Page 52 - BNB Fishing mag

BIest-ever trip to the Bunker Group
HOPE everyone could well and truly be was a pretty special has been keeping on the chew if we were moment because these well and getting getting them just under fish are the pinnacle of
Moreton Bay
by ADAM FOLEY
about on the water. legal size in 8m of water! reef fishing and any-
Restrictions have eased in Queensland and allowed us to travel through the state.
atmiddayandtooksanc- tuary out of a 20-knot northwesterly wind until the next morning.
ond and third drops, with some quality trout hitting the deck.
At lunchtime the wind showed the first signs of backing off, so we followed its lead and ventured further north to ground I had found on a previous trip.
thing over 10kg is a truly memorable fish for any angler.
The first place we headed was the Bunker Group at the southern end of the Great Bar- rier Reef.
The wind swung to the south overnight and remained about 20 knots, so we were lim- ited to shallow water fishing until it dropped out, but it was easy to see the fishing was red hot from the first, sec-
Soon after some ba- con and eggs on the gas cooker we headed north of Heron Island in 8-12m of water and the good fishing contin- ued, boating more trout, large redthroat and red emperor to 52cm.
The first drop had me buckled over the side on what seemed like a good-sized red, but instead I pulled in a stonker spangled em- peror, which was re- leased straight away.
This set the scene for the most epic fishing ses- sion I have experienced, with massive trout, red emperor, redthroat, goldband snapper, pearl perch and many more hitting the deck one after the other.
We took my old man’s Sailfish 2800 cat for its maiden reef voyage and all I can say is wow!
It shut down on dark, as the Bunker Group often does while all the fish take safe haven in caves and reef crevices and don’t usually come back out until first light the next morning.
We left Turkey Beach
I had a feeling the reds
Sarah Lewin caught her rst red emperor, coming in at a cracking 13kg.
* continued P54
On the next drift over the mark my dad hooked up to a solid fish, and my partner Sarah hooked an abso- lute horse that hit her very hard.
After a big sleep on a glassy ocean we woke to perfect weather and fishing, with the first drop seeing my younger brother Matt nailing a very solid red emperor.
My fingers were crossed as this could be her first red emperor and if so, it was going to be a cracker.
The 400-litre Esky was looking quite full and with plenty of red in the box, I figured we’d soon pull the pin.
Sarah Lewin captured her rst-ever coral trout in 8m of water.
The crew had called this for a big shark and not a
giant chinaman sh.
Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, August 2020
www.bnb shing.com.au
I could see colour and it looked red, with its identity revealed mo- ments later.
To see Sarah’s first red emperor come in the form of a 13kg beast
Dad
hooked up