy his retirement and has asked Commodore Rob out on a number of trips that have all been ill-fated to say the least. Motor issues and the weather were the main players in the non-events, but this time with a great weather window and everything serviced on the catamaran, …
Read More »Trying for trout
BEING from the sunshine state means our main freshwater targets are warm-water native species, with bass, barramundi, sooty grunter and golden perch topping the list. A novel change can be had by heading south to flick a lure or fly for a few of the acclimatised salmonids from the northern hemisphere that can be found through much of Victoria and …
Read More »Testing times on Swain Reefs
WELL, it’s been a while between articles but after a crazy 2020, which I’m sure many experienced, I’ll endeavor to try a little harder this year. I did manage an epic trip to Swain Reefs in my 7m boat and followed this up with a drive to the central Queensland coastline near Yeppoon, where we fished from the Shoalwater Bay …
Read More »Wet season freshwater opportunities
THE rain finally arrived, and as soon as the water cleared up, I was making my way to the top of the river. The clear water of the upper stretches of our river systems offer unique fishing opportunities, and it is with much anticipation that I await this time of year. Wet season fresh The increased water level allows you …
Read More »Chasing dogtooth tuna
WHILE long-range trips exploring remote areas are what I live for, to get a shot at our target species this sortie – the mighty dogtooth tuna – we would have to push further than ever before. These fearsome predatory fish have been on my bucket list for a long time, both on line and spear. Dogtooth tuna Their brutal fighting …
Read More »Doing things different offshore
HOW many of you have ever taken your fishing outside of your comfort zone and done something a little different? We’re quite comfortable taking out the regular crew for a regular fish in the same old spot for the same result, yes? Well, that’s what I thought too but then with everything going on over the past year and so …
Read More »Prepare for Plan B
IT has often been said “It’s called fishing, not catching,” especially after a session that wasn’t overly productive… or even worse, a dreaded donut, zilch, zip, nothing. Over the years, I’ve managed to avoid donut days by having a Plan B – and often even a C, D and E – just in case the chosen technique, location or species …
Read More »March madness in the Bay
WELL, the spotted mackerel have shown up in reasonable numbers and have been found mainly in the paddock, with bird activity showing the way, especially from the sandhills across to the measured mile. While doggy mackerel are around in good numbers and a fair few were trolling up using paravanes in the Rous Channel and near the Amity Banks drop-offs, …
Read More »Prawning time from the boat or on foot
IT’s fair to say that March is one of the peak months for prawns in southeast Queensland. Hopefully by then the catches will be a bit more consistent. Banana prawns Speaking to a few regular banana prawn fishers from the northside of Brisbane, this season started very late and, at the time of writing which was the end of first …
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